by Lee Murphy
The cat was backed into the corner. It hissed and growled at Ruth as she wriggled under the bed to get at it. The cat screamed and Ruth swung wide with the knife, trying to force the cat out of its corner. She felt the blade graze against the fleshy part of the cat's haunch as it hissed and howled in pain.
Ruth worked her way farther under the bed, groaning with the effort.
***
As Montagna lifted himself out of the rubble of the china cabinet, his feet slipped from under him. He instinctively put his hands out to catch himself, only to feel fragments of broken glass cut into his palms.
Kodiak grabbed Montagna and hoisted him up. He was about to smash him in the face when Ben intervened again. "Don't, George!"
"Come on, Kodiak..." Montagna spat blood from his cut lip and glared at Kodiak, ready for a fight.
"Shut up, Jamie." Ben got between them, facing Kodiak. He kept his hand pressed against Montagna just in case he had to take action to separate them again. "George, listen to me. This is completely out of hand. I don't know what happened in here, but I saw it coming. And I'll be damned if--"
"Forget it, Ben. This guy's got it coming. And if I haven't worked everything out of my system, then maybe I'll just mosey on up to the roof and go a couple rounds with old Norm..."
Cyrena and Mildred watched from the dining room. Finally Cyrena just shrugged in disgust and said, "I can't just stand around. I'll help you get this mess cleaned up, Mildred." They started for the overturned cabinet.
Montagna stopped them. "Just stay put," he ordered.
Kodiak gave him an icy glare and took a step toward him. "You want to finish what you started?"
Intimidated, Montagna stepped aside. "Get this mess cleaned up."
***
Ruth got within grabbing distance of the cat. The cat hissed and clawed at her, but the pain in her hand only seemed to excite the vile hag. After several minutes of this game of cat and mouse (with the tables turned inexorably on the cat), Ruth grabbed its tail.
The cat sank its claws into her leathery hand and bit as hard as it could. Ruth screeched, and to get the damned cat off of her arm, she severed its tail with her knife.
The cat ran from the room, screaming and trailing blood across the hardwood floor.
Ruth grumbled some animal sound of frustration and spat, backing out from under the bed, holding the knife and the cat's tail in one hand. She didn't see Mildred. She only heard her suddenly screaming, "I'll kill you!" and was struck upside her head with the bristle-end of a broom. Ruth fell to the floor, dropping the knife and the tail. Everything was spinning as she felt around the floor to push herself back up, but Mildred hit her again, this time with the broom handle, and Ruth screamed out of fear and pain.
Mildred was livid, driven by the blind, hysterical rage of a protective mother. She had heard the cat's shriek when she was downstairs sweeping the broken glass, and ran upstairs to investigate. As she came up to the second floor hallway, the cat, minus its tail, fled past her. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Mildred kept screaming the words, as though they would add to the full impact of her fury.
Ruth scrambled to her knees and grabbed the knife, and as an added insult, she made a special effort to get the tail and shove it into her shirt pocket before standing up. After the initial shock of the attack, the power of Mildred's blows diminished in intensity. This gave Ruth anchor to turn on Mildred and raise the knife.
The sight of the knife startled Mildred, and she hesitated from the shock. But when Ruth lunged at her, she instinctively thrust the broom handle into Ruth's gut, forcing the hag to double over and spit her dentures onto the floor. Mildred raised the broom over her head, but Ruth body-slammed her. They both dropped their weapons and rolled about, interlocked, on the floor.
Mildred tore off Ruth's bandanna, revealing her near-baldness. The part in her hair was abnormally wide, like a reverse widow's peak. Ruth grabbed Mildred's hair and banged her head repeatedly against the floor.
Kodiak, Montagna, Ben and Cyrena heard the ruckus and ran upstairs. When they got to the open bedroom door and saw the two old women wrestling on the floor with all the strength of two third-grade boys, Montagna began laughing hysterically. Kodiak and Cyrena rushed into the room and broke up the fight, a feat not easily done, because the two women wanted to kill each other in the worst way. Kodiak lifted Ruth off of Mildred. Cyrena helped Mildred to her feet, holding her back from going for Ruth's throat.
Kodiak shouted, "Knock it off!" The tone of his voice even made Montagna stop laughing. Kodiak's face was an expression of shock that almost looked comical, even though he saw no humor in what was happening. "What is going on in here?"
Mildred was crying. While Cyrena restrained her, she screamed, "She cut off my cat's tail!"
They all looked at Ruth, who's cold glare made everyone, except Mildred, unable to look her in the eyes.
"Is that true?" Kodiak didn't know what kind of answer to expect, but he was more concerned about letting this animal-woman loose than anything the old hag might say.
"It's in her shirt pocket!" Mildred screamed.
Ruth, pinned within Kodiak's arms, just growled.
Kodiak looked at Ruth's shirt and saw a spot of fresh blood on the pocket, but he couldn't see inside it. If he reached in, Ruth could wrench free, and he didn't want to deal with that. "Ben...?"
Ben stood in the doorway, his face stunned white from shock. He glanced at Kodiak, then shook his head slowly as he looked back at Ruth. He looked like he was going to be sick.
Kodiak said, "Cyrena, would you...?" He gestured to the shirt pocket with his eyes.
Cyrena hesitated.
Mildred hissed through her clenched teeth, "Let me..." Cyrena knew she couldn't let Mildred go, or she'd go right for Ruth's eyes. "I can't..."
"What a bunch of wimps." Montagna laughed as he picked up the broom and placed it against a wall. "I believe this belongs to Mama." Then he knelt down and picked up Ruth's knife. He debated picking up her teeth, then thought better of it. He stood in front of her, and she watched him with a baleful glare, the way a wild animal looks at its enemy. Montagna lost his smile and reached into her pocket. He lifted out the cat's wriggling tail and dangled it in Kodiak's face. "The prosecution rests." Montagna dropped the tail on the floor.
Mildred let out a heartwrenching sob.
"Jamie! Jamie!" Norm was calling over the radio earphones that were hanging around both Ben's and Montagna's necks. "Jamie! Can you hear me? I see it! I can see it!"
Everyone stopped and looked through the bedroom window at the dark woods. Somewhere outside, beyond where they could see, the Sasquatch had returned and Norm spotted it. Montagna pushed past Kodiak and Ben and walked to the door, putting the radio headset back on. "Where, Norm?"
Norm was still on his belly, lying on the garage roof, looking at a spot in the woods through his rifle scope. All he could see was one leg and part of the foot, but there was no mistaking what it was. "If he steps out a little further, I can let him have it."
"Just take it easy," Montagna said. "Dave, can you see it?"
Dave was closer to the woods, literally with a bird's eye view. He was also looking through his rifle scope, but couldn't find it. "No!"
Inside the house everyone was watching Montagna as he spoke to the two outside. He ordered Dave, "Lower your voice. Now listen, both of you. Just lay low and let him come into the yard. Don't jump the gun. I want at least two guns on him." He took off his headset and complained, "I can't believe it finally shows up, and all I got are those two dumb-asses out there!"
Ben was caught up in the heat of the moment. "Maybe we can sneak out back and flush it into the yard?"
Montagna retorted, "You can flush that idea."
***
The animal could sense something was different from the previous nights it had come here. Mildred's place was the first human habitation it had encountered after having traveled hundreds of miles from its home canyon, and although it wa
s curious, it was still cautious. When it had finally come down from the hills, it had watched her feed the cat in her front yard, and so became interested in the food.
When Mildred had become aware of it, she had offered it food, and so it had become less wary-- at least enough to keep coming back to see what else might be offered.
It would have been here earlier this evening, but it was distracted by the pack animals, and it felt compelled to investigate them. After satisfying its curiosity there, it headed for Mildred's place.
There were other humans here tonight. There was a man on the roof, another on top of the telephone pole, and another who had gotten up from behind the bushes and gone into the house. After a brief period, a fourth man came running from the back of the house and also went inside. There were some loud noises, and the creature hesitated. Its instincts urged it to run, but its curiosity and prior contact with Mildred had bastardized its senses. So it chose to stay and see what was happening.
***
Dave was sweating and trying to keep his hands from shaking. He still couldn't see the animal. The scope's field of vision was frustratingly narrow. He lowered the rifle and tried to see with his naked eye, but he could only make out the fringe of the trees caught in the glow of the front porch light. He spoke into his radio, "Norm, I can't see anything. You have him in your sights?"
Norm spat. "Just his foot, kid. I'm real tempted to go ahead and see if I can't stick him, anyway."
Montagna cut in, "Forget it. If we blow this when we're so close..."
Downstairs Montagna was pacing around, trying to decide the next move. He was inwardly grateful to be inside, and wondered just how close that thing was to where he had been hiding only ten minutes before. The thought made him shudder, and he felt nauseous again. So far, nobody seemed aware of his fear, but he felt a panicky need to save face. Especially in front of Kodiak, who he knew was just itching to take everything over. But he didn't dare go outside himself and risk screwing things up. He said, "All right, Ben. Go out through the back and creep around to the front of the house. Do not go beyond the front corner. I want you to wear the goggles and wait until you actually see it. You're going to direct the assault. If we blow this and it takes off, run after it!"
Ben's eyes were wide with excitement. He was nodding anxiously, waiting for Montagna to finish so he could get out there. "I'm going."
Kodiak was surprised Montagna was sending Ben out. Montagna had gone to such efforts to exclude Kodiak from actively participating in the hunt, it seemed odd that he would so willingly give Ben the driver's seat at this critical juncture.
Something suddenly occurred to Montagna. "Ben, here..." He tossed Ben his air rifle. "You may have the best shot."
Ben nodded again and went out the back door through the kitchen.
Montagna went into the dining room and spoke into the radio. "Norm, Ben's coming out. Don't go mistaking him for another Sasquatch and shoot him in the ass."
"Up yours." Norm was tired of Montagna and his snotty, condescending attitude. His right eye was getting tired, and the scope even drifted off target a couple times. When it did, he had a hell of a time relocating the foot. There's gotta be some way to draw this thing out, he thought. But even Norm knew that if he fired at it and missed-- which was more than likely-- the animal might take off for good.
He looked down and saw Ben standing at the corner of the garage. "Just follow the direction of my rifle barrel, and you should spot him."
Ben waved acknowledgement and looked in the indicated direction. At first everything was just a tangled mass of tree branches and foliage. But the goggles didn't magnify things the way the rifle scopes did, so he had a better field of vision. He spotted the Sasquatch standing between two trees. He gasped.
Norm heard him and let out a short laugh. "He's something, ain't he, Tyler?"
Ben was frozen with amazement. It almost looked like a man in a sophisticated gorilla suit, except there was a subtlety to it that could not be faked. It was in the way its eyes scanned the area around it, its mouth slightly agape, its tongue rubbing against its lower teeth out of nervous contemplation. Ben forgot he had the rifle.
Montagna sat at the dining room table, listening. Nothing more was said after the last time Norm spoke. "Ben, what's going on? Do you see it?"
A long pause, then, "God, yes..."
"And?"
"It's real." Ben let out a loose giggle. "It's real, Jamie!"
Montagna rubbed his face. In the excitement of the moment he forgot that his hands were cut, and he smeared blood over his nose and cheek. "I know it's real, Ben. Emory Pittman knows it's real, too. Are you in a position to shoot it?"
Ben suddenly remembered the air rifle and hoisted it into position against his shoulder. He lifted the nightvision goggles and sighted the Sasquatch through the rifle scope. It was easily within range, and he lined its torso up in the cross-hairs. Then he thought about what Kodiak had said before about Jamie and Norm looking to exploit this creature. He could deliberately miss, but then Jamie and Norm would probably beat the hell out of him. Ben wasn't afraid of them. Not Norm, anyway.
"Do it, Ben..."
Mildred was in the kitchen with Cyrena. She felt trapped by Montagna, Norm, and that disgusting hag, Ruth. First that creep Montagna threatened to break her cat's neck unless she told him the truth about the Sasquatch. Then the old witch went after the cat, cutting off its tail for some sick trophy. Now they were out there, ready to stick the unsuspecting Sasquatch with tranquilizer darts, after which it would be imprisoned in some zoo, or dissected for the sake of scientific research. And she felt so guilty about having lured the hapless animal into this trap. No. This was where she would have to take action.
Mildred said to Cyrena, "Would you excuse me, dear? I have to take out the trash." Mildred went into a closed pantry and took out a fire extinguisher. She pulled the pin and marched into the living room.
Ben placed his sweat-slickened finger on the trigger and took aim at the center of the animal's chest. He started to squeeze...
Ruth was hunkered near the front door. She turned to see the fire extinguisher's nozzle pointed in her face and... SHHOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!! Ruth was knocked through the screen door, stumbling out onto the porch, enveloped in a cloud of white C02 powder. Mildred followed her out and let her have it again.
Ben fired the rifle, but because of Mildred's distraction, he missed his target.
The animal felt the surge of air as the dart narrowly missed its head. It took off into the woods.
Montagna jumped up and screamed at Mildred. He came around the table and ran for the door.
Fearing Montagna was going to attack Mildred, Kodiak grabbed the head from a broken ceramic polar bear and followed quickly after him.
On the garage roof old Norm saw what was happening to Ruth. He aimed his air rifle at Mildred's back.
Montagna ran past Mildred and Ruth, shouting, "Run after it, Ben!"
Ben pulled the nightvision goggles back over his eyes and ran after the Sasquatch. He had a pretty good idea in which direction it had gone, but the thing moved like lightning.
Kodiak came out behind Montagna, saw Norm aiming his rifle at Mildred, and hurled the piece of the ceramic polar bear at him. It smashed into Norm's head, shattering with a loud CRACK! Norm dropped on top of the roof. Kodiak didn't know if he was knocked out, and he didn't care.
Cyrena rushed out behind Kodiak, and for the second time that night, they pulled Mildred off of Ruth.
On the telephone pole Dave saw the Sasquatch break from its place among the trees and run for the woods. He drew a sight on it with his rifle and squeezed the trigger just as something huge and black entered into his scope's field of vision. To his horror, Ben let out a sudden yelp, and when Dave looked down, he saw Ben fall to the ground. The Sasquatch kept running.
All Dave could think about was how Montagna had told Norm not to go mistaking Ben for the Sasquatch, and that's exactly what he just did. Dave, shaking,
clambered down the telephone pole.
A fog had come in, cutting visibility considerably when Montagna reached Dave, who was on the verge of panic. "Jamie... it's Ben... He's hurt."
Montagna flushed with anger. He had to force himself to keep from slapping Dave. "Now what?"
Dave started to catch his breath and said, "I... I shot him."
Montagna debated going after the Sasquatch. Between the fog, the moonless night, and half the team being incapacitated, he thought better of it. Besides, the Sasquatch was a night creature, and this was its turf. If it was aggressive, it would easily have the advantage over them in an attack. He thought he heard Kodiak say, "Don't forget, you're also a coward," but when he turned, no one was there. He realized that he was hearing things.
Kodiak called to them from somewhere toward the north, and Montagna and Dave followed the sound of his voice. They could see the beam of a flashlight in a small clearing directly ahead. Kodiak was kneeling down beside the unconscious Ben, holding the tranquilizer dart that struck Ben's leg.
Cyrena helped Mildred catch her cat, which had taken refuge under the couch in the living room. It had lost a great deal of blood, so it was fairly easy to handle when they finally caught it. Mildred wrapped the cat in a towel to disable it from clawing her. Cyrena loaded Mildred and her cat into Ben's jeep for the drive to the veterinarian back in Red Fern. At the very least, it was an excuse to get away from this place for a few hours.