Chasing the Demon

by Paul Sating

  "Yeah, but I'm not crazy about this," Lucas piped in from across the fire. "It's freakin' cold."

  "It's only going to get colder, buddy," Jared warned. "Wait until about 3 a.m. You'll be ready to sleep in your car with the heater cranked."

  "Remind me again why I agreed to this."

  "Because you're a friend and you knew I'd need good company."

  "Remind me to volunteer someone else next time. Man, it gets creepy out here at night."

  "What are you worried about? You don't believe in Bigfoot. You've got nothing to fear." Jared knew things were changing for Lucas in that respect but it was still fun to poke him. It cheered him, a little, to do so and if there was anything he needed in his life at the moment it was reasons to smile. Lucas, for his own good measure, even cracked a smile as he poked at the fire with a long stick. The logs popped, small sparks danced up into the night.

  "I am worried about bears and wolves."

  "You need to read a little more about the area of the country you live in," Jared cajoled. "There aren't any bears or wolves here."

  "I watch and analyze videos all-day, every day. I don't think I even remember how to read."

  "That would explain so much." Jared was half-joking; not that Lucas was less of an intellectual because he didn't read everything there was to be read but in general sentiment. If everyone spent a few more minutes reading something that wasn't related to their favorite sports team or Hollywood A-lister maybe the world wouldn't be such a horrible place, filled with horrible people who did horrible things to each other. Like kill dogs because you wanted to intimidate someone? There would be more compassion, more empathy; people would work toward the common goal of understanding instead of asserting their view as the solitary one to consider. They would learn about the very real scientific reasons for things existing instead of thinking there was credence in fairy tales and non-traditional practices. Fewer people would suffer, more people would feel empowered to make new discoveries all the time, enriching the world.

  "It's creepy out here," Lucas said, looking into the darkness, breaking Jared's rambling thoughts. "I don't know how you do this."

  "You get used to it. Stop talking for a second and just listen." Lucas did as requested and the forest's soundtrack fell over the camp. It was thick. Relaxing. A calming blanket of sounds that cleansed the world of the toxin that was human pollution. "See? Isn't it peaceful? Calming?"

  "Being out in the middle of the wilderness, in the dark, where predators can see me and I can't see them, is not calming, you twisted ass," Lucas laughed. "Still, it's good to get away and have a few beers with you. It's been a long time."

  "It has," Jared said, his thoughts immediately linking the harmless comment to his own thoughts about how little they spent time with each other. Tomorrow was never guaranteed and you should never take for granted those who are important to you, but damn if that wasn't exactly what he was doing and had been doing for too long. It dawned on Jared that Maria wasn't the only one in his life he'd set as a lower priority than Bigfoot. "Don't worry. There'll be more of that soon, after all this is over."

  "Determined to press on, huh?" A playful smile hopped across Lucas' mouth, his eyes danced with youthful exuberance.

  Jared knew this game. He wasn't going to commit either way, plus he was supposed to be recording. Hadn't Lucas pushed him to start working again? Now he played the role of distractor? Ah, Lucas, where would I be without the light you bring into my life? "Don't know right now. I don't want to think about it tonight, to be honest."

  The childish delight faded from Lucas' face. "It's all good, bud. I like hearing the sound of my own voice when I'm freaked out. I probably won't shut up all night."

  "I'm going to make a hardened hunter out of you yet," Jared quipped.

  "And makes it so—" a noise that came from deep in the night cut Lucas off. "What the hell was that?!"

  "Shhh!" Jared ordered. He didn't hear the sound clear enough to make it out. The night was young, the banter with his friend was fun, and he was getting back into the flow of recording. He wasn't expecting any action tonight. That wasn't why he'd taken Lucas out here and he wasn’t even sure he wanted any action. He wasn't even sure if dealing with another incident was good for him. "Quiet."

  Three rhythmic tree knocks rang out, a few hundred yards away, maybe closer.

  "We've got company." The ominous statement hung in the air.

  "That's not funny."

  "I'm not kidding. Shut the hell up." He needed to gauge the distance and he couldn't risk missing it because Lucas was starting to go into panic mode.

  A second set of wood knocks came from a different direction but almost as close. "That's Sasquatch. At least two of them."

  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrwwwwwwooooooooo!

  Lucas jumped to his feet, the stick he'd been poking the fire with comically extended in front of him like warriors of old. Jared would have laughed if this wasn't so serious and if it didn't remind him of his last expedition. "Jesus. What the hell was that?"

  There was only one answer Jared could give his best friend and it would do nothing to comfort him. "Bigfoot," Jared kept his voice low. "That one came from over there; that's not where either of the wood knocks came from."

  Lucas' forehead wrinkled with worry. "And? What's that mean?"

  At least three Bigfoot, in three different directions, was what it meant. Who knew how many there actually were but it was obvious they weren't stationary. And they weren't moving away. "There's at least three of them out there and ... and I think they're trying to surround us."

  His comment elicited the panic he expected. "Man, I—are we safe? I—can't—"

  "Sit down and stay by the fire," Jared snarled. He had to get control of Lucas before his friend aggravated whatever was out there. "We're not going anywhere. There's no place safer than where we are right now."

  Tree branches, high in the air, cracked.

  Thump!

  A rock landed in the camp ten feet from where Lucas stood. His friend jumped closer to him.

  "Shit!" Jared half-squatted, expecting another stone to follow the first one. "Don't move!"

  "Wha—who threw that?" Instead of quieting, instead of sitting still, instead of doing anything that Jared needed him to do, Lucas caved to fear. It was becoming absolute. The crazy realization that he'd never get Lucas back out into the woods after this was over broke his own rising fear. Ridiculous at a time like this, but still very real.

  Thump!

  This time it was he who was the target of a Sasquatch rock toss. The rock missed him by a good twenty feet but it landed and rolled from the opposite direction of the one that struck near Lucas. Coming from at least two sides.

  "Jared, are Bigfoot throwing rocks at us?" Lucas' voice shook with disbelief.

  He had to stay calm. If he didn't, Lucas was likely to run off into the night and get himself killed. Or provoke the Bigfoot. "It's an intimidation behavior. A lot of primates do it. They don’t want us here."

  "The truck. We can get to the—"

  Jared opened his hand and made a shushing gesture. "We're not going anywhere. We can't go on a three-mile hike in the dark! We're blind out there."

  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwoooooooooooo!

  Lucas’ rapid breaths filled the camp. He was getting louder. He's on the verge of doing something stupid, Jared, himself, panicked. The Bigfoot intimidation was working. "Calm down. They're not going to bother us if we don't do anything to threaten them. They're still a good distance away so let's not give them a reason to come closer. We're on their land and they're checking us out, making sure that we don't pose some sort of threat to their herd or nest. They are not going to do--"

  Lucas choked, covering his mouth and nose with his sleeved elbow. "Oh my god, what's that?"

  "Wha—" Jared smelled it. "Shit!"

  Through gags, Lucas said, "Uh, that's horrible! Smells like something died."

  Caught. He’d tried to protect
Lucas from escalating fear but the threshold was crossed. He couldn't very well protect his friend from a mental break if he was about to enter his own. But how did you protect yourself when you were defenseless and about to meet your tormentor? "He's here," Jared croaked. "Bigfoot is here."

  Lucas spun around, the stick extended. Jared didn't move. Didn't speak. Didn't even warn his friend to do the same. He couldn't. He was useless and defenseless. He ran through his memory bank, trying to extract any tip he could remember other supposed Bigfoot enthusiasts used during a face-to-face encounter.

  Get big.

  Get loud.

  Bang things.

  Show aggression.

  Don't show aggression.

  Back away.

  Run!

  Every tactical thought came at once and none of it was probably right. He couldn't even determine if he was thinking about Bigfoot or bear confrontations. "He's close, Lucas. Don't move. Whatever you do. Do not move."

  Jared stared into the trees and thick underbrush. There was no chance of seeing anything move in there but there was no mistaking something big in that covered darkness. Tortuously, branches cracked under heavy feet. This wasn't a deer. No raccoons or possums were that pronounced when they moved around. There weren't bears out there. Bias be damned, the only thing that could be moving around out there was a Sasquatch. Jared couldn't be sure if it was attempting to circle them, scout them, or attack them. The slow, plodding footsteps, each measured, gave him the impression that it was being careful. It was the sign of an animal in a defensive posture. But lions on the Savannah also slowly stalked their prey until they were ready to pounce. Jared didn't want to see what a pouncing Bigfoot looked like.

  "What was that?" Lucas backed into Jared after a particularly loud crack cut through the night.

  "He's right outside the camp, just beyond the firelight," Jared estimated. "We can smell him because they've got well-developed apocrine sweat glands. They excrete when scared or threatened. Stay right there. Don't move." He crept over to his pack.

  Lucas' gaze swerved between Jared's action and that wall of darkened green that hid their stalker. "What are you doing?!"

  Jared answered by moving closer to Lucas and disengaging the pistol's safety. "I'm getting ready for him if he comes out of those trees." He doubted an M-9 would do anything to a Sasquatch but he hoped against hope that, if nothing else, the shock of being shot and the sound of the pistol firing would scare the damn thing off. And its friends too. He couldn't forget that there was more than this one here. This was a bad idea, a very bad idea. They had a three-mile hike back to where they'd parked. There was nothing but endless, thick green between them and the safety of the truck. No roads. No park rangers. No other adventurous Washingtonians looking to 'get away' for a few days. Just the two friends and a herd of Bigfoot.

  "You're going to shoot it?" Lucas' voice rose in pitch in his panicked state.

  "Bigfoot are wild animals," Jared tried to reason with him. "I'm not taking any chances."

  "Can't you yell at it or wave fire at it? Doesn't that scare bears?"

  "This isn't a damn bear!" Jared's focus never left the trees. The crunching footsteps had ceased. "Sasquatch are intelligent creatures, very intelligent. They don't fall for crude tactics. If he comes through those trees, I'm shooting. Be ready."

  "For wha—"

  A loud pop sounded. Thick. Probably a dead tree. Branches swayed. It was close. The repugnant smell made him gag. He couldn't worry about that now. He had to hold off throwing up long enough to get a clear shot. Nausea began to swarm his mind and he tried to blink it away. Infrasound. Just like in Forks.

  "Oh my God!" Lucas swayed, foot-to-foot.

  "Shhhh!" Jared snarled. "Do me a favor. Try to listen for his movements. Help me track him."

  Muted grunts wafted from behind the brush. This thing was no more than fifteen feet away. Whatever it was, it was definitely aware of their presence and not afraid to move in for a closer look. Or taste.

  "Jesus!" Lucas shouted.

  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooooooo!

  Jared jumped. Lucas cowered in place. The beast hiding in the cover howled into the night. Somewhere, deep in his ear canal, inside his brain, pain exploded. Jared covered his ears with both hands, no longer able to aim the gun. If it came out of the woods now they were as good as dead. Jared pulled his hands away; he had to suffer through this. He had to be ready for that thing when it came at them. More cracking branches, faster, louder, sung out to them.

  But they were moving away now! The monster was fleeing!

  Jared listened, the pistol still aimed at the branches that no longer swayed. It was gone.

  He tapped Lucas on the shoulder and stepped back when his friend jumped up, his eyes wide. "He's leaving. Stay still. Let's give him a chance to go find something else to distract him."

  Lucas nodded and they waited as the thundering footsteps faded into the night.

  "Oh my God," Lucas exhaled, probably for the first time in minutes, his voice still shaking with the surge in adrenaline. "I … I can't believe this."

  "We're going to need to take turns on watch tonight ... just in case," Jared warned. They weren't going to be clear of the danger until the morning, at least.

  "Don't worry about that, I'm not going to be able to sleep at all," Lucas answered, "I don't know how or why you do this. Are you sure we can't make it back to the truck?"

  But Jared wasn't paying attention to him, his thoughts were elsewhere. "Hmmm?" he asked, only realizing after a moment what Lucas said. "No. We're not trying that. Too dangerous and, away from the firelight, they may not be so averse to inspecting us a more closely. Get some sleep. First light is going to come early and when it does, we're out of here."

  They had to get out of there. Not because Jared feared the Sasquatch coming back in the morning with a larger herd. If they were going to do anything it was going to be now. No, they had to get back because he needed to get Lucas home before the man had a breakdown.

  And he needed to finish his business.

  Now or never.

  He didn't even hear Lucas reply.

  His mind was a world away, focused on one goal.

  This was going to end.

  20

  The desire to close this chapter of Jared’s life didn't fade with distance from the campsite. The next morning, life arose at a snail’s pace, in large part to a night of lousy sleep. Once they started packing the camp they did so with an urgency inspired by trauma. The hike back to the truck was too fast, unsafe. Neither of them spoke so they had plenty of adrenaline-fueled energy to draw from.

  Jared had never seen Lucas move as quickly as he did during the trek back to the truck. He was a man on a mission; a mission to save himself from an unseen monster. Conflicted and confused, Jared reflected on the previous night’s incident as they hiked. In the heat of the moment of being surrounded by what was probably a small herd of Sasquatch, he had been afraid. There was no doubt, had that thing come out of the underbrush at them, he would have unloaded the entire clip into its body. But it didn't. It didn't even try and it sure as hell didn't give them any indication that it wanted to. What it did do was display an intellectual curiosity. He wasn't going to let its aggressiveness cloud the perception he had in the clear light of day. It could have attacked them if it wanted to, out of fear or predatory instincts, but it didn't.

  He saw it now.

  Everything that happened on the expedition with Lucas, everything those creatures displayed, was peaceful. The animal was as afraid as he and Lucas had been. And they were as much of a non-threat as the pair of humans camped out in their terrain.

  It was time to re-evaluate everything. To step back and analyze; to challenge everything he thought he knew about Sasquatch, their habitat, and their habits. He wasn't the expert he thought he was. But he would be. He would get to the truth of this. And he'd do it before anyone else was able to construct the n
arrative. Bigfoot's story needed to be told. He knew where to go now; there wouldn't be any more running around the Olympics, scattering to the four winds, hoping to trip across a herd.

  The hotspot was his.

  He would get the evidence the world demanded.

  He needed to do it justice.

  *****

  Jared spent a few days collecting himself, his thoughts, and evidence and then got to work developing a new plan.

  He stood in front of the corkboard in his make-shift office. It had been Maria's, part of her 'creative space', as she called it. When she left, she took only a portion of the things she needed from the office. Without a home of her own yet she had no place to put the desk, chair, drafting table and the such, so the room still felt like her room. It was his least favorite place in the house because it reminded him of her. Over the past four days, though, he spent more time in here than he had in all the months she'd been gone, going over and over his plan, making sure he had the resources to pull it off, along with his personal concerns being appropriately addressed. He was preparing for the big push.

  The final push.

  Now or never.

  Tacked notes of things accomplished and tasks still needing to be done filled the corkboard, all of them just as important as the other. In a very small way, he was grateful Maria was gone; there was a lot he didn’t want her to see. The Bigfoot stuff? He wouldn't keep any of that from her. The gear he was going to need to pack, the dates and places he was going to check out and follow up on now that he had the herd's location narrowed down so finely? He'd be more than happy to share that too. But it was the other stuff, the information he noted in a completely separate column on the side of the cork board, that he wouldn't want her to see.