Swamp Novels & Stories

And Laura can only be so forgiving. I trudge home with aching legs. The only good thing about today is that the weather has been kind. My first two weeks of being in Waindale consisted of rain and clouds and more rain, but today the clouds are white and the sun shines through them. I glance up at the sky for the few seconds I can. When my eyes come back down, the forest beside me looks dark, and the creature in it stares.

He whispered before gray-colored thorned vines popped from the ground and trapped the reptile, a nearby member of the tribe decapitated it with a sword. "Yes, Chief." Answered a calm, feminine voice, there was a lot of noise on the other side of the call as well, mostly screeches and the buzz from insect wings. "The swamp front is full of insectoids and reptiles, and some amphibians appear sometimes, but they refuse to engage with our forces because they would be vulnerable to their predators."

Mwajuma hauled herself over the lip of the bark and collapsed onto a flat surface. She lay there, gasping, staring up at the bruised, violet sky visible through the breaks in the canopy above. But as her breathing slowed, she realized something was wrong. She wasn't lying on hard wood. The surface beneath her was soft, wet, and smelled powerfully of stagnant water and decaying vegetation. She pushed herself up on her good arm and looked around in the dim, neon-green glow of the jungle moss. She was in a swamp.

The place reeked of everything that was wrong and unnatural. We reached the swamp at dusk. The ground turned wet beneath their steps, the trees leaning over still water that mirrored the darkening sky. The air grew unnaturally still. Even the breeze died. The surface of the swamp was glass, reflecting the rising stars and the cold, blue light of the moon. I crouched low, ears twitching. Something was wrong. A crack split the silence. Branches broke overhead. Manolya jerked her head to the side with her eyes wide. She was already too close to the edge.

I could hear the rain outside, I didn’t want to wake up this morning. It was such a relaxed morning. I could see the dark clouds outside my bedroom window, rain drops were pattering on the window glass. The rhythmic sound of the rain was making me more sleepy. I lived in a one bedroom house that I bought with my hard earned money last year. It’s not big but it’s cozy, it is home. It looks like a cabin and I have my own beautiful yard which I have planted with different beautiful flowers, it’s my favourite place to read a book and have a coffee.

The moon hung low in the night sky, casting a silver glow over the Eclipse Pack territory. Alpha Shane Lincoln, a formidable werewolf with a commanding presence, stood on the elevated platform at the heart of the pack's settlement. His piercing eyes surveyed the pack members gathered before him, their expressions a mix of concern and determination. "My fellow pack members," Shane began, his voice resonating through the crisp night air. "We have received troubling news. Vampires, our ancient adversaries, have launched a series of attacks in neighboring cities – Greenhills, South Shore, and beyond."

Bri The men took us into the deep swamp leaving Landry's boat at our dock and using our more nimble skiff to navigate the deep swamp’s terrain I strained, reaching my magic out farther, into land that wasn't ours. I was more limited here. It felt foreign but I could sense them.

Whoever it was must have swum away, taking their scent with them. We were a week into November now, so the temperature had dropped significantly. I couldn’t imagine that the culprit had gone far in the freezing water. We tried walking down the side of the brook for a mile with no luck. We backtracked and tried going a mile the other way. Nothing. Whoever it was, was able to swim more than a mile in freezing water.

~Missy’s Point of View~ I was standing in front of a huge fire. I looked all around and there were pups with marshmallows and hot dogs on sticks chasing each other. There were even a few puppies around, actual four legged ones. Hollow Hill rarely had any actual pets, since they tend to not like witches and can be easy food for vamps desperate for a quick snack. “Welcome to my humble home,” Ryan said, coming up behind me. He had a huge smile on his face and he was obviously proud. His happiness radiated through me.

I stared too. After a few minutes of staring, the most unusual thing I had ever seen in my entire life happened. Right before my eyes, the tree split into two. Between the two halves was a water-like surface. It looked like an entrance, a kind of door. The water-like surface did not reflect the forest; instead, it had a sky-like colour.