Chapter Fourteen

Eithinoha

 

The following is an excerpt from Chapter Fourteen of Mama Root: The Old Woman of Loop Road

 

 

 

~~~     “Hey, over here – I found one of ‘em!”

          A man dressed in jeans, a camo shirt, and a Kenworth ball cap bent over the prone figure, pressing his fingertips to the pulse point on the fallen one’s neck and patting him on the shoulder.

          “Jess, is that you?  Dude, what happened to ya’?  Man, you don’t look right!  It’s me, it’s Ronnie!  Shit buddy, you’re lucky somethin’ in this swamp didn’t eat ya’ – you been out here for like three days.  Here ya’ go man, lemme’ get you turned over.”

Ronnie grasped Jess’ left shoulder with both hands and pulled.  Jess rolled onto his back and his friend jumped back in alarm.           “Holy shit!  Jess, what the hell?”

          Jess was a few years short of forty, but now had the face of a man in his seventies.  His skin was wrinkled, his eyes glazed and his hair was now a leaden shade of gray. A groan from the far end of the hammock drew Ronnie’s attention.  “Hang on, buddy – be right back.  That’s probl’y Earl over there – I’m gonna’ check it out.”

Heading towards where he hoped Earl was he came across another member of the search party and directed him to tend to Jess.       “Earl, dude, where are you?  Earl?”

          Ronnie snapped his head towards something that didn’t sound like it belonged in the swamp and headed in that direction.  After only a few steps he caught the stench of putrid flesh and his heart began pounding in dread of what he might find.  Earl laid there, semi-conscious and the necrotic tissue of his leg alive with insects.  “Aw, shit, Earl, what the hell happened ta’ you guys?”  He called to another member of the party.  “George!  George, over here man!  Can you fit your johnboat in this little channel here?  We gotta’ these guys to a hospital, big time!”~~~