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Authors: Hunter Shea
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chance to retaliate.”
Mick whistled. “Holy shit. That’s one of the biggest cottonmouths I’ve ever seen.”
The bullet had caught the snake three inches below its head, severing it from its long, coiled body. It had to be almost five feet long.
Rooster patted her on the shoulder. “Nice shot. You still cool with taking point?”
“Hell yeah. That was a good idea you had about one set of eyes on the ground. Just saved at least one of our lives,” she said.
He went back to helping Dominic carry John, and she and Liz kept moving forward. Long, ominous shadows had begun to seep in among the trees, and the sun slunk down over the horizon. They had to find someplace relatively safe fast, but so far all they had found were trees and old leaves. There were some sweet bay bushes, waist high and looking like little trees, but they could barely conceal a squirrel.
The constant thrumming of tree frogs grew as night approached. Maddie thought it sounded nice, kind of peaceful, which was a welcome thing right about now. She was so glad Liz was still by her side and unharmed. And in a weird way, she was thankful to have Rooster with them, even if it was mostly his fault they were stuck out here. She had been taught to be self-sufficient, but there was a simmering power in him that she knew they’d need to get out alive. She also suspected that he wasn’t as bad as he’d like people to think. It didn’t hurt that physically, he was right in her sweet spot.
Jesus, Maddie, get a grip ! she scolded herself. Way to moon over a bad boy like a dumb teen.
“You think we’re going to make it out of here?” she asked Liz. They may have been identical in appearance, but Liz had always been the stronger and smarter one. Must have been because Liz was born five minutes ahead of her. Liz had the advantage of more life experience.
Liz squeezed her arm. “I don’t think so, no. I know we are.”
When Maddie turned to thank her, she saw, over her sister’s shoulder, where they would hole up for the night.
“I think you’re right.”
Night chased the sun’s brutal rays away, but the humidity increased to the point where it felt like they were underwater.
Everyone was exhausted. The fallen mahogany tree made a good place to stay and provided ample protection to their backs. It would have been nice to light a fire, but no one had matches or a lighter, not that any of the tinder would have held a flame. Besides, they didn’t want to betray their position to the murderous Bigfoots.
They decided that two people would take watch at a time. Rooster chose Maddie to sit first watch with him. He saw her sister’s reproachful glare, so he explained to her that he needed someone good with a gun on each watch. It didn’t look like she bought it, but she was too tired to argue.
Liz, Jack, Mick and Dominic slept shoulder to shoulder against the trunk. John sat apart from them, his eyes half open, though whether he was conscious or not was anyone’s guess.
Rooster and Maddie stood against a nearby mangrove, searching the darkness for any sign of encroachment.
“I figure we’ll smell ’em before we see ’em,” he said to her.
“Unless they’re smart enough to stay downwind of us. Something that big would need a lot of food, and I don’t think Jack’s theory of them eating fish and berries holds water. If you ask me, they know how to hunt, and they know how to hunt big game . There’s lots out here to choose from. That would also mean they’ve learned how to sneak up on their prey undetected.”
“They teach you shit like that in college?” he asked.
She let out a small laugh. “Nah. Liz and I grew up in a military family. Our daddy taught us all kinds of stuff about hunting and survival. You may not think so, but we were a couple of total tomboys growing up. We knew how to make traps, throw knives and defend ourselves from personal attack before we hit our
Mick whistled. “Holy shit. That’s one of the biggest cottonmouths I’ve ever seen.”
The bullet had caught the snake three inches below its head, severing it from its long, coiled body. It had to be almost five feet long.
Rooster patted her on the shoulder. “Nice shot. You still cool with taking point?”
“Hell yeah. That was a good idea you had about one set of eyes on the ground. Just saved at least one of our lives,” she said.
He went back to helping Dominic carry John, and she and Liz kept moving forward. Long, ominous shadows had begun to seep in among the trees, and the sun slunk down over the horizon. They had to find someplace relatively safe fast, but so far all they had found were trees and old leaves. There were some sweet bay bushes, waist high and looking like little trees, but they could barely conceal a squirrel.
The constant thrumming of tree frogs grew as night approached. Maddie thought it sounded nice, kind of peaceful, which was a welcome thing right about now. She was so glad Liz was still by her side and unharmed. And in a weird way, she was thankful to have Rooster with them, even if it was mostly his fault they were stuck out here. She had been taught to be self-sufficient, but there was a simmering power in him that she knew they’d need to get out alive. She also suspected that he wasn’t as bad as he’d like people to think. It didn’t hurt that physically, he was right in her sweet spot.
Jesus, Maddie, get a grip ! she scolded herself. Way to moon over a bad boy like a dumb teen.
“You think we’re going to make it out of here?” she asked Liz. They may have been identical in appearance, but Liz had always been the stronger and smarter one. Must have been because Liz was born five minutes ahead of her. Liz had the advantage of more life experience.
Liz squeezed her arm. “I don’t think so, no. I know we are.”
When Maddie turned to thank her, she saw, over her sister’s shoulder, where they would hole up for the night.
“I think you’re right.”
Night chased the sun’s brutal rays away, but the humidity increased to the point where it felt like they were underwater.
Everyone was exhausted. The fallen mahogany tree made a good place to stay and provided ample protection to their backs. It would have been nice to light a fire, but no one had matches or a lighter, not that any of the tinder would have held a flame. Besides, they didn’t want to betray their position to the murderous Bigfoots.
They decided that two people would take watch at a time. Rooster chose Maddie to sit first watch with him. He saw her sister’s reproachful glare, so he explained to her that he needed someone good with a gun on each watch. It didn’t look like she bought it, but she was too tired to argue.
Liz, Jack, Mick and Dominic slept shoulder to shoulder against the trunk. John sat apart from them, his eyes half open, though whether he was conscious or not was anyone’s guess.
Rooster and Maddie stood against a nearby mangrove, searching the darkness for any sign of encroachment.
“I figure we’ll smell ’em before we see ’em,” he said to her.
“Unless they’re smart enough to stay downwind of us. Something that big would need a lot of food, and I don’t think Jack’s theory of them eating fish and berries holds water. If you ask me, they know how to hunt, and they know how to hunt big game . There’s lots out here to choose from. That would also mean they’ve learned how to sneak up on their prey undetected.”
“They teach you shit like that in college?” he asked.
She let out a small laugh. “Nah. Liz and I grew up in a military family. Our daddy taught us all kinds of stuff about hunting and survival. You may not think so, but we were a couple of total tomboys growing up. We knew how to make traps, throw knives and defend ourselves from personal attack before we hit our
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