The BB flew straight but only clipped the snake’s head.
Billy had a dead on shot lined up when he fired. But it lunged at the dog with its mouth open at the same instant. The shot threw the snake slightly off course but it still struck the dog.
The BB hurt and scared the snake and it tried escape back into the brush.
Boris sensed victory and chased after it. He lunged forward, caught the snake firmly in his mouth, and bit down while Billy quickly pumped the rifle for another shot.
The snake was in pain, confused, and extremely pissed off, as it felt the dog biting him and violently shaking its body from side to side. It thrashed, lunged back and bit at the dog again.
“No Boris! Let go of it!” Billy yelled, as he tried to aim at the snake.
Very quickly, the snake felt itself dying. It was rapidly growing weary and confused as it continued trying to strike back at the dog but after only a couple more attempts it became motionless.
Boris shook his head a few more times before opening his mouth and letting the dead snake's body tumble into the dusty footpath, The dog watched the snake as if suspecting it might not really be dead, but after several moments Boris whimpered and limped over to the boy favoring its right front leg.
Billy got on his knees, hugged the dog, and petted its furry head softly whispering, “You’re a good boy, Boris. Good boy.”
Boris hung his tongue out, panting hard, and whined softly while looking mistrustfully back at the remains of the snake.