“Oh, Santa Maria!” Mrs. Gonzalez exclaimed, staring out the window in the kitchen.
The kids turned and looked at her.
“What’s wrong, mom?” Sarah asked, laughing at Ken.
“There’s another one of those things out there next to your daddy, Alec! John!” She called to the two men in the other room, tinkering with that metal box.
All the kids jumped up and ran to the windows, except for Alec. He was already out the front door, with Mrs. Gonzalez calling for him to stay inside, too late.
He stood on the front porch and stared at his father by the grill, halfway between the cabins and the water, about 20 yards away. A gigantic, hairy beast, standing on two legs, was close to him, threatening him. His father was holding something long and metal in his hands.
“DAD!”
Danny was having trouble controlling his breathing. And for the first time he noticed the terrible stench wafting from the Bigfoot. It smelled like a mix between poop, vomit, rotten meat, and a skunk, and it almost gagged him.
He heard Alec call for him, and saw him standing on the front porch, from the corner of his eye.
I’ve got to keep this thing away from him, he thought.
“Stay there, Alec!”
The creature visibly reacted to his shout, pulling its face back, as if it had been slapped. Then it stuck its head forward.
“Uhu… ”
Danny’s eyes became like saucers. Did it just try to speak?
Alec ignored his father’s command and ran down the steps.
Not my dad! Not my dad! You’re not taking him!
Seeing Alec rush from the porch, Danny had to think fast. He raised the grilling fork and yelled at the beast.
“YAAAAAH! Get out of here!”
This infuriated the Bigfoot, which suddenly roared and charged at him.
Dear God, I’m dead!
Panicking, Danny threw the fork at the creature’s head, and it hit its mark, amazingly, piercing its right eye. It skidded to a stop, bumped into him, and swung its gigantic, hairy arm, knocking him flat to the ground. It emitted a horrific shriek that was almost supernatural. Danny gaped up at the monster in mute terror. It looked at Alec, who was running toward it, and bounded into the thick forest, loudly stomping through the bushes and undergrowth.
And just like that, the beast was gone.
Alec saw his dad fall and panic set in.
“Dad! Dad! Dad!” he screamed. He reached Danny, and knelt down beside him. He grabbed his father’s shoulders and peered down into his face.
“DAD!”
Danny gazed up at his son, in a daze. He was having trouble breathing and speaking.
Mr. Gonzalez ran up behind Alec, followed by the kids, Mr. Edgar, Mrs. Gonzalez, and Mrs. Edgar. Alec looked at Mr. Gonzalez and cried, “It knocked him down! He can’t talk! He can’t talk!”
Mr. Gonzalez inspected Danny closely and began cross examining him. Danny nodded and shook his head in response to a battery of questions. Then Mr. Gonzalez gasped a sigh of relief and said, “He just got the wind knocked out of him, that’s why he’s having trouble talking. He’s going to be okay.”
That was the best thing Alec had heard for a long time. He helped Mr. Gonzalez raise his father to a sitting position. Danny put his arms above his head and held one hand in the other, making a diamond shape with his arms. He focused on trying to breathe normally. He looked at his son, who appeared terrified, and smiled, mouthing the words, I’m okay. Alec hugged him.
Everyone was electrified and they rained questions on him. Finally, he was able to speak.
“Bigfoot… huge,” he gasped.
“It was a giant!” Mrs. Gonzalez said. “I saw it through the kitchen window. That thing ran right at you!”
“Wow!” said Ken.
Mr. Gonzalez inspected the bloody grill fork that was on the ground. “You chased it off with this, Danny? That’s incredible.”
Danny grinned. “Lucky shot.”
“Woooo! Yeah, buddy! I’d say so!” Mr. Edgar chuckled.
Seeing his dad excited, Ethan yelled, “Yeah!” and began to jiggle, swiveling his hips and kicking his legs out in an impromptu dance.
Mrs. Edgar frowned at her husband. “I thought you turned that box off.”
He nodded frantically. “I did, I did! John and I dismantled it about an hour ago.”
“That’s right,” said Mr. Gonzalez, who was now closely inspecting the Bigfoot tracks. “We need to make a plaster cast of some of these tracks, Danny,” he said. “They’re the biggest ones I’ve ever seen — nearly two feet long, and probably a foot wide at the ball of the foot. And that thing must have been one heavy monster. The tracks are three inches deep.”
Danny nodded somberly.
Mrs. Edgar gazed at the woods, noting the setting sun and increasing shadows. “They know we’re here now, and may be displaying territoriality.”
“Terry terry tally who?” said wide-eyed Ethan.
“Like a grey wolf pack will set up a territory and defend it against other packs or some other species,” his mother replied absently, still staring at the woods.
“But the agency’s prevailing theory is that these creatures are migratory, following rivers and waterways and moving to new forests with the changing seasons,” said Mr. Gonzalez. “That doesn’t seem to fit with them being territorial.”
Mrs. Edgar shrugged. “They could be both migratory and territorial. What if they always use the same forest areas, moving back and forth to and from the same places each year? That would make them territorial of the land where they’re currently living.”
Mr. Gonzalez thought about this. He shook his head. “Bigfoot and territorial behavior. Great,” he said.
Ethan turned to him. “A big foot? My uncle Max has big feet, and they stink like the dickens!” He waved his hand in front of his nose for dramatic effect. Mr. Gonzalez smiled and messed up Ethan’s already unruly brown hair.
Emily screamed.
Everyone jumped and turned to her in a panic. “What’s wrong?” Mrs. Gonzalez huffed.
Emily pointed towards the woods on the far side of the last cabin, closest to the deep forest.
“There’s no one there, Em,” Sarah said.
“There was a man standing in the shadows staring at us.”
Alec felt jittery. What was going on? It’s like a scary movie.
“A man? Are you sure?” said Mrs. Gonzalez, looking around hastily.
Emily nodded. “He looked odd. Dressed weird, like old timey, with a cowboy hat. Staring at us weird, too.”
“That’s odd,” Danny coughed.
“Well, if there was someone there, they’re not now,” Mr. Gonzalez replied doubtfully.
“We should get inside,” said Mrs. Edgar.
“I agree,” said Mr. Gonzalez.
He and Alec helped Danny stand up and walk to the middle cabin. Mr. Edgar, Ethan, and Ken gathered the steaks, which were now burnt, from the grill, and wrapped up the remaining raw ones. They carried them inside. Sarah and Emily followed Mrs. Gonzalez and Mrs. Edgar through the cabin door.
Once inside, Mrs. Gonzalez and Mrs. Edgar paired up to finish cooking the steaks on the stove. They invited Sarah and Emily to help out, and the girls agreed. Danny rested in a recliner, still catching his breath. Alec and Ken sat in one of the love seats, watching Danny, with Ethan across from them in the other love seat, while Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Edgar went back to the room with the EMF box to make sure it was completely dismantled.
“What was it like?” Ken asked Danny.
Danny shook his head and blinked hard. “Scariest thing I’ve ever seen. It was huge, I mean huge! Nine feet tall!”
“Whoa… ” Ken replied.
“Why did it attack you?” said Alec.
“Honestly, I don’t even know why it was there. But when you started to run out, I decided I needed to try to scare if off. And then it charged.”
A shadow fell over Alec’s face. “You m
ean, it attacked because of me?”
“No. No! It was there threatening me before you came out, and I’m sure that it was going to come after me whether you were there or not.”
Alec looked down. “I just had to make it stop.”
Danny smiled at his son. “And I appreciate that.” Then, listening for something, he put his finger to his mouth. “Ssshhhh.”
Alec listened closely. Outside, from somewhere close, he heard loud knocking. It sounded like wood slapping against wood.
“What is that!” Ken shouted.
“Ssshhh! It sounds like wood knocking,” Danny said. “Bigfoots have been known to hit sticks on trees to communicate with one another.”
Ken’s eyes grew big with excitement. “Awesome.”
Suddenly, something just outside screamed, haunting and unnerving, and it made their blood turn to ice. Everyone froze. Something impacted the door, hard, from the outside.
Sarah stuck her head in from the kitchen with a look of apprehension. “What was that?”
Danny stood up slowly and stared at the front door. The living room wall shook from another impact. Alec watched the blood drain from his father’s face.
Something slammed against the kitchen wall, and Emily squeaked. Alec and Ken jumped up and looked around the cabin. Ken crouched into his best karate stance and raised his hands, ready to give whatever it was a good chop. Ethan leaped up and imitated Ken, crouching and holding his arms aloft like a gorilla.
Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Edgar hurried into the living room. “What’s that noise?” Mr. Gonzalez said.
“Something’s outside,” Danny hissed.
Alec stiffened.
A wail erupted from the kitchen. It was Mrs. Gonzalez. Mr. Gonzalez ran into the kitchen to his wife, who stood by the window, and she said, “They’re out there, John!”
“What!” shouted Danny from the living room.
Alec rushed to one of the living room windows and peered out. He was overcome with the urge to get sick, and he felt light-headed.
Outside, in the dying twilight, the shadows of six huge creatures strode around in the yard, grunting and growling. They were picking up large stones from the lakeside and carrying them back toward the cabin. Alec began to wonder why, when suddenly a hairy, dark figure swung its arms, and a loud thud slammed against the front door again.
They’re throwing the rocks at our cabin!
Mr. Gonzalez stepped into the living room and stared at Danny. When he spoke, his voice was low and hoarse.
“We’re under attack.”
Danny looked unsteady. “Under attack…”
Alec spun from the window. “Dad, they’re throwing huge rocks at the cabin!”
The roof shuddered. A large stone must have hit it.
In the brief, stunned silence that followed, Ethan passed gas, long and loud. Everyone turned to stare at him, incredulous. He flashed a cheesy grin.
Mr. Edgar, who was standing in the open doorway between the kitchen and living room, said, “Uh, yeah. Poor Ethan, there, tends to toot when he gets scared or excited.”
Ken made a sour face. “Now you tell us.”
The women and girls ran into the living room, and the entire group stood transfixed together. Nothing happened. Everything was quiet.
After a moment, Mr. Edgar murmured, “Is it over?”
“Maybe they left,” said Mr. Gonzalez.
“Well, thank God for that,” Mrs. Gonzalez wheezed.
Mr. Gonzalez turned and hurried back to the room where he and Mr. Edgar had been working, and came back out to the living room with a pistol. “I’m going out there.”
“No, John, you are not!” Mrs. Gonzalez wailed. She ran to him and grabbed his arm.
“Rosa! Rosa! I’ve got a gun! I need to see what’s going on. I’m just going out onto the porch.” He stepped away from her and looked at Danny, who was closest to the front door.
“So it looks like you finally get a chance to use that thing, huh,” Danny muttered, trying to lighten the mood.
Mr. Gonzalez smirked and nodded. Then he walked to the door, looked back at the group and, taking a deep breath, opened it. He peered into the darkness.
Everything was still.
Slowly, Mr. Gonzalez flipped on the porch light, stepped outside, and closed the door behind him. Everyone stood motionless, listening. It was deathly silent outside. No crickets, no locusts. Nothing.
Then, from the other side of the door, Mr. Gonzalez shrieked.
A gunshot exploded. And a monster roared.
The door burst open as Danny was rushing toward it, knocking him down, and Mr. Gonzalez flew backwards into the cabin and landed on his back. The pistol fell out of his hand and slid across the hard wood.
Chaos erupted. Everyone suddenly began yelling and screaming.
To Alec, everything began to happen in slow motion. He squinted his eyes closed, hard. He squatted and sat on his knees. His pulse was racing and his breathing came in gasps. His mind focused on the faces of the panicked people inside the cabin, who were shouting and rushing to the two fallen men on the floor. Then it raced outside to see five of the creatures stalking the cabin. It shot back to the porch, where the front door was standing open. He spun his mind around and stopped immediately in the face of the sixth beast, a gigantic wooly Sasquatch, with one eye closed and puffy and bloody, and the other eye wide and enraged and glinting red in the porch light, its huge mouth open in a ferocious roar. Large, sharp canine teeth stood out like fangs. A small wound trickled blood from its chest where the bullet had hit it.
It was striding toward the open door.
Alec’s eyes popped open and he glanced at the doorway. A hulking shadow was approaching it from outside. He looked over at the gun on the floor and threw himself toward it like a baseball player sliding into home plate. In one motion, he grabbed the gun and rolled onto his back, still sliding on the lacquered wood, pointing the gun at the doorway.
The monster suddenly stepped into the opening, all nine feet and one thousand pounds of it, tall and hairy and seething. The same one that attacked his dad earlier. It locked its one good eye on Alec and snarled malevolently. Sarah looked up from her dad and screamed.
Alec pulled the trigger, the first shot he’d ever fired. The gun exploded in his hand, kicking back at him. The report was deafening.
The creature jerked, and took a step back. Then it glared at Alec and bellowed. Mr. Edgar rushed to the open door and slammed it shut, bolting it locked. The door pounded and shook, and the monster outside roared.
The ceiling quaked.
“They’re on the roof!” Mrs. Edgar yelled.
A rock the size of a basketball slammed down onto the metal bottom of the empty fireplace that was located at the back of the living room, splitting open and blowing out shards of stone and dust.
Alec glanced over at the two fallen men. His dad was up on one arm, looking at Mr. Gonzalez who still lay flat on his back with Mrs. Gonzalez weeping next to him. “He’s okay, he’s okay,” Mrs. Edgar was saying, “but we need to wrap his head. He has a head wound, and I think he has a concussion.” Sarah rushed to the back bathroom and returned with a first aid kit, which she handed to Mrs. Edgar.
Alec could hear the monsters outside growling and roaring as they barraged the cabin with huge stones, shaking the door, the walls, and the roof. Something outside popped like a firecracker.
“Porch light,” Danny muttered. “They broke the light bulb.”
“Now we can’t see them out there at all,” said Mr. Edgar.
Then it all stopped and everything again became quiet. After several minutes, the group looked around at each other hopefully.
Slowly, Alec stood up. Ken joined him, and the two of them crept to the nearest living room window. Alec peered outside. It was dark out there, but he didn’t see any sign of the Bigfoots.
Relieved, he took a deep breath. He turned to the people huddled on the entryway floor with Danny and Mr. Gonzalez, whose head
was now wrapped in a long white bandage.
“I think they’re gone,” he whispered.
CRASH!
The glass in the window behind him suddenly shattered and a long, hairy arm snaked in and grabbed the back of his shirt. Alec’s eyes popped wide with horror. IT’S GOT ME IT’S GOT ME IT’S GOT ME!
“AAAAHHHHH!”
“ALEC!” Danny shouted, leaping to his feet.
Emily screamed.
The wooly arm began to drag Alec back toward the smashed window. Alec struggled against it, continuing to scream, his heart pounding, any rational thoughts overcome by sheer terror. Something outside the window grunted, low and rough. Ken, who had jumped back in surprise, shot forward and clutched Alec’s hands, trying to pull against the growling beast. His feet slid across the floor as the Bigfoot pulled both boys toward it.
“HEEEELLLLP!” Ken shrieked.
The cabin reverberated with the deafening sound of another gunshot, and the remaining glass behind Alec burst. The creature that had Alec roared — an unnerving, wild, monstrous roar that made the hair on Alec’s neck stand straight up. It abruptly let go of him, and he and Ken fell forward onto the wooden floor. Sarah and Mr. Edgar rushed to them and pulled them back from the broken window. Alec gawked around with wide eyes, barely able to focus. Then, behind them, he saw his dad, who stood still pointing the pistol at the window.
“Elbert! Close the shutters! I’ll cover you!” Danny shouted at Mr. Edgar, who nodded and scurried to close and lock the old shutters at the broken window. Sarah ran to the other windows in the room and began slamming the shutters closed. Mrs. Edgar jumped up from where she knelt next to Mr. Gonzalez and joined them in finding all the window shutters on the first floor of the cabin.
“Come on, let’s go close the shutters upstairs,” Sarah urged Emily, who was cowering on the hard wood floor by the front door. She was obviously not handling this well. Emily shook her head aggressively. Sarah pursed her lips.
“I’ll go with you, Sarah,” little Ethan squeaked. He’d been sitting next to his mother. Sarah reached out and took his hand, and the two of them ran up the stairs and out of sight.
Alec Kerley and the Terror of Bigfoot (Book One of the Monster Hunters Series) Page 7