by Alex Archer
"Miss Skeptical has kept me alive for a long time. I don't fall for every person who can cook up a story."
"You think I do?"
"We've been over this already, Jenny. I'm just saying that, as scientists, we're supposed to use logic and facts to help us prove a theory, not the emotional memories of a person who may or may not be trustworthy."
"She seems trustworthy to me."
"We just met her barely an hour ago."
Jenny sighed. "Humor me here, would you? I'm having a bad couple of days. I nearly died from hypothermia. My love interest either doesn't like me or is pretending not to like me so I can concentrate on this big-foot thing. And now you think I'm too gullible."
Annja smiled. "Hey, the food's good."
"Small consolation."
Sheila came back out. "Your clothes are going to need more time. The rinse cycle just ended."
Annja stretched her arms over her head. "That's fine. I could use a nap, anyway."
"That does sound good," Jenny said. "But is a nap enough? I feel like I might sleep for days."
"I probably could," Annja said with a yawn.
Sheila held up her hands. "You two had better stop that stuff or else I'm going to pass out right along with you. Nothing like a good siesta to keep one on top of the world. You two wander upstairs and I'll make sure you get your clothes back when they're finished drying."
Annja pushed back from the table and looked at Jenny. "Do you have any plans for later?"
"What—like meeting up with David?"
"Yeah. Doesn't he have something he wants to show you?"
"I guess. He told me to call him when we got settled here. Maybe that means he'll take me out tonight."
Sheila stood quietly by with a vague frown on her face. But as soon as Annja saw it, Sheila made it disappear. What was that about? she wondered. Did Sheila know something about David that they didn't? And if there was something else to know about the small-town sheriff, what was it?
"Why don't you head on up, Jenny. I'll help Sheila clear the dishes. No sense not helping out after all she's done for us."
"I can help, too," Jenny said. She grabbed a handful of dishes and walked them over to the plastic tub set out for clearing the tables. Annja looked at Sheila, who busied herself with the plates.
"There's no need to help, girls. I've got this. You two go on upstairs and get some rest. By the look of it, you need it. And if you're here to find big foot, then you might need even more than you think."
Jenny looked at Annja, who shrugged. "You're sure?"
"Absolutely."
"All right, then. Thanks."
"Have a good nap."
Annja and Jenny walked upstairs. "That was a little weird," Jenny said. "Did you say something to upset her?"
"Me? What could I have possibly said? You were with me the entire time."
Jenny nodded. "I know. Just seems strange. Like one moment she was all fine and jovial and the next she was a little…wary."
"Yeah, I got that, too."
"Did you notice when she changed?"
Annja frowned. "Right about when we started talking about David."
"Damn," Jenny said. "I was hoping I was wrong about that. But, yeah, she did get a bit odd after that, huh?"
"Yep."
Jenny stopped. "What do you think it means?"
Annja shook her head. "I don't know. But I do know that we should probably be on our most alert around him. With crazy nuts like Simpson and Baker running around, combined with the Sasquatch, and then this whole thing with the sheriff, we've got to watch out for each other."
"Okay."
They crested the third floor and Jenny waved. "Sleep well."
"You, too." Annja watched her go and then turned toward her own room. She opened the door and stepped inside, locking the door behind her.
The lavender scent from the bath still lingered. Annja took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling a wave of relaxation wash over her. The bed looked incredibly comfortable and she couldn't believe she hadn't even tested it.
I would have fallen fast asleep if I had, she thought with a grin.
She took off her robe and jumped into bed, snuggling under the thick blankets. It wasn't cold outside, but somehow the feeling of thick blankets on top of her made her feel like a child again, back when the world didn't seem quite so big and scary.
How that impression has changed, she thought. Nowadays, everyone seemed to have an agenda and oftentimes that agenda clashed with Annja's, resulting in a lot of people who weren't particularly crazy about her continued insistence on breathing.
She burped quietly. Breakfast or lunch or whatever it was had been fantastic. Sheila hadn't lied about Tom being a great cook. He'd obviously come up around other chefs if he could make a typical breakfast like that taste as good as it had.
Or else Annja had simply been famished beyond belief.
She smiled. Anything was possible.
She shifted the pillow around until her shoulder felt comfortable on the mattress. It was a little firmer than she usually liked, but then again, she didn't think her body would complain given how she'd been battered for the previous day or so.
Her thoughts drifted. Sheila's reaction to big foot seemed weird to Annja, but she hadn't had the encounter. Who knew how people would respond to things until it actually happened? Sheila might just be one of those people who seem to cruise through life without getting excited about very much at all.
Or she could be lying about seeing big foot in order to feed into Jenny's fantasy.
But for what purpose?
And if Sheila didn't get upset about stuff, then why had she been so visibly disturbed, even for a moment, when David had entered into the conversation? What did she know about him that set her on edge?
It didn't make any sense.
Annja shifted again. Her stomach gurgled a bit and she wondered if she'd maybe had too much to eat. Annja didn't normally stuff herself, preferring to equate food with gasoline. You don't overfill the tank, but keep enough in there to keep the car running in top condition.
Still…
It wasn't the food. Annja found herself sinking in toward her subconscious. Wave after wave of drowsiness washed over her and she briefly worried that the food might have been drugged.
But no. Annja had been drugged before and this felt nothing like it. This was her body telling her that it needed to relax.
No sense fighting it, she supposed. She took a deep breath and exhaled, willing herself to let go of her hold on staying awake, to give in to the temptation to drift off to sleep.
And then she felt herself jerked back up toward her waking self.
Little sounds dripped and dribbled down to her subconscious, slipping into places where her logical mind could process them.
The result disturbed her.
Someone was coming into her room.
Annja felt herself moving toward being fully awake. Part of her resisted. She was so tired. And yet the adrenaline that had started coursing through her system fought off that sluggishness and forced her awareness back to peak.
Whoever was coming in would have needed a key. Jenny didn't have a key. And that pretty much meant that this person would have to be considered a threat,
She could hear it now.
Coming closer.
Annja steeled herself. In a second, she'd toss the covers and confront the person. Get them to talk.
But then she heard a familiar voice.
"Annja?"
Annja opened her eyes.
Sheila stared back at her.
"We need to talk."
Chapter 22
Annja sat up in bed with the covers wrapped around her. "Why couldn't you just tell me downstairs when we were eating?"
Sheila glanced around. "I never know who's listening. And it's better up here, anyway. No one can see me talking to you."
Annja frowned. Beams of sunlight cut through the drapes in front of the window, givin
g the room a much brighter look than Sheila's demeanor. "You're talking like someone doesn't want us to know what's going on here."
"Someone doesn't," Sheila said. "You're absolutely right."
"And why not tell us this when Jenny was around?"
Sheila shrugged. "I don't know, really. I mean, how much do you trust your friend?"
"Jenny?" Annja grinned. "I trust her completely. We've known each other for years. We haven't been in constant contact, of course, but overall…" She stopped. "Look, there's nothing unsavory about Jenny no matter how weird she might seem. I'd stake my life on it."
"You might have to," Sheila said. "You don't have any idea what's going on here and that fact could get you killed."
"So why don't you go ahead and tell me, then?" Annja stretched her legs. "I'm finding this whole adventure rather strange."
"You can't trust the sheriff."
"David? Why not? I mean, he wasn't going to be a close confidant or anything, but what reason do you have that we shouldn't trust him?"
"He hasn't been himself lately."
Annja sighed. "Look, Sheila, I don't mean to be rude here or anything, but I'm really tired. So if we could just skip the "you give me one line and I have to pry more out of you' thing, that'd be great."
"Dave is an imposter. He isn't the real Dave."
Annja eyed Sheila. "Okay, now I'm lost. What do you mean he's not the real David?"
"I mean he looks the same as he used to, but he's all different now. Everyone knows it. He changed when he got back after going hiking a few months back. Friday evening he set out to spend some time tracking. Monday he came back looking…strange."
"Maybe he ran into the Sasquatch."
Sheila waved her hand. "That was a load of hooey. I told that story because I could see your friend needed to hear it."
"You lied?"
"For her sake, yes. Tell me she isn't feeling a bit more excited now that she thinks I ran into the thing."
"Well, of course she is. But now she wants to go out and find it for herself. You heard her. She's jealous of you!"
Sheila shook her head. "Whatever you do, you've got to keep her out of the woods. Do not go in there again unless you have a means of arming yourself."
Annja thought about her sword. "Yeah, well, why shouldn't we go back there?"
"I know about those guys."
"Simpson and Baker?"
"Yes. Ellen keeps me in the loop. She was the first person to notice the change in Dave."
"And what exactly do you think happened to him?"
Sheila glanced away. "It's too ridiculous to talk about."
Annja smiled. "You'd be surprised at how many crazy stories I've heard in my life. Why don't you try me?"
"About four months back—a month before Dave went camping—there was a meteor shower. It came upon us suddenly but the show was incredible. For two nights, we watched the fireworks in the sky. Brilliant flashes and streaks cut across the heavens at night. Wondrous stuff."
Annja nodded. "I've seen some amazing displays in my time."
"Well, one of the shooting stars seemed to touch down out there." She pointed to the window. "Somewhere in the woods, one of those meteors landed. And somewhere out there, something happened."
"And you think that David stumbled across the meteor, perhaps?"
"Maybe."
"And then what?" Annja frowned. "It would seem unlikely that he came into contact with an extraterrestrial race who then turned him into a mindless zombie that they could control with strange thought beams and stuff like that."
Sheila eyed her. "You're mocking me, Annja. I don't appreciate that."
"Well, try to see it from my perspective. It sounds like another load of BS."
"It's not bullshit."
"So you say, right after you tell me that you just lied to my good friend about seeing big foot."
Sheila sighed. "Look, they're not related. I told a white lie and now I'm telling you the truth."
Annja took a deep breath. "So what exactly are we supposed to do, then?"
"Wait until your clothes are dry and then leave this place. While you still can."
"While we still can? What does that mean?"
"Haven't you noticed the lack of people in town? The lack of activity? Folks are starting to disappear."
Annja nodded. "Things do seem a bit quiet, but I chalked that up to people not needing to come into town all that often."
"Before Dave changed, this place was much busier."
"And you're saying he's directly responsible for the people going missing?"
Sheila nodded. "He knows he can't get rid of everyone without raising the alarm, so he went after the people living farthest away first. Eventually, he'll get to the rest of us. Those of us who live here in town."
"Why don't you leave?"
Sheila shook her head. "Not everyone is convinced."
"You don't say."
"They think I'm crazy. Just because I had a nervous breakdown a few years back and had to spend some time resting. They think I'm out of my mind. Sure, they're all nice to my face but I know how they talk behind my back."
"And Ellen thinks this is the case, too?"
"Ellen's my best friend. She's the only friend I have here in town aside from my husband. She's the only one who lets me know what's going on, but she spends most of her days in abject terror of what Dave has become."
Annja frowned. Ellen hadn't seemed particularly upset or concerned back at the station. "And what does Ellen think you should be doing?"
"We need help."
Someone does, Annja thought. "And?"
"We're hoping you might help us."
"How in the world could I ever do that?"
"You and Jenny, you could let the outside world know what's going on here. You could get help for us."
Annja shook her head. "Look, Sheila, you're talking like you're trapped here. I don't see any gates or fences keeping you in town. I'm sure you could easily hop into your car and drive far away from this place. Both you and Ellen for that matter. If you're as concerned about this as you seem to be, then maybe that's exactly what you should be doing."
"You don't believe me." Sheila stood. "I knew this was a mistake. I told Ellen there was no way you'd believe me but she insisted. And now you think I'm just as crazy as everyone else in town does. Don't you?"
Annja shook her head. "I don't think you're crazy, Sheila. But honestly, this is all a bit much for me to handle right now. I'm exhausted. I'm supposed to be looking for big foot. And all this extra stuff keeps popping up, turning my world upside down. Truthfully, I don't know what to think about your story."
"Will you at least do me a favor and think about what I've told you?"
Annja nodded. "Absolutely. I promise."
Sheila grinned. "Thanks. I really appreciate that." She started for the door and then turned around, her body bathed in a sunbeam. "I'll bring your clothes up when they're finished. I'm sorry I disturbed your sleep."
"It's okay."
Sheila nodded once, turned and let herself out of the room again. Annja heard the lock engage and then slumped back down onto the mattress.
Good grief.
David was apparently an alien of some type or at least under the control of evil beings from another planet. She smirked. This was one for the books. Somewhere out in the woods there was potentially a Sasquatch or a family of them. Joey was still out there, as well, doing who knew what. Probably he was going to make Simpson's and Baker's lives a living hell.
Simpson and Baker. Annja frowned. What were they really doing in this area? Surely they didn't think they were actually going to trap big foot and bring it to some laboratory, did they?
And if they didn't, then why were they here?
I need a computer and Internet access, she thought. She could at least investigate the meteor shower. And if that was confirmed, then perhaps there might be some shred of truth to Sheila's story that David was somehow differen
t now.
Not that Annja believed for one moment that he was under the control of aliens. But perhaps Simpson and Baker were exerting more control than they'd let on earlier. And perhaps it had something more to do with the meteors and less to do with big foot.