Swamp Tale by MomoDesu

And Continued With A Researcher

“Man alive, Kagome! Are you trying to get yourself eaten?”

Kagome was angry. Kagome was livid.

She tread water next to the small boat and looked up at her guide, Bear.

“I would have been fine if you hadn't let go of me,” she spat. “Now help me back into the boat!”

Kagome took the offered hand and hauled herself back into the boat.

“You coulda at least stabbed it with the oar first, to see if it was gonna bite you.” Bear offered her a towel. “There are lotsa things out here in the swamp that can eat a man alive.”

She took the towel from him and mopped at her hair. “It was just a rubber piece from a bike tire. Why is this place so dirty?

“My people don't take conservation as serious as yours,” Bear replied. “Most are too concerned with themselves to give a damn.”

Bear was just as his name, a bear of a man who hunted alligator for a living. Standing at least a head and a half over her, skin as tanned as leather boots, Bear was nothing to mess with from looks alone. If you got to know him, as Kagome had done, he was nothing more than a teddy bear. He and his wife Karen had been kind enough to take her into their home so she could do her research of mythical creatures found in the area.

Skunkape had brought her to the Everglades. So far, the elusive southern Bigfoot had proven to be just that – elusive. It had been two months with tons of 'sightings' and 'reports' from locals, but no actual sightings or evidence that she could use in her research, and Kagome was ready to call it quits and move onto the next area.

Bear looked up, a worried expression on his face. “Weather's a changin. We need to leave now.”

Kagome nodded. A nice hot meal and a bed would be the ticket to happiness, and she didn't want to play chances with the unpredictable weather. “Let's go.”

Bear started the small engine, and off they went through the swamps toward his home.