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The hot sun was beating down as I stumbled through the bushes, mouth dry as a bone. I was lost in the wilderness, on the hiking trail. Up ahead, I finally saw a little stream glimmering in the light.

Racing over, I cupped the cool water to my cracked lips and gulped it down greedily. That's when I noticed two big snakes slithering along the bank. One had a diamond pattern down its long body, the other looked dark and thick like a rattler.

I literally froze at my spot in fear not wanting to engage them. It was kind of intimidating, because they never took their eyes off me, but after a while, I relaxed a bit. The diamond-backed one was almost majestic looking as it undulated through the grass. I watched it curiously while sipping from the stream.

As the day wore on, the snakes kept cruising around the little creek area, sometimes disappearing into the underbrush but always returning. I got more comfortable having them around after awhile. Heck, they made better company than not having any at all out here.

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That's when I noticed the fat rattler slithering directly towards me. Its rattle started buzzing like somebody shaking a baby's rattle toy. I went stiff as a board, too afraid to move a muscle. This was it, I was done for, bit by a viper out here alone.

But then the diamond snake suddenly zipped over, positioning itself between me and the rattler. It reared up in a striking pose, puffing out its neck like a cobra. The two snakes faced off, hissing and rattling at each other intensely.

I watched in shock and amazement as they sized each other up, the rattler's rattle going a mile-a-minute. Eventually it seemed to back down, slinking off into the bushes. The diamond snake uncurled itself, slithering back towards the stream calmly like nothing had happened.

I let out a deep breath I didn't know I was holding. That sleek reptile had actually stuck its neck out to protect me from its poisonous cousin! 😁 In that moment I felt a weird kinship with the snakes, like we were all just trying to survive out here together in the wild.

Thank you @dove11 for inviting me.

Beneficiary @hive-107855

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^{Author: @waqarahmadshah | Date: 03-Jun-2024 | Achievement 1}