Evelyn Ford put on her hat and covered her face with a gauze scarf, leaving only her eyes exposed. After settling Mina and Lola, she stepped out of her tent and saw someone roasting a rat in the distance.

Taylor Vance had sent people to scout the mountains, but they found no water. They would rest here for two days before continuing south.

"Quincy, keep an eye on things for me." Evelyn Ford planned to gather some firewood from the nearby woods, so she asked Quincy to watch her tent and bamboo basket. Quincy nodded.

"Go on. I’ll watch from here."

Evelyn Ford left with her machete and a hemp rope. The mountains were full of people, and the ground was covered in footprints.

Evelyn Ford chopped down a tree. Just as she finished bundling it and was about to leave, she heard a rustling sound. Slowly, she raised her machete. Evelyn Ford stared silently at a nearby tree. ’Many animals in this world are masters of camouflage,’ she thought. ’They can even change their color to blend in with leaves, tree trunks, or even the ground.’ She could only rely on sound to pinpoint its location.

"HISS..." Evelyn Ford moved with lightning speed. The instant she heard the noise, she hurled her machete. Her target wasn’t the tree trunk, but the ground three meters to her right. There, under a pile of brown, dead leaves, a long, thin brown snake lay coiled.

This was a highly venomous snake native to arid regions, a species not typically found here.

The brown snake was extremely aggressive. Evelyn’s throw had severed its tail, but it quickly reared its head, tongue flicking, and lunged toward her.

Evelyn Ford rolled backward, drew another long knife, and chopped straight down at its head.

Fresh blood sprayed onto the long knife, spattering her arm and the back of her hand. Evelyn Ford kicked the brown snake’s head aside, then picked up its body and the severed tail.

After checking the surroundings and finding no other snakes, Evelyn Ford picked up her firewood and headed straight back to the camp.

"Evelyn Ford, your Ronan Kendrick caught a python! It’s as thick as a small pail."

As Quincy approached Evelyn Ford, he saw that she, too, was holding a snake, her hands stained with blood.

"You two are really in sync."

"Did he just get back?"

"He got back several minutes ago. I’m starting to think Ronan Kendrick raided a python’s den. A snake that huge... and he just dragged it back. A lot of the kids were so scared they started crying."

Evelyn Ford smiled and walked back to the front of her tent with him.

A number of people were gathered around a python on the ground. Serena Lynch and Taylor Vance were standing to the side with others. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Everyone was stunned to see that Evelyn Ford was also carrying a snake. "How are you two so lucky?"

The python was about eight or nine meters long and reeked of a foul, bloody stench.

Ronan Kendrick walked over, took the firewood, and then took the thin snake from Evelyn Ford’s hand.

’Pythons aren’t venomous. The skin and gallbladder are worth keeping, but as for the meat, it’d be better to share it with the others.’

Ronan Kendrick could guess what Evelyn Ford was thinking just from the look in her eyes.

Ronan Kendrick walked up to Taylor Vance and said calmly, "Mr. Vance, Evelyn Ford is keeping the skin and gallbladder for medicine. Let’s divide the meat among everyone."

Everyone was excited to hear Ronan Kendrick’s words. Although the python smelled a bit rank, it was a giant snake. It would yield a lot of meat.

"Ronan Kendrick, are you two really going to share the snake with everyone?"

"Yes, let’s divide it up."

"Mr. Vance, leave the bones for me."

Evelyn Ford looked at the python. ’A snake this big is bound to have large bones.’

"Alright. A few of you men, come skin this snake and divide up the meat. The skin, gallbladder, and bones go to Evelyn Ford; she needs them for medicine."

A few young men with knives began to skin it as everyone crowded around for a share of the meat. Evelyn Ford grabbed a handful of dirt to scrub the sticky blood off her hands, then went back to her tent and wiped them again with a wet wipe.

The snakeskin was quickly removed, and Evelyn Ford hung it up to dry. When the gallbladder was delivered to her, she secretly stored it in her space.

Ronan Kendrick finished butchering the brown snake. Evelyn Ford fed a handful of crushed rice to Mina and Lola, then stepped out of the tent to start a fire.

"Where did you catch it?"

"In the woods over there. It was hiding under the leaves, really well concealed."

A smile tugged at the corners of Ronan Kendrick’s mouth. "No matter how well it hid, it couldn’t escape your eyes."

Quincy and his group also received some python meat. The meat itself was mediocre, but it was edible sprinkled with salt and chili powder.

Others who had gone into the mountains also had some success, though they had only caught small snakes or rats. Someone had even found a nest of bird eggs.

The roasted snake meat glistened with oil. Ronan Kendrick offered a piece to Evelyn Ford, letting her eat first. Evelyn wasn’t actually very hungry, but when she tasted it, she found it was delicious.

"Have some more."

Evelyn Ford shook her head. "I’m not hungry right now. You have it."

Wendy and Annie came over to play with Evelyn Ford, who gave them each a piece of meat. The two little ones had heard some riddles from who-knows-where and excitedly came to test her.

"Miss Ford, do you know why seagulls don’t fly over the bay?"

Evelyn Ford frowned in thought. "Because there’s no food there?"

"Wrong."

"It’s too windy?"

"Wrong again."

Evelyn Ford shook her head. "I don’t know. Come on, tell me. Why?"

Wendy giggled. "Because then they’d be bagels!"

Evelyn Ford...

"Mr. Ronan, now it’s my turn to ask you. What do you call a pig that knows karate?"

Ronan Kendrick’s brow furrowed. Wendy burst out laughing. "Mr. Ronan can’t guess either! This is so much fun! I’ll tell you—it’s a pork chop!"

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick exchanged a look, utterly defeated by the kids’ logic.

Once they’d had their fun, Wendy and Annie skipped away, leaving the two adults standing there in bewildered silence.

Thankfully, the person delivering the snake bones appeared just in time to break the awkward atmosphere.

Evelyn Ford chopped the snake bones into pieces, spread them on a plastic sheet, and left them to bake in the sun.

More people started heading into the mountains. After seeing the python Ronan Kendrick had dragged back, many grew restless. While they were happy to get a share of the meat, they were also inwardly mocking him for being a fool. Who gives away that much meat just like that?

Evelyn Ford took the opportunity of a bathroom break to wash her feet and tend to the blood blisters on her soles. After walking for so many days, her whole body felt rank. But under the current conditions, she couldn’t afford to be fussy. ’So what if I’m dirty?’ she thought. ’As long as I’m alive.’

Back in the tent, Ronan Kendrick was giving Mina and Lola water. Evelyn Ford took out two bowls of mung bean soup, a cold dish she had prepared specifically for the journey. ’It’s one thing to be physically exhausted,’ she thought, ’but I have to protect my stomach. The last thing I need is stomach cancer.’

The temperature seemed to be stuck in the nineties and showed no signs of dropping.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" After all, he had fought a python today, and those things were not easy to handle.

"I’m not. And even if I were, it’s no big deal. I heal fast."

Evelyn Ford glared at him. "But you’d still feel the pain."

Ronan Kendrick lay down and took her hand. "Okay. From now on, I’ll do my best not to get hurt."

"Where did you catch it?"

"On the mountain back there. It had just come out of its den, so I took care of it."