Amateur Monster Hunters

By Melody Personette

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” Willow grumbled, blowing a strand of brown hair out of her face. She trudged through the shallow, mucky water. Only Henry would think it was a good idea to spend their weekend stomping around a mosquito-infested swamp searching for something that didn’t exist. He was lucky they were best friends, or Willow would not have been so willing to skip out on normal teenage outings to follow him on his hunts every Saturday and Sunday.

All around them sprouted green, green, and more green. So much green, Willow now despised the color. Green algae and moss. Green vines wrapped around the trees. Green grass and green sloshy stuff floating on the top of the water.

So far, the water was only up to their shins… But at least she and Henry were wearing knee-high boots, so the water couldn’t touch her legs or soak her socks.

Henry flashed a grin over his shoulder. “Come on, where’s your sense of adventure?” He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair and turned forward, wading ever deeper into the marshland right outside his neighborhood, chasing a ridiculous urban legend about some slimy, green monster.

“We’re getting close. Look! My radar is picking something up.” Henry waved his little machine at her.

The machine he’d bought on Amazon for, like, ten dollars. The so-called radar that mirrored those phony ghost-hunting trackers.

“Oh, goodie,” Willow muttered as she took another step. She slipped off a rock shelf and splashed deeper into the water, going to just below her knees now. Frustration hissed from her lungs. Henry had a way of convincing her to do things she didn’t want to do. Maybe it was his bright smile or the way his blue eyes sparkled with excitement when he talked about his monster hunting. The two of them had been at this for a year now. Henry was always dragging her everywhere, no matter how far. Especially during summer break, when they had time to go camping and on day trips out of town, following every supernatural lead he could find.

Last week, his older brother had told him his hunts were a waste of time. Today, Henry planned to prove him wrong.

He stopped at a rotten tree for a minute, allowing Willow to catch up. How chivalrous.

The little needle hovered around the middle of the display. When Henry moved the radar toward the west, the needle inside swung to the zero on the left. But when he turned the machine eastward, the little needle went to the sixty mark, the closest it had ever gotten to the one hundred.

Henry beamed, eyes flashing with excitement. “We’re so close!”

Around them, a chorus of frogs croaked and peeped, forcing them to practically shout.

Willow couldn’t help but smile back. Despite not sharing Henry’s faith in that little needle, she continued to follow him. Besides, he had promised they would get ice cream afterward. And he would pay.

“What do you think this… swamp monster will look like?” she asked, her thoughts focused on mint chocolate chip with hot fudge on top.

Henry shrugged, holding back a drooping branch so Willow could duck under it. “There are mixed accounts. One person said it’s made of moss and algae. Someone else said they saw glowing green eyes and talons and fangs.”

“I’m hoping for the mushy algae-and-moss-covered one. Sounds less deadly.”

Henry smirked at her. “The harmless-looking ones are usually the most dangerous.”

“Well then, I guess I’m all for the fangs and the talons and the glowing green eyes. Sounds like a party to me.”

“That’s more like it. Is the camera ready?”

“Yep. All set.” She held the camera up from where it hung around her neck.

Five more minutes into trudging, as Willow was about to open her mouth and ask if they were done yet, the radar made a high-pitched beeping noise.

“Get ready, Will!” He held the radar up to her face. The needle quivered and pointed directly at 100.

Willow held the camera up to her eye. She swung it back and forth. No monster in sight. Three seconds went by. Then ten as Henry stepped farther into the swamp, waving his radar around. She hated to be the one to burst his bubble but… that little tracking device he’d purchased was a piece of junk. Willow didn’t see any—

Henry grabbed her arm. Willow glanced up and when her eyes met his, his face paled. He nodded to something splashing behind her. Willow swallowed, her heart rate kicking up in her chest. She turned slowly, camera still in her hands, and screamed.

His radar wasn’t a piece of crap after all. A green mass of… something towered in front of them. Human shaped with broad shoulders, talons stretching out from sinewy fingers. It’s deep-set eyes glowed green, and when it opened its mouth… black, jagged fangs. Willow gasped and stumbled back at the same time Henry shouted at her to take the picture.

She pushed the button a few times. Then she grabbed his arm and jerked him around. “Run!”

The monster let out a vicious howl, and Willow heard splashing close behind them.

They bolted through the swamp back the way they came. They didn’t stop until their feet landed safely on the asphalt beside Henry’s car, the radar having gone silent in his hands.

They stood there, gasping for several minutes before Henry grabbed her camera, still looped around her neck.

“Hey!” But Willow forgot her protest as soon as she saw the picture on the screen.

A crystal-clear, real, live swamp monster stared at them, glowing green eyes and all.

A slow grin spread across Henry’s dimpled, mud-spattered face. “We did it. No one can say my hunts are a waste of time now.”

Willow shared his smile. “I guess we’re no longer amateurs.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melody Personette is a 20-something YA author, book lover and follower of Jesus. She’s been writing since she can remember and now tells stories about the magic of hope, being a light in the darkness and love conquering all. When she’s not writing, Melody can be found in the home she shares with her family in Indiana drinking tea, binge-watching her latest favorite TV show and working toward her Bachelor’s degree in General Studies.

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