by catt dahman
“Oh?”
“Emeline is dramatic and emotional. She causes trouble, and Trish is mean as a snake, really. She’s always in trouble in school for things and enjoys chaos. Landry…I thought he was changed with Candy Lynn, but then he turned on her; it was horrible to watch,” Marie explained.
Leonie laughed, covering her broken tooth with her hand as she did, “I’ll bet so. Shame for grown people to act that way. Candy Lynn has a pretty baby.”
“She’s beautiful. She looks like Candy Lynn to me. I think they’re all being stupid over something already done and over, and once your husband explained the family history, well, it’s Landry’s side that is mixed anyway.”
“Do ya think Landry will come around?”
“No. I think Emeline will keep him poisoned and on her side now. Emeline doesn’t want Candy Lynn part of the family. That’s rough. She’s a sweet girl.”
“That she is. Candy Lynn and Virgil is the best of our bunch,” Leonie almost whispered. Her children with Amadee were, well, just not exactly right because they were Audette-born.
“Virgil seems very nice. He’s a good guy,” Marie blushed, making Leonie want to cry and laugh. It was cute, but it could come to no good end if Virgil and Marie went sweet on one another.
Amadee yelled to his younger brood that they weren’t to go near the flooded stairwells, “You go and play away. You gals need to watch dey little ones for yer mama to make dis supper.”
Marie and Nita ran to help the others grab the smallest children since none of the men got up to go. As Amadee predicted, a rainstorm came up. The sky lit with lightning and thunder shook the house. Rain blew in a little from the part of the home that showed broken boards, flapping shingles, and twisted siding.
One of Mike’s children came blaring into the group of adults, crying and pointing hysterically, interrupting the interactions. Nita ran screaming behind the child; both were terrified and moved their hands and arms, trying to convey their horror but were so frightened that words confounded them both.
Rain poured outside, streaming across the balcony and lashing the already-flooded bayou. Thunder almost drowned Nita’s words, “The little ones….” She twisted her hands again, and one of the boys grabbed her, or she would have fallen.
Amadee, Frank, and the young men raced to the staircase that led down to dirty water, and Amadee yelled, going to his knees with emotional pain. Everyone followed, with someone ordering the teens to stay back. Amadee’s smallest children, Maude, Eloi, and Gussie flailed in the water, all good swimmers even at their young age.
Among them coiled and rolled in a nest was a ball of water moccasins that slithered against one another, slid, and moved as a deadly soup of muscles, scales, fangs, and twitchy tails. Sinuously, they danced in the water, two dozen of all sizes and girths.
It smelled as if goats had been in the stairwell as the black, tannish-green and dark brown snakes gave off a pungent scent from their tails. As they writhed together, angry and in wicked moods, they hissed, showing off their white mouths, which gave them the nickname ‘cotton mouth’.
One of the other men used a golf club to sling the snakes away, but Buford and Virgil used their bare hands to grab the coiling reptiles and toss them away from the small children.
“Ya dumb shit,” Buford yelled aloud at the snake as he grabbed it, and the snake sank fangs into his arm. Painfully, the fangs slid into his flesh like a knife through butter. The venom wasn’t a neurotoxin, thankfully, but its enzymes destroyed the tissue.
The snakes slithered away or were all tossed away, and Virgil and Buford were left to get the children out of the water.
Leonie wept as she was handed her babies. Gus was small, and the venom was too much for his system; he suffered an anaphylactic reaction, his throat swelled, and he suffocated. It was an allergic reaction. His little face turned blue and purple, and he seemed to swell twice his normal size all over.
Mike handed over sheets that Leonie needed to wrap her children in for burial of a sort. He felt guilty that the snakes had come from his house. It was all he could do.
Abagail kindly patted Leonie’s shoulder and helped wrap little Gus. Her quiet strength and efficient actions helped Leonie. The bundle was tiny.
Maude was swollen with poison; the fangs injected her about the face and throat, and the child lost the battle against the venom, closing her eyes as she suffocated as well. She was bitten over a dozen times by the water moccasins; the snakes were swollen with poison they accumulated over the summer.
Leonie wailed and rocked her daughter.
Kneeling, Amadee wept, muttered in broken French, and asked God why He had taken the babies.
Eloi was still breathing, and Abagail suggested Benadryl to prevent a reaction and showed Leonie herbs and salves to use on the fang marks on the child’s arms and feet. Leonie tenderly bandaged the little boy with Abagail’s help.
“This here rosemary, mashed and damp, can draw out poison, and this here will cleanse the wounds. We’ll replace the bandages as the poison draws out. This will sooth his skin and help with the pain,” said Abagail as she laid herbs on the bites.
Amadee reached for Dempsey, crushing the four-year-old to his chest and wailing, but the toddler didn’t react. He had been bitten two dozen times and was already beginning to cool off as he lay against Amadee’ chest, “Not my Dempsey. He was a good boy. He was dey sweetest.”
Marie stared into space and spoke dully as if reciting a boring story, “They all walked into the water as if they were going for a swim, and we immediately told them to stop and get out; when they were on the first step down and the water was a few inches deep…”
Nita nodded, “They didn’t look at us. They leaped into the water and began swimming. We were worried about the dirty water and yelled at them to get out…it happened so fast…and then…. We tried to grab them, but then there was that boiling pile of snakes all over; that’s when I ran for you all. That one, he was in the water only a little, but the snakes didn’t come for him. They were too busy…angry….” She pointed at Clovis who sucked his thumb and didn’t show facial expressions.
Clovis stayed in his own world, refusing to react. In some groups, he was would be labeled as autistic, but he was not autistic; he was much more and much less.
Amadee gently lay Dempsey down so Leonie could wrap him; he felt of Clovis’ arms and legs, searching for fang marks, “Did dey bite you? The snakes? Did dey hurt you?”
Clovis didn’t react beyond shaking his head. He didn’t pull away but passively allowed his father to check him for fang marks and swelling.
He had no bites, and Amadee thankfully hugged the child and surveyed three of his children in their winding sheets. They looked very small.
A snake slithered from the water, trying to get into the house. Its sinuous body slid into an S-shape, and it approached the gathered people with no fear or consideration. Beau took a board and slammed it into the snake’s head over and over until there was only pulp left. The tail still wriggled obscenely. Virgil kicked it into the water.
“We need to close this room off,” Frank told Mike.
Under Abagail’s direction, the men carried the children out and set them on floating debris, poured gasoline onto the sheets, and lit them on fire. Leonie couldn’t stand the idea of their being consumed by predators, there was no way for a burial, and in the humid air, they would decompose; this was the best choice. Abagail said quiet prayers and perfumed the stagnant air with burning herbs.
Leonie wiped away tears. She felt sad but also a strange acceptance. Those children were Audette-blood and would have come to no good anyway as they matured. She felt she had birthed children of the devil himself. She sneaked glances at Clovis, noting that Abagail never went near the child. Leonie wondered why he hadn’t been bitten.
Eloi was put abed beside Candy Lynn and baby Julia Rose.
As the rain fell outside, most made beds in the house as Amadee said it would be safer. The Audet
te girls remained on the boat, some tucked into the bunks in one of the rooms.
Amadee whispered for Leonie to get up. He wouldn’t let her sleep even on the night her children died; there was no rest for the wicked.
Buford, Belle, Ghislaine, and Lougenia darted quietly through the rain to the back deck as Amadee directed them with hand signals. Leonie yawned and tried to pay attention, but her heart was heavy, and she was sleepy, having cried herself to sleep a few hours before.
Amadee had a schedule to keep, and even death wouldn’t make him forgot his plans. He warned everyone to stay hidden and to be very quiet as he waited for the trap to be sprung.
A figure stepped onto the back deck.
“Oh, it’s is you. Now, I see I did the right thing coming out here even if it’s raining,” Holly said. She was one of the girls who took shelter with Mike and his crew and one that Buford and Amadee saw was sexy and loose with her favors. She had flirted a lot with Virgil.
Virgil smiled, his handsome face and well-toned body the focus of Holly’s stare. If she had looked more closely, she would have seen that his smile was false and that he was upset and disgusted at having to be the bait to get the girl, Holly, out here to the back deck for his stepfather’s plans.
Ghislaine told Holly that Virgil wanted to get with her back here and giggled into her hand.
Holly let the rain soak her shorts, tee shirt and hair, using it to show off her sexuality in the darkness. Only one small light was on, but it was enough to see her by. She knew she looked hot.
“I’m going in,” Virgil announced, uninterested in a common slut or the actions that were planned for the night.
Holly let her jaw drop, but she had no time to think about the events since she was being led on by the handsome man as Buford crept up behind her and slammed a hammer into her skull. He hit her several times as she fell. He had to do this very quietly, fearing that the sound of the hammer on her head might be too loud.
But the sound of the hammer wasn’t the problem; an unexpected wanderer, who couldn’t sleep despite all his drinking, was.
“What the hell is going on?” Landry walked drunkenly out on the deck in time to see the assault. If he yelled, they would be caught.
Virgil almost missed the action as he headed inside, but when he saw Landry was there, he tackled him, unsure what was the best plan, but knowing he had to stop Landry from sounding the alarm. Virgil and Landry, both tall and heavily muscled, went sliding across the wet, slippery deck in a tumble, knocking Belle and Lougenia into the water with them.
Both girls squeaked as they flew into the air and hit the dirty water.
“Of all dey cocked-up stupidity,” Amadee growled. He grabbed for his pole and hissed, “Get ya out of dey water, you fools.” He was glad they were good swimmers.
Landry opened his mouth, maybe to yell for help, and Virgil hit him at the same time, aiming downward so Landry was shoved under the water before he was heard. Landry was so drunk (as he had been for a few days) that with the punch and sudden dunking, he went quiet for once.
Amadee snagged Landry, and Bufford and he pulled him up to the deck and Landry thought, groggily that he was being saved from the water; Virgil was unsure why the other man had tackled him. Buford smacked Landry in the head several times with the hammer, ending any confusion and consideration for the situation that Landry might have had.
Still in the water, Virgil pushed Lougenia towards the boat so her father could pull her to the deck next. He turned to get Belle closer so she wouldn’t be caught in a current. Before he could reach Belle, Lougenia opened her mouth and let her eyes roll back before she took a whooping breath to scream. Virgil reacted without thinking, knowing he couldn’t let her scream and awaken all, or they’d be in terrible trouble. He reared back and cold-cocked her in the jaw, knocking her out. Why she was about to scream, Virgil had no idea.
Amadee snagged her with the big hook and hauled her up as Virgil fought to climb and pull Lougenia along, too; she wasn’t helping him but had gone limp in the water. Something in the water (and said water was suddenly warmer) bumped Virgil as he climbed, nearly causing him to fall back into the nasty liquid. He somehow knew if he fell back, he wouldn’t be getting out again. He shoved, feeling the skin of a palm scrape away on sandpaper skin.
He knew what it was then. The sharks were back.
Virgil reached for Bella, but her eyes were closed, and only the upper half of her body bobbed on the waves. From the breasts down, her body was gone, ending in broken-bones and ragged tissue. He needed to hurry, but he vomited violently several times before he could climb up. He let go of her arm and finished climbing, his legs like jelly and stomach rolling.
Virgil flopped onto the deck, exhausted and horrified. He put an arm across his face, and his chest hitched as he tried to keep from crying aloud for his sister. He wasn’t close to any of his siblings but ached for the little girl.
Amadee knelt on the deck, crying, “Dat beast done taken my Belle?” His voice trailed off into a soft whine.
“She’s gone,” Virgil said. He couldn’t believe the fish had eaten part of Belle.
Ghislaine knelt with Leonie at Lougenia’s side. At twelve, Lougenia hadn’t developed much and looked like a very young child lying on the deck. Virgil pulled himself up, yanked off his belt, and handed it to his mother for a tourniquet. He had no time to mourn, be afraid, or to be horrified.
Lougenia’s leg ended just below the knee, snapped off somewhat raggedly.
Leonie pinched herself hard to keep from bursting into tears. Her Belle. Her daughter. Belle was gone in one of the most terrible ways imaginable.
“Dear God, this’ll have to be cauterized closed and cleaned. Virgil, carry her inside to Abagail. If anyone can save her, it’ll be her.” Leonie couldn’t imagine how much this injury would hurt or what a poor bayou girl, if she lived, would do with one leg. It was unreal.
Leonie glanced at Amadee who bitterly cried for Belle and felt a wash of hatred for the man; how dare he wallow in grief when she had lost her blood-daughter and was too busy hiding Amadee’s crimes to cry for her child properly.
There was no proof, and nothing had been said, but Leonie suddenly felt that Amadee had been touching Belle and maybe more. Belle wasn’t the brightest light and wouldn’t have said anything about it if he had been doing something bad to her. Leonie felt that she was right. Amadee had been unnatural with the child.
She thought.
Maybe.
Amadee, even in grief over Belle, realized he had two people lying on his deck with bashed skulls, so he made a noise and pointed. He had a mess on his hands now.
“We’ll keep quiet and say not to come out because of the sharks; she’ll die if we don’t get her inside and fixed up,” Leonie snapped.
“I need help to do dis fast,” Amadee argued, “Virgil, quietly call Abagail up to dey front where it be dryer, but donna go inside and stays quiet now.” He wondered if Lougenia was capable of being saved, and if she were, she’d have one leg and not be helpful about the house or be able to do anything; they’d have to help her. It seemed better she go on and pass with her sister, but he didn’t have time to argue.
Virgil wept for his sister as he carried Lougenia.
Leonie gritted her teeth. Amadee couldn’t think beyond filling his own belly with his kills and finishing his business. He didn’t even care that she had lost four children that night.
Buford slammed the axe hard into Holly and began to cut her apart. Ghislaine and Leonie had to gather parts and cut them with their knives to conceal what the meat was. Buford tossed parts over the side that they didn’t need: hands, the head, feet, and a few more pieces. They didn’t have time to render the torso as well as they usually did their prey, so they sliced and removed what they could, grabbed the biggest and choicest pieces and allowed the sharks to have the rest.
In the water, the creatures butted into one another as they thrashed and snapped up bites of floating food.
When Amadee swung his sharp blade, Landry moaned and jerked; he wasn’t dead from blows to the head.
Amadee snorted, “Treat my girl, Candy Lynn, badly, will ya? Call her names and all? Ya bastard,” he said it as bast-id. “I just been waitin’ to cut you up for dey pot and suck de marrow from yer bones. Burn in dey hell, boy.”
Amadee made fast work of Landry, cutting him up on the deck. It was hard work and time consuming, but fear and desperation drove the men to work faster than ever. Leonie and Ghislaine carried buckets of meat to the small kitchen area. No one ever seemed to wonder how Leonie had a never-ending supply of meat to cook; they were too worried about eating and filling their bellies.
Leonie woke Tammany to help with the work and checked on Lougenia, weeping all the time.
“It don’t look so good,” Abagail said, “I got the bleeding stopped with powdered rosemary and some other herbs what I have, but she’d lost a fair amount of blood.”
The stump was cleaned and bandaged.
“We’ll get her in bed with the other sickly ones and hope for the best,” Leonie said. She told Virgil to carry Lougenia to her room and then go help Amadee.
“What was she outside for in the night?” Abagail asked.
Leonie shrugged, “Bayou kids…they like to play in the rain, don’t you know? Can’t keep ‘em inside. Please, just be quiet a little longer, and I’ll tell you more, but there’s been a big loss tonight because of those fish.”
Abagail frowned a little. She didn’t believe or disbelieve what she had been told. She didn’t know what to think other than the girl had been bitten, but Leonie was visibly shaken and sobbing when she thought no one was watching.
Virgil and Leonie helped with the chores, and soon, they had reasonable order, and the meat was hidden away, disguised as pork.
“We should have never done dis ‘ere,” Amadee said, “dey boy stolling out here…too many people we has now, I tell ya all.”
“Virgil could have been killed and Belle…poor Lougenia; Amadee, this is bad,” Leonie said, crying. “My daughter is gone.”