Blue Avenue

"The ground beyond the grass clearing became soft and dropped into a shallow black-water swamp. We trudged ankle-deep past cypress knees, over roots, sludge and God knows what as the sun dipped low and the woods darkened. Night birds whisked through the branches. "You know what lives in this swamp?" I said. Once or twice a year, visiting northerners, men hunting without permit, or hikers found themselves deep in the wetlands and got bitten by a snake or something else invisible and poisonous, and the sheriff's department airlifted them out - those who had cellphones. Those without cellphones crawled out themselves or didn't." Excerpted from Blue Avenue by Michael Wiley All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.