Subj: SNAKE CHARMER
Date: 7/29/00 12:07:00 PM Central Daylight Time
From: Carol H. Monterosso

Mrs. Johnson could be heard screaming throughout Collinwood. Elizabeth came running from her desk in the parlor; Roger left his study and Amy and David came running downstairs. They invaded the kitchen like a hoard of mad hornets. Mrs. Johnson was beating the floor with a broom.

"Get hold of yourself, woman. What's the ruckus?" Roger asked, not amused that he was taken away from his mid-afternoon brandy.

"It's here! It's Here!" Mrs. Johnson kept screaming and batting the floor.

"Mrs. Johnson! Please tell us the problem." Elizabeth pleaded, always the voice of reason, while reaching for the broom handle. She was concerned that someone would get hurt with all the flailing.

"It's here! It's here!" she kept saying.

"What's here? Have you gone mad?" asked an exasperated Roger.

"The snake! I opened the back door and there it sat. All curled up and ready to strike!"

"Good God! It probably was just a garden snake, that's all." Roger said, hoping the excitement would die down so he could return to his half-finished drink and replenish the glass.

"I never saw a black garden snake with red and gold dots on it. It's eyes glowed, too!" she replied, perturbed that Roger didn't believe her.

"Well, in that case, maybe it wasn't a garden snake. Where did it go?" Elizabeth eyed Roger, imploring his help in the matter.

"It's here! In the house!" Mrs. Johnson repeated.

"Yikes!" Amy said, jumping up on a kitchen chair.

"For heaven's sake, Amy, it's only a snake. Let's try and catch it!" David enthused.

"You'll do no such thing!" Elizabeth warned.

"Your Aunt Elizabeth is right," Roger confirmed his sister's orders. "Both of you, out of here. I'll get that Willie Loomis over here to find it."

"It slithered under the stove, I think" Mrs. Johnson screeched.

"Let's all leave until Willie comes. I think you need a drink," Elizabeth offered Mrs. Johnson.

"I know I do!" Roger replied. Elizabeth shot her brother a disapproving look.

They all left the kitchen closing the door behind them. After finishing off a few brandies, Roger walked over to the Old House to fetch a relunctant Willie.

"I know nothin' about snakes," Willie said while Roger pushed him into the kitchen.

"Mrs. Johnson said it's in here. Under the stove, she thinks. But look everywhere. Get a broom handle or a stick to force it out." Roger was full of ideas for other people to do.

"Then what?" Willie asked.

"Capture it! Take it outside and kill it if you must." Willie rolled his eyes at the thought.

It wasn't enough that he guarded a vampire no one knew about or kept David, Carolyn, and Vickie away from the Old House at great risk to his own life. Now, he had a new job.

"Just what I need to add to my illustrious resume," Willie thought. "Snake charmer. That will help me get that executive job down at the cannery!" he ruefully mused, mussing his already tousled blond hair.

Willie half-heartedly pushed a thin branch under the stove and refrigerator. Nothing hissed or moved. He checked the pantry. Nothing. It probably escaped through a tiny crack in the wall and was on its way home, he figured. He checked the fridge and found a few bottles of beer. Opening one, he guzzled it half way before lighting a cigarette. He propped his feet up on another chair and lounged for as long as it took to finish his smoke and beer. He informed Roger that he didn't find the snake and that he had to get back to the Old House before dusk. Barnabas would be expecting him.

Roger was not impressed with Willie's trapping skills so he decided to call an exterminator first thing in the morning. Mrs. Johnson went home, vowing not to return until it was caught. Roger was relieved to finally get a decent meal in town. Elizabeth put Amy and David to bed, tucking them in with motherly kisses and hugs. Under NO circumstances were they to go downstairs.

The snake sat patiently coiled in the corner of the pantry. The dimwit Willie barely swished the stick in its direction, preferring to kwaf a cold beer. It had come to the right house; its sense of smell determining young, fresh blood was housed here.

Waiting for Roger and Elizabeth to retire for the night, Amy pretended to sleep as she lay in her bed. When the house fell silent, she left her bed and crept to David's room. Good! He was really asleep, she thought. I'll catch the snake and surprise him!

Returning to her room, she opened the closet and found the strange, oval wicker basket that Megan Todd had given her. Megan told her that she had no use for it but that Amy could put her finest treasures in there for safekeeping. It would be a perfect home for such a tiny snake. Megan had even put a tiny pillow inside the basket.

Creeping silently downstairs, she entered the kitchen; her flashlight sweeping across the cabinets, counters and then the floor. Amy set the basket on the floor and took off the lid.

The snake was curled and poised, red eyes glowing with anticipation. It smelled Amy's bare feet coming closer to its lair. It struck with lightning speed! Its fangs plunged into her skin just above the ankle, hitting the femoral artery. She barely let out a yelp before falling to the floor, dazed and bewildered.

The snake slithered to her face and smelled. A young one, it thought. Then it found its new home and nestled inside.

Amy remained on the floor for several minutes, paralyzed with fear yet knowing the venom was coursing through her system. She felt the hot liquid traveling up her leg and into her abdomen; then through her arms and into her neck. Her brain struggled to fend off the black intruder but was overcome, too. The tingling sensation stopped. Amy opened her eyes to see beyond the kitchen and through the walls; through the woods to the Old House. Another creature prowled the woods; the same as her new pet but in human form. He was dark and forbidding; not like the soft, rubbery feel of the snake. Her flashlight rolled back and forth on the uneven linoleum floor like a warning beacon.

She arose silently and retrieved the flashlight. She would no longer need light to guide her way. Her eyes magnified the darkness as she picked up the basket and left the kitchen for David's room.

He was still sleeping soundly as she left the basket on the floor next to his bed. She picked up the lid and peeked inside to check on her treasure. The snake's eyes glowed red and it hissed, "thank you."

Amy left David's room and the snake to its new prey. It arched its elongated body to smell its new surroundings. A young human was near;its heart beating rythmically, the blood pulsing. It put its head on the edge of the bed and undulated effortlessly to the boy's arm resting on the his pillow. It could smell soap, powder, freshly laundered linen, drool from the boy's mouth and mucous in his nose. Reaching the wrist, it could wait no longer. The finely sharpened fangs pierced the boy's skin. He, too, yelped but fell quickly under the spell, poisoned by the inky black fluid traveling to his soul.

The snake drank heartily but not enough to render its victim a deathly blow. It had grown two inches since this morning and needed fresh, young blood to continue to its desired length.

The snake returned to its wicker basket content in the knowledge that it had taken two young children to the depths of darkness. Collinsport had many babies and children to feast upon; it would grow well.

The End........maybe

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production