by B J Bourg
“Can we at least go back to the campsite and set up our tents?” she finally asked. “It’s too dark to see, so it wouldn’t be wise to start looking around for him.”
“Yeah, it looks like he went into the water anyway.” Elton had walked to the edge of the canal and was pointing into the water. “There’s a smeared footprint here. He must’ve run off after we saw him.”
“You,” Kaitlin corrected, “after you saw him. I didn’t see anything.”
Elton only nodded.
“Okay, let’s head back to the camp,” Leroy said in resignation. “I’ll set up some game cameras while y’all pitch the tents.”
CHAPTER 4
Sarah, Elton, Leroy, and Kaitlin all trudged through the swamps and made it back to the campsite just as it was getting too dark to see. Kaitlin knew it was brighter out on the lake, and she longed to be there, but it was no use arguing. They had set up camp deep in the forest because Leroy believed that’s where the bears would be hanging out, and she knew he wanted to be where he’d have the best chance to capture them in his cameras. She also knew Leroy wouldn’t agree to leave any earlier than they’d planned, which was Tuesday morning.
“I don’t know if I can spend two nights in this hellhole,” she whispered to Sarah as they sprayed themselves down with mosquito repellent. “Why don’t you convince Leroy to leave tomorrow morning? He’ll listen to you.”
“I don’t want to leave,” Sarah said flatly. “I think this is exciting. Sure, it’s scary, but Leroy brought his gun. We’ll be safe.”
Kaitlin didn’t say another word as they set up the two tents. When they were finished, she put all of her bags in the red tent, which was the one she and Sarah would be occupying. Elton and Leroy would be sleeping in the blue tent. Next, she began stacking wood for a fire. As she went through the familiar process, she began to relax a little. She remembered all of the times her dad had taken Leroy and her camping in the woods in north Louisiana to see bears, and how he’d insisted that she learn how to build a fire.
“You never know when you might need to start a fire to save your life or the life of someone else,” he had cautioned. “That’s why it’s important for you to learn to do it yourself.”
She had welcomed the lessons and loved being the one to start the fires. It was her favorite part of camping—well, she had to admit it was cool seeing the bears, but that was when her dad was with them. She didn’t trust Leroy to keep her safe. In fact, she had known she could count on him to get them into trouble—and now look what was happening.
She sighed, realizing that, at twenty, she derived the same amount of pleasure and peace from building a camp fire. Once the small flame was blazing, she set about gathering more wood. She didn’t want the fire to die down in the middle of the night, especially now that she knew there was a large monster roaming around nearby, so she made three piles that were large enough to probably last a week. Elton helped her and he began making jokes while they worked. It got her laughing and helped to take her mind off of their situation.
Once they were done and Leroy had finished setting up game cameras at strategic spots around the camp, they broke open a large can of stew and heated it over the fire. Leroy couldn’t stop talking about Big Foot. He had brought along some game cameras he had gotten for Christmas and had hoped to find proof of bear activity in the swamps, but he was now talking about using the cameras to make him famous. There was talk of money and an appearance on the reality show about finding Big Foot.
“And then I’ll be able to have any girl I want!” he exclaimed in a moment of lapsed judgment. Sarah punched him hard in the ribs and he issued a quick apology and tried to play it off as a joke. Kaitlin knew better.
When the stew was hot enough, they each scooped a generous helping into a bowl and began eating. Kaitlin’s stomach ached from hunger and she moaned as the warm and tasty food slid down her throat.
“God, this has got to be the best stew I’ve ever eaten,” she said, closing her eyes as she savored the chunks of meat and potatoes.
“No, you’re just hungry,” Sarah said around a mouthful of food. “This is cardboard compared to my mère-mère’s stew. If you ate her stew, you’d spit in your mom’s—”
“Did y’all hear about the group of teenagers who camped out here a few summers ago?” Leroy asked in a serious tone, interrupting their talk about food. His dark eyes looked evil in the dancing glow from the fire. Kaitlin had never seen her brother’s eyes twinkle like that and it made her shudder. “They all disappeared without a trace,” he continued. “The police searched for three months, but found neither hide nor hair of them.”
“That’s not even true.” Kaitlin scoffed. “If you heard about it, then I would’ve heard about it, too. Dad never said anything like that in front of me. He only told us about those kids up north—”
“That’s because I didn’t hear it from Dad. No, I heard about it from one of my college buddies.” Leroy’s expression remained serious. “One of the people who disappeared was his cousin. They camped out here for two nights. Everything was fine on the first night, but then things started getting crazy on the second night.”
“Bullshit,” Elton said. “You’re lying your ass off.”
Leroy shrugged. “You don’t have to believe me—just Google it.”
Elton whipped out his phone. His thumb slid over the screen and he tapped on it for a few long seconds. A frown played across his face as he stood and then began walking around. “There’s no cell service out here.”
“That’s exactly my point,” Leroy said, snapping his fingers. “A distress call was made from my buddy’s cousin’s cell phone to the police department on the second night. The only problem was that it was dated two years later.”
Kaitlin smirked. “Yeah, right.”
“Oh, I’m not kidding. The operator who took the call logged the date and time, but when they went back and checked the record, it showed up as two years later.” Leroy took a slow look around the group, stopping to rest his eyes on each of them for a long moment before moving on to the next. Kaitlin averted her eyes when he looked at her. Once his eyes had penetrated all of theirs, he turned his attention to the fire and stared into it for a full minute before speaking again. His voice cracked just a little. “And you know what? The date that showed up on the record—the date that the phone call was actually made—was tonight!”
Leroy jumped up and hollered the last word, causing Kaitlin to throw herself backward off the stump on which she was sitting. She slammed into the packed ground and let out a startled cry. Sarah shrieked in terror and jumped to her feet, slapping at Leroy’s shoulders. Elton just sat there laughing with Leroy.
“You’re an asshole.” Kaitlin pulled herself back onto the log and sat there pouting. “I should never have come.”
This got Elton’s attention. He quickly stopped laughing and left his seat to move beside her on the log. “It’s okay, Kaitlin. He didn’t mean any harm. It’s just an old story we tell when we’re bored. We change it up to have it take place on whatever day it is and wherever we happen to be.”
Tears streaked down Leroy’s face as he continued laughing hysterically. “Sis, you should’ve seen your face! It was priceless. I told Elton we should’ve recorded it, but he didn’t want to. We’d be internet famous!”
“It’s not funny to scare people like this, Lee,” Sarah said to Leroy. She wasn’t hitting him anymore, but her nostrils were flaring and her fists were planted firmly on her hips. “I think I had a mini heart attack. And Kaitlin could’ve been hurt.”
Leroy waved her off. “Stop being such a—”
The sharp sound of a branch snapping somewhere in the darkness brought all of their heads around and shut them up instantly.
“What the hell was that?” Leroy wasn’t laughing anymore. His eyes were wide and his voice was a hissing whisper. “Do you think it’s him?”
Kaitlin noticed that Elton’s face was even paler than it had been earlier. He
gulped and only nodded. He didn’t look at Leroy. He didn’t look at any of them. He was too busy scanning the darkness that surrounded them. Another branch snapped—this one closer to the camp—and Elton’s head jerked around. He reached for a piece of timber, as did Leroy, and they stood poised at the edge of the firelight, ready to fight. Without hesitating, Kaitlin snatched up a length of log and moved up beside Elton. If they were going to be attacked, she’d rather go down fighting.
It was now very quiet in the swamps. The only sounds that could be heard were the buzzing mosquito wings as they flew close to Kaitlin’s ears. Other than that—and the pounding of her heart in her chest—it was as quiet as a graveyard in the forest. There was suddenly a rustling of dry leaves to their right and it sounded closer than the first sounds. Panic wrapped its icy fingers around Kaitlin’s throat and threatened to choke her.
“Oh, God,” she whispered, “please help us!”
There was movement beside her and she stole a glance in that direction. Elton was slowly squatting and she realized he was reaching for a flashlight. Still gripping the branch in her hands, she watched until he’d retrieved the light and aimed it in the direction of the sound. Leroy had noticed the movement, too, and nodded. It was then that Kaitlin noticed Leroy holding his pistol in one hand and the piece of timber in the other. The gun was silver and it sparkled in the firelight. Although she was still scared, the presence of a gun did make her feel a little more secure.
Leroy leveled the gun in the direction of the noise. Elton took a deep breath, and then mouthed the words, “One…two…three.” On three, light shot from the flashlight and illuminated the darkness in front of them. There was a snapping around of a furry head and then an explosion of sound as the creature whipped around and scurried off. It was a deer!
The campsite erupted in laughter. Kaitlin joined the others in dropping her stick and relaxing. It was only then that she realized she had been holding her breath.
“It’s that damn story you told us,” Sarah said to Leroy. “It’s got all of us jumpy.”
“I wasn’t jumpy,” Leroy announced. “I knew it was nothing. I just wanted to mess with y’all some more.”
“Yeah, right,” Sarah said. “Then why’d you have your gun out?”
“To help sell the joke.”
“Bullshit,” Sarah said.
“No, I’m being serious. Big Foot never attacked anyone, so we’re perfectly safe out here. All he does is run away when people see him—just like he did when Elton saw him.”
Sarah and Leroy began arguing about whether or not Leroy had been scared by the sound, and Kaitlin took the opportunity to put away her dishes. She then headed for the red tent. Elton’s eyes were on her and she couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. She wanted to hang out with him, but she was frazzled. Maybe tomorrow she could find some time to be alone with him. “Well,” she said when she neared the tent and reached for the zipper. “I’ve had enough fun for one night. I’m going to bed.”
“I’m right behind you,” Sarah said.
But she never came. Kaitlin tossed and turned late into the night, jumping at every falling branch and rustling leaf. She could hear whispers and giggles coming from the other tent. She knew Sarah was spending the night with Leroy, but what about Elton? She liked him, but she didn’t want him sleeping in her tent just yet. And she knew Leroy wouldn’t want him sharing the tent with him and Sarah. Where was he? Was he going to sleep out in the open, under the sky? Was he waiting for her to fall asleep so he could sneak in beside her?
Kaitlin pondered this while trying to decipher every night sound she heard. The thought of sleeping out in the open terrified her. She knew the tent was thin, but at least it offered some protection from the insects and crawling creatures that populated the deep swamps of southeast Louisiana. It would also keep her away from Big Foot—or whatever it was that was roaming out there. At one point, she scooted farther away from the wall of the tent just in case the creature might slap against it in search of her. She then wondered if it would be better to have Elton sleeping inside, rather than outside. But would he protect her? He had no obligation to her or duty to protect her…
As her mind continued to work, she slowly lost her grip on consciousness and faded off to sleep.
CHAPTER 5
Tuesday, June 4
Bayou Tail Boat Landing
I nodded my head in a solemn salute to Melvin when I stepped from my Tahoe and approached the two men standing on the pier. Melvin Saltzman was Susan’s most senior patrol officer and he was the best we had on the water. He was about five-ten and weighed a solid two-fifty. His shaved head was weathered and tanned from the many hours out on the water, and his eyes were dark and serious. He was not the same innocent and jovial officer I’d met years ago upon first rolling into town. Instead, he had become a little more thoughtful and a bit more distrusting of people. Of course, I couldn’t blame him. He had been through a lot in his career.
The man with him was not as tall, but a little heavier.
“Are you the detective?” the man asked.
“Mr. Shelton,” Melvin began, “this is Chief of Detectives—”
“Clint Wolf is fine.” I extended my hand. The man, who was obviously the complainant, had a powerful grip and a stern expression on his face. His salt-and-pepper hair was thick and brushed back. He was probably in his early forties, but he looked to be mid-fifties at a minimum.
“Clint,” the man said, not even attempting a smile, “do you know what happened to my daughter, my son, and their friends?”
I glanced from him to Melvin, and then back to him. I didn’t know if there had been some kind of revelation between the time I’d received the call and when I’d arrived, but I decided to play it off. “Melvin and I are sure going to find out,” I finally said. “If you could just start by telling me their names, and then give me the names of everyone who was supposed to be with them.”
“Yes, of course.” The man ran a hand through his thick hair. “Let’s see, my son is Leroy, my daughter is Kaitlin, Leroy’s girlfriend is Sarah, and my son’s best friend is Elton. They’re all college kids, but my daughter is younger than the rest of them.”
“And your name?” I wanted to know.
“Gary…Gary Shelton.”
“Okay, Mr. Shelton, can you tell me where your kids were going, and what they were planning to do when they got there?”
Gary shifted his feet and pushed his hands deep into his pockets, as though he was filled with regret. I didn’t know why, but was about to find out.
“They…they were looking for black bears.”
“Bears?”
“Look, I know it sounds crazy, but that’s what Leroy is into. Kaitlin isn’t as crazy about them as he is, but she likes them too—and it’s my fault.” He sighed. “I’ve always had a fascination with bears and I started taking the kids to national parks to see them back when they were real little. I was always trying to capture photographs of—”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” I said, “but what made them think there were bears in the swamps?”
“They saw some online video where someone claimed to have seen a bear in the swamplands south of Mechant Loup, and Leroy wanted to catch them on film. I’m…I think something bad happened to them. At first, we thought they might have run out of gas or something, but we’ve called each of them several times but no one answers. My wife has a tracking app on their phones. The map shows them in the middle of a large lake.”
I scowled. That didn’t sound good. “Can you show me the map?”
While waiting for the man to fish out his phone and access the map, Melvin nudged my arm. “I’ll go hitch up the boat. I think we’re going for a ride.”
I nodded and turned my attention back to Gary. He had pulled up the map and handed me his phone. There were two small round pictures floating in the middle of the map, one of a boy and one of a girl. I assumed they were his kids. The map was zoomed in and there were n
o clear landmarks visible, but I knew in a glance where they were.
“I know this place,” I said slowly, squinting to read the tiny printed words on the map. I messed with the setting on his phone and brightened the screen. It helped, and I was able to read that the kids had been in that same spot since Sunday afternoon. This ain’t good!
“Where is it?” Gary tapped the screen of his phone. “Where’s this place?”
“They’re right in the middle of Lake Berg. It’s a big lake to our west.” I was still studying the details on the app’s page when I noticed a message in tiny letters that read, Last updated 2 days ago. I pointed it out to Gary, but he only shrugged.
“I don’t know what it means,” he said.
“You say they came out here two days ago?”
He nodded.
I rubbed my chin. There was a symbol at the top right-hand corner of the app’s page and it looked like a refresh button. I pressed it and waited. After a few seconds, a message displayed stating that they could not be found and that their phone was either turned off or there was no network. It suddenly dawned on me what had happened.
“They’re not in the middle of the lake,” I announced, turning the phone so he could see. “They’re out of cell service. Depending on your service provider, your cell phone may or may not work out in the swamps.”
“If that’s the case, then what good is this damn app?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I scanned the parking lot. There were a dozen vehicles with boat trailers attached to them scattered about the large shell lot. “Which vehicle belongs to your kids?”
Gary pointed to a Chevy Silverado parked about thirty feet away. It was a red truck and there was an empty boat trailer attached to it. As he described the kind of boat they were in, I walked across the parking lot to the truck. It was locked. Although it was still daylight outside, I couldn’t see inside the truck, thanks to the dark tinted windows on the vehicle.