Troy gave a rather impassioned accounting of his and Carla’s adventure on the highway. Cam sat in silence and munched on a bag of chips. Lexie just stood there, her mouth open and her eyes blinking in a near comical way.
Troy’s story ended with a nice beer burp. “And there you have it,” he concluded. He popped open another one he had ready on the nearby counter.
Lexie looked at Cam as if to ask, “Is he bullshitting me?” Cam just shrugged.
“I…I…don’t know what that is,” was all she could say, as if she were the one who had to come up with an explanation.
“Me and Carla think it’s a government project gone bad,” Troy said. He was getting comfortable with this theory. “You know, switchin’ out DNA from different animals, creating something new in the lab. Shit like that. Probably got loose. We’re thinking Fort Polk.” He nodded his head, agreeing with himself.
Again she looked at Cam.
“Hell, who knows?” he said. “Something like that’s not going to come along naturally. But from a scientific standpoint, combining all kinds of DNA like that and making a new animal is really, really hard. Mother Nature doesn’t like us doing that shit. Only she’s allowed to do that shit.”
“Could it be something that’s evolved for millions of years, like us?” Lexie said. “Been here all along and we just haven’t seen it?”
Troy snorted. “You mean like the Loch Ness Monster?”
“Yeah, like that,” she said. “Maybe it’s the last of its kind.”
Cam shook his head. “Couldn’t be the last of its kind. It’s not like we’ve hunted the thing into oblivion. And there’s enough food around for it to eat all it wants. Hell, whatever the oil companies have been doing around here hasn’t killed off anything yet, either, despite what the greenie weenies might say.”
Lexie scratched the back of her head, and her blond ponytail swung back and forth. “What if it’s not…native?”
Troy said, “To the swamp?”
“To Earth,” Cam said before Lexie did.
Troy put his beer down. “A fucking alien?”
“Why not?” Lexie said.
“Cuz I couldn’t see that thing flying a fucking spaceship, that’s why. It came across as an animal, not E.T.”
“What, you didn’t see Predator?” she replied.
“It didn’t have a fucking laser,” Troy said. His voice went up an octave. “It had fucking teeth. And a fucking 20-foot long tongue. With a fucking hand on the end of it.”
“Shit,” Lexie said.
“Yeah, take a look at the tow truck when you get the chance.”
A rumble of thunder shook the Fort. They all looked up.
“Unfuckingbelievable,” Lexie said. She paced around a bit. “Whatever it is, the storm takes precedence right now. Afterwards, we’ll all spend some time with the sheriff on the monster thing. That should be a fun conversation. Cam, you’ll have to take point on that one. You’re the closest thing we have to a scientist around here. He might even believe you.” She looked at Troy. “Mr. Hot Shot Mechanic here, not so much.”
“I love you, too,” Troy deadpanned. “But it did try to eat me. I’d say that makes me an expert.”
“He’s got a point,” Cam said. “When something tries to have you for lunch, it kinda helps your bona fides.”
“Okay, okay,” Lexie said. She had both hands up. “And Carla’s driving around out there? She’s got some balls.”
“Actually, she’s got some dildos. To deliver,” Troy said. Cam couldn’t help but laugh at that one.
“Glad you two yuk monkeys are enjoying yourselves,” she said. She imagined the thing Troy had described eating Floyd Guidry in one bite. The gators and M’Lou, too. And it fit with what the lesbians saw when the kayaker was attacked.
The door burst open. It was Lee Curtis.
“Did y’all know there’s a fucking whale living in the bayou?”
Lexie, Cam and Troy turned as one. Curtis, a bit wild eyed, went on to tell them about the thing that had breached the water in the bayou behind his house.
“At Macy’s birthday party?” Cam said. He felt his stomach drop. That’s what had been bothering him. After seeing the cow carcass and hearing about the attacks on the water, he had felt anxious. Lee had told him about the party earlier, and Cam would have paid Lee a cautionary visit to tell him to keep the kids in the house. If he could have remembered the party. Which he didn’t. “The kids okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever it was scared the fish right out of the water. Damnedest thing I ever saw. At least where fish are concerned. Explains those gators the other day getting the hell out of there. Can there be a whale in the bayou? Could it have swum in all the way from the Gulf?”
“Not a whale,” Troy said. “Trust me. I had kind of a close encounter of the shit-in-my-pants kind earlier today.” He proceeded to fill Lee in on the particulars.
“Holy shit!” he said. “What the fuck is it?”
Cam said, “Don’t know yet. But it’s aggressive. What time did you see it?”
“Late afternoon, during the party,” Lee said. “Why?”
Cam walked around the counter and to the wall near the coolers. He had a map of the parish with all its waterways. “Lexie, show me where Guidry was attacked.”
Lexie walked over and squinted at the big map. “About here,” she said.
“Troy, you and Carla got hit about here, right?”
Troy nodded.
“And Lee, you’re right here,” Cam said. “And the cow got eaten right around here.” He grabbed a marker out of a drawer and marked the four spots. “And we found that big pile of shit somewhere in here.” He marked that, too. He then drew a line through all four points.
“Son of a bitch,” Lexie said. “It’s moving this way.”
“Show me again where the kayaker bit it.” Cam said.
Lexie found that spot, and Cam marked it. All the spots he had just marked were west of Alcide. This one was much farther east. He looked at Lexie, then Troy. “There are definitely two of them.”
“What?” Lee said. “You’re shitting me?”
“He shits you not,” Troy said.
“Fuck, I gotta get back to the house. Cam, you got some 10-gauge shells?” Lee said.
Cam nodded. While he went to get a box, Lee pulled out his cell phone and called his house. His orders were short and direct. “Lock it down and stay in the house.”
Lexie stared at the map again. Where was the thing going? And would the storm affect its travels? And is the other one moving, too? And which way?
When Cam got back to the front, Lexie said, “Cam, that thing is following the bayou. Heading this way.”
They all turned and looked out the back door into the gloom, towards the adjacent bayou. For the first time, they all noticed Huey, sitting next to the door, already focused on the waterway. He had his ears up, and they could hear the low, resonant growl coming from his throat.
“I think Huey’s been on to this thing. He’s been doing that off and on for the last few days.”
“You should listen to your dog more,” Lee said. He paid for the shells and said, “I’m outta here. Stay safe.” And he was out the door in a hurry.
“This is some crazy shit,” Troy said. He finished his beer with one long pull. Again with the burp.
“If that thing knows what’s good for it, it’ll hunker down during the storm like the rest of us,” Cam said. “We should be good for the next few days. Then we can deal with it.”
“Deal with it?” Troy said. “That fucker wasn’t in the mood to talk.”
“I mean catch it or kill it,” Cam replied. He looked over to Lexie, who was still staring at the dog. “What do you think, deputy?”
Lexie snapped out of her monster musings. “What? Yeah. We’ll do something after the storm. Gotta warn everybody. That’s going to be hard for the next 48 hours. Most people are gone, and the rest are all locked down. I guess I could go door to door.”
“Not enough time,” replied Cam. “The storm’s gonna help you out there. Wait till after.”
Lexie sighed. “Yeah. You two cowboys going to be okay in here tonight?”
Cam and Troy shook their heads. Even Huey broke his concentration and looked at her. Cam said, “This place is rock solid. Got a ginny, got food, water.”
“Beer. Guns,” Troy added.
“Got the Huey early warning system,” Cam continued, with a nod to the dog. “I think he smells and hears that thing, from a long way. If it gets close, we’ll know about it.”
“We better hope so,” Troy said. “I gotta call Carla.” He got off the stool and walked to the back of the store, cell phone in hand.
“What about you?” Cam said. “Where you headed now?”
“I’m gonna run by my house, make sure everything’s buttoned up. Grab a bite, then head out.”
“Eat with us. Got some jambalaya I’m heating up,” he said.
She thought for a moment and did some inventory of what she had in the fridge back home. Meager at best. “Okay, but let’s make it quick.”
“Yes m’am,” he said, and headed back into the kitchen.
While Cam and Troy were occupied, Lexie paced a bit. She went over to Huey, knelt down, and scratched the big dog’s head. “You smell it, Huey? Where is it, boy?” The dog whined and gave his big tail a couple of half-hearted wags. Lexie thought he gave her a sad look. Or maybe it was a “I’m scared shitless” look. She wasn’t a dog whisperer. Huey stood up and put his head to the back door. He sniffed a couple of times. “You want out, boy?” She opened the screen inner door, then the wooden outer one. She held them both open for him. He looked out, sniffed, and looked back at her. But he didn’t go out. This time she was pretty sure he sent her a message that basically said, “No way in hell am I going out there.” She shut the doors. Huey sat down again.
Lexie got up and grabbed a stool by the counter and waited for Cam to bring the food. She could hear Troy in back talking to Carla on the phone. She couldn’t believe Carla was out in this weather, delivering party toys to the hot and the horny across the parish. Then again, with the power going out pretty soon, probably for days, sex might be the only entertainment. Truth be told, she was feeling a little needy herself. That kiss with Cam earlier had opened up some real possibilities. But she’d be busy for a while. Maybe when things calmed down she could see where it would all lead. Bed would be a good start.
“What you thinking about?” Cam said. He carried out three bowls of steaming jambalaya and put them down on the bar.
Lexie looked up. “Hell, what’s not to think about? Monsters. Hurricanes. The usual.” She grabbed one of the bowls of jambalaya and dug in. The rice, chicken and sausage mixture was just the right level of spiciness for her. A nice tingle, but not enough to hide the flavor. “You should open a restaurant, Cam. This stuff is good.”
“Thank Mrs. DeSelle. Mom can cook like nobody’s business.” Cam’s parents were retired and living on the east shore of Mobile Bay. He watched Lexie wolf down the food. “So you’re on patrol all night?”
She nodded with her mouth full. “Pretty much. I’ll keep it close to home. Watch for flooding, trees down, jackasses running around and getting hurt.”
“And a monster. Or two.”
“Yeah, that.”
Cam said, “Keep your cell phone handy. Might call you during the night. Wake you up.”
“Hah. I could use the company,” she said. “Shouldn’t be too bad tonight. Tomorrow night’s gonna be a bitch.” She pointed back at Troy, who was still chattering on the phone with Carla. “He staying here tonight or tomorrow night?”
“Slumber party starts tonight. I’m staying open late, and then I’ll just bunk in the back on a cot. Troy will sleep next to the beer, I think. He’s kind of freaked out by what happened anyway.”
Lexie looked at her watch. “Shit, I keep forgetting. Gotta run by Floyd Guidry’s wake tonight, too. I’ll do that before I swing by the house.”
Cam nodded. “Cool. Drop by anytime tonight or tomorrow. I’ll open up early in case anyone needs anything at the last minute.”
Lexie finished her dinner and slammed down a bottled water. “Thanks, Cam,” she said. She wiped her mouth on a paper towel napkin and started to turn for the door. She looked back at Troy, then to Cam, and leaned across the counter and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She didn’t pull away, but kept her face close to his and said, “See you soon.”
Cam smiled and returned the favor on her lips. “Be careful.”
“Always,” she said, and walked out into the night.