He sat up from the tree, lifted his head to glance at the overcast sky, then crouched into the dense leaves, idly folding a leaf which he put in his mouth.
He heard a slight noise, turned his head, and locked eyes with a dark snake.
The snake seemed equally surprised to have been spotted, freezing in place, one man and one snake in a staring contest.
Then the snake saw the human's face before it showing a hint of satisfaction, the overwhelming sense of crisis scaring it into turning around to flee, but before it could spring away, it was pinched three inches from its head...
Philip Shaw flicked away the snake he had killed with one hand, thinking with satisfaction how effortlessly he had acquired it; he was still pondering where to find food for Aldana Candi on a rainy day.
Skillfully using a small knife he had sharpened with a stone, he peeled off the snake skin, processed the innards, and delivered the cut snake meat to Aldana Candi's doorstep.
