The Night the Sand Began to Whisper

In 2019, twenty-two-year-old Maria Chen joined a sea turtle conservation team on the beaches of Padre Island, Texas. Her job during the night shift was simple: watch the marked nests and wait. On her third night, she kept hearing a faint scratching sound beneath the sand, so faint she thought it was wind or crabs skittering nearby. Twice she radioed the team leader, veteran biologist Dr.…