The wounded gator sank back under. Before Bella could finish it, a second one lunged.
She was faster than any reptile. The tiny rescue boat made a terrible fighting platform, but her hands moved on instinct—one rapid thrust the moment it surfaced, steel rod punching straight through its eye and out the back of its skull.
Too deep. Two more gators snapped at her legs. She kicked one back into the water and wrenched the rod free from the dead one's head.
"Help! Help!" The distant cries continued. Bella was way too busy killing reptiles to respond.
"You asked for this."
Swordsmanship alone wasn't cutting it. Too many gators. Boat too small. If they flipped it, she'd be stranded and exposed—even if she saved the others.
She gathered spiritual energy. Silent incantation. The next gator burst from the water—
A hair-thin beam of frost shot from her fingernails.
Frost Ray hit its jaws. Half the skull froze solid. Ice spread fast under the spell's power. Bella kicked its head apart—flesh and ice shards scattered across the churning water like shrapnel.
Blood scent drove the surrounding gators into a frenzy. They swarmed in, devouring their frozen buddy.
Bella killed another with a clean thrust, tossed the corpse as a distraction, then gunned the rescue boat toward the cries for help.
A middle-aged man and a young woman stood in a doorway, water past their waists. The woman looked vaguely like Carina Barbossa. When they spotted Bella, they started waving frantically.
Good. Mission was looking easier than expected. She checked the compass. Just as she thought—target was probably this woman, maybe two or three years older than her. Save these two, job done.
The pair had clearly taken a beating from the gators. Father's leg was messed up. Daughter had bite marks on her thigh and arm.
Why weren't their limbs torn off?
Ancestor blessings. Don't question it.
"Get on!" Bella hauled them aboard one at a time. Before she could say anything else, the father's face twisted in horror. He pointed behind her.
"Get down!"
What?
She spun around.
Froze.
A five-meter wave roaring straight at them. Debris riding it like a living avalanche. This was a residential area—houses everywhere, trees everywhere, furniture and appliances floating all around.
How the hell did a wave that big form here?
If she said there was no magic involved, even she wouldn't believe it.
Pure instinct. She channeled Barbossa's spirit and cursed:
"Calypso, you bitch!"
The wave hit before the words faded.
Against raw nature, Bella had nothing to brace against. The boat flipped. All three of them got launched through the shattered doorway of the nearest house—which turned out to be the father and daughter's own home. One full rotation later, they ended up right back where they started.
Plus one Bella.
Boom. Door exploded. Boat capsized. All three got slammed into the living room by the flood.
Forget the father for now. Bella kicked hard, surged forward, grabbed the young woman—the one she assumed carried her ancestor's soul fragment.
The house wasn't sturdy. Grabbing the doorframe did nothing. The flood swept them both into the kitchen.
"Up! Climb!" Water kept rising. Chairs and stools floated past, smacking into them. Annoyed, Bella grabbed the girl by the hips and boosted her onto the kitchen counter.
Then climbed up herself.
Soaking wet.
First thought.
Hair plastered to her face. Hit by a wave, dragged through half a house. She looked like a drowned cat. At least it was another woman—accidental flashing wasn't too embarrassing.
Both crouched on the counter, finally catching their breath. Time for introductions.
"Hi. Hailey. Hailey Keller." She glanced at Bella. "You're not from around here, right? Don't recognize you."
"Isabella Swan. And no, I don't live here. Just... passing through. Tourist."
Couldn't exactly say she'd traveled from the far corner of Washington State to Florida just to find her.
Hailey did resemble Carina Barbossa—especially that stubborn look in her eyes. From her brief intro, she was a University of Florida student.
Halfway through talking, Hailey suddenly dropped her voice. Like she was afraid Bella might panic.
"Keep it down... there's something in the water."
Bella's steel rod was gone. Lost somewhere in the chaos. She scanned the kitchen—no knives, nothing sharp.
"Any weapons in the house? Baseball bat? Golf club? Chainsaw?"
Hailey shook her head hard. She'd been living in the dorms, hadn't been home in ages. And who kept a chainsaw lying around?
The girl was on the edge of panic. Unseen gators pushing her toward a mental breakdown. Bella tried to calm her.
"Relax. It's fine. We're okay."
Marvel Survival Rule #3:Whenever someone says "Relax, it's fine, we're okay," the situation is absolutely NOT fine.It means things are very bad.
Bella watched the water. Fighting gators barehanded was doable—just annoying—but she didn't want to reveal her magic.
"We need a boat. Gotta get out of here. Stick to the wall. Move slow."
Both girls were light. They edged along the counter toward the doorway.
Then—
Massive shape surging up from below. Six meters long, at least. Enormous jaws opened wide, rows of teeth gleaming like knives.
Calypso, that bitch!
Bella knew instantly—this gator was magically enhanced. No American alligator grew this big naturally. Six meters didn't sound like much on paper. In person? Absolutely terrifying.
No hesitation. She ripped the kitchen range hood off the wall and smashed it down on the giant gator's skull.