DR. NEWTON WASN’T SURE HOW LONG HE’D BEEN FREE. A couple of hours, at least. It was now completely dark and he was wishing with all his heart that Dr. Catalyst had invented a genetically altered super-creature that preyed on mosquitoes. As he trudged through the swamp, with only the moonlight to guide him, he had become a walking all-you-can-eat buffet.

He was taking a route to the southeast. One he hoped would return him to some form of civilization before long. After leaving the warehouse, he had headed straight north, going deeper into the swamp. This had been done intentionally. He hoped his captor would assume he’d head immediately to the south, toward the ocean. Moving north would increase his chances of getting away. Now, as the mosquitoes surrounded him in a cloud, he began to regret his decision.

He turned east for a while, and then southeast, which should theoretically lead him to a town, or at least a stream or river he could follow to one. If nothing else, he would reach the ocean eventually. Right now, he’d even settle for stumbling across a deserted fishing camp.

The mosquitoes were relentless. Weakly, he knelt beside a small bog and rubbed mud into his face and arms. It would hopefully provide some level of protection from the maddening insects until it dried and flaked off. As he stood, something shrieked in the forest about thirty or forty yards behind him. He could hear the rattling of the branches and leaves as a very large animal wended through the canopy of trees. Moving in his direction. Dr. Newton stopped and stared through the foliage but couldn’t see anything.

It was probably a nervous eagle, or an osprey, uneasy because he had intruded so closely to its nest.

Dr. Newton was familiar with the swamp. He wasn’t too worried about alligators. He made plenty of noise as he trudged along. Most gators would avoid contact with a human unless they were cornered. They possessed excellent senses of hearing, smell, and sight, and any he might have encountered would scramble away before he drew too close.

Unless they were very hungry …

As he walked, he heard the sound in the trees behind him again. It was closer this time. And then a strange call cut through the darkness … not exactly like a gator, but similar. It was the reaction in the swamp to the animal’s cry that unnerved him most. Birds that had been nesting screeched in alarm and took to the sky. Off in the distance, he heard alligators calling to their young and the answering squeaks of their babies as they scrambled to find their parents in the darkness. He heard the unmistakable rustle of small animals scurrying away through the underbrush, and other creatures splashing into the water.

And behind him, he heard the same rustling in the treetops again.

Dr. Newton quickened his pace.

And so did whatever was following him.

This part of the swamp was thick with trees, and the ground was soft and marshy, but he ran, grunting and groaning with the effort as he hurtled across the uneven ground. Several times he stumbled, his feet becoming tangled in roots and grasses.

After running for several hundred yards, he stopped to rest and listen. At first he thought he was safe, that whatever was there had abandoned the chase. But the chirping insects and frogs went silent a few moments later as his pursuer caught up. The rustling was back and it was closer this time.

It was right above him.

Dr. Newton sprinted away. He heard something big crashing through the trees behind him. It caught up to him far too quickly. He risked a glance over his shoulder and screamed in alarm.

Flying through the air, its four legs spread wide, the beast glided toward him. Its long neck and large mouth, full of sharp, pointed teeth, made it look somewhat like an alligator … but not quite. Dr. Newton saw it silhouetted in the moonlight and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Having been locked up and drugged for several days, Dr. Newton believed in that moment he was hallucinating. It was the only explanation.

Otherwise, he was about to be eaten by a dragon.