Lycan Rising

Home Sweet Swamp

“Please, Mr. Morrison, I am quite certain that property is the one I want to look at,” Kyrie said to the quite annoying realtor.

“Why would a young woman want to live on the edge of the swamp all alone?” he asked in his rather nasally voice.

Kyrie sighed as she struggled to contain her aggravation. She looked at the man who wasn’t much taller than her and wearing a poorly fitting suit. For some reason he didn’t want to show her the property, even though the pictures she had seen looked perfect. A place where she could have plenty of solitude and peace. The gravel road leading to the house wasn’t even shown on maps of the area. It was the perfect place for someone who didn’t want to be found.

“Mr. Morrison, if you don’t want to show me the property, then I will find a realtor who will. I have enough money to buy the home outright today if I like it. Which means that you get your commission directly as well,” she told him firmly.

“As you wish, Ms. Granger,” he finally said, “you can ride with me if you like or follow me there if you prefer.”

“I will follow you,” she replied, thankful that he was finally cooperating with her.

She walked over to the black Chevy Tahoe that she had recently bought and climbed in. She started the truck and waited for him to pull off so she could follow him. Having researched the area, Kyrie had a good idea where they were headed. She followed him through the town of Akers, and about a mile down from the last house, the realtor pulled into a driveway. Kyrie pulled in behind him and immediately fell in love.

The 3 bedroom shotgun style house was raised several feet off the ground, and the front was dominated by a huge screened in front porch facing the water. Kyrie felt she was right about the Manchac Swamp being the perfect place to disappear. There were no visible neighbors nearby and the entire front of the property was bordered by the swamp.

“Let’s go inside,” Mr. Morrison told her, swinging his hand in front of his face to swat at gnats flying around him.

“Absolutely,” Kyrie replied excitedly.

Following him inside, she immediately made her decision to buy the house. The living room and kitchen were open and airy with lots of windows providing natural light. The kitchen had plenty of cabinet space and stainless steel appliances. Walking down the hallway the first 2 bedrooms were basically the same but very large.

Opening the next door, she saw a spacious bathroom with a small linen closet. Kyrie smiled to herself at the idea that this beautiful house could be hers today. It was so perfect and more than she had dreamed of when she came here.

Finally, she opened the last door and her mouth dropped open. The master bedroom was huge, with 2 large windows looking out over the water. She went through the door to the master bathroom and was amazed again. It had a huge whirlpool tub and a separate walk in shower. His and hers sinks, and another window behind the tub looking out over the water as well. She turned to walk out of the bathroom and for a second an eerie feeling washed over her, like someone was watching her. Shaking the feeling off, Kyrie walked back to the living room to find the realtor.

“I’ll take it,” she told him.

He stared at her for a minute with his mouth open. “Are you sure? And we’ll have to see if we can get you approved for the loan.”

“I told you that I don’t need a loan. I’m going to buy it outright and I’d like to get it done today, so if you don’t mind can we head back to your office and get to work on this,” Kyrie replied a little aggravated because apparently he had not listened to anything she said.

Several hours later, Kyrie pulled up in front of her new house. She didn’t have many belongings, just her duffel bag and an air mattress and a pillow that she had bought on her way, so she went ahead and unloaded her truck and brought everything in. Luckily, she was able to get the electricity and water turned on this afternoon.

“Welcome home,” she said to herself walking in the door.

She decided to go out on the porch for a few minutes and enjoy the moonlight on the water. Kyrie felt safe here, something that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Looking out over the water she saw a pair of red eyes looking back at her and realized that it was probably an alligator. It strangely didn’t bother her as she stared back, and after a few minutes the eyes disappeared. As she got ready to go back into the house, she heard what sounded like a wolf howling in the distance. It caused her to have that strange stirring within her again, which she found odd.

Shaking her head, she walked back into the house and decided to get ready for bed. She was exhausted but ecstatic to have started this new chapter in her life.