BuryingitsfangsintoJeremy’sright
handdowntothebone,thesnake
injectedvenomthatimmediately
madehishandfeellikeithadbeen
smashedbya massiveweight.“Itbit
me!”heyelledinhorror.
ForJeremy,itwaslikesomething
outofa zombiemovie– anundead
creature’sfinalactofrevenge:but
thetruthis,bitesfromdecapitated
snakesaren’tuncommon.It’slike
a chickenwithitsheadcutoff,only
withamuchlongersurvivaltime
becauseit’sacold-bloodedreptile
witha slowmetabolism.
Inthat moment, however, all
Jeremywasthinkingaboutwasthat
thesnakethathe’dkilledwasnow
tryingtokillhim.Thecreature’s
jawswereclampedaroundhishand.
Desperatetofreehimself,Jeremy
insertedthefingersofhislefthand
beneaththesnake’supperjawand
triedtoprythefangsfree.Heman-
agedtoremoveoneofthefangsfrom
hismiddlefinger,butashetriedto
pulltheheadloose,theviper’sjaw
clenchedagain,buryingthefangin
hisringfingerthistime.
Atthesoundofhiscry,Jennif-
er,a trainednurse,hadcomerun-
ning. When she saw her husband
strugglingwiththerattlesnake’s
head,onethoughtf lashedthrough
hermind:heneedsmedicalattention,
now. Sheranbackintothetrailerto
getthecarkeyswhileJeremycontin-
uedtoyankatthesnake’sheaduntil
finallythefangscamelooseandhe
couldf lingtheviperaway.
Jennifertoldherhusbandtoget
inthecar.Shewasalreadyonthe
phonewithemergencydispatchers.
Theywerea half-houraway from thenearesthospitalandshehadnoidea
whichofthemedicalcentresinthe
areaheldantivenom.Allsheknew
was that they didn’t havemuchtime.JENNIFERSUTCLIFFEhada lways
beenquicktoactunderpressure.In
Texas,shewasa nurseconsultant,
butbackwhenshe’dworkedinhos-
pitalsshe’dalwaysbeenthego-to
personforCPR– someonecolleagues
wouldturntowhencompetenceand
quickthinkingcouldbethediffer-
encebetweenlifeanddeath.
She’sknownherhusbandfortheir
entireadultlives.They’dmetinthe
summerof1993,whentheywere
bothstudentsworkingata nursing
home.She’dlikedhissparklingblue
eyes and the fact that he waskind.ONE THOUGHT FLASHED THROUGH
JENNIFER’S MIND: HER HUSBAND
NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION, NOW
81
The Snake’s Revenge