Chapter 54 Section VII

In shock, my feet hit the ground.The impact buckled my knees, threw me into the darkness, and slammed into something.My backpack squeezed against my back, and the flashlight, water bottle, and pistol in it pinched my shoulder blades.I hit my head so hard I almost passed out.A moist earthy smell filled my nostrils.The manic hum made me squeeze against whatever I hit. It's like a wall, a wall of wood that has become porous.At the same time, I realized that I had fallen on a remnant of rotting wood flooring.There is cement everywhere.It's a pool and it soaks my pants.But that's not the main problem.All I care about is the chill coming from across from me and the moving light coming through the hole in the ground.

snake.I crawl into a corner.Flashlight, gotta find the damn flashlight, I thought.Frantically, I undid my backpack, yanked the zipper open, and reached in to fumble around.In a hurry, I turned on the switch, and in the darkness, its light shone across. On the other side of the floor coiled moving snakes, their angry hissing echoed.A moan escaped from my throat.I shone my torch on the algae-covered water below, fearing snakes coiled there too, but there were no snakes in the green water.The water was two inches deep and I was praying that the algae in the water were bad for the snakes.The ground sloped towards the corner where I was, which explains why the water concentrated there, but to my right, left and opposite, the high ground was dry, so the snakes concentrated there.

How far can a rattlesnake jump?I thought, twice, three times its length?If so, the snake can jump over the water and come at me.My landing startled them, causing them to jump back before coiling.They were coiled in a heap on the other side of the circle, a distance that was too important for my safety at the moment. enclosure.What did I fall into?Approximately the size of a two car garage.To the left of the opposite corner, a portion of the wall has collapsed, and behind its wooden exterior, the insulating concrete has also collapsed, revealing a dank surface.There is a downward hole in the ground.Someone had tried to concrete a proper drain for the box, but it hadn't been done.Rainwater seeped down and pooled behind the concrete until it exceeded the load-bearing capacity of the walls.

The ditch shows how the water got in.The roof collapsed in the same way—no concrete was used, but plywood was used for the top layer (the holes in the roof show the layers), and there was a waterproof rubber pad on top of it, with six inches of soil on top.There is nothing to prevent mice and other small animals from burrowing through the soil and destroying the rubber mat when they reach it.Once rain seeped through the supporting beams, the rot process began until the roof could no longer bear the weight and collapsed. The place had obviously been built a long time ago.Probably more than a few inches of water collected where I was standing during that period.There must be cracks in the floor for the water to seep through.That caused further rot, which explains why the floor sloped towards me.

I stared at the collapsed part of the wall, where in the exposed dirt a hole jutted out into the ground—those passageways for the snakes to come and go.I would very much like to know if I can start digging from there, with the mound behind me. But how can I get past those snakes?The hissing got louder, and I tucked the flashlight under my right arm, fumbled in my pack, and grabbed a pistol.Immediately I realized the flaw in my plan.Even with fifteen rounds in the magazine, one in the chamber, and fifteen in the backpack, I couldn't hope to kill every snake.Oh, I can kill most of them.There are so many snakes, it's hard not to catch them.But can they all be killed?Kill, not just wound?Needless to say.Also, I have to take into account the impact of the shot, the echo will drive the surviving snakes into a frenzy, making them frantically attack everything that moves, that is, they may come over the water to attack me, and if the flying shot What if the bullet returns and hits me?I squeezed hard into the corner.I warn myself to calm down and try to control my rapid breathing.

Once the snake realizes that you are not threatening, they will calm down. I hope so.But I didn't bring new batteries, and within a few hours, the power would run out.A few hours later, the sun will set.The hole in the roof would go dark, and I would be surrounded by darkness, wondering if the snakes would be attracted by my heat, ignoring the water (probably not doing them any harm at all) and gliding towards me. The dim light from the hole in the roof was enough.Hoping my eyes would adjust to the shadows, I turned off the flashlight, saving battery.Beads of sweat rolled down my face even though I was in the cold water.Fear made me tremble.Don't move, I warn myself, don't draw attention! I tense my muscles, trying to control their instinctive trembling.

At first, I wondered if it was my imagination. After I turned off the flashlight, I managed to control my trembling. For a few long seconds, the snake's hissing subsided.Slowly, the momentary madness subsided.Eyes that have adapted to the darkness saw that the snakes finally stopped coiling, their eyes did not blink, and they stopped staring at me.Their movements were no longer threatening, and some climbed from the hole to the ground. Snakes love heat, so why are they congregating in this cool box instead of staying outside in the sun?What drove them down?The problem made my skin tingle, especially as some of the snakes came back.God help me, why don't they like being on it?The hissing had almost completely ceased, and only a few snakes remained coiled.Later, except for my "pounding" heartbeat, it was quiet here.I heard voices through the hole I fell through.The breeze turned into a gale, howling through the bushes, and I heard a rumbling sound, which I hoped was an approaching car.However, it suddenly dawned on me that it was a storm.The light from the hole grew dimmer.

There was a flash of lightning, and the sound of the wind became sharper.However, none of this is what keeps the fear weighing on my chest.no.What I was afraid of was that I heard the sound of "pa, pa, pa" on the floor, and the rain fell from the hole.