“All our babies would join us when
we sang to the horses, and then we’d   
bring them into the house. All our     
cats, dogs, pigs and one snake, all    
stayed in this one room listening to   
him recite The Night Before Christmas. 
Most of them fell asleep, but I think  
he does a pretty damn good job.”       
     “A snake? You’ve also got a       
snake?!” Randy asked in astonishment.  
      “Yup. Fangs. He didn’t show up   
until later, but I couldn’t believe    
it,” Beth continued, “because all he   
did was just slither around for a      
while, until he got bored, and then    
went upstairs. Crim found him in the   
bathtub.                               
     “If it was just the older ones,   
then I could see it, maybe, but even   
the new ones don’t fight either.”      
*      “I’ve seen some farms like that.    
The animals got along just fine, and it
wasn’t weird at all.”                  
     “That’s true, Crim,” Beth said    
thoughtfully. “A lot of animals do like
each other, but not to this extreme.   
All our babies sleep together in the   
pen, and then play together for the    
rest of the day, like one big happy    
fucking family, including our horses,  
and even Fangs?                        
     “As a matter of fact, I didn’t    
even think about it until Fangs showed 
up. The first time we went to sing to  
the horses, he was right there with us.
     “Horses don’t like snakes, and I  
know that from personal experience,    
Crim. It’s just not normal,” Beth con- 
cluded, and then took a quick look     
around before adding, “It’s like we’re 
on some kind of ancient Indian Burial  
Ground or something magical like that.”



CHAPTER 6: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25th
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