Shotgun in arm, Bud proceeded off of the road over to the general area he figured the kids had taken their spill. He knew the area like the back of his hand, and their description of the creek and boggy mud meant only one place. Bud walked stealthily though the tall grass, listening to every abundant sound the forest had to offer. Frogs were croaking, crickets chirped, and night birds made quite a racket until his presence became known to all the forest creatures, which then created a very eerie, deep silence. He saw the expected occasional fruit bat swooping around. He even saw a good-sized buck freeze in the beam from his flashlight for a couple seconds before it bounded off into the forest. But then he saw what he’d come to see. There were more of the atypically huge paw prints of some animal he couldn’t readily identify. Bud couldn’t help thinking that the huge prints could easily be made by a Big Foot, and what Big Mike apparently ran into by his description was large and hairy. Again, Big Foot?
The prints were just like the ones he had seen up at the cave, and just as Ian had aptly described: They looked like tracks of a dog or wolf, but they were different in certain ways. These tracks were fresh. And like the ones at the cave, these too had the additional indentation of what resembled a heel-like imprint. But the prints were just too large. The size and formation made no sense. The most unnerving part to Bud was that prints of this size so deeply embedded into the soil would mean that proportionately the animal would have to be incredibly heavy and enormous beyond belief. Bud shuddered at the sudden realization of where he was and what might still be lurking nearby. It was a bright, moonlit night, but even still, with only the visibility that the flashlight he’d clip-mounted on his shotgun afforded, his attempts at looking deep into the dense, evergreen forest was nearly futile. Bud strained his eyes, staring with all his might as he looked all around and off into the abyss. He couldn‘t help feeling unnerved at the knowledge that there were no doubt a thousand tiny eyes staring back at him with much greater success. And Bud also knew too well that predators were blessed with near-perfect night vision. He was becoming increasingly convinced after speaking with Jeremy and Big Mike and after seeing the prints all around him that there may be at least one predator around that, even packing his small cannon, he‘d rather not meet. Not alone. Not at night.
All at once, Bud saw the impossible. Small to medium-sized trees started snapping and breaking all around not thirty feet in front of him. The trees and foliage suddenly parted like Moses had parted the Red Sea. Bud prayed it was a herd of elk creating a new would-be animal trail. But his prayers fell on deaf ears. He heard the deep, low growling of something beyond fierce. Bud’s legs became like lead weights. He’d heard stories of people who claimed to have been frozen from fear, but he’d never before personally known it to be possible. He then felt the ground shake from impact tremors. Tremors that shook the ground in perfect synchronization like that of a massive, marching army.
“Oh my God!” Bud screamed loud and shrill at the sudden emergence of a massive, dark silhouette that supported unholy, mirror-like retinas. It was reared up and moving on two legs as it leapt out of the blackness directly upon him. Bud managed to pump off three rounds of heavy load directly into the chest of the beast. The shotgun blasts impacted the creature hard, knocking it back a couple of feet as its chest reflected the wounds and its blood spewed. But ultimately, the direct hits effected nothing more than slowing the beast only momentarily.
Utterly shock-seized, the last thing Bud felt and saw was the panting of thick, hot breath and saliva that dripped from the monster’s jaws into his face. Unable to move, Bud was completely pinned. Staring down at him were two insidiously yellow and red-veined eyes. Growling and snarling ferociously, the monstrous aberration posed with intensely drawn-back, heavily-flexed facial muscles. The beast’s gums were fully retracted, revealing massive, ivory-colored canine swords and shark-like incisors, which then dipped and tore into Bud‘s throat, ripping and devouring it with thrusts of supernatural force and ferocity until there was no throat left to sever. Momentarily satisfied, the beast backed off from him and stood, examining its kill. Then it looked up at the moon and let out an unearthly series of howls. Bud’s head rolled from his body down the sloped embankment, coming to rest in the shallow, muddy creek below. The beast then bit down onto the trunk of Bud’s heavily bleeding, decapitated body and grasped it firmly in its jaws. The beast dropped from two legs to four as it crossed the road and disappeared.
Chapter 21
What If …?
His alarm clock blared its incessant buzz, buzz, buzzing. The morning came too early. Way too early for Ian.
He had fallen into a shallow sleep while semi-watching an old black and white horror movie on his television. He had sprung for the works: full hookups at his RV campsite, which included cable since the good people of Harmony Falls would be footing the bill.
The movie he’d been semi-watching was the second of a creature double feature. Aired as a salute to Universal Studios Classic Horror films of the 1940’s, both films starred Lon Chaney Jr. portraying the deeply-troubled Lawrence Talbot, a man eternally cursed by the mark of the beast.
Ian figured he must have finally dozed off around 3:30 a.m. It was 7:15 a.m. now.
The last thing he could remember of the movie was an old gypsy reciting a poem. Something about how even a good man when the moon was bright could turn into …
Still blurry-eyed and fuzzy-headed, Ian grabbed a shoe that was lying next to him on the floor of his trailer’s semblance of a double-wide bed, which was made-down, transformed from its alternate self as it existed before: the dining table.
Somehow, the thought of his bed and how it could be transformed from one thing to another and the old movie started Ian’s mind racing.
What if Big Foot was actually a Loup-garou like the old drunk at the bar had said. A werewolf. Nah, that’s ridiculous! Ian’s mind was swimming with all sorts of fleeting, wild thoughts. He was desperately attempting to form some rhyme or reason that might aid in the investigation. Maybe that would account for why no body of a Sasquatch has ever been recovered.
Ian couldn’t help himself. His imagination had gotten the best of him. Every culture around the globe has its stories of some type of shape-shifting phenomena. The American Indians have, or at least had, very strong beliefs regarding such things. God, what am I even thinking here? I must be losing it! There’s a logical explanation. Just got to be the first to find it! I wonder if I even suggested such a possibility to Charlie whether he would think I was crazy and have me run out of town on a rail. One thing’s for certain: I sure as shit wouldn‘t suggest it to Bud!
Ian managed with some difficulty to drag himself out of bed. He splashed a little water on his face, headed out of his trailer, and climbed into his Jeep. Ian figured he’d catch a shower in the park’s men’s bathroom and shower house later in the day. He had to get a move on. Ian had his problems, but being late to the dance had never been one of them.
He first glanced up at the sky as he pulled out of the park onto the main road. He frowned when he saw that the light grey, cloudy sky was getting darker as the morning progressed. Heavy rain was a certainty, and it was coming fast. Ian then glanced at his gas gauge and began thinking of what his best morning strategy would be.
I better get some gas and pronto. We’ll no doubt be heading back up to the falls to do some more poking around. Charlie’s wife’s store is the only place I’ve seen in town to get gas. Probably outrageously high prices. But since they’re picking up my expenses, who the hell cares? Maybe I’ll meet up with Charlie. He was supposed to stop and pick up some doughnuts. I guess I could spring for the coffee since I’m gonna save my receipts and bill ‘em for whatever anyway!
Moments later, Ian pulled into the Merwin Mercantile. He immediately noted the price of regular gas was a good ten cents a gallon more than he’d paid just a couple days ago in Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast, and he’d thought those prices were ridiculously high even for a tourist tow
n.
Boy, what a racket Charlie and his wife have going. If you need gas while you’re up here, you’ve got no choice but to pay whatever price for gas they ask.
Ian drove to the gas pump islands located just left of the store and proceeded to pull up to pump number two.
He then spotted Charlie’s car parked towards the back of the store. Ian smiled, now knowing he wasn’t gonna be much later rendezvousing with Bud than Charlie would be. He hopped out of his Jeep and walked briskly up to the store’s entrance. He spotted Charlie picking out doughnuts as he opened the door and crossed the threshold into the store. Right away, he took note of all the usual grocery items: beer, pop, and lots of snacks. Ian was moderately impressed as he noticed they carried a pretty respectable selection of fishing poles, rods, lures, and related gear, but he couldn’t help but smile and shake his head when he spotted the assortment of tourist-trap Mount St. Helens and Lake Merwin screen-printed caps, tees, and sweatshirts. Ian actually chuckled out loud when he read the I survived the Ape Caves t-shirts until the image of the two unfortunate hikers crossed his mind.
“Hey, Ian. There anything we can do you for?” Charlie called out from the other side of the store upon spotting Ian.
“Oh, hey Charlie. I mainly came by to get some gas. Hey, I see you’re grabbing some of those world-famous doughnuts Bud talked up.”
“Ian, come over here. I want to introduce you to my wife.”
Ian walked over to the check-out counter.
Charlie took the lead with the introductions. “Ian, I’d like you to meet my gal here. Elaine, this is Ian McDermott. He’s an out-of-town expert that we’ve brought in to help in the investigation. He’s been a lot of help. Hey, I’ll be back in just a few.” Charlie then headed off to the back room of the store. Ian was stunned at the contrast in Charlie’s behavior toward him since the Ape Caves, but it made him feel good.
Ian smiled and shook Elaine’s hand. “Very nice to meet you, Elaine.” She smiled and greeted him prettily. He once again began gazing around the store that somehow seemed much bigger to him than it had initially looked from the outside.
He spotted a glass case over in the corner that held what even at first glance was readily recognizable as Indian artistry. Ian walked over to the case and began staring at the jewelry held within. He was genuinely amazed at the intricate artwork represented in each and every piece.
Elaine came over and stood behind the case. “Ian, can I bring anything out for you to have a closer look at?”
He couldn’t help but notice what a beautiful Native American woman Elaine was. She was slender and tiny, maybe five foot four. She had a near-flawless complexion, jet-black eyes, and ebony hair that she wore in a pony tail that draped over her shoulder across her left breast. Ian had to momentarily look away from Elaine to not be caught gawking. The last thing he wanted was to offend her or Charlie, who would be returning any moment.
Ian regained his composure. “Uh, the jewelry here, it’s very nice! It looks like sterling silver, and the stones, those are turquoise, aren’t they?”
“Why, that’s right, Ian. You familiar with Native American jewelry?”
Ian smiled at Elaine. “Well, I know a little. I did some related research regarding Native American art, but that was a long time ago. Don’t bother bringing anything out right now, but maybe I’ll pick something up later.”
Elaine returned Ian’s smile. “Okay, great. Give it some thought.”
Ian changed the subject. “Say Elaine, what I really need right now is some gas. I’d like to fill-er-up! You take MasterCard, right?”
“Yeah, MasterCard is fine. Just go on out when you’re ready and fill up. Then come back, and I’ll run your card.”
Ian replied, “Great, perfect. Oh, and hey, can you set me up with three large coffees and some cream and sugars to go?”
Elaine once again smiled. “You got it!”
Charlie re-joined Elaine at the counter and called across the room at Ian, who was beginning to open the door to head out to his Jeep.
“Okay, Ian, I’ll see you in a few minutes at the office!”
Ian glanced back over his shoulder towards Charlie, smiled, and nodded. He exited the store and headed straight to pump two.
Chapter 22
M.I.A.
Ian pushed the heavy glass two-way door open with his elbow while trying desperately not to spill hot coffee on himself. He held three full cups of fresh brew in a small, to-go cardboard carrier along with several small packets of sugar, cream, and three small, red straws.
The secretary and receptionist Jenny Hovermire sat at her desk just inside the small office. Charlie had arrived a few minutes earlier.
“You must be Ian,” Jenny said with a slightly forced smile the moment he’d managed to navigate the doorway into the office.
Ian looked at the middle-aged, heavy-set woman with some surprise. He thought she was looking at him a little oddly. “Yeah, that I am. Uh, is the sheriff or Deputy Redtail here? And oh, by the way, I have this little pouch, potential evidence that we collected that needs to go to a lab. It needs to be sent up to Vancouver, Canada. It’s addressed and ready to go. Uh, it’s sort of a rush. Can you arrange to have UPS or FedEx, some overnight service, pick it up?”
Jenny replied with little enthusiasm. She had never been much of a morning person. “Yeah sure, I’ll take care of it. Ian, go ahead on back. Charlie’s here, first door to your left.”
Ian headed on back. He chuckled to himself when he noted there were only two doors that he could have chosen: one on the right, one on the left. Each had name-plates on their doors.
Ian tapped lightly on the door on the left, which bore the title and name Deputy Charlie Redtail.
“Come in.”
Ian opened the door and gave Charlie a big smile. He was feeling good about himself for bringing coffee. Upon seeing Ian with coffee from his wife’s store, Charlie returned the smile with equal enthusiasm.
“All right, Ian, nice. You brought coffee. Jenny put a pot on in the little kitchenette in the back, but tell ya the truth, it don’t hold a candle to my wife’s java. But keep that to yourself. Believe me, Bud will thank you!”
Both men uttered small laughs. Ian was really starting to like Charlie. A day ago, he would have thought that would have been out of the question.
“Ian, take a seat. Bud usually gets here around 7:30. He beats me in ‘bout every day. Huh, it’s nearly 8:00. I tell you, the man’s dedicated. He’s never been late without calling nor missed a day of work in his life that I know of anyway.”
Ian sat down and handed Charlie a coffee. “I didn’t know how ya take your Joe. There’s creams and sugar in the box here.” Ian sat the small box on the edge of Charlie’s desk.
Charlie took the coffee from Ian and replied with a straight poker face, “I take it as is. I like my coffee like I like my women: dark and hot!” Charlie then broke his poker face and began to chuckle.
Ian laughed and paused as he thought of a snappy comeback. “Yeah, well, I take mine with cream and sugar ‘cause I like my coffee and women light-colored and sweet to taste!”
Charlie almost choked on the sip of coffee he’d taken at the very moment Ian made his retort. Charlie laughed loud and hard. “Ian, you’ve got a sick sense of humor just like me. I like that!” Ian shook his head in agreement, and both men laughed.
Both men sat sipping on coffee and eating doughnuts. Occasionally, they would enter into some light conversation.
Around 8:20 a.m., Charlie picked up the phone from his desk. “Okay, that’s it. I’m calling Bud to see what’s up!” he exclaimed. “Bud don’t have a landline at his house. All he uses is his cell, so we’ll catch him wherever he be.”
Charlie dialed Bud’s phone number. Then a recorded message came on proclaiming that the phone was not currently in service. Charlie was stunned.
“Three things Bud don’t never do. One, he never lets his phone’s battery go dead; he’s fanatical about kee
ping it charged. He even keeps a spare battery in his rig if that ever became an issue. Two, he don’t ever go nowhere without his phone ‘cause he’s always on call. And the third thing is, he don’t never, never turn his phone off for the same reason. And like I said before, he’s never late. Hmm, something’s up, and I don’t much like it! Ian, let’s go for a drive, see if we can find him. Hopefully he’s just shacked up with some ten-dollar hooker and too embarrassed to get up out of bed.”
Ian scratched his head. Despite Charlie’s attempt to make light of the situation, he could tell by the look on Charlie’s face that he was more than just a trifle concerned.
“Where you planning to look first?” Ian asked, stretching his arms and back as he stood up.
“Well now, that’s a good question. Knowing Bud as well as I do, I can’t help but entertain the notion that he might have … Tell you what. First, we’ll swing by his place and pray he didn’t up and have a heart attack or something. If he ain’t there, we’re gonna head back up towards the falls, maybe the caves too. The hair on the back of my neck is telling me he just might have got a wild hair up his ass. He may have gone to check out where my boy trashed his bike. You know, to have a look around for any physical evidence of whatever jumped the kids and that trucker says he hit. You know, while any signs are still fresh. The radio weatherman, he did say last night that it’s supposed to rain today. I even thought about heading up there last night myself but then came to my senses. Bud’s got the nose of a bloodhound and the curiosity of a cat. What’s got me worked up is we both know how that worked out for the cat!”
Chapter 23
Fallen Comrade
After cruising by Bud’s place, Charlie didn’t even bother going up to the front door and knocking. He knew that Bud habitually kept his porch light switched on whenever he was gone day or night, and the light was on. Furthermore, the Blazer was not parked in its typical location in Bud’s driveway.
Loup-Garou: The Beast of Harmony Falls (The Ian McDermott, Ph.D., Paranormal Investigator Series Book 1) Page 9