Echo

attention for long. Her pain and misery overwhelmed her most of the time.
    Kelly never spoke when she brought the water. Katie tried to engage her in conversation but found the effort too difficult. Her feelings of hopelessness intensified; most of time she slipped in and out of consciousness. Days passed. Katie vaguely noticed a change in Kelly’s behavior. She fed her extra water. The slop bucket that sat under the cut out in the table to catch her feces and urine was taken out and emptied. Kelly actually washed the crusted gunk off Katie’s face and her neck. The smell in the room noticeably improved. Something was definitely up. The extra water allowed Katie to maintain consciousness more often, although she felt so weak, she could no longer move her head.
    Katie dozed off, not hearing the three of them enter. They fanned out around her table, their voices coming from far away.
    “Wake her up, Kelso baby. I got places ta go. I wanna git the grand finale over with.” Armoni rubbed his hands together, dancing with glee. Kelly slapped the side of Katie’s face, forcing her eyes to stay open. Kelly’s hands held a short black rubber tube. While she watched, her heart beating wildly, she saw Tomas reach up and unhook the cage that hung over her table. He set the cage down, right on top of her stomach and lifted the covering. She could see the cage was covered by a fine mesh screen. The faint whispered rattling that came from inside the cage increased as Armoni slapped the mesh sides.
    “Hey there, babies. Wake up! Duty calls!” Katie could see a writhing mess of baby eastern diamondback rattlesnakes inside the cage. They were only about a foot long, their rattles very faint. They were a beautiful snake, more than happy to bite, their venom stronger than an adult for they were not yet mature enough to have learned their venom must be used judiciously for actual prey. Stunned, Katie wondered what the heck they planned to do with the snakes. Looking into their excited faces, she felt dread descend in waves, paralyzing her thoughts.
    With a jab in the ribs from Armoni, Kelly took the hose and connected it to a covered round opening in the cage. She slid the cover of the hole up, allowing the snakes to bolt for the tube. The men grabbed the sides of Katie’s face. As her eyes popped, Kelly quickly secured the other end of the rubber tube to Katie’s mouth; sliding it in as far as it would go, opening a direct pathway down her gurgling throat.
    Katie’s face turned purple. Kelly quickly secured the tube with duct tape around Katie’s mouth. She tapped the sides of the tube until she was convinced all of the snakes had descended to the end around Katie’s mouth where she prevented access back up the tube with a clamp. There was only one way for the skinny buggers to go now.
    ###
    Armoni watched with delight as Katie stopped her feeble struggles. Was she even conscious anymore? He knew she was still alive. He wished he could hang around to see what killed her off first; the snakes or a heart attack. Probably, the heart attack. It’s not like this was the first time he had tried this, after all. But duty calls.
    Slapping Tomas and Kelly on the back, he declared, “Time ta saddle up, gang.” And with that, they climbed the basement stairs, walked out to the little white Volkswagen and drove off to Lily Pond Road. Not even a casual glance back to see the last death twitch of a young seventeen-year-old girl who had just wanted to be kissed by a boy.

Chapter 11
    Scotty and Jose pulled into their driveway. Opening the garage door, they unloaded all of the equipment and supplies they purchased at the hardware store. They each took a can of paint and paintbrushes heading for the back yard where they found the rest of the family. Yes, they were clearly a family. It felt right. Looking over at Abby as she lay sprawled on the ground with Echo and Barney, Jose kept the feelings for her hidden. He knew she couldn’t deal with a relationship right now with her world so turned upside down. He needed her to see the merits of what was happening on her own. He delightedly watched the three of them romp on the ground, as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Abby looked up.
    “Oh, you guys are home. Anyone feel like something to eat?” They all agreed; no one was hungry. Except Barney, that is. Abby got up to get some dog chow from the kitchen, while Scotty and Jose studied the magnificent structure in the