Swamp Monster Massacre by Hunter Shea Read Free Book Online Page B

didn’t sound like any other kind of animal either.  
    “I think that pretty much decided it for us,” Jack said.  
    “Smart. Here, everyone load four, five for the ladies, into your gun and pass it around,” Rooster said, tossing the box of bullets to Maddie. She caught it with one hand, loaded the chambers and gave it a spin. Nice.  
    “At least when we get in the trees, we’ll be out of the sun for a bit. The less you sweat, the better off you’ll be. Grab those supplies and let’s go.”

Chapter Eleven
    The early going wasn’t easy, what with the razor-sharp sawgrass making mincemeat of their legs. They followed the trail of blood and rank odor of the skunk ape until both evaporated into the cloying atmosphere. Liz hoped that Rooster’s shot had been true and the blood, or at least the majority of it, belonged to the beast.  
    The constant attack of mosquito hordes was getting on Liz’s last nerve. She’d slapped herself silly trying to squish their damned little bodies. It was important to her that they try to find Angelo. Her father had been a Marine, and he always taught her to never leave a man behind, even if you hated his guts. Enemy hands were no place to leave a fallen man. And the skunk ape was most certainly their enemy.  
    “What I wouldn’t do for some bug repellant,” she said, wending her way around a cypress tree.  
    Carol, who was right behind her, said, “I had some in my bag but it got crushed. I wonder how many bites a person can take before they start to have some kind of reaction.” There was heavy concern in her voice.  
    “Guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Jack said. He slipped on a clump of moss and almost took a header.  
    John reached forward to stop him. “You gotta watch yourself, guy.”
    Jack’s face flushed red and he continued on, this time with his eyes on the ground.  
    The sound of rapid-fire knocking on a tree froze everyone in their tracks. Liz heard Jack mutter to himself, “Tree knocking is one of the ways they communicate with one another over long distances.”
    Mick said, “It’s fine. Just a woodpecker. The things you have to worry about are on the ground. Especially watch out for snakes. Lot of copperheads, rattlers and king snakes in these parts. If you get bit, there’s no saving you.”
    “Aren’t you supposed to suck out the poison?” Carol asked.  
    “Only if the person doing the sucking wants to die along with you,” Mick replied, and resumed walking.  
    Liz felt rivers of sweat cascading down into crevices of her body that should not be wading pools. Each inhalation felt like she was sucking fire through a damp cloth. She desperately wanted a drink, but knew it was too soon to dip into their supplies.  
    She heard a splash up ahead, and knew things were about to get worse.  
     
    Rooster came to the end of the line and inspected the water, searching for gator eyes resting on the surface. The next landmass was about hundred yards north, which meant they were going to have to get in the water, where God-only-knew-what could be waiting.  
    Maddie, being less cautious, jumped right in before he could stop her.  
    “Oh, man, that’s refreshing!” she said. “I thought I was going to melt.”
    She dipped down to her neck, and when she rose up from the water, her thin shirt had gone translucent, revealing her white bra and a set of very hard, wide nipples underneath that. Rooster swallowed hard. She looked so damn good, he was tempted to jump in and wrap his arm around her waist just so he could feel those puckered points against his chest and hold her, cheek to cheek. Most of the women he’d been around had lived hard lives. Birds of a feather. He’d never been this close to someone like Maddie before. If there was a silver lining to this shit cloud they were under, this was it.  
    Instead, he held his hand out to her. “Quick, get out before you stir something up. And keep your gun out of the water.”
    She grasped his