Alec Kerley and the Terror of Bigfoot (Book One of the Monster Hunters Series)

by Tanner, Douglas

  “NOOOOOOOOOO!” Alec howled.

  As if in a slow motion dream, Alec picked up a rock, twisted around on the ground, and threw it with all his might at the soldier. It slammed into his face with a thud. The soldier yelped and staggered backwards.

  Alec ran out to the two monsters in the blackness and felt the furry pelt of the giant. He put his back to them and stretched out his arms like a cross. The white beam of a military-issue flashlight shone across him.

  “DON’T SHOOT! DON’T SHOOT! DON’T SHOOT!” Danny screamed.

  “Hold your fire!” Captain Chaney barked.

  “It’s protecting us! It’s protecting us!” Ken shouted.

  Five more high beam flashlights burst out like the sun and shone from the soldiers onto the boy standing defiantly in front of the two forms behind him. Alec was covered with dirt and his hair was a mess. A line of water traced from his left eye, coursing through the dust, and dripped off his jaw.

  “He’s my friend,” he choked.

  The Bigfoot peered around at the circle of humans with alarm. All at once, it threw the vampire against a tree and bounded off into the forest.

  The vampire stood up and glared at the beams of light that shone on it.

  “Alec, get out of there!” his dad yelled. Alec ran to him and his father scooped him up into a weeping embrace.

  John Gonzalez stepped forward with his flashlight, pale and horrified, staring at the vampire. “Isn’t that…” he muttered.

  “Well, looky who I bumped into! The mighty monster hunters in the flesssssh!” the vampire growled. It cocked its head like a muscle spasm. “What an honor,” it said sarcastically.

  “We’re not here for you, Benjamin,” Mr. Gonzalez said carefully. “We’re here for the Sasquatches.”

  “How polite and orderly,” it mocked.

  Danny looked up and gaped at the vampire. “Benjamin?” he whispered.

  The monster became deadly serious and glowered at Mr. Gonzalez and Danny menacingly. “You’re in over your headsss, boysssss. Not all of the ‘creatures’ you track are sssstupid beasts like those overgrown apes. Sssome of us are downright… sssssentient.” It took a step toward the men.

  Danny raised the pistol and aimed it at the creature. The soldiers around him pointed their rifles at him and began shouting at him to lower his weapon.

  “This is not a man! This is not a man! It’s not a man!” Danny yelled, still aiming his gun.

  “Danny, Danny, careful, careful,” Mr. Gonzalez said, eyeing the soldiers around them.

  The soldiers’ shouts and Danny’s answers mixed together into a cacophony of panicked and indecipherable yells.

  “Okay! Okay! I’m lowering my weapon!” Danny said finally.

  The fiend laughed, watching Danny put his gun on the ground. The soldiers all pointed their rifles back at the vampire.

  “Get down on the ground! Lay flat on your stomach, NOW!” Lieutenant Glass barked at the vampire.

  It ignored the soldier. Still glaring at Danny and Mr. Gonzalez, it said, “You’ve been trackin’ me and my misssstresssss, but we’ve been trackin’ you!”

  “Get down! Get down, now!”

  “Be warned,” it growled, still ignoring the men in black. Any hint of amusement disappeared from the vampire’s face, and its voice went flat and dark. “Don’t tangle with me, boys.”

  Ethan stepped away from the other kids and held out his cross necklace again. “The power of Christ compels you!” Ken quickly grabbed Ethan’s shirt collar and jerked him back to the group.

  The vampire looked over at Ethan, then it whistled as it surveyed the rest of the kids. “Mmm-mmm! What tender little dumplin’s you got!” It took a step toward the children.

  A shot rang out. The lieutenant had pulled the trigger on his rifle, and a single shot hit the vampire square in the chest. It stood motionless for a second, then looked down at the bullet hole in its shirt. It looked back up and smiled at the soldier, baring its fangs. Then, scowling, the creature walked slowly toward the soldiers.

  Captain Chaney stepped forward, his pistol trained on the vampire. The thing stopped and stared at him for a moment, then twisted its head and peered at him sideways. “How interestin’…” it began.

  The captain fired, over and over. The rest of the soldiers joined in, raining a barrage of bullets into the body of the monster. The vampire stood still, jerking around under the gunfire.

  Emily and Sarah screamed.

  Finally the vampire fell backward onto the ground. The firing ceased, leaving its echoes rolling in waves into the black night. The beams from the flashlights shot around, tracing from the fallen vampire over to the group of kids, who stood aghast in the darkness.

  The girls ran to Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Edgar, followed by Ethan and Ken.

  “Ethan!” Mr. Elbert croaked, holding his son tight, rocking back and forth.

  Mr. Gonzalez fell to his knees and opened his arms to his children. He brought them in to a gigantic hug and buried his face in Sarah’s shoulder. He looked up and pulled Emily by her hand, and she joined the family embrace.

  “We came to find Alec, daddy. I’m sorry,” Sarah sobbed.

  “We snuck out,” Ken sniffled. “It was my idea. Sarah tried to stop me.”

  Mr. Gonzalez examined his son with red eyes. “That doesn’t matter now,” he whispered. “I’m just glad you’re safe.” Then he formed a pained expression on his face. “Oh, your mother’s probably hysterical with worry.”

  Captain Chaney approached Danny and Alec and looked Alec over closely. “This is your son?” he asked Danny.

  Danny nodded. He reached out a hand to Captain Chaney. “Thank you, captain.”

  Captain Chaney gave Danny a firm handshake. “I’m just glad he’s safe.”

  “Captain!” Lieutenant Glass called.

  “Yes, lieutenant?” the captain responded.

  “The body!”

  “Yes, lieutenant, please gather the body for extraction.”

  “But, captain…” the lieutenant sounded shaken.

  Captain Chaney swung around and glared at the soldier. “What?”

  The lieutenant shone the beam of his flashlight at the spot where the vampire fell. “It’s not there.”

  The captain stood silent for a moment, then walked over to where the body had been. He looked all around the area. The vampire was gone.

  How do you measure the meaning, or importance, of a life? Is it by how many things they owned? How smart they were?

  How hairless its skin was?

  How does a being find meaning in life? It lives, what, maybe 50, or 100 years, and then what? Eternal death?

  Or eternal life?

  Alec gazed out the bright window of the SUV. The endless green trees flew past in a blur. He looked back down at the spiral notebook and continued writing with the black ink pen.

  The meaning it gets from life is the same meaning any one of us has. It is from love. And faith. And hope. That’s all each of us has. What else is there?

  He laid the pen down and thought again about what the Native American soldier back at the cabin had shared, after over-hearing Alec say the last phrase that the old Bigfoot had spoken to him.

  “Tok-sha?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re sure that’s what you heard?”

  “Yes, that’s what it said. Does it mean something?”

  The soldier took in a deep breath, studying Alec closely. “I’ve heard stories that they learned some of our language in the past, to conduct trade with my grandfathers. Some of them must have passed it down over time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s Indian. It means ‘we’ll meet again’, or ‘I’ll see you again someday’.”

  The world had sunk away at that moment for Alec, as he stood staring at the tall soldier in shock.

  It knew it was going to die. And it said ‘I’ll see you again someday’.

  To me.

  Alec stared out the
window again. It was hot under the sunlight. He glanced down at his left thumb and realized his fingers were playing with the small, entwined twig circle that the small Sasquatch had given him. He had slipped it over his thumb like a ring.

  Telling his dad about his experience had been difficult… hard to put into words.

  “They aren’t animals, dad,” he’d said. “They’re smart, and they have faith. They believe in life after death.”

  His dad had looked at him as if he’d been a talking turnip.

  “And,” Alec had continued, “I know that mom is okay. She’s out there, somewhere, waiting for me. Waiting for us.” He had looked at his dad earnestly. “And we’re gonna be okay, too, dad.”

  He had watched his father’s eyes become watery. “Well,” his dad had managed, “that’s a sign, I think. Maybe that’s the sign I was looking for.”

  He didn’t know exactly what his dad had meant by that, but figured it was a good thing. Alec looked over at him now, watching him at the steering wheel, driving. His dad glanced at him and smiled.

  Yeah. We’re okay, Alec thought. I love my dad, and we’re okay.

  Alec watched the road curve through the Ozark Mountains. Their Explorer followed it like a roller coaster. He looked back. The rear window, the one the first Bigfoot had destroyed, was covered with clear plastic and tape. The plastic vibrated in the wind and hummed.

  He saw the faint image of the green Gonzalez minivan following behind them. Laughing to himself, Alec thought about how Mrs. Gonzalez had been like a Tasmanian devil when she saw the kids emerge from the forest with their dads and the soldiers. First thankful that everyone was okay, then filled with fire and brimstone, telling the kids in no uncertain terms it was not okay what they did, sneaking out like that.

  The kids… his friends. What they had done for him, risking their lives like that… Alec was overwhelmed. He didn’t even know there were that many people who cared about him. And here they were, willing to face death for him.

  He shook his head.

  “You okay? Whatchu thinking about?” his dad said, smiling at him.

  Alec shrugged. He shook his head again. “No, I’m great, actually. Really great. It’s just been… wow. What an experience.”

  His dad laughed. “Yeah, I’d say so! Not everyone can say they were kidnapped by Bigfoots!”

  Alec nodded, sighing. “Yeah, um, that’s for sure!” He laughed, then grew thoughtful. “They’re still out there, you know. The red-eyed ones. And the nice ones.”

  His dad became serious. “I know.”

  “So, what are you going to do now? I mean, you were investigating them, right? To see if they were dangerous? So what’s your answer?”

  His dad was quiet for moment, thinking. “Well, they’re definitely dangerous, at least some of them are. It seems they have personalities that vary as much as human personalities do. Some are dangerous and will attack, and some seem peaceful.”

  Alec thought about that. “So… like people.”

  “Right.”

  “But you can’t call all people dangerous, just because some of them are.”

  “Right…”

  “So you can’t call all Bigfoots dangerous, just because some of them are. You can’t just round them up into prison camps or declare open season on them. They have a right to live — to live their own lives, as much as people do.”

  Alec’s father peered over at him with a half smile. “Look at you. The little philosopher. Nice.”

  “I’m serious, dad.”

  “I know, son. I know. You know what? I don’t know yet what our response is going to be. I won’t be the one making that decision. It comes from higher up than me, or John, or Elbert or Evelyn.”

  Alec sat in silence for a moment.

  “What about the vampire?” he asked finally.

  His father glanced at him sideways, then focused on driving again. “What about him?” he murmured.

  “He’s still out there, too. And he’s not alone, right?”

  Danny Kerley was quiet.

  “Right?”

  “Right.”

  Alec studied the floor of the truck. “So who is he?”

  His dad pursed his lips. “His name was Benjamin Walker. He lived in Kansas in the 1800’s. We have a copy of his death certificate. They issued it, even though his body was never found. He was presumed dead.”

  “Dead from what?”

  “Don’t know. He went missing one night. There had been a series of murders in the area for a while, so they probably figured he had become one of the victims.”

  Alec thought about this. “He said he’s been tracking you.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “And he was following Ken and the others in the forest.”

  “Mmm hmmm. He probably had all of us under surveillance all weekend. That’s why Emily thought she saw a man in the shadows of the woods. It was probably him.”

  Alec suddenly shuddered. He gasped.

  Danny looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Uh… I’m pretty sure I saw him at the animal park the other day. I think he was there watching us.”

  His father sat in silence, then said, “You sure?”

  “Um, yeah, I think so. But, it was daytime! If he’s a vampire, how could he be out in the daytime? Wouldn’t he burn up in the sunlight?”

  Danny shook his head. “I wish. Our research indicates that vampires aren’t really destroyed by the sun. They do seem to have a sort of allergy to sunlight, and it can give them quite a sunburn, but it doesn’t burn them up. It only makes them weaker. They’re strongest at night. The later at night it is, the stronger they are, until sunrise approaches. It’s rare for them to be out during the day, and I think they only do it for special reasons.”

  Alec shuddered. “Like following us.”

  Danny nodded. “That was even the case in Stoker’s account.”

  Alec stared at him. “Stoker. Bram Stoker? You mean Dracula?”

  Danny nodded. “Yeah. It’s not as fictional as everyone thinks. And in that account, he describes the vampire being out in the daytime, not all the time, but sometimes, when necessary. The whole fable about sunlight destroying vampires was introduced in the movie Nosferatu in 1922. It’s been a part of the movies and folklore ever since.”

  Alec sat in silence for a moment. Then he peered at his father with somber eyes. “Does this Benjamin Walker vampire know where we live?”

  Danny shot a glance at him. “There’s no reason to believe—”

  “Dad, he’s been watching us. Who knows for how long!”

  Danny sighed. “I know…”

  “If he knew we were here, in the Ozarks, and he knows where you and John work, then he probably knows where we live, don’t you think? Be honest with me.”

  “Maybe. Maybe,” his father conceded.

  Alec stared out the window. “Things’ll never be the same, will they?”

  Danny bunched his mouth up. Finally, he answered. “No. Probably not.”

  The two sat still for a while as his dad drove. Alec thought again about his friends. He smiled, picturing each one of them in his mind. Ethan, short and funny. Emily, quiet and pretty. Sarah… Sarah. He squinted, trying to focus. She smells good. Her hair is long and black and shiny and smells like Herbal Essence. And she’s really, really brave and smart. And Ken…

  Alec shook his head at the passing scenery, grinning. Ken. A better friend, no one could ask for. A faithful friend.

  How did I deserve this? These friends?

  He glanced over at his father. And a dad who loves me so much?

  Am I allowed? Is it fair? To be so…

  Happy?

  Alec became serious again. He picked up his pen and began to write.

  Is it wrong for me to be happy? Does it make me forget my mom? Her death?

  He thought for a minute. Then he continued.

  No. I will never forget her. Never. But she loved me then, and she loves me now. She would
want me to be happy.

  And that’s what I want for myself.

  Alec looked at the glass of the window next to him. He slowly reached up and laid his hand, fingers spread out, flat on the glass. The heat of the window mixed with the coolness inside from the air conditioner sent a shiver down his spine. He relished in it.

  Alec focused on his father. “You know what?” he said. “Life is meant to be lived. And enjoyed.”

  His dad raised his eyebrows, surprised. He nodded. “I’d go along with that. But it’s really weird to hear you say that.”

  They laughed together. Then Alec became solemn. He peered at his father. “It’s okay for you to say that, too, dad.”

  Danny eyed his son in silence. “Yeah. Guess so,” he whispered. He rested his hand on his son’s shoulder and left it there as he drove.

  Alec took in the passing trees. He remembered the old white Bigfoot standing before him, saying, “Tok-sha.”

  He breathed in deep and let it out slowly. Yeah. I’ll see you again someday, too, my friend, he thought. Alec laid the pen down and rested his head against the back of the leather seat. Feeling the sun against his skin, he closed his eyes and smiled.

  Want to know what happens next for Alec and his friends? To be notified as soon as the next Alec Kerley and the Monster Hunters book is available, tap here!

  Also Available:

  Tap here to go to Amazon to purchase Alec Kerley and the Wrath of the Vampire.

  If you are in the U.K., find it here!

  If you enjoyed reading Alec Kerley and the Terror of Bigfoot, please leave a review on Amazon:

  Go here to sign into Amazon and leave a review!

  For the United Kingdom, tap here!

  About the Author

  Douglas Tanner used to sing in rock bands and work as a disc jockey for several radio stations, and he once got a really bad sunburn from driving a motorcycle all day in only a pair of gym shorts (bad idea). His love of monsters began after watching old scary movies on TV with his grandfather on Saturday nights. Douglas lives in rural Missouri with his wife, son, two daughters, and a Schnoodle named Snuffleupagus (Snuffy for short).