No Panthers Live in Dublin Marsh

I sleep a lot better at night now. The inquiries are over, and I have been officially cleared of wrongdoing. But it was not before dozens of sleepless nights and immense soul searching that I am finally at peace with what happened that night almost three years ago. But I still have the need to put it down on paper, and perhaps this will give it complete closure. It is something I must do.

"Fitz... Fitz!" came the call, drifting through my open window and disturbing my breakfast. I recognized the voice immediately and let a sigh slip out. Charlie was not one of the most logical people I knew, in fact he would believe almost anything that he heard, including the rubbish in the supermarket tabloids. Those were his favorite, those tabloids.

"Fitz! Open the door!"he shouted. He then proceeded to pound hard on my front door. "Must he knock so hard?" I wondered. I did not know how much more my door could take, so I rose to my feet.

"Hurry! Hurry! Let me in!" he screamed, with what seemed to be a note of terror in his voice. He usually came running to my door with outlandish claims, but he never sounded this afraid. I suddenly felt concern. Putting a spring into my step, I reached the door quickly. Flinging it open, I stood face to face with Charlie.

"For God's sake, let me in!" he screamed, eyes wide as saucers. Stepping aside, I motioned with my hand to the living room. He burst through the door breathlessly and collapsed on my couch, shaking with fear. Closing the door, I followed him and took a seat.

"Now what is going on?" I questioned, looking at Charlie. His faace was coated in sweat, which was an accomplishment, considering it was still cool outside. Hair stuck up in every which way, framing his frightened expression. The little note of concern within me grew slightly. Something was definitely amiss.

"It was after me! Coming right for me! With claws and teeth and it was roaring!" he blurted out, still trying to catch his breath. My look must have given my thoughts away, because he continued. "It was a panther! Right down in Dublin Marsh!" he said excitedly. The concern within faded quickly, and a smile spread over my face.

"A panther? You've got to be kidding me! You know as well as I do that the panther is extinct in the eastern United States. There hasn't been one sighted in these parts for nearly 75 years. I seriously doubt it. You probably saw a big dog and got scared," I said, not believing that I had been worried only two minutes before. At least it was better than the Big Foot tale he had hit me with a few months before.

"Come on Fitz, stop being so damned logical! I saw a panther! I think I can tell the difference between a panther and a dog. For one second, put aside all your science and believe in me," he ranted on, sounding terribly upset with my disbelief. I sighed and stood up.

"Alright, Charlie. Let's assume for one second that you did see a panther in the marsh. I thought you said it was chasing you. I don't see anything outside here that looks remotely like an angry panther with bloodlust. It makes no sense," I said, happy with my logical standpoint.

"I don't know. Maybe he just chased me away from his den or something. I was too scared to look behind me. But I saw a panther, and I wish you could just believe me. This could be our break! If we find an animal in the swamp that is supposed to have been extinct for 75 years, we could be famous!" he explained, getting a distant look in his eyes. I sighed again. That was something else that Charlie was always doing. Not only was he bringing me stories of fantastic occurrences, but he always wanted to cash in on these, and the schemes always involved me. Over the last few years, I had participated in quite a few, mostly to humor Charlie.

"Yes, you're right, we could become famous. But who's to say there's even a panther in the marsh? Remember last year's lake monster that turned out to be an old inner tube stuck under a branch? Or how about the Big Foot that was nothing more than a bunch of drunken hunters?" I retorted, not really wanting to get involved in this.

"All right, I'll admit, I was wrong on those. But those were crazy. A panther is not crazy. Why couldn't one have survived deep within the marsh? I was way back there this morning looking for a place to fish, which reminds me that I left my pole. Anyway, this isn't so far out, Fitz. Will you help me find this thing? We can get my camcorder and my camera, and get a few shots, maybe some video. Besides, I need to get my pole anyway. That was a gift from Dad when I was a kid, it means a lot to me. So what do you say?" he asked, eyes beaming. I sighed once more. He knew the answer.

"Oh... alright, Charlie. But not until this evening. I've got an interview in a couple of hours with the college in Gore City. They've got an opening for a teaching assistant in the Chemistry department. I'm not going to be ready until at least 6 or 7 tonight, because I need to visit my parents when I'm over there. I haven't stopped in for a month, and they want to see me," I said reluctantly, the realization of what I was going to do tonight slowly settling in.

"Great! I knew you'd come through! You're always there for me when I need you the most! I'll get back and get all my stuff ready, and you can call me when you get home tonight. We're gonna find a panther, I just know it!" he babbled excitedly, rising to his feet. I could read the excitement in his eyes and see the wheels in his brain turning. He turned to the door and stepped outside.

"Hey, Charlie, I don't know why I do this for you," I yelled to him as he was leaving. He turned around quickly and smiled.

"Cause you wanna be famous!" he shouted back, his typical response. "Good luck with the job thing!" he yelled and was gone over the hill. I shut the door and glanced around the room. Why had I just promised him that I would join his cockamamie expedition?

The day passed quickly for me. The interview had been a success, I could tell they were impressed with me. The trip to my parents had been wonderful, and I couldn't pass up one of Mom's famous meatloaf dinners. So it was close to dark when I got out of there, almost 8. The sun was sinking slowly behind the hills as I pulled into my driveway. My headlights fell on Charlie, who was standing on my porch, a pile of expedition gear scattered around him. Did he have nothing better to do?

"Come on, Fitz, let's go! No time to waste!" Charlie shouted to me, picking up his gear. I had not even turned the car off yet.

"Alright, give me a minute. I just got home, you know," I said to him, wishing I could just go in and take a bath instead. Tromping through the swamp, in the dark, was not my idea of unwinding. "Can't we wait until tomorrow? It's dark already," I said, knowing the answer.

"No way!" he said, switching on a high powered flashlight and tossing it to me. "I've got two of these. We'll be fine!" he said, handing me a backpack. I got out of the car and sighed once again. Did he ever get tired? "Ok, ok. Let's go. We'll get this over with and I'll prove to you that there is no panther in the marsh," I shouted to him as he began off towards the marsh. There was no panther there, and it would probably be damp and cold. But none of that mattered, because Charlie had the idea in his head, and there was no stopping him.

"Hey Fitz, did you get the job?" Charlie asked as we neared the dark form of the woods surrounding the swamp.

"Nothing's for sure, but they are supposed to call within a few days. I think they were impressed with me, though," I answered, flipping my flashlight on.

"Ha! I knew they would. You're gonna be in like Flynn," he replied, as we stopped at the beginning of the woods. "Well, we're almost there. You ready to be famous?" he asked, a strange grin on his face.

"Of course. Never been more ready in my life," came my answer, mostly a lie. I wasn't looking forward to getting wet and cold, but didn't mention that. Charlie nodded and stepped into the woods. Snapping my deep thought, I followed quickly behind.

"Just stay behind me, I know a path through here. It only takes a few minutes to get into the marsh," he said as the woods closed around us. Branches were constantly slapping me in the legs and every so often I would stumble over a rock or a hidden root. Walking through the woods at night is not a very advisable pastime.

The trees gradually thinned and the sound of bullfrogs filled the otherwise still night air. I could smell the aroma of decaying things, and knew we had reached the marsh. I glanced around quickly. Out of the beam of my light, it was pitch black. No moon illuminated the way. Perfect, I thought. Just perfect.

"Alright, here we are. The place where I was this morning is about fifteen minutes back in there. From this point on, we shouldn't talk unless necessary. We don't want to scare the panther. Once we get close, I'll give a signal to cut the lights. You ready?" he asked, already beginning to walk. I just nodded and wondered what I was doing here.

Charlie led the way, rather quickly. I tried to pay attention to my surroundings, just in case I had to get out in a hurry, but everything looked the same. I became aware of my feet sinking slightly into some kind of brown stinking muck, and ignored it. There was probably worse to come. We moved quickly, in silence, with the only sound the haunting calls of frogs.

I was just becoming aware of the air getting chilly when Charlie stopped abruptly. He turned to me, placed a finger over his mouth to remind me of the silence, and then clicked off his flashlight. Still cursing myself for getting into this, I turned mine off and absorbed the darkness.

"Ok, follow me," Charlie whispered. I couldn't tell where he was. The darkness covered everything, and not a single star seemed to shine down. Listening for the sound of his feet sinking in the muck, I tried my best to keep up. The walk was now more difficult. No longer could I even see where I was going. That was probably best, I decided after a second. I hoped Charlie would soon get to the "panther's den", because my feet were getting slightly sore. When I finally heard him stop walking, I was greatly relieved.

"Get out the video camera from your back pack. I've got the film camera, and a tape recorder. We can sit on this hill here. Don't talk, and don't turn on your light," Charlie whispered hoarsely through the pitch darkness. I shook my head, still not believing where I was. But I did as Charlie had asked, and somehow found the hill he had told me about. We sat down, probably side by side, with cameras in hand. I heard the click of the tape recorder coming to life, and then silence returned.

If the panther was around, I hoped it would make itself known. The air was definitely chilly, and the marsh was not such a comfortable place during a pitch black night. My eyes kept scanning the area, seeing very little, but hoping. Knowing that Charlie would be ever vigilant, I decided to allow myself to doze off for a while. Foolishly, I thought I wouldn't miss a thing.

My sleep had been short lived. I awoke to a hard nudge in the ribs. Groggily, I lifted my head up and saw nothing.

"Fitz! Look, over there!" Charlie whispered, the excitement evident in his voice. I turned my head rapidly around, but saw nothing.

"Where?" I whispered back, trying to keep my voice low. I felt his hand turn my head in the darkness and I tried to adjust to the low light and see what had him so worked up. I strained my eyes until I felt a headache, and then I saw it. There it was, his panther. I could make out the shape of its hindquarters and long, bushy tail. I could not believe it. For once, Charlie had been right. Despite myself, I felt excited. We might become famous, after all.

"Oh my God! You were right!" I tried to whisper. But my voice must have been just a little too loud. The form of the panther turned immediately to face the sound. It was then that we realized it was no panther.

When we had first seen the creature, we could only see the back end of it. Its head had been hidden amongst the dark trees. Once I had drawn its attention in our direction, we could see its head. And what we saw made our blood run cold.

Where the eyes of the panther should have been, there were instead two tiny pools of bluish flame. And when it opened its mouth to growl, a long red tongue emerged and flicked through the air, almost like that of a snake. I turned to look at Charlie quickly, and saw his jaw hanging open just as far as mine. Neither of us had any idea what we were looking at, but both of us were sure it wasn't supposed to be in the marsh. Once my initial shock and disbelief had passed, I began to wonder if we were in danger. I reached over to grab Charlie and make a quick exit, when he decided to take a picture.

The flash bulb lit up the marsh like a bolt of lightning. For a moment, the creature was illuminated in the harsh blue flash, and we could see what we were dealing with. The creature had appeared to be the same size and shape as a panther, but did not seem to be covered in fur. It almost seemed like it was covered in scales. It only took a moment for the flash to fade, but the light was too sudden and too much for the creature. I caught one more glimpse of the tongue, and then saw the two pools of ghostly flame approaching rapidly.

There was no time to do anything. No time to defend ourselves, no time to run, no time to hide. Just the approach of the thing, an unearthly roar, and then a thud as the creature landed on Charlie's chest. I heard the thing roar again, and then came the sound of struggle and the screams of Charlie. I did not know what to do. All I knew was that the creature was very real, and was tearing my friend apart. And I knew I was next. So I did the first thing I could think of. I ran.

Branches scratched my face and briars pulled at my clothing, but I kept running. At times that night, I found myself nearly knee deep in muck. And yet I kept going. My running kept up for nearly three hours, and came to an end only when I tripped over a large rock and plunged headlong into a shallow puddle. The loud crack from my leg gave me an indication that my little jaunt was over, and I tried to catch my breath. In the depths of the marsh, the only sound that I could hear was my own heart, pounding in my ears. Exhaustion swept over my body, and I remember no more from that night.

Only recently have I allowed my mind to dwell on those events three years ago. Yesterday I and I tried to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. It looked like all the rest of the marsh, filled with cypress trees, rotted logs, and brackish water. Not one thing to indicate that something so horrible had been played out there. I did, however, find Charlie's tape recorder on the hill, half buried in the dirt, and looking fairly beat up. The tape in it doesn't play quite right, but I can make out a little bit of it. All that is left on the tape is a monologue that Charlie must have recorded before we went out that night.

I believe, Charlie. I believe.

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