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Day Five
Snake meat
steak for dinner, now for breakfast. From the look of how much
she is grilling it will be for lunch too. Just like you heard,
it tastes like chicken.
The flooding has
gone down a little but this mound is still the only visible dry
land. Raccoons are gathered at the water's edge. They
have a bunch of fresh water clams. They crack them open on
fallen limbs and then wash them before eating. Their opposable
thumbs and manners make them seem very human. You realize it
has been a long time since you had a bath.
Y’all load up the pirogue and set out. Poling along under the arches of moss hanging live oaks, and trees. Eva points out a 'bald eagle'. "He probably ate well last night. They like ground mice, and the water probably drove them out of their homes."
[Get one experience point for seeing a bald eagle.]
An abandoned
home on the bayou appears around the bend. It is weather beaten
and overgrown. The wood looks grey with age.
Eva speaks up. "Lets stop. An old voodoo lady lived
here. She used to worship Simbu, the snake god of darkness.
But she's been gone for years. I might be able to find some
cooking supplies in there. At the least she might have a tub to
bathe in." The place is old and creepy.
Eva finds everything she needs. She quickly starts a fire and
starts boiling many pots of water. "Ohhh, this bath is
gonna feel good." She makes you wait outside. About
an hour later she calls you in. Re-dressed and dumping fresh
hot water into the tub, she says "Your turn," and goes
outside.
[Get two experience points for a hot bath.]
Later she cooks up a great gumbo. Y’all are gonna stay the night. The gumbo has some fish she caught, some snake meat, countless vegetables, and even some rabbit. It is also very well seasoned. This gumbo may be the best soup you have ever had. You lay down on the floor and go to sleep with a smile.
[get two experience for your first gumbo.]
Due to heavy
cloud cover it is dark that night. Very dark. This is
what you wake up to in the middle of the night. Why did you
wake up? You hear something strange but at first you don't know
what it is. Eva is still asleep. Then it hits you.
The silence. Every night so far has been a riot of crickets,
locust, and frogs. Now there is nothing. Not even wind.
You don't like it. Then you really do hear something.
It sounds faint and fading yet distressed. You can hear a lady
calling out from the woods in the dark. "Heeelllllp
Meeeeeeee. Heeeelllllp Meeeeeeeeeeee."
A chill goes down your back. That must be what woke you up.
You grab your spear and go out the door
onto the porch. It is wicked dark out there and you don't like
it. "Hellooooo?" You call out. "Is
anyone there?" You hear nothing. After standing
there for ten minutes you go back in and settle down. You can't
sleep.
"Heeelllllp
Meeeeeeee. Heeeelllllp Meeeeeeeeeeee."
You hear it again. It is definitely a lady, somewhere in the
wood. Your imagination goes wild. For an hour you lay
there, waiting to see if the cries will wake up Lady Eva. The
cries continue on and off. You begin to imagine some lady out
in the wood slowly sinking in quicksand. You wake up Eva.
She's a little groggy, but she sees you are distressed and sits there
quietly listening with you. Finaly after fifteen minutes you
hear it again. "Heeelllllp Meeeeeeee.
Heeeelllllp Meeeeeeeeeeee." Eva lays back down
to sleep and mumbles "It's a cat. Go back to sleep."
Incredulous you lay there for what seems like eternity. Going
out in the dark to fight what may be an Apep or a Voodoo queen
doesn't seem like a smart idea. The next thing you know Eva is
waking you in the morning light.
Y'all load up the pirogue and set out. Not very far down the bayou you see a clearing with a fallen log and a huge puma sitting on it. Eva points to it and says "There is your cat right there." She gives you a sideways look. "Did you know they can sound just like a lost girl? They have been know to lure prey that way." Y'all row on.
[Get twenty experience points for not being eaten by a Puma.]