His grandfather couldn’t swim, and if the house collapsed or if the snake moved closer, their chances of survival would drop drastically. He grabbed a stick from the attic, a broken piece of furniture leg they had saved, and took a deep breath.
He could barely see the snake through the murky water, but he could hear its occasional splashes as it shifted. The memory of the snake’s massive, coiled body, and the mysterious bulge in its belly, filled him with dread. But hunger and frustration had pushed him to a point of no return.