Close Encounter Of The Worst Kind

True Alien Encounter

Get Me Out Of Here…

 

When I was in my 20's I had a job as an exterminator. When your father was an entomologist, you learn your insects before you are knee high to a grasshopper. All my business was for commercial companies. One of my long time customers was a large grain operation and I was responsible for controlling the rat and mice populations in and around this very large elevator complex.

I was in the basement section of a part of the complex that was not used anymore and it required me to wade through about 2 ft of water as I went from one section to the next. It was always kind of spooky down there. I was all alone and if something happened to me I doubt anyone would know where to look. There was lighting, but on that particular day the power suddenly went out leaving me totally in the dark. I of course always had a 3 cell flashlight. I grabbed it from my belt and began wading through the dark rooms and halls of that underwater tomb.

There were old belt conveyors and motors with years of cobwebs and grain dust on the walls and equipment. I had some hip boots on so I just kept moving through the water making sure I didn't knock my head on any low beams or electrical boxes.

All of the sudden I felt this big thump across my upper back. I heard a big splash behind me. My first thought which happened in a nanosecond was of that movie with Sigourney Weaver, "Aliens" because I had just watched that the night before.

I spun around frantically trying to get my flashlight pointed on whatever it was that hit me. I had really stirred up the flat surface in that dark watery world. But something was caught in the light and it was also swimming and thrashing as fast as it could away from me. I finally recognized what it was about the same time as I caught my balance and my breath.

It was a very large Bull Snake! I would estimate that is was about 5 feet long. Now I am not afraid of snakes per se, but given the current situation and the fact that my vision was limited to a 3 cell Mag-lite I decided it would be best to turn around and get the hell out of there before another "Alien" dropped out of the ceiling.

I suppose the snake was just as terrified. But since I considered him extremely rude for not apologizing to me for landing on my back, I certainly wasn't going to waste any time apologizing for scaring the hell out of him.

Next month when I returned to that watery pit I brought my Louisville Slugger. He was nowhere to be seen and the lights were operational. But I never liked going in there because I wasn't sure if I would encounter one or many "Aliens."

That was a Close Encounter Of The Worst Kind.

Author's Note

True story. The jobs I did to feed my family

Reviews

[barleygirl]

I believe that true story vignettes such as this are much better than fiction. You've described this scene with plenty of details & feelings, so we were right there, going along with you all the way! I never expected this to be a snake, I was all primed for a big rat, given your earlier intro to the excursion. I saw a documentary about a guy who was caught in a grain elevator full of corn & every time he moved, he sunk in like quick sand & almost suffocated in there. I had this vision in my mind as I read . . . altho I did not see the movie you mentioned, we all have some point of reference, so the movie was a good addition to your mounting fearful sensations.

[Mehameha]

Thank you for reading and your review. Bull snakes are not poisonous. But one this size could definitely break the skin. The elevator manager wanted me to kill it. I told him no because this snake was helping me reduce the rat population. Still unnerving when he lands on your back in a dark watery world.

[barleygirl]

I am totally in synch with making friends that reduce populations of irritating creatures. For me, it's the frogs & lizards that abound around here, I love them, becuz they keep the insects at bay. I love watching the frogs sit on my woodpile in the evening, right under my patio light, so they can snatch up any bugs that are flying by. It's what we do for entertainment in the boondocks! *smile*

[Mehameha]

Yes, we seem to need those critters, even spiders, uggh. I have respect for anything that makes me swell up, spiders, bees, wasps, poisonous snakes, yet they all have their part.