He’d managed to keep the men busy with hunting, gathering, and scouting. They couldn’t range far. The storm had turned this swamp into one giant pool of quicksand. Already San Amaro was sinking into the soft earth. He prayed the ship would hold together, as she provided their sole protection from the elements.
“What are we going to do, Captain?” Dominic’s dull voice struck a note of fatalism. “We’re trapped in this quagmire.”
“The weather is hale. Eventually, the swamp will become passable and we will make our way to shore. From there we will find our way to an outpost. La Florida is filled with game and fruit. We should have no trouble keeping ourselves fed during the journey.”
“That is not what I meant.” Dominic turned to face him, his face wan. “There is something out there, many somethings if our scouts are correct. The men have never seen the like before.”
“Superstitious nonsense.” Morales waved his first mate’s comment away. “The men had a great fright, and they are temporarily trapped in a forbidding environment. It is only natural that their minds begin to deceive them.”
Dominic hesitated. “Manuel is hardly a superstitious man. He is the oldest and most experience of them all and he says he has seen demons in the swamp.”
“All sailors are superstitious, and the fact that he claims to have seen demons proves it. Besides, I seem to recall Manuel insisting he once made love to a mermaid.” He would have said more, but shouts from the direction of the crew deck drew his attention. “What is going on out there?”
“I’ll see.” Dominic hurried out of the cabin and returned ten minutes later with a grave look on his face. “You must come and see this.”
“What is it?” The look on his mate’s face gave Morales an uneasy feeling.
“You have to see it for yourself.”
Morales eased himself up off the bed and paused to let the wave of dizziness pass. Slowly, taking great care to stand up straight, he made his way to the crew deck.
The men were huddled around a sand fire pit they’d made in the center of the deck. The scents of acrid smoke, roasting meat, and coppery blood greeted Morales as he approached the excited men. He lacked the strength to force his way through the crowd, so he merely stood there, leaning against the wall in what he hoped was a casual manner, until the men became aware of his presence. Silence rippled through the group as, one by one, the men spotted the captain. Not one man met his gaze.
“We didn’t do it, Captain,” one of the younger men, Alonso, muttered. “We came back from patrol and found… that.” He pointed at the fire pit.
Summoning all his reserves of energy, Morales made his slow way forward. The sailors parted like the Red Sea to Moses as the captain approached the fire pit, until only one man stood in his path.
“We needed meat,” Manuel, the veteran sailor said.
“And what sort of meat have you brought us?” Morales stepped around Manuel and froze. Even stripped of skin, he could recognize human arms and legs roasting in the fire. “Cannibalism!” He drew his sword in a flash and pressed the tip to Manuel’s throat. “I’ll flay you alive for this. Whose body is this? Who have you killed?”
“You misunderstand,” Manuel gasped, his eyes locked on the gleaming blade of Morales’ sword. “It’s one of the creatures we’ve been seeing. I thought they were demons, but they’re actually some sort of ape. One of them attacked me with a stone club and I ran it through.”
“An ape? In La Florida?”
“Someone show him.” Manuel said.
One of the crewmen picked something up off the deck and held it up for the captain to see. Morales’ jaw and sword arm dropped in unison as his eyes fell on the horrific sight.
“What in God’s name is it?” That thing, whatever it was, was no ape.
No one had time to answer, because angry howls coming from outside the ship split the air, echoing down into the crew deck. Something heavy thudded against the ship and Morales flinched. What was happening?
“Manuel. Get up on the main deck and see what’s happening.”
The sailors exchanged dark looks but no one aside from Manuel made a move. They all waited in tense silence until the sailor returned.
“I can’t see anything through the trees, but the sounds are coming from all around.” He swallowed hard. “I think it’s the… apes… or whatever they are. They have us surrounded.”
“How many do you think there are?”
“I can’t say for certain. Ten? Twenty?” Manuel began to tremble. “I didn’t mean to anger them. I was only defending myself.”
“If the situation was reversed, and it was one of our own killed by these… apes, would that matter to you?”
Manuel hung his head.
“It doesn’t matter,” Morales said. “You had no choice. You couldn’t let yourself be killed. We need you.” He looked around at his men, all wide-eyed and various shades of pale. “We must be prepared to defend ourselves, should it prove necessary. Dominic, set a guard.” The mate nodded.
Morales turned his eyes to the fire pit and the disturbingly human-looking meat that cooked there. “You might as well eat. We’re going to need our strength.”
He headed for his cabin, unable to watch the men devour their unsavory meal.
“Madre de Dios,” he whispered. “The monsters are real.”
Chapter 1
It was a bar like any other. Loud music and even louder conversation competed to drown out the baseball game showing on the televisions hanging from the walls. Bones selected a table in the corner, ordered up hot wings and a bottle of Dos Equis, and sat back to watch the door. This was his kind of place. The only thing missing, he thought, was the stale smell of cigarette smoke, but that had been absent since banning smoking in public places had become a thing. Bones didn’t care for cigarettes, but there was something about the musty aroma that made the atmosphere in this sort of place just right.
He didn’t have to wait long. He was just digging into his chicken wings when a slender, dark-haired woman came in through the door. She spotted him immediately, smiled, and made her way across the room. As she passed, several sets of eyes followed her progress. Bones couldn’t blame them. The woman moved with confidence and grace. Of course, most of the men were probably admiring the way she filled out her form — fitting clothing. She had just the right amount of curves to balance out her athletic build and she tossed her long, brown hair in just the right way. She was a looker, no doubt.
“Mister Bonebrake, she said, reaching out to shake his hand. “I’m Joanna Slater. You can call me Jo or Slater, whichever you prefer.”
“You can call me Bones. I don’t answer to anything else unless I’m at a family reunion.”
“Fair enough.” Slater slid gracefully into her seat and signaled for the waiter, who was already on his way over.
“I would’ve ordered you a round, but I don’t know what you like to drink.”
“I’ll drink just about anything if someone else is buying.” She turned to the waiter. “I’ll take one of what he’s having, and go ahead and bring us another round.”
“You’re off to a good start,” Bones said, nodding in approval. “So, tell me what I can do for you. I assume it has something to do with your television show.” Bones knew that Slater hosted Expedition Adventure, a cable television show that focused on ancient mysteries and cryptids — mysterious creatures whose existence had not yet been documented by science. “You’re in Florida, so what are we talking here? The Fountain of Youth?”