Page 67 of Gabe

“Is this really where we’re going?” Tansie asked as she stood on the dock, looking down at the boat we’d just rented.

Well, we called it renting, but really we’d just stolen the boat and left some money behind to make up for the theft. I told myself that we were going to return the boat, so it would be fine, but a small thought in the back of my mind said that promise might prove to be an empty one. There was no telling what kind of situation we were headed toward.

Sebastian struggled his way into the boat and took a seat on the front bow. “This is where the GPS tracker leads. And unless you know a better way to travel through a swamp, we’re taking the boat. Now, get in.”

There was no chance of Sebastian steering the boat when he couldn’t even stand up on the swaying floor, so the navigation was left to me. We pulled out of the dock as quietly as possible and headed down the waterway. At the moment, the river was clear, but I knew as we traveled farther into the swamplands that our path would become more treacherous.

We had followed the GPS tracker until it came to a stop seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The map didn’t show any cities or towns nearby. There wasn’t even a hint of any buildings that could be hiding them. Yet, when I looked up the location, I was surprised how quickly I found a name.

Honey Island Swamp.

It was the largest untouched marshland in the United States, spanning over seventy thousand acres. The area was supposed to be protected by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, but I wasn’t surprised by the idea that someone in the department was corrupt. Our enemies already had spies in the FBI, and were led by a corrupt Senator. A simple Wildlife Department wouldn’t be hard to control. It would only take one person agreeing to look the other way for the protected land to become a safe haven for depravity.

The sun was already setting by the time we crossed into the thicker vegetation of the swamp. The world seemed to switch from day to night in a matter of minutes, as the dusk sunlight could no longer break through the canopy. Our boat was of medium size, so I had to stay in the deeper water and be careful not to venture too close to the land. Though in the wet terrain of the swamp, land and water often looked like the same thing, and I came precariously close to crashing us a few times.

Luckily, neither Sebastian nor Tansie seemed to realize my mistakes. Both were too lost in their own thoughts, facing the front of the boat like their concentration was the fuel that propelled us forward.

Normally, I enjoyed the quiet, but this silent atmosphere was oppressive. The hushed rustling of the wind through the trees and the ripple of the water seemed to speak of danger around every corner, and every now and then I caught the flash of some animal’s eyes in the dark.

It was easy to see why the darkness of human imagination was often captured by these kinds of landscapes. The swamp around us seemed designed specifically to inspire nightmares. Anything could lurk in the murky water below. Each bump against the boat could be something as simple as a tree branch, or as dangerous as a man-eating predator.

Yet there was also a haunting beauty to it.

I remembered my conversation with Frankie about how the other man hated swamps. Some higher power must be laughing at us right now.

How else could I explain the unlikely odds of Frankie being kidnapped and taken to the one kind of place he despises most?

Honey Island. The name was a cruel joke. There was nothing sweet about this place. Perhaps it once embodied its name, but the monsters that chose to use it as their safe haven had forever tainted it.

I didn’t bother to look at the clock on my phone. I didn’t want to know how much time was passing. All I needed to know was that the red dot of Frankie and Newt’s GPS location was growing closer.

We would be there soon.

I grew restless under my skin. The need for action burned in my veins. Maybe, finally, we could put this whole torturous adventure behind us.

Finally, after far too much time, a building came into view. I shut off the boat while a cluster of trees sticking directly out of the water still mostly concealed us.

The low, squat building looked out of place in a land that seemed forgotten by time. It was too modern, with hard edges and right angles, and clashed with the organic landscape around it.

It was as if the earth itself was saying this place should not exist.

“Why are we stopping?” Tansie demanded when she noticed that I’d cut the engine. “We’re almost there. I can see the building.”

I crouched low near the front of the boat, and Sebastian did his best to follow my lead. “Exactly. If we can see them, then they can also see us.”

Tansie looked between us and the building, measuring the distance. “What do you mean?”

“Look.” I pointed to the expansive dock surrounding the building. “There’s security. We can’t just stroll up to this place. We’ll be shot down before we even get close. We’ll have to sneak in.”

She huffed, but she joined Sebastian and I in our crouch at the front of the boat. “All right. How do we do that?”

I started unstrapping my guns and handed them to Sebastian. There were only two, but it felt like stripping myself naked.

“I’m going to swim over from here and try to take out as much of the outer security as I can. Sebastian, you’re going to cover me from a distance and shoot anyone that looks like they’re going to sound an alarm. Tansie, when I give the signal, you’ll have to bring the boat to the dock without starting the engine.”

She was pulling at her braid again, digging her fingers into the twisted ribbons of hair and pulling them apart at the edges. If this kept up, she was eventually going to make herself bald.

“How am I supposed to move the boat if I can’t turn it on? Get out and push?”

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