Josh jumped into the brook. Dozens of brown and white speckled guardian snakes stood from the water, bearing sharp fangs to warn Josh against interfering with their catch. He didn’t heed their warning and punched through the ones directly in front of him. The beast’s heads popped open from the incubus force in his punches. By clutching the fat snake around Nadia’s neck and pulling upward he could get her face above water, but it still strangled her. Nails dug into its flesh and scales. When that failed, he gripped it with both hands, lifted and bit into its scaly skin.

It yielded to his teeth and let loose from Nadia’s neck. Its face popped above the water as it thrashed free from the mud below. With long fangs of bone white ivory, it retaliated with a snap at Josh’s neck. Jaws snapped an inch away from Josh’s exposed flesh as Nadia pulled it back with one freed hand while catching a deep breath. The freed hand quickly became coiled again and pulled behind her back. Her body dipped back under water.

More snakes whipped their tails from the mud. Josh ran back to get the knife from the supplies and jumped back into the fray. He pulled Nadia up to slice through the snakes anchoring her arms with a few swift slices. He grasped her with one arm to pull her completely above the water, then he freed her completely by slicing the snakes holding her feet, arms, and waist one by one.

Nadia jumped toward the edge of the water. A snake multitude attempted to tie her legs as she thrashed across the brook. Josh wasn’t so lucky; they caught his wrists and pulled him under. It was as if he fell into a pit. The dropped knife pulled into the sinking sand with Josh. Before she could touch dry land, Nadia realized Josh had sunk underwater. She turned back. The brook became far too quiet. For a moment, nothing, then a bubble burst through the tranquil stream.

Ferociously she dug, not worrying about the mud, the water, or the threat of being caught again. Then a palm burst forth from the mud and sand pit, and she pulled it with every fiber of her strength. Searing pain flowed into her arm. The large snake sunk its teeth into Nadia’s wrist. The bite went deep. Josh pulled himself up suddenly, and stumbled through the water before passing out. When Nadia picked him up, he was limp and heavy, but she managed to hoist him over her shoulder before the other snakes resurfaced.

The dirt path darkened where their wet bodies touched. The spot where Nadia laid Josh became a shallow layer of mud, as they were both soaked. Nadia’s hair fell flat, dripping with muddy brook water as she listened for his breath and checked his pulse. There was a heartbeat, but he wasn’t breathing.

Cursing, she lifted his chin, held his nose, pressed her lips against his, and blew three breaths into him. After a few seconds, she breathed into him again. He coughed up some water, then spewed up some more, and started breathing again on his own. It didn’t take him long to sit up, though a nasty concussion on the back of his head made him nauseous. Nadia backed away, turned, and knelt in the opposite direction so he wouldn’t get the wrong idea. She couldn’t stop twiddling her little fingers.

“What happened? Did you just? Mouth to mouth.”

Nadia didn’t respond right away; instead, she turned bright red and her voice failed her.

Josh stood, said, “Hey, it couldn’t have been all that bad! You can cut the dramatics!”

She didn’t move. Josh slapped his forehead.

“Look, it doesn’t count when you have to save somebody’s life. I don’t like you but I’m not going to let you die.”

With a faint high-pitched sigh, Nadia fell face first into the layer of mud they had left on the path, her rump in the air. Josh lifted her before slapping her face to revive her. Her wrist fell limp. Two punctures still bled. He wiped the bite with his thumb. Fresh blood made a line across it. One good turn deserves another, he thought as he sucked what he hoped was the poison from the wound. He sensed time was short. His instincts could feel the beat of her heart becoming laconic, labored, and lethargic. Her breathing shallowed. Punching the dirt and kicking over the bike didn’t make him feel any better.

A company of horsemen blocked the path from the nearby hills. Maybe he was too distracted by his fit, or the fight, but Josh swore he never heard them approach. They were arrayed in loose leather pants and vests with velvety finish, but their feet were bare. With Nadia out cold, and the only free path heading back across the brook, it wasn’t possible to escape them. Their leader, a tall man with a short red beard, came forward, and Josh found himself staring at the end of a sharp spear.

“What are your intentions here?” the horseman asked.

“Great, I’m completely boned now. You can kill us, but I won’t go down without a fight.”

“We’re not here to fight you. We came for water.”

“Then get that spear out of my face!”

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The man holding the spear rubbed his beard while Josh stared. He glanced at Nadia, then signaled one of his men to check on her with a motion of his finger. A boy dismounted and rolled her back against the ground, he too saw the bite on her wrist. Another hand signal informed the captain of what he discovered.

“Your woman was bitten by the brown water serpent. If you care for her chances, you’ll come with us. You can ride with Knife.”

A big man in a baggy brown shirt rode a few feet forward and held a hand to Josh, who climbed on the back of the horse. They wrapped Nadia in a blanket, seated her behind another horseman, and tied her over his back. They rode north past hill and meadow for no more than fifteen minutes until they came upon a settlement of tent dwellings in a grassy valley. A heavy-set woman waited for their return. When the captain dismounted, he called for her.

“We have returned.”

“Who is the boy, and who is the woman?”

“We found them on the path struggling with the brook serpents. Strange but harmless travelers, I’m sure. The young woman was bitten,” The bearded man looked toward Josh, “His name is Josh, his wife’s name is Nadia. Josh, this is Conya, my wife, she will look after your-”

“Nadia is just a friend. We’re not married.”

“The woman looks ill,” Conya said, “We should help them.”

“Do what you can, but we must move by tomorrow’s dawn,” He turned to Josh again, said, “Your woman may not be well by then.”

Conya nodded. The captain slapped his horse on the hindquarters to let it run free. Conya supervised Nadia’s removal from another horse, and Josh followed them into a brown tent. A small fire lit the interior. They laid Nadia besides it to dry as the smoke churned upwards. Conya added a drop of brown liquid from a ceramic vial into a cup of water. She lifted Nadia’s head and helped her drink until she coughed, then wiped her lips with a whisper of soft encouragement before turning to Josh. Her deep-set eyes of crystal brown convinced him that her intentions were benign.

“She saved your life.”

“How did you know?”

“The brook serpents can’t digest their own poison. That’s why they work in groups to catch large prey. They only bite when they feel the need to protect themselves. Take this,” Conya handed Josh a thin white hair barrette, “It will glow red when water snakes and other such dangers in the waters are near.”

A soft purple mark formed around the bites on Nadia’s wrist. Josh crawled beside her, noting the calmness of Nadia’s expression as she slept. Moist clothing clung to her frame. Conya walked to the flap of the tent before staring back at them expectantly.

“She’ll be all right now?” Josh asked.

“Give me some time with her,” Conya rummaged through a bag and set a folded dress on a wicker chair. “I wish to get her into dry garments. As for you, there are some spare clothes in the men’s quarters if you wish. You should get into something warm and dry.”

“You really mean it. Thanks a bunch.”

Suddenly Nadia sat, her face bright red. She didn’t appear too stable as she pressed the bottom of her palm against her forehead.

“What’s going on?” she asked sleepily.

“That was fast!” Josh exclaimed.

Conya helped her up and walked her to the back of the tent, “Well now young lady, let’s get you into something dry and comfortable.”

“I’m not... Ah wady,” Nadia mumbled, barely able to stand.

Conya ushered Josh out of the tent with every intention of helping the girl change into a plain, comfortable, cotton and hide dress. Afterwards, Nadia laid down on a furry rug with a thick down pillow. A heavy blanket gently placed over top of her aided a quick lapse back into a sound sleep. Conya left soon afterwards, and Josh returned in leathery pants and a brown baggy shirt. He checked Nadia, finding her warm, snug, and soundly asleep. Ignoring his bedding, he instead fell asleep sitting beside the fire.

The next morning, he awoke in the open air by the slowly dying embers of last night’s fire. A quick glance to the left and he saw Nadia sleeping peacefully with blankets around her. He supposed they were a gift. The bike laid on the other side of the fire, and Nadia’s pack sat next to it, seemingly untouched. Their wet clothes from yesterday hung from an improvised line nearby and had dried overnight. A trail of hoof prints led back to the path they had been traveling. Josh roused Nadia, who pulled herself out of her bedding quickly. A soft brown dress of light cotton hung gently from her shoulders. A brown sash tied it about her hips to hint her figure. The dress extended to her calves, though her feet were bare.

“You feeling okay?”

“What in the world?” she muttered as she looked herself over and felt the soft fabric. Her wrist ached when she wriggled her fingers. She noticed the scabs where the snake had bit her.

“Why am I in a dress, and what in the world are you wearing?”

“We were helped out some by some strangers. It’s a long story, and I don’t care if you believe me or not, but they might have saved your life. You were poisoned by one of the snakes we fought and they gave you an antidote. They even hung your clothes to dry, so you ought to at least be grateful.”

“Why’d they run off then?”

“Dunno, maybe they knew you were going to be okay. They left hoof prints in the direction of the road, but all the other ground is clear. How do you suppose they did that?”

Nadia pulled up her bike and checked the supplies. She found that her sneakers had dried by the fire and her socks were ready as well.

“Irrelevant. Well, we better get on our way. I don’t want to start school as a girl.”

“Geez, is that all you think about? Don’t you want to get out of that dress then?”

“And where do you think I could safely change here?” She pulled the bike along the horse prints, heading south. “The last thing I want is you seeing me naked.”

“Scared I might find a snake?”

Suddenly Nadia turned bright red and rolled her eyes.

“Then you really didn’t try anything?”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Maybe I misjudged you.”

She continued walking with her bike. As Josh approached, she turned and punched him in the gut, hard. The attack came as a surprise and had force.

“That’s for insulting me. I don’t have a snake!”

“Sorry,” Josh writhed on the ground, “It was just a dumb joke.”

With a kick to the gut, she knocked away what wind remained in his sail, “So is my foot.”

“Touchy... a little about snakes... ugh.”

He gasped but Nadia kept walking.

“I don't have to prove anything to you, so go stuff it.”

Josh pulled himself up slowly and muttered under his breath when she was a bit distant, “Snake girl says what?”