The trees stood still in the darkness as the gentle movement of water echoed over them. Josh pushed the oars over each other as he moved his boat through the wetlands. It had been a long, successful day of fishing. The latter subconsciously patted his bag of carp and bass. It was illegal to fish here this time of year when it was mating season. But Josh knew he could make a fortune selling these fish in the market and getting a boat he wanted. The night sky was clear as a bell. The stars twinkled as if to say hello. Josh rowed his boat further to his landing point. The clear water turned into marshy soup, and the trees sank deeper. Josh steeled himself. Crocodiles tended to roam around these parts at night. The latter knew that alligators didn’t live about these parts, but the fear of his boat overturning kept him from making too much racket with his oars.
As Josh made his way through, he thought he heard something on the shoreline. He stopped for a moment and listened. It sounded like a heron. Shrugging, he moved on. If I see it, I’ll take a picture of it. As Josh continued to row, he heard it again. Closer this time. Cute. He pulled out his camera and waited for the bird to come out. It didn’t. So, he continued on. When Josh was nearly at his landing spot, the heron sounded again. It sounded loud and almost distorted. Maybe something’s wrong with the bird, he thought. Again, Josh shrugged and began climbing out of his boat. He grabbed his fishing pole and supplies. As he did so, he heard something walking not far behind him. Josh quickly whipped around and dove into the nearby brush. Shit. The park rangers. How did they find me? I knew they weren’t here when I- Something cut him off from his thoughts.
There were no flashlights or shouts of any kind. Then Josh heard it again. The heron call. Only this time, it sounded mixed. Like a panther call and a heron. It stopped before it began to walk over to where Josh was. The latter put his hands over his mouth and tried to keep completely still. If it’s a panther, all hell is going to break loose. The brush rustled and shook as he heard something poke through. Josh slowly reached for his flashlight, creeping into the thick brush. He clicked it on and shined it. It filled the brush up with light, revealing nothing. He waited a few moments before taking a breath and letting it out. Josh crawled out from the brush and began walking towards his car. He couldn’t wait to show his friends what he had caught and how he evaded the park rangers.
Suddenly, Josh heard the heron call behind him as it stepped closer. Josh knew his car wasn’t far away. He could make it. Herons can’t run fast. They weigh like 10 pounds. He took a deep breath and took off as fast as he could. The creature started running after him. It was fast, crunching branches as it ran. Josh felt his heart go up. His car was within reach, but he was losing his breath, and the creature was almost on him. I need to get into my car to drive away, Josh thought through pained breaths. Once he reached his car, he didn’t hear the creature anymore. Taking a sigh of relief, Josh moved to unlock the car doors. But before he did, he wanted to know why this heron sounded this way. Maybe it’s something to do with..I don’t know. I mean, one look can’t hurt, right? Josh turned around to see the heron.
It was a giant winged, long-necked bird looking down at him with hunger and curiosity. Even though it was dark, it stood several feet taller than Josh. Maybe even more. Its beak moved open and closed, priming itself to eat. And its eyes. They glowed white in the darkness, like a cat. It stared directly at him. Josh quickly turned around to get into his car. That was his mistake. The bird swooped its head down, inserting its beak into his middle, lifting him up. Josh’s screams echoed throughout the swamp. The bird moved its head up, opening its beak and swallowing its prey.
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