Page 2 of Sweaty Nights & Gator Bites

“Not really,” Kota replied. “But we have to do this, so let’s get it over with.” She headed to the trail leading into the swampy wilderness.

Although the path was being reclaimed by nature it beckoned us forward. It was shrouded in an eerie silence broken only by the distant calls of unseen creatures. After a few minutes of walking, the earth beneath our feet started squelching with each step. The dampness seeped through our shoes.

“Careful,” I cautioned. “We don’t want to step into the swamp.”

Dani shook her head and scanned our surroundings. “We should look out for gators, too.”

Mist swirled around us, veiling our surroundings in a ghostly haze. And shadows danced among the tangled branches, adding to the otherworldly allure of the place. Wefollowed the winding trail deeper into the heart of the swamp, our senses heightened by the unsettling ambiance. The air was thick with the mingled scents of decay and wet earth, creating a unique blend that hung heavy in our lungs.

I wondered if we were too late when we finally stumbled upon the body. It was a chilling scene that froze us in our tracks. A body lay half-buried in the muck, its form obscured by the murky waters. The sight sent a shiver down my spine, and I felt a knot tighten in my stomach. I stood next to Dani, whose eyes narrowed as she examined the gruesome remains. Dre and Kota stood guard, their gazes sweeping the surroundings for any signs of danger lurking in the shadows.

“We need to gather more information,” Dani said, her voice steady despite the grim discovery. “We need to get a better look at the body to see why this was called into the hotline.”

Dre used her telekinesis to lift the victim out of the water. She moved it to a more stable section of the swamp. There were no missing limbs or anything else that you’d expect of a gator attack. The wounds were the only thing that made me think animal. They were wide furrows cut across the man’s chest. But there was only one row of four that I could see. There were some puncture wounds, but I didn’t get up close to see more details.

My hand went to my stomach as I focused on other details of our investigation. “We should also look into recent missing persons reports. Focusing first on supernaturals. There's definitely something sinister at play here.” This wasn’t a lost hiker who was attacked by a wild animal.

“Is this a mundie or supernatural?” Kota asked. “We might not need to do more investigation. This could be attributed to an animal.”

Dre nodded her head and crouched close to the body. The back of my throat burned, and my stomach roiled. Notwanting to leave this to my sisters, I followed suit and was struck by how handsome the man was. Putting everything aside, I focused on wanting to know if he was a magical creature. I cast a spell that would give me that information a second after my sisters.

“He’s a selkie,” Dre blurted with a frown. “Did you know they lived out here?”

Kota stood and backed away. “I assumed they lived near the coast. You should call Lucas. I don’t feel safe investigating this further here.”

“Selkies rarely live outside the ocean. You should assume this one was visiting. Don’t let your guard down,” Adele interjected into our minds. “I’m too far away to pick up on anything, so one of you should be vigilant while the others gather evidence.”

Pulling out my phone, I sent Lucas a message about the body. His reply was quick. “Lucas and Noah are on their way. We should take some pictures and look for clues like Adele suggested.”

Dre moved away from the body and to the edge of the water. “There’s something down there.” She twitched her finger, and something silver floated to the surface of the water. It was an amulet of some kind.

“That has some power in it,” Adele said. “I can feel it through our bond. It’d be best not to touch it in case it’s cursed or something worse.”

I opened my crossbody bag and unzipped an inner pocket. “Put it in here,” I told her.

Dre used her telekinesis to do as asked, and we snapped pictures of everything within a fifty-foot radius. Dani led the way, her footsteps deliberate and purposeful, navigating us through the labyrinthine maze of swampy undergrowth. “I assume we're searching for any signs of movement through the area. Tracks, clothing remnants, anything that might tie back to our culprit.”

Picking up a small piece of cloth, I carried it to our growing pile. I texted Lucas and asked him to bring a bag to carry stuff in. “That’s what I’m looking for. I tried using my magical senses to pick up anything with power, but there is so much around us, I didn’t get anything specific.”

“Same,” Dre agreed.

As we delved deeper into the bayou’s shadows, the canopy above thickened. The ancient cypress trees loomed like sentinels. Their twisted roots clawed into the dark waters.

Dre's voice broke the silence a few seconds later, like a whisper on the breeze, “Over there—do you see those markings on the tree trunk?”

We converged on the spot, examining the deep gouges etched into the weathered bark. I snapped several pictures. From what I could tell, the jagged patterns bore a striking resemblance to the teeth marks on the dead selkie.

“These marks are too large for a normal gator,” Dani mused, her brow furrowing in concentration.

Kota's gaze swept the surroundings, her eyes flickering with heightened awareness. “If gator shifters are around, they won't be far. And we don’t know shit about them to know if they’d be friend or foe.”

“Stay vigilant,” Dre warned.

I wiped sweat from my brow with the back of my hand. “Always.”

Lucas and Noah arrived as we finished up. Lucas handed me an empty duffle bag. “Here you go, Flower. You’re sure this is a selkie?”

Nodding, I took the bag from him and set it next to the random things we’d seen while taking pictures. We had no idea if they were clues or not but decided to take them anyway. “Yeah. Did you know there were some here?”

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