Prologue

Dark lay the night, the nocturnal noises softened by the fog that rolled gently over the marsh. The moon’s shine was half dark, and blurred prettily to those looking up at her from under the moist grayness, taking on sort of golden hue to her cold aura. Fireflies danced over the water and reeds, occasionally disappearing to the creatures feasting on them from the water. The crickets and locusts both chirped out a noisy lullaby, seemingly competing for the pleasure of being heard by the other indifferent creatures.

Slowly, it all came to a still. The fireflies drifted higher, their predators sank lower, and the insects ceased their musical cacophony. All was deadly silent for a few minutes, as what the creatures of night had sensed was still too far to be properly heard. At last, there it was. Splashing – amounts of splashing indicating a creature of good size – approached at a rapid pace. Nocturnal prey crouched in their holes and predators watched from their hunting positions. The moon seemed to lose her golden glow, and all held their breath in wary anticipation.

They must have been shocked and bewildered by the creature that came into their vision. Surely, this deep in the swamp, these animals had never beheld such an ungainly and careless being. Was he predator or prey? They could not tell as the creature known by his kind as a man stumbled through their environment. He cared not how much noise he made, how many times he fell, or how dirty he was becoming, as he ran with demanding speed through the marsh. He was swiftly past the nocturnal creatures’ sight, and eventually out of their hearing.

They had just begun their usual scene of dance and hunt and musical cacophony, when once again the creatures became silent and still. After a few moments, and unending storm of splashing came towards them. The wiser creatures in the water moved away from the impeding noise. And just as well they did, for the noise was made by no less than a dozen more men, their arms longer and sharper than the single man's had been. They, too, passed through with remarkable speed. And as the creatures of the night returned to their activities for a second time, the earlier question was answered in all their animal minds, for a brief, ephemeral second.

The single man was prey.