island is shorter than the length, right?” Alex wiped her brow with the back of her hand. “Maybe we should try to walk alongside the bank for a bit and see if we find anything.”
Holt nodded. “Let’s try the right side first. It doesn’t look as dense.”
But before he took a single step, a scream rang out through the swamp. Alex clenched his arm with both hands and stared at him, wide-eyed.
Holt pointed to the right and whispered, “It sounds like it came from that direction.” He checked his pistol and motioned for Alex to follow him.
They crept through the brush along the bank, listening for movement, but the swamp had gone quiet again. Suddenly, Alex stopped short and tugged on his sleeve. She pointed to the brush ahead of them. Holt stood still and finally he heard the faint sound of weeping. All thought for safety aside, he rushed through the brush in the direction of the crying. He burst through a hedge of dense brush and found himself face-to-face with a twelve-foot alligator.
“Stay back,” he yelled at Alex, but it was already too late. As she slid to a stop beside him, the alligator swung its enormous head toward them.
That’s when Holt saw that it had something bloody clasped in its jaws. He sucked in a breath when he realized it was a human leg. He heard Alex stifle a cry and knew she’d seen it, as well.
The alligator hissed, his gaze locked on Alex.
“Can you shoot him?” she whispered.
“Too close, and if I miss…” He didn’t have to finish his sentence. Alex had grown up in the swamp and knew the odds as well as he did.
“We passed a cypress tree about twenty feet back,” she said.
He nodded, but didn’t take his eye off the alligator. He saw the animal’s front leg quiver and a wave of fear washed over him. If the animal rose up on his legs, he would strike. Even a beast that large could move much faster than a human.
The alligator’s gaze was fixed on Alex. He hissed again and began to lift up his body to strike.
“Go!” Holt jumped in front of Alex and pushed her back toward the tree.
The alligator leaped forward, and he spun to the right, barely dodging the razor-sharp teeth of the beast. He knew he had only seconds to get away before the alligator managed to swing his body around and launch at him again. Praying that Alex was safely off the ground, he spun around again and bolted for the tree.
He heard the marsh grass crunching as the alligator threw his entire length forward through the brush. Every muscle in his body strained as he pushed his body to the limit to cover the distance to the tree before the alligator closed the gap to him. It was only twenty feet, but seemed much farther before he leaped in the air and grabbed the lowest branch of the cypress tree, dropping his pistol as he went. He felt a tug on his jeans and heard the material rip as he pulled himself up into the tree, narrowly escaping the deadly jaws of the alligator.
He swung his leg over the branch and leaned back against the trunk of the tree in a sitting position. “That was close,” he said.
“Too close.”
One look at Alex’s face told him just how close it had been. All the color had washed completely from her face. Her eyes were wide as saucers and she picked involuntarily at the branch she clung to.
“Are you sure he didn’t get you?” she asked, her voice cracking.
“Just the end of my jeans.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so close to death. Even the shooter from the other night hadn’t sent him into overdrive the way the alligator had.
“What are we going to do?”
“I’m going to fire a warning shot,” Holt said. “See if I can scare him off. But I’ll need your pistol. I dropped mine when I jumped into the tree.”
“Even if you scare him off, that doesn’t mean he won’t come back. He’s fast, Holt. Faster than I’ve ever seen before.”
“I’m well aware of that, but I can’t make a kill shot from this angle, and we can’t
Holt nodded. “Let’s try the right side first. It doesn’t look as dense.”
But before he took a single step, a scream rang out through the swamp. Alex clenched his arm with both hands and stared at him, wide-eyed.
Holt pointed to the right and whispered, “It sounds like it came from that direction.” He checked his pistol and motioned for Alex to follow him.
They crept through the brush along the bank, listening for movement, but the swamp had gone quiet again. Suddenly, Alex stopped short and tugged on his sleeve. She pointed to the brush ahead of them. Holt stood still and finally he heard the faint sound of weeping. All thought for safety aside, he rushed through the brush in the direction of the crying. He burst through a hedge of dense brush and found himself face-to-face with a twelve-foot alligator.
“Stay back,” he yelled at Alex, but it was already too late. As she slid to a stop beside him, the alligator swung its enormous head toward them.
That’s when Holt saw that it had something bloody clasped in its jaws. He sucked in a breath when he realized it was a human leg. He heard Alex stifle a cry and knew she’d seen it, as well.
The alligator hissed, his gaze locked on Alex.
“Can you shoot him?” she whispered.
“Too close, and if I miss…” He didn’t have to finish his sentence. Alex had grown up in the swamp and knew the odds as well as he did.
“We passed a cypress tree about twenty feet back,” she said.
He nodded, but didn’t take his eye off the alligator. He saw the animal’s front leg quiver and a wave of fear washed over him. If the animal rose up on his legs, he would strike. Even a beast that large could move much faster than a human.
The alligator’s gaze was fixed on Alex. He hissed again and began to lift up his body to strike.
“Go!” Holt jumped in front of Alex and pushed her back toward the tree.
The alligator leaped forward, and he spun to the right, barely dodging the razor-sharp teeth of the beast. He knew he had only seconds to get away before the alligator managed to swing his body around and launch at him again. Praying that Alex was safely off the ground, he spun around again and bolted for the tree.
He heard the marsh grass crunching as the alligator threw his entire length forward through the brush. Every muscle in his body strained as he pushed his body to the limit to cover the distance to the tree before the alligator closed the gap to him. It was only twenty feet, but seemed much farther before he leaped in the air and grabbed the lowest branch of the cypress tree, dropping his pistol as he went. He felt a tug on his jeans and heard the material rip as he pulled himself up into the tree, narrowly escaping the deadly jaws of the alligator.
He swung his leg over the branch and leaned back against the trunk of the tree in a sitting position. “That was close,” he said.
“Too close.”
One look at Alex’s face told him just how close it had been. All the color had washed completely from her face. Her eyes were wide as saucers and she picked involuntarily at the branch she clung to.
“Are you sure he didn’t get you?” she asked, her voice cracking.
“Just the end of my jeans.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so close to death. Even the shooter from the other night hadn’t sent him into overdrive the way the alligator had.
“What are we going to do?”
“I’m going to fire a warning shot,” Holt said. “See if I can scare him off. But I’ll need your pistol. I dropped mine when I jumped into the tree.”
“Even if you scare him off, that doesn’t mean he won’t come back. He’s fast, Holt. Faster than I’ve ever seen before.”
“I’m well aware of that, but I can’t make a kill shot from this angle, and we can’t
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