The truck suddenly quaked, as if something solid and hard had grabbed it and begun to shake it. The monster roared. Alec and Ken yelled in panic. Danny Kerley started the Explorer and shouted at Mr. Gonzalez to close his door. The truck shook again, and the back hatch window exploded like a grenade, scattering glass shards. The monster had hit it!
Danny floored the gas pedal and the truck sped forward, throwing up a shower of gravel behind it. The creature bellowed again. Alec leapt onto his knees and gaped at the beast through the broken hole in the back window as the rear lights of the truck illumined it. Its face was almost ape-like, but flatter, with more of a nose, and a broad mouth that was open in a roar. It had huge teeth, with longer canines on the top and bottom. Its eyes were wide, angry, and red.
Alec felt ice cold as he watched that face fade off behind them into a swirl of white dust. He could still hear it roaring as they drove away.
“Alec!” his dad yelled.
“What the heck is going on, here?” Mr. Gonzalez glared at the two boys in the back seat.
Alec and Ken stared at each other, looking disheveled and alarmed, and breathing heavily. Alec glanced at Mr. Gonzalez, saw the anger in his face, and in his father’s eyes in the rear view mirror, and looked down, saying nothing. Ken watched his friend in silence for a moment, then, realizing that Alec didn’t want to get him into trouble, he came out with it.
“This is my fault.”
“No! This was both of us—” Alec began.
“You’re darn tootin’ right that it’s both of you!” Alec’s dad huffed as he twisted the steering wheel into a turn. The SUV slid around a curve, onto the adjoining gravel road.
“Why are the two of you in this truck? Why are you here?” Mr. Gonzalez was very angry, tight-lipped, breathing through his nose, and struggling to maintain composure.
“We wanted t’see what you were up to!” Ken said, in a pleading voice.
“What made you think we were ‘up to’ anything?”
“I heard you talkin’…”
The truck jumped around on potholes and loose gravel, then bumped onto a paved road.
“Dad, what was that thing?” Alec asked quietly.
Danny Kerley and John Gonzalez looked at each other grimly.
“Alec…” his dad sighed.
“That’s not for you to know! You two shouldn’t even be here!” said Mr. Gonzalez.
“I know what it was! BIGFOOT!” Ken blurted.
Mr. Gonzalez’s face jerked back as if it had slammed into an invisible wall. His eyes went wild and for a moment Alec thought he would literally explode on the spot, splattering the inside of the SUV with blood and guts galore.
“I- you- it-” he sputtered.
Ken had definitely hit a nerve.
“Okay, everyone just calm down,” said Danny. He placed a hand on Mr. Gonzalez’s shoulder. “Listen… um, we’re almost back to the cabins, so let’s just be calm, and we’ll talk about it more when we get there.”
Mr. Gonzalez, his coal black hair askew, continued giving Alec and Ken the wild-eyed Death Stare for a moment, as the boys regarded him cautiously. If he’d pointed two fingers at his eyes, then back at the two boys, it wouldn’t have surprised Alec. He’d never seen Ken’s dad this mad before. Then, thankfully, Mr. Gonzalez slowly turned his head back forward, away from them.
Alec and Ken sat in silence for a moment, then Ken turned to Alec and whispered, “Wha’ happened to ya back there? You were like Superman!”
Alec was already thinking about that, replaying it over and over in his mind. The suddenly lucid thinking, the mental visualizations of their dads and the monster and he and Ken. The thoughts of: Tell them! Help them! Save them! Where did all that come from?
“I don’t know. It was like I could see everything clearly, and knew what I had to do. I was able to think out the entire problem. It was crazy.”
“Y’ever had tha’ happen before?”
Alec shook his head. “Never. Too bad it never happened for Ms. Cunningham’s science tests.”
The two friends chuckled. Their faces were splotched with dust and streaks of sweat, and their hair was matted to their foreheads from the perspiration. It was good that they each weren’t in this alone; it was good to be experiencing this craziness, like everything else in life, with a friend.
The Explorer bounced off of the road and onto the gravel leading into the compound. It skidded to a stop.
Mrs. Gonzalez rushed out of the cabin, the screen door slamming against the wall. She negotiated the wooden stairs in two bounds and rustled across the grass toward the SUV, as her husband was emerging.
“Have you seen Ken and Alec? I can’t find them anywhere! And did you know we don’t have any cell service out here in the sticks?” Then she burst into a barrage of Spanish.
Mr. Gonzalez held her shoulders and pointed at the boys exiting from the back doors of the Explorer. “I know, I know, I’m sorry, they were with us —”
His wife’s eyes went large and Mr. Gonzalez quickly followed up with, “— we didn’t know! They snuck into the truck and hid in the back!”
Mrs. Gonzalez suddenly turned her goggle-eyed gaze on Ken and Alec. The two boys backed up against the side of the Explorer, trying to hide behind Ken’s dad. Alec quickly glanced over at his father, who was coming around the side of the SUV, for help. His firm look told Alec that he fully intended to allow Mrs. Gonzalez to express her full wrath.
“Do you two have any idea how worried I was about you? You snuck off without letting anyone know? Cielos, are you in trouble!” She began to shake her head and her index finger at them simultaneously. “Get inside! Straight to bed for both of you!”
The boys scurried toward the center cabin, and Danny called out to Alec, pointing to their own cabin on the end. They stopped, and Alec saw something dawn on Ken’s face. Oh no.
“WHAT ABOUT BIGFOOT?!” Ken shouted.
Alec closed his eyes and grimaced, then peeked one eye at the adults. It was as if a mad scientist had pushed a button to make everyone freeze for a moment. Mrs. Gonzalez slowly turned her head toward his dad and Mr. Gonzalez. She spoke slowly.
“You told them about Bigfoot?”
Alec and Ken exchanged a look of open-mouthed shock. Danny and Mr. Gonzalez began rubbing their faces and necks in unison. Mrs. Gonzalez had her hands on her hips now. Mr. Gonzalez glared at the two boys with blood-shot eyes, his hair still in disarray.
“Well?”
Danny breathed in deep. “Yeah, um, you know, it was more like, um…” He paused, then cleared his throat. “They actually saw a Bigfoot.”
Mrs. Gonzalez stared at Danny in a deathly hush. Her maternal instincts were in full bloom, for both boys. She had always treated Alec with kindness and affection, but ever since Alec’s mom had died, Mrs. Gonzalez had brought Alec entirely under the warm umbrella of her maternal love and protection. And taking Ken and Alec out to the middle of the woods at night to interact with a giant hairy monster was definitely a faux pas for the two dads.
“Yeah! An’ it was chasin’ us! An’ it shook the car an’ broke the back win-der!” Ken yelled with glee.
Alec felt like he was watching the beginning of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Mrs. Gonzalez had glanced back at Ken when he spoke, then slowly turned her head toward Danny and Mr. Gonzalez again. All three adults stood in silence, and Alec figured it was probably good that Mrs. Gonzalez didn’t have a six shooter on her.
“There’s a Bigfoot out here somewhere?”
Alec turned around and saw Sarah Gonzalez and Emily standing on the porch, looking horrified. Ken’s dad slapped his hand onto his own forehead, and the slap echoed off the trees.
“Ay yi yi,” said Mrs. Gonzalez. “You’re going to have to tell them.”
Alec was confused. “Tell us what?”
Danny peered at Alec grimly. He sighed. “Alec, we don’t really work for Sprint in Kansas City.”
As far as Alec knew, his dad and Ken’s dad
had both worked as analysts for Sprint at the world headquarters campus in Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City, for years. This announcement by his dad was a surprise, but odd, considering the topic of conversation.
“Okay… so what does that have to do with Bigfoot?” he said.
Danny took a deep breath and blew it out for a long moment. “John and I are monster hunters.”
“What?” said Sarah.
“No way!” Ken shouted.
Shy Emily murmured, “Cool!”
Mr. Gonzalez ran his hands around in his hair, and when he was finished, it stood out in all directions like a frazzled he-lion. He was clearly agitated by this entire scene. The disclosure of such top secret information was making his brown eyes bug out.
Alec eyed his dad closely. Danny had a serious expression on his face, so it didn’t look like he was joking, but he had to be. Monster hunters? That was crazy talk. His dad was wearing khaki shorts and flip flops and a polo shirt, and definitely did not look like a monster hunter. And this was not setting well with Alec.
“That’s not funny,” he said.
“Alec, I’m not kidding. We work for a secret government agency.”
“No! That’s not funny! You’re lying!” Alec shouted.
“Alec—” Danny began.
“No! You’re such a liar!” Alec looked around at the faces staring at him, and felt like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, an outcast, a laughing stock. He glared at his father. “Did mom know? Or did you lie to her, too?”
“Alec—” Ken touched his shoulder, but Alec pushed his hand away.
To Alec, this was all surreal. There they were, standing in the grass, in the yellow porch light, discussing Bigfoot to the tune of crickets and locusts. And his mom was gone, and now, all this time, his dad was someone else?
A soft hand grasped his arm and Sarah’s long black hair that smelled like Herbal Essence was next to him, and Alec realized there were hot tears running down his cheek. This pain was bubbling up from somewhere deep down, somewhere hot and angry. And this talk of his dad being some sort of spy was just the trigger. Alec felt betrayed — by his dad, by his mom, by God, by life. It’s not fair.
Sarah put her arm around Alec’s shoulders. Alec sobbed. Mrs. Gonzalez tisked and walked to Alec, embracing him.
Danny watched Alec sadly. “Yes, your mother knew,” he muttered.
Ken, feeling defensive of his friend, decided to cross examine. “A secret gov’ment agency. What agency? An’ why do ya hunt monsters?”
Now Emily was next to Ken. “What other monsters?” Emily loved to read, and she was a big fan of scary stories, especially stories with monsters in them.
“That’s classified!” Mr. Gonzalez choked.
“Yeah, I can’t really go into it too much, guys,” Danny replied. “We work for an agency called S.T.O.K.E.R., the Strategic Operation for Key Entities Response.”
Emily cocked her head. “Stoker?”
Danny nodded. “We’re analysts who investigate unknown creatures, and report on our findings. We work out of the Central U.S. Division, which is located in Kansas City. That’s all I can tell you. And I really, really need you all to keep it to yourselves. I need you to give me your word on that.”
Ken thought about it for a moment, watching Danny and his dad with narrowed eyes. Then he cautiously nodded his head. “Okay.”
Danny watched Emily. “Okay?”
“Sure. But Stoker?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with S.T.O.K.E.R.?”
“Um, you’re not wanting to talk about other monsters that you guys investigate?”
“No!” said Mr. Gonzalez.
“Because the name Stoker would seem to indicate—”
“Drop it, Emily,” Mr. Gonzalez growled.
“Okay!”
Danny Kerley gazed at his son, who was surrounded by Mrs. Gonzalez and Sarah.
“Alec?”
From the midst of the two females, Alec sniffled. “Yeah?”
“Are you okay?” he said gently.
Sarah and Mrs. Gonzalez moved, and Alec looked back at him. “Whatever. I won’t tell anybody.”
Sarah nodded at Danny, agreeing to keep it quiet, also. Mrs. Gonzalez decided it was time to go inside. She began to round up the troops, saying they were all going to be eaten alive by mosquitoes. Oddly enough, Alec realized that the crickets and locusts had gone silent.
As Mrs. Gonzalez turned to walk up the wooden porch steps, she stopped and caught her breath, then whispered something in Spanish.
“Rosa, what’s wrong?” asked Mr. Gonzalez from behind her.
Mrs. Gonzalez pointed toward the tree line at the edge of the light that shone from the porch. “John, what is that?”
Alec’s gaze followed the direction she was pointing, and his stomach suddenly knotted up. A shiver ran down his spine. At the edge of the darkness, under an Oak tree, a huge, hairy creature stood on two legs, staring at them.
The beast was less than 40 feet away. It stood about eight feet tall, and either had no neck, or its head, which was kind of pointed at the top, was held low and forward, in a threatening stance. It must have been three feet wide or more at the shoulders. The monster stood just beyond the light, so it was too dark to see much of its face or its true fur color, both of which just appeared dark, although it looked like there was no fur on parts of the face, which was black or dark gray. Over all, it was a giant, and its build was like an athlete: wide at the shoulders and chest, slimmer about the stomach, and the fur on the stomach seemed to become a little lighter in color the higher up the chest it grew — almost silvery. The arms were heavy and long, and its legs were thick. Its feet were hidden in the tall grass.
It just stood eerily silent, watching them.
“It’s a Bigfoot!” Ken announced.
“John… is that the thing that broke the window of Danny’s truck?” whispered Mrs. Gonzalez.
“I’m not sure—”
“No! That’s not it! That’s not the same one!” Alec hissed.
“How can you tell?” said Mr. Gonzalez.
“I saw it up close, through the back window, and it didn’t have the silver color on its front like this one.”
Danny quietly eased up to Mr. Gonzalez, watching the creature as he walked. “John, what are the chances of seeing two of those things in one night, in two different places?”
Mr. Gonzalez shook his head. “I’d say the chances would have to be infinitesimally small. I’ve never heard of it happening. These things are very rarely ever seen, let alone two in one night. Squatch hunters can go a lifetime searching and never see one.”
“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh,” Emily chanted, nearly hyperventilating. Ken grabbed her hand and held it tight. Alec noticed.
“Daddy!” Sarah rushed over to Mr. Gonzalez and stood next to him.
All at once, the creature opened its mouth and let out an ear-piercing shriek that seemed to engulf them and carry out over the black forest in every direction. It grabbed the tree trunk next to it and shook it violently, causing the branches to quake and drop green leaves.
Alec’s throat dropped into his stomach, and Emily and Sarah screamed in unison. Mrs. Gonzalez wailed, “Ay caramba!” and thunked onto the porch floor, passed out cold.
“Rosa!”
Mr. Gonzalez raced up the stairs and began to lift her up, and Danny joined him. The four kids circled the adults, shouting in disarray. They all moved quickly inside, with the two men carrying Mrs. Gonzalez. Alec turned to look back at the Bigfoot. It was gone.
It took just a couple of minutes to revive Mrs. Gonzalez as she lay on the couch, and after she came to, they all huddled in the rustic living room, listening for the monster outside. Danny and Mr. Gonzalez were confused and trying to understand what was happening.
“There is no way we should be seeing them like this,” John Gonzalez was saying.
“Well, the one on the gravel road, we called that one,” said Danny.
“Right, but not this one—”
“Wait, you called one?” said Sarah.
“How could you call one, Danny?” asked Mrs. Gonzalez, who was partially sitting up now.
“Did ya WHOOOOOOOOP? Like they do on TV?” said Ken, illustrating the loud whoop.
“Ken! Quiet down!” Mr. Gonzalez huffed.
“Oops, sorry dad.”
Alec sat on an old loveseat, next to Ken, with still red eyes. He was watching pretty Emily. He liked the way the freckles on her face crinkled up when she smiled at him, but she wasn’t smiling now. Now, she was shivering and cowering next to Sarah and Mr. Gonzalez. And she had held Ken’s hand outside. Alec felt tired, very tired.
“No, we don’t whoop. We use technology,” Danny answered, sniffing.
“Do you use technology, like infrared, to see them?” said Sarah.
Danny shook his head. “We think they can see infrared, so we don’t use it.” He looked at Ken. “That’s why we were standing in the dark, waiting for them.”
“So, what technology did you use to call them?” Emily asked.
“That’s classified!” grumbled Mr. Gonzalez.
“Really! And everything else you’ve told them isn’t?” said Mrs. Gonzalez indignantly.
Mr. Gonzalez rolled his eyes. “We used the box!”
Ken’s eyes lit up. “From the road!”
“Right,” said Danny. “We turned it on, and used it to attract that Bigfoot.”
“How?” asked Sarah.
Danny looked down and sighed. They were spilling the beans, and they hadn’t even been tortured. But the secret was out now, and the kids deserved to understand.
“Okay. Listen. I’ll give you the short version, okay? Do you know what an EMF field is?”
Ken shrugged. Sarah said, “You mean an electromagnetic field.”
“Right!” Danny confirmed.
Ken glared at his sister. “Teacher’s pet.”
She grinned at him.
Danny continued. “Okay. So, these creatures, Bigfoots, emit an intense EMF field that is particular to only their species. No other animal species has this specific EMF field —”
Alec Kerley and the Terror of Bigfoot (Book One of the Monster Hunters Series) Page 4