Full Moon Rises

Chapter 5

We'd been traveling for a couple of days now, it had been a really fun time. The nights we spent sleeping in the back of the truck which was actually pretty comfortable. We took quite a few stops, enjoying the sights and just having a good time. We had finally arrived in Louisiana and were headed for the swamps. We had gone through probably about half of the food we packed, which was perfect.

We drove in silence, I looked out the window and watched the scenery slowly change. It changed to wet, swampy areas. We kept driving until we made it to a parking lot. The road ended there so we got out. It was completely empty, we were the only vehicle here. Tanner handed me a backpack and put on one of his own.

"What's in the backpack?" I asked, putting it on.

"Some emergency supplies as well as food. Who knows how long we'll be here. Come on, follow me." He walked off and locked his truck as he did so.

I followed after him and we hiked through a lot of trees. The water slowly got more and more deep until our boots were almost underwater. I walked ahead of him, and suddenly we were out of the trees. I didn't see where the land stopped and I almost walked right off the edge, and into the water. Tanners hand reached out and pulled me back before I could fall.

"Oh, thanks." I said, looking at where we were. We were now on the edge of the swamp where all the water was. There was different channels and waterways in a few different directions. Trees were scattered in and around the water. I could see a few crocodiles swimming in the water below. There was a perfectly placed boat, right near us.

"Where did the boat come from..?" I questioned, staring at it.

"I asked the pack in the area if they could leave it here for us. I already had to tell them we would be in the area, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask." He walked me over to the boat and helped me carefully get in. He got in after me and sat down.

The boat had a small motor and some paddles on the sides. He was sitting near the back and started up the motor. We slowly started moving, making our way through the trees. I sat near the front, looking at the heads of crocodiles I could see. Some of them even started following us, and it made me nervous. We traveled for a good few hours, so I reached in my backpack and got some food.

"Do you even know where we're going?" I asked, taking a big bite of my sandwich.

"Nope, no idea. I'm sure if we get close though, we'll know."

"How would we know? It's not like there will be giant signs pointing toward the wizards house."

"I'm sure he has his.. Own way of letting us know. I'm sure he wouldn't want anyone coming too close. He has to have some sort of ward to keep people away."

"Hmm, I see." I threw the rest of my food in the water, watching the crocodiles eat it eagerly.

After awhile, the trees started getting closer and closer together. It made it pretty hard to navigate, and it also got very dark. He turned the light on the boat on and kept going forward. Eventually we were in a very narrow waterway. Suddenly the boat stalled. Tanner cursed angrily and tried to fix it.

"What's wrong with the boat?" I asked, feeling uneasy.

"I don't know, but I'll get it working again. At least if I can't we have some paddles."

He fiddled with the motor for awhile. When all of a sudden it was ripped right off the boat, disappearing into the water.  We exchanged glances and looked at where the motor used to be. The boat started violently shaking, terrifying me. I peeked over the edge, staring into the water. Suddenly a vine shot out of the water, wrapping around the middle of the boat.