The House of Snakes

The House of Snakes

There were snakes in the old stone place, but the grass grew so green that nobody ever wanted to think of danger and just had the beautiful house in their mind. Or maybe, the couple really didn't know that the house was mostly known for its beautiful snakes.
Herpetologist had come here to study since the varieties had been unknown to men before. So much men still had to explore even here where people had lived for such a long time. Everyone in the area was told to stay away - better for the snakes and better for them.
The couple either didn't know that it was known as the house of snakes when they decided to have a picnic right there or they were the kind ready to risk anything for the next Instagram shot.
So many pictures of people handling snakes that it must be okay - but we probably will never know since neither one can tell us.
It was a difficult day for Rosa when she went to herd her goats towards the green grass. Of course, she knew about the snakes, but she also knew that if she made a lot of noise as they were walking there and avoided the house altogether, her goats were save from ever going to be bitten
She really loved her goats and had names for all of them. They were tame and hopped right up on her stand in the morning and evening to be milked.
It was disturbing to her, like someone gripped her heart and squeezed really hard for a second, when she heard her favorite, Naomi, scream on the top of her lungs.
She looked up and saw her way too close to the house, screaming like only a nanny goat can scream.

Running up to Naomi, she saw to her relief that her favorite girl was okay. But she also saw the mess of picnic food full of flies and other critters, a camera, several phones, and a tripod all set up to capture the idyllic scene.
But the scene was not that idyllic with two bodies laying there in a way that didn't make for a good picture. At least not an Instagram worthy one.
For a minute, she thought about gathering her goats and just moving on pretending she had never seen this. But it was hard to unsee, even for her who had made unseeing things one of her superpowers.
Rosa had to call someone. Already, she could see so many people trampling down the beautiful grass and disturbing the snakes that were used to be free of disturbances and going about there own business.
She walked off a bit to find a spot where she could get reception. Yes, she too had succumbed to carrying a cellphone even though she hated to be always connected to the world. Well, in her case, not really. Rosa spent most of her time in areas where she couldn't be reached - no service - and she liked it that way. But now, she needed to make this call.
"Hello," she said louder than necessary when the 911 operator answered. "I want to report a couple of dead bodies."
The operator asked her the usual questions. Then Rosa told her where she had found the bodies.
Silence was all she could hear.
"Caller, are you there?" Suddenly, another voice came on the line.
“Yes, I am here,” she answered. “Are you the police?”
“Never mind that”, the voice on the phone said.
"What do you mean?" she said. "What happened to the lady I just talked to?"
“Oh, she had a cold,” the voice answered her with just a hint of a sneer "She had to leave.”
Rosa thought this was odd and didn't know what to make of it. Her phone showed her that she had dialed 911 and it should be the police on the other side of the line but somehow, the man she was now talking to didn't sound like the police at all.
"What else did you see?" he was asking her now. "And where did you go? Did you go inside the house?"
"No," she answered. "We are only here to eat the grass." Well, she wasn't eating the grass but figured that she didn't need to explain that even though she was being asked so many detailed questions. In particular, how close she had come to the house, who was we, and if she had ever peeked inside.
Rosa felt that something wasn't right. Why did he ask all these questions about her? She never had gone close to the house - she respected the stories being told. The house was the snakes' territory and people weren't welcome here.
All these questions made her wonder what was really going on. Now, she wanted to go back to the house and take a look.
Rosa was still talking to the guy when a helicopter landed and suddenly armed men were running her way.
It took only one look before she ditched her phone and started running into the hills.

This is a Freewrite to the following prompts:

1. https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/the-weekend-freewrite-5-25-2019-part-3-the-dramatic-twist

2. https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/weekend-freewrite-5-25-2019-prompt-2-the-interference

3. https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/the-weekend-freewrite-5-25-2019-part-3-the-dramatic-twist

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