LOVE & REVENGE

Chapter 9: Back to New York

Charles and Albert flew to New York with Mark's body on the same flight. They have a long journey ahead. They were devastated and grieving by the loss of two of their closest friends at the start of the new year. During the flight, Mark's body was the subject of their conversation although they were both quite angry about what had occurred.

In New York, as per their custom, Mark's body was taken to the church so friends and relatives could pay their last respects before the burial in the cemetery close to the church.

The following day, Charles and Albert had their chance to say their final farewell. 

They were surprised to see Mark's body covered by snake bites and had extensive wounds when they opened the coffin in the church. They were wondering why Mark had numerous snake bites when he was only bitten once.

 They hypothesized that the snake that bit their friend most likely might have also boarded the plane and attacked their friend once more. However, they wondered how the snake could have gotten past airport security and went into the plane undetected as well.

They were unable to comprehend this incident. They were perplexed by this incredibly complicated mystery because they were unable to make sense of the relationship between the snake and their companions.

When the medical examiner in New York repeatedly asked them about the place of death of their companions, Charles became agitated and yelled at the doctor, "How many times do you ask and how many times do I have to repeat my words to you so that you can understand?"

As soon as the doctor sensed Charles's rage, he said: I realize you're sad over the loss of your buddies, but I have to say that the snake that bit him is among the most venomous and lethal snakes. Only a few of these species of snake, which are extremely rare and on the verge of extinction, have been found in the chilly highlands of Afghanistan. This snake cannot survive in the climate of India.

He paused for a moment before asking, "Have they ever been to Afghanistan?"

This time Albert heard the doctor's words while he was nervous like Charles and his hands were shaking and said, "Why are you asking this? What does the death of our friends in India have to do with Afghanistan?"

The doctor, who was over sixty years old, said: What I want to tell you has no scientific basis, but I personally have to tell you that I had the experience that I have accumulated over the course of my life dealing with snakes. I believe that this serpent has a vendetta against you and will find you all, no matter where you are, and kill you all. You should be careful around this snake because it most likely came from Afghanistan.

When Charles heard the doctor's comments, he immediately thought about Afghanistan and the day he and the troops under his leadership, which included Albert, Mark, John, and two German soldiers, had noticed a huge snake with black and yellow spots on the mountain. Only the eyes that were staring at him remained after the bullets had shredded the snake's body. A second, smaller, slimmer snake emerged from the rock at the same time, darted through them, and swiftly hid itself among the mountain grasses. 

Remembering this, Charles immediately recalled the spotted snake that escaped from the basket of the Maharajah in India hidden under the wooden cart and watched him from there. That was the best opportunity for the snake to strike him but did not.

Charles immediately asked Albert if he had the phone number of the two German soldiers in Afghanistan.

Albert said in surprise, "What do you want their number for? A few years ago, when I called them on the phone, they didn't answer. I later deleted their number from my number list since then."

"We need to figure out what happened to them and where they are right now", Charles said. Thereafter, he quickly left the doctor's room and went to the police station. 

He gave the names of the two German troops to the police, pleading to them to locate them as soon as possible and alert them to the extreme danger they were in. Charles was followed anxiously by Albert who now has recalled of the snake they had killed in Afghanistan.

The police chief initially laughed at Charles's story, but when he saw the serious look on Charles's face, he said he would contact the German police about the two soldiers. He promised to let Charles know about them.

It had been a few weeks since they returned to New York. It was Sunday and some of Charles's high school friends had organized a reunion and asked all the old classmates to attend and touch base with them.

Albert and Charles attended the reunion together that evening. They were also classmates, and close friends in high school and had happy memories of their school days.

At the reunion, Charles met Laura who he had been dating in high school. She was now employed as a nurse in a private hospital. Seeing her again after so many years made Charles excited. This made them reconnect and continued to see each other after that.

After some time, Charles learned from a detective, who was also one of his friends, that the two German soldiers had been killed by a snake in their home a few years prior.

Upon hearing this, Charles realized that the story of the snake was true and that the black spotted snake that had escaped from them in Afghanistan was able to find its way to kill them. Perhaps, the snake has an axe to grind. But how was it able to travel from Afghanistan to Germany and India, and how was it able to find and kill them in different countries? 

Charles and Albert were the only survivors from that squad of six troops; the other four had since died.

Charles felt a lot of fear. He was aware now that the snake was looking for him and Albert, and that it would not stop until it got what it wanted. The snake had to be found and killed, but how? He could only hope that the serpent wouldn't be able to enter America at this point.

Hearing this information startled Albert. He anticipated that one of them would be next. After learning that the German soldiers had died from snake bites but nothing could be done, he wept saying, "I don't want to be killed, I don't want to be killed,".

Even worse, they were unaware of the snake's location or its approximate time of arrival. The police were unable to assist them either; all they could do was issue warnings to the two people, advising them to secure their homes by blocking off any openings that a snake could enter or to cover them with fine metal nets including the windows and the cold vents in particular.

In an effort to keep the snake from moving into his apartment, Charles tried to shut the windows and doors closed, and checked his apartment and car thoroughly every day. However, after a few weeks, he grew weary of it.

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