Ken choked, scowling. “You would, wouldn’t ya?”
“If it would keep you safe, you bet I would.”
“Sarah, how long has it been? It’s been all freakin’ day. They still haven’t found ’im. Who knows what those things are doin’ to ’im.”
Sarah looked down, her long black hair covering most of her face. She was quiet, thinking.
“He’s yer frien’, too, Sarah,” Ken said. She remained quiet. “Are ya comin’ with me?”
After a moment, Emily whispered, “I’ll go.”
Sarah and Ken gaped at her. Ken smiled.
“You’ll go?” Sarah said.
“Yep.”
Sarah was flabbergasted. “Emily, we just spent all day trying to calm you down, and now you want to go back out there?”
Emily’s eyes were still red from crying earlier. She sighed. “I left him out there. When that thing came after us, I ran. I left him out there in that field with it, alone. It’s my fault.”
“No, it is not,” Sarah said. “There was nothing you could’ve done, and you know it. You couldn’t have stopped that monster from taking Alec.”
“Maybe it would’ve taken me instead, if Alec wouldn’t have led it away, toward the lake.”
“Yeah, and then you’d be out there now, instead of him.”
“May-be,” Emily squeaked. “But I’m not. He is. He’s out there all alone, in the dark, with those Bigfoots. And I’m going to help find him.”
Ken nodded, beaming. He looked at Sarah. “Well, sis?”
Sarah stared at the two of them, then shook her head. “Tú eres un idioto,” she said, glaring at Ken.
“What?” said Emily, confused.
“She jes’ called me an idiot,” Ken murmured out of the side of his mouth, still smiling at Sarah. This was a good sign. He could see her resolve crumbling.
“Uuuhhh! Okay! I’ll go! But only to keep you two from getting killed.”
“Yes!” Ken high-fived Emily.
“So, how are we going to get out of here, genius?” Sarah asked.
The smile drained from Ken’s face. “Not sure.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“But, the first thin’ we need to do is get some flashlights. An’ a gun.”
“A gun.”
“Yeah.”
Sarah glowered at her brother.
“Or, you know, at least a stick, or somethin’.”
Emily laughed.
“An’ we should prob’bly change clothes, put on some jeans or somethin’,” Ken continued.
“Don’t you think that would give us away, if we go downstairs dressed like we’re going on a hike?” Sarah said.
“Well, now, that’s prob’bly a good point,” Ken conceded. “But we at least need a flashlight.”
She finally smiled. “I agree.”
Sarah opened the bedroom door, and the three of them stepped single file down the stairs, trying not to attract attention to themselves. The old wooden stairs creaked, and they frowned.
Sarah and Ken’s mother, the soldier in the recliner, and Mrs. Edgar and Ethan all turned their heads and peered up at them. The three kids on the stairs smiled like Cheshire cats.
“Well, hello guys,” Mrs. Edgar said. “How are you feeling, Emily?”
“Oh. Better, thanks,” Emily chirped.
“Good,” said Mrs. Edgar.
“Are you guys hungry?” their mom gasped hopefully.
“No! I mean, not right now, thanks, mom,” Sarah said.
“Well, what are you guys up to?” their mother continued.
The three kids stared at her with wide eyes. “What?” Ken said, narrowing his eyes and cocking his head, as if straining to understand.
“I said, what are you up to?”
“What’re we up to… what’re we up to… Yep. That’s right. That’s right, mom…” Ken rambled.
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Um, we’re just going to step into the back room, here, and play a board game. You know, something to keep our minds occupied.” She shot her eyes over at Emily, as if to say, Emily needs this.
Their mom and Mrs. Edgar both smiled and nodded benevolently. “Of course, dear, of course,” their mother said.
The three kids made it to the kitchen and headed toward the back room. Ethan, next to his own mother, narrowed his eyes and eyed them suspiciously. “What board game are you gonna play?”
The kids froze. They turned back to the group in the living room.
“What was that?” Ken asked, still acting foggy.
“I said, what board game? You said you didn’t want to play Risk anymore, after your sister destroyed you,” Ethan grinned.
Ken made a fist and began thumping it on top of the kitchen counter in synch with his words. He stared at the ceiling, gritting his teeth. “What…” Thump! “Board…” Thump! “Game…” Thump! “What…” Thump! “Board…” Thump! “Game…” Thump!
“Operation!” Emily squeaked. The other two looked at her.
“Operation,” said Ethan.
“Yep, Operation!” Emily beamed.
“Um, Emily, I don’t think we have, uh, Operation,” Sarah mumbled. “How about Risk instead?”
“Um, no thanks, I don’t really like Risk. You always win!” Emily said.
Sarah sighed. “Emily, Risk is the only game we brought with us.” She bulged her eyes at her.
“Oh! Right! Risk sounds great!” Emily said in a wooden monotone, smiling at the adults, who smiled back, confused.
“O-kay, then! So, let’s go play some Risk!” Ken exclaimed, a little too excited. They turned toward the back room.
“Can I play, too?” Ethan asked in a sweet voice.
They turned back to the living room again.
“Are ya sure? ’Cause it’s quite the game o’ strategy…” Ken growled.
Sarah touched Ken’s hand. “Of course you can play, Ethan.”
“Yeah!” Emily chirped.
Ken glared at the two girls. Then he turned toward Ethan. “Sure ya can! Come on, ya little rascal! Come on, then!” He yelled, clapping his hands like a coach.
Ethan got up and started galumphing toward the three kids. His shorts appeared to be made of black velvet, and his dark dress shoes, with white socks, clip-clopped on the wooden floor, the titanic collar on his summer yellow dress shirt flapping like wings.
“Oh, that’s sweet,” Mrs. Edgar cooed.
The group of kids, now four, filed into the back room. Sarah smirked at the adults as she slowly closed the door. “See you later!” she said.
“Okay, honey! Have fun!” her mom answered, waving.
Sarah waved back and slammed the door shut. She swung around and exhaled in relief. Ethan was standing there with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. “Okay, what’s going on?” he said.
“What do mean, what’s going on?” she asked innocently.
Ethan peered around. Sarah looked like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar, Emily stood with wide eyes and a silly grin, and Ken was giving Ethan the look of death. “Seriously?”
“Okay! We’re going to go get Alec,” Sarah confessed.
“Really? Awesome! I wanna go, too!” said Ethan.
“Sssshhhh!” Sarah hissed.
“No way, little man,” said Ken. “Too dangerous, an’ you’d only slow us down.”
Ethan looked hurt. “I would not! I’m not afraid! I wanna go!”
“No way,” Ken repeated.
“Oh, let him go,” Emily said. “He cares about Alec, too.”
“Yeah!” Ethan said. He turned and wiggled his eyebrows at Emily, beaming. Emily giggled.
Ken rolled his eyes. “What is this, a party? This’s a sur-ious rescue operation!”
“Oh, lighten up, short stuff,” Sarah replied. Ken scowled at her.
“Besides, I’ve got a compass!” Ethan said, pulling a round, brown item out of his pocket.
“Whass that gonna get us? It won’t show whur Alec is,” said Ken.
“No, but it’ll help keep us from getting lost,” Sarah said, smiling at Ethan. “That’s a great idea, Ethan.” Ethan wiggled his eyebrows at her, and also wiggled one ear, to boot.
“Well, we need sem flashlights,” Ken said, looking around.
Ethan walked over to a black plastic chest, and opened it. He pulled out three round flashlights and handed two of them to the girls.
“What about me?” Ken demanded.
“Sorry, only three,” Ethan grinned. Ken glowered at him.
They walked over to the back door, which was deadbolted. Ken reached for the lock, and Emily grabbed his hand. “Wait! Shouldn’t we leave a note or something?”
Sarah and Emily exchanged looks. “You’re right,” Sarah said. “They’ll panic if they find us gone and don’t know where we’re at. They’ll think the Bigfoots took us.”
Sarah found an old magazine on a dresser and a pencil on the table. She wrote a brief note on the back of it, in the white panel next to an old fishing tackle ad:
Mom,
We’re going after Alec. It’s been too long, and the soldiers haven’t helped. We’ll find him and bring him back. Don’t worry, we have a compass!
Love,
Sarah, Ken, Emily, and Ethan
She showed it to the others, who all approved heartily, and laid the magazine on the wooden table. Ken turned back to the door, unlocked it, and turned the knob. The door was heavy and it stuck. He pushed hard; it finally creaked open to the night. Crickets chirped and locusts buzzed like an orchestra. Ken looked at the others as if to say ‘Ready?’ They all nodded with pursed lips, and, one by one, they stepped down the stacked old cement blocks that served as stairs, and rustled into the tall grass behind the cabin. Ken closed the door. Peering around cautiously, the girls and Ethan turned on their flashlights, and Ken led the way around to the left of the cabins. And just like that, the four friends were swallowed up by the night.
The creature was eight feet tall, hunched and covered with thinning grayish-white hair all over, and was obviously very old. It was wheezing. It scrutinized Alec with a cold expression.
Is this it? Are they going to feed me to this thing? Alec regarded the brute with a terrified expression.
The beast slid down the length of the tree behind it gradually, never taking its otherworldly gray eyes off the boy. Its eyes were icy, hypnotic. Sitting now, it moved those eyes up and down Alec’s frame, taking him in like a scientist studies a lab rat. To Alec, this was chilling.
It stared at him in silent lucidity for several long, agonizing minutes. Then, the creature slowly leaned toward Alec with an expectant expression, and said, in a low, gravelly voice, “Hoh-wah.”
Alec frowned and shook his head. “I don’t know what that means.” He raised his hands, palms up, and shrugged, to show it he didn’t understand.
The creature sat back straight, coughed, and repeated the phrase. “Hoh-wah.”
Alec shook his head. The beast raised its hand and held it as Indians in old Westerns did when they said, “How!”
Alec watched it for a moment, then put his hand up the same way and said, “Do you mean hello? Does hoh-wah mean hello?”
“Hoh-wah,” it repeated, its hand still raised.
“Hoh-wah… hello! Hello!” Alec replied. Are these things smarter than people think?
Satisfied, the beast lowered its hand and settled back against the tree behind it, watching Alec closely. It had a long upper lip with a wide mouth that formed a frown, and a flat face, like a man. Its nose was flat and wide — there was no hair on its nose, cheek bones, or forehead, which sat above a heavy eyebrow ridge. The whitish hair on its head, especially toward the top, seemed sparse, thinning. Its ears were small, with a slight point toward the top, kind of like the point at the top of its head. This white beast with the hypnotic gray eyes just stared at Alec in silence except for its raspy breath, which sounded forced, labored.
It sounds sick, Alec thought.
The beast coughed again, a long, drawn out jackhammer of a cough, and it shook the creature’s entire body like it was possessed.
Maybe it’s dying.
Alec glanced toward the other creatures, but had trouble making them out in the darkness, though he caught sight of their eyeshines sporadically, which were metal green. A half moon broke through just above where Alec and this old one sat, so he could see it much better.
The old beast stopped hacking and stared at Alec with tired, watery eyes. It watched him like that for a long time.
Finally tiring of the silence, Alec said, “Why did you attack us?”
It shook its head, as if to say ‘no’.
Alec wondered if this was a lie. “Yes. Our cabin was attacked last night by a bunch of Bigfoots like you.”
Once again, the old white beast shook its head, ‘no’. It pointed to the trees and waved its hand, as if pushing at something.
Alec watched it closely. “You mean, someone else? Someone else did the attack?”
It forced a weak smile.
“You mean, there are others? Other Bigfoots that attacked us?” Alec continued.
The old creature grunted and coughed. Then said, “Okk,” and it reached toward Alec. He jerked back in fright. It stared at him, then said, “Okk.” It reached out toward him again, and Alec cautiously moved back toward its hairy hand, allowing it to reach him. It pointed an index finger at his t-shirt and touched it gently. Then it raised its hand and pointed the same index finger at its own right eye.
Alec stared down at his shirt, trying to understand the meaning. What about his t-shirt? What was this thing trying to say? Then it dawned on him: it’s red. It was a red Kansas City Chiefs t-shirt. At least in daylight it was. Now, in the nighttime, it just looked dark. The thing must have seen his shirt before it got dark. Either that, or it could see colors in the dark.
Red eyes. Those monsters last night all had red eyes. He glanced up at the creature, and around at the greenish eye-shines in the dark. It suddenly dawned on him. And this group doesn’t!
“But why? Why did they attack us?”
The creature closed its eyes and shook its head somberly. Then it looked back out at the black forest and shook its head, waving at the trees, then it pointed at the night, suddenly clenched its fist, with a grunt, and pointed at the trees again.
“They’re violent. Is that it? The ones with the red eyes are mean? Violent?” Alec raised his hands into fists, held them in front of him, and shook them firmly. “They’re violent? They like to fight?”
The beast grunted, coughed again, crunched its torso down and up repeatedly and waved its head forward, apparently affirming what Alec said. Then it became very serious, and shook its head at Alec, pointing at the darkness. It growled.
“Stay away. Stay away from them. Right?”
It grunted.
“Then why did your huge, hairy friend over there kidnap me? That’s not very friendly.”
The ancient beast gazed at Alec in silence. It clenched its fists, waved its hand toward the other creatures in the darkness, then shook its head. “No-ka.” It spoke the word slower than the others, as if more thoughtful, more deliberate.
“Oh, yes. It chased me and grabbed me and dragged me out here in the middle of the woods, yes it did.”
The creature repeated its gesture, shaking its head.
“You can shake your head all you want, but it kidnapped me. Nearly drowned me! That’s why I’m here!” he said, raising his voice.
Off in the darkness, something huge snarled at him, low and threatening. The old beast looked over and grumbled, “Okk! So-ka!” The growling stopped. Then it reached forward with a half-closed fist and gently touched the back of its hand against Alec’s chest. It waved its hand toward the beasts in the dark, and said, “No-ka. No-ka.” It pointed at Alec’s shirt and then at its eye again. “Okk.”
Alec studied the movements of the creature. “You… wanted to let us know… that… it wasn’t your people… who at
tacked us? That’s it, isn’t it? Because it was the red-eyes who attacked us, not you?”
The beast smiled, as if victorious.
“Why? Why do you want us to know that? What does it matter?” Alec raised his hands and shrugged to emphasize the question.
The face of the old Bigfoot suddenly became serious. It looked off into the night in silence, its chest heaving in and out slowly, laboriously. It began to rock forward and back, back and forth. Alec watched it, puzzled. Suddenly, it decides to clam up?
The creature looked over toward where Alec knew the other Bigfoots were sitting, watching, waiting. Was this the ancient one’s family? Probably so. He was probably the old head of the family.
Alec wiped off his bare legs, where it felt like some bug was crawling on him. The air was still, and it was hot and sticky out here, and his back itched from the bark on the tree behind him, some oak or something. And the smell here in this Bigfoot camp was like being in the middle of a sewer — really, really bad. His hair was wet from sweat, which ran down his forehead. The ground under his bottom was hard and bumpy, rocky, so his butt was beginning to hurt. A mosquito buzzed his left ear, and he slapped at it. Oddly, though, there was no other sound out here, besides him and the Bigfoots. No crickets chirping, no locusts buzzing, nothing. It was as if these creatures kept everything around them in a state of terror.
The old white hairy creature looked back at Alec with a somber expression, wheezing. Its ancient gray eyes stared at the boy… no, into him. Almost into his soul. Quietly, slowly, it raised its hairy hand and laid it over its chest, over its heart, closed its eyes briefly, then opened them and looked up at the starry sky, which Alec could see through the break in the trees overhead, where the moonlight streamed through. It stayed in that position, staring up at the sky in silence. Then it raised the hand that was over its chest above it, and made a sweeping gesture across the sky.
Alec didn’t understand. He shook his head and shrugged, raising his palms.
The creature huffed, as if frustrated. It looked down, then exactly repeated the same gestures.
“I don’t understand, I’m sorry,” Alec said softly.
Alec Kerley and the Terror of Bigfoot (Book One of the Monster Hunters Series) Page 12