Hot, Hard & Howling - OpenDrive

Mari Freeman
Chapter Ten
The smell of diesel fuel and swamp rot filled the air as she stepped from the cab.
Nell looked out over the sunset. Bright orange and pink highlighted the dull aluminum
of the few boats tied to the long dock. There was a large metal building up the
driveway, open bay doors revealing the skeletons of several more boats and the rustedout
remains of a Mustang. The ride had taken forty-five minutes and a hundred-dollar
bill. Once the cab left, Nell was alone in the middle of nowhere.
Nell crossed the gravel parking lot and lightly tapped on the door of the tour boat
office.
“They’s closed for the night, miss.” The voice didn’t exactly startle her, but she was
sure no one had been down by the airboats when she got out of the cab. Now a large,
white-haired man was behind her.
“Captain Allen?” Nell took a step toward the big man. He titled his head in
question. “Barri said you might help me.”
“Madame Barri said that, did she?” He scratched the side of his head with dirty
fingernails then dug in the deep pocket of his camouflage pants. “I ain’t got a call from
her in months.”
He flipped open the cell phone that looked way too small in his thick fingers.
“Oops. Reckon I did.” He pushed a couple buttons and listened. He shook his head as
he closed the phone.
Nell waited to hear if that message pertained to her or not. She stood still and
attempted not to show how anxious she was over this entire situation.
Without commentary, he headed toward the dock. “You want to go out there at
night, I’ll take ya’s.” He stopped suddenly and turned back to Nell. Even several feet
away she was closer to him than she would have liked. He was tall and thick and
smelled of dead fish. “I ain’t going all the way in though. I’ll take you to Naked Creek.”
He sniffed the air.
Nell decided it was time to speak. “I have no idea what that means. I have a missing
friend.”
“I know what you lost, miss. If he’s where I think he is, you may not want him
back. Lots of folks goes out there and they never gets back.” He continued toward the
airboat at the end of the dock. “I knows that’s mostly hearsay and Voodoo mumbo shit,
but I’ve lived in these swamps all my life and found no cause to test out them rumors
myself.” He climbed onboard and held out a meaty hand to assist Nell off the dock and
onto the rocking boat deck. “Got to be an old codger that way. And I aim to make it to
old fuck someday.”
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