After taking a few steps back, Anastasia wanted desperately to turn and run. But her legs were weak, and when she looked ahead at the glimmering water, she realized she could not retreat.
She remembered reading once that snakes did not attack people unless provoked—that they would rather flee than fight. So why, then, did the one before her seem so poised to strike?
Anastasia drew a trembling breath and looked around. Fear clawed at her heart, but if she turned back now, she might die of thirst and exhaustion before ever reaching the road. Yet if she moved forward, she risked the snake's fangs.
She looked again at the snake. Something in its gaze unsettled her, as if it truly saw her—not merely as an intruder, but as prey.
