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Fawn

The Atchafalaya Basin has all the time been probably the most harmful type of wild.

Even earlier than the apocalypse—earlier than Angels arrived on Earth and I spotted I wasn’t adequate for the Rapture—this swamp was a breeding floor for predators and parasites. For a very long time, we people stood on the apex of that meals chain, and I discovered at a younger age learn how to survive.

Over time, I got here to like this place somewhat than concern it. And when interlopers arrived on our planet one week in the past, I knew precisely the place I ought to go.

To the swamp. A spot the place I may disguise and outwit anybody who got here after me.

I took my flat-bottom boat out of city and throughout the muddy brown water, between cypress knees and oak timber. It was a day like every other right here within the basin, apart from the second after I crossed beneath I-10 to close silence. There ought to have been vehicles driving overhead, however there was nothing.

Nobody.

Simply the sound of distant gunfire in New Orleans.

And now I’m right here—my dad’s outdated looking publish, a shack on stilts on the sting of some marshland. There’s a cot right here, a tenting lantern, sufficient rations to maintain me fed till I can do some looking or this catastrophe ends. I may dwell alone out right here for years, identical to my daddy taught me.

That’s…if circumstances haven’t modified.

If I’m nonetheless the apex predator.

As a result of at evening, I hear unusual sounds—one thing massive transferring via the water. It isn’t a gator. I haven’t seen their tracks, and actually, it looks like they’ve vacated the world. And I don’t suppose it’s a snake both, as a result of there aren’t any telltale indicators of slithering serpents within the mud.

That is one thing else.

And solely time can inform when it can lastly come and get me.

It was watching me final evening…and it’s getting sloppy.

Sleep didn’t come straightforward, and when it did, I slept restlessly. A mosquito acquired into the shack and saved buzzing round my head, touchdown on my face, drawing blood. I acquired it will definitely, nevertheless it simply so occurred that I used to be being watched via the shack’s solely window after I opened my eyes.

I didn’t see it—or at the very least, I don’t suppose I did. However I may hear it respiratory, only a puff of air earlier than a rustling sounded exterior the shack. I used to be on my toes a second later, nevertheless it was gone by the point I grabbed my looking rifle.

This morning, there’s mud on the steps exterior, and unusual footprints within the mud.

If my daddy taught me one factor, it’s that when somebody is poaching in your turf, you gotta handle it. Whether or not it’s one other particular person in your land or an animal devouring what needs to be your prey, you take care of that shit head-on. I want to determine if this can be a particular person or an animal—after which I’ll both speak to it or kill it myself.

I’ve to hope it’s not some type of biblical monster.

I don’t know learn how to hunt these.

I take the land route somewhat than getting in my boat, ensuring it’s nonetheless tied securely to a publish exterior of the shack. From there, I head alongside an isthmus within the swamp, avoiding marshy areas and weaving via the vines and leaves. I catch sight of fish, birds, just a few turtles. Two roseate spoonbills fly overhead, their pink feathers gleaming within the dim daylight. It’s been wet, and a sudden storm drenches me to the bone, plastering my hair and garments to my pores and skin.

I don’t see any gators—which is unusual, as a result of this space is often crawling with them. I kneel to look at some tracks I discover resembling gator prints, however they’re not accompanied by the slide of a stomach alongside the mud. As an alternative, a single path goes between them like a big snake has been right here.

That is…bizarre.

I snap my head up at a splash within the water, and for a second, I lock eyes with one thing simply above the floor. I can’t determine what I’m ; I’ve seen tons of alligators in my life, and that’s the one factor that may very well be this massive. It stares at me with golden eyes, darkish inexperienced scales shining alongside its snout.

I can’t make sense of it, however this factor is extra clever than an atypical swamp animal.

I take my eyes away for a cut up second to achieve for my gun, however by the point I purpose, it’s gone, leaving just a few bubbles on the water’s opaque floor.

One thing else rustles within the brush, attracting my consideration. There’s extra than simply large lizards out right here—there are snakes, black bears, and probably the most harmful of all: wild hogs. The pigs may be good consuming, however they’re vicious and may gore you in a heartbeat.

I increase my gun and level it on the brush.

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