Sticky mud clings to your boots as you trek through the fetid bog. Sinking into the muck with every step, you find yourself wondering for a moment if the tourist pamphlet you picked up from that backwoods gas station was accurate.

Supposedly the locals had legends about some kind of man-eating swamp dragon living in the area. You, of course were sure it had to be some kind of statue from some long-lost, and ruined civilization. You were sure there was treasure to be found. Your mind fills with the glimmers of gold, jewels, and serpent-shaped stone relics.

The sudden swagger in your step betrays you, sinking your leg deeply into stinking, watery muck. Your exclamation of disgust, reverberates so loudly through the swamp, that all of the shrill cries of birds, and insects fall silent. Desperately, and disgustedly, you try to free your leg from the quick-sand-like mud... but it's quiet, too quiet. The world around you has fallen eerily silent, save for a strange rumbling, causing the surface of the water to vibrate strangely.

A chill runs down your spine, as you remember the sound of a bull alligator. Is there an alligator here? A relic crocodile? The possibilities swirl in your head, as you frantically free your foot from the muck. You look up, as the rumble gets louder, and the dark waters, glistening with algae begin to churn, as a dark, sinuous shape rises from the depths.

Its back is coated with swamp plants like a strange mane. Nightmare fangs emerge from its beastly mouth, as an enormous forked tongue licks at the air. Primal green eyes, suddenly turn to you, regarding you with a strange intelligence. Coils undulate in water, revealing a large fluked tail, reminiscent of a trident. You stare in shock, but manage to somehow reach for your camera, and take a series of pictures... The dragon rears back with a hiss, raising its webbed talons from the water in agitation. Whoops... the flash was on...