When I think back about this day, my first thought was that it began just like any other workday on the ranch.
I woke up early, got dressed and ready for the day, and went downstairs to have breakfast with the guys. Like always, Seki had prepared something incredible, a breakfast omelette made with eggs, ham, potatoes, peppers, and onions with a healthy helping of cheddar sprinkled on the top. It was delicious and the guys and I joked around for a few minutes afterward as we sipped our coffees.
I waited in the kitchen long enough for more coffee to brew so I could fill five thermoses. While I waited, I went over the daily to-do list I kept on my phone and checked off a few things I’d finished the day before.
Like every day, I had a lot on my plate that day, and set to work as soon as I was outside. I dropped off thermoses to Hank, Ace, and Ben, and then headed to the clinic for a bit. Seki was already there when I walked in, looking through a stack of files. He gave me a grateful smile when I handed over his thermos.
An hour or so later, we went outside to check on the animals. Ace and Ben were out there with the cattle. I waved at them and got to work.
Everything was going fine until it wasn’t any longer.
I don’t know who yelled, but I turned my head and saw both Ben and Ace looking at one of the steers. My eyes followed their line of sight, landing on a steer in the distance. Something wasn’t right with it. The animal was doing something with its legs, goose-stepping I think it’s called.
My mind ran through all the reasons why a cow would act like that. Nutrition deficiencies couldn’t be right. Hank and the guys took such good care of the cattle and I’d never noticed any signs of sickness so far.
The answer seemed to explode in my brain: snake.
I rushed forward, my vet bag bouncing off my right leg as I ran.
After I got hired, I had read about what to do if a cow got bit in the face by a snake. Seki had also instructed me during one of my first days on the job. As I got closer, I watched as the snake reared back and attacked, getting the animal right on the face. Between its nostrils by the look of it.
I’d always had 20/20 vision and could see great distances. I suddenly wish I hadn’t, watching the steer’s face begin to swell as I got closer.
If its nostrils swelled shut, the animal would suffocate to death long before a poisonous snake bite could kill it. Of course, we didn’t know if the snake was of the poisonous variety, but swelling in the face, preventing breathing, could still kill it.
I needed to get there quickly and get a tube into its nose so it could breathe and wouldn’t die before I could treat it.
The wails the animal let out were haunting, sending a shiver down my spine.
I heard someone on my heels, no doubt Seki. “No, Jada, no!” he yelled, his deep voice and his words filling me with fear. He must have been worried about the steer’s life too.
Then my body was yanked backward by two strong arms, pulling me to their chest in a vice grip.
“Let me go!” I screamed, fighting against Seki and trying to break from his grasp.
“Jada, stop! It’s too dangerous!” he said in my ear, no longer yelling. No, his voice was calm, soothing, but had no effect on me. I needed to get over there, I needed to save that animal. It was my job and I couldn’t figure out why he’d stop me from doing it.
Out of nowhere, I saw Ben rush toward, pulling a gun from the holster he wore while out on the ranch. No doubt for situations just like this one.
He stopped a short distance from the crying cow and aimed his pistol.
An explosion filled the air and I froze in Seki’s arms. I’d never heard real gunshot before. It didn’t sound anything like the ones in TV shows and movies. This one was loud, deadly.
The body of the snake bounced in the air at impact, blood dripping from its body and spraying the grass.
“That’s why I had to stop you,” Seki said, his grip on me loosened a little and it was more like he was giving me a hug from behind. It would have been a romantic embrace if the circumstances were different. If I hadn’t just watched a cow get bit on the face and a snake’s body get blown to pieces.
Ace had reached Ben by this point, his gun also drawn. The two of them began looking around at the ground, their eyes searching for something