by Lee Murphy
"I can't do it alone. It'll be too heavy for me to move on my own."
"How do you know it's dead?"
"If you could see it, you'd know. Norm, don't do this to me. I swear to God, if we do this, by tonight we'll be back in town. You'll get to a doctor, and we'll be on the front page of every newspaper in the country!"
"Ain't it supposed to be illegal to kill one of those things?"
"Kill what? We found a body. There's no evidence that it died of anything other than natural causes. Besides, how do you like the sound of Gigantopithecus-Montagna-Cocke?"
"What?"
"That's what they'll call the new species. They always name it after whoever discovers it. In this case, it's us. You have to admit, it sounds a hell of a lot better than Gigantopithecus-Kodiak, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, but not as good as Gigantopithecus-Cocke-Montagna."
The bundled raft was tremendously heavy, and Montagna's back immediately cramped up the instant he dropped it. He unconsciously rubbed his broken nose, remembering how hard the other raft was when Kodiak struck him with it. He tripped the CO2 cartridge, and they jumped back as the raft erupted into full shape like an animal bursting forth from an egg. Montagna suddenly felt stupid as he recalled firing on the first raft when it shot up from under the river.
They waded into the lake with the raft. Norm shivered and exclaimed, "Man, this water's cold!"
Montagna was getting impatient again, but quelled the urge to yell at Norm and simply said, "Just start paddling. We'll be there in ten minutes."
At first their effort to paddle was clumsy, and they drifted in a circle. But after a couple of minutes, they managed to get synchronized and started heading in the direction of the island.
The estimated ten minutes lapsed into fifteen, then twenty-five. Norm did notice that without his eyesight his sense of hearing became more acute. But many of the things he heard he was so unaccustomed to hearing, he couldn't identify them. One sound he could make out, however, was the sound of water gently lapping on the shore of the island. They couldn't have been more than thirty yards from it.
He heard something nearby break the surface, or suddenly submerge beneath it, and the raft was slightly jarred. Norm grew wary. "Jamie?"
There was no answer.
"Jamie.... Jamie, say something."
No answer.
Norm reached out to where Montagna had been sitting. "Jamie! Jamie!" He felt along the raft but couldn't find him. "Dear God! Jamie! Jamie!" Norm was clinging to the raft like a lost child, scared and confused. He could feel it being helped along by the current. "JAMIE!!!"
Montagna climbed up one of the granite boulders that rose from the water on the west end of the island, well away from the beach where he left Norm. He carried the can of lighter fluid and the butane torch in a plastic bag and had tied the machete across his back. When he looked around he didn't see the Giganto anywhere, so he took the can of lighter fluid from the bag.
After drifting and paddling aimlessly for ten minutes, Norm could feel the ground under the raft. He laughed with relief. "Thank God... Oh, thank God!" He got out of the raft and pulled it ashore, where he flopped down on the sand and let the sun warm his body.
What in the hell had happened to Jamie? Had he suddenly drowned, or had something dragged him under the water? There was no logical explanation for it, and Norm was scared. Without the use of his eyes, he was unable to do anything for Jamie, and if the sight in his right eye didn't continue to improve, he'd be trapped on this island until who knew when. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "JAAAAMIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"
Montagna had to stifle a laugh when he heard Norm yell. It looked like Plan A was going to work. He was suddenly startled by the massive, dark form of the Giganto moving through the trees, heading in Norm's direction at a deliberate pace.
For the first time Montagna saw its face. In spite of what it did to Dave, he saw no menace about it. Rather, there was clearly an intelligence in its eyes; a type of wisdom that comes from a lifetime of surviving, for the most part, undetected. Now seeing its high cheek bones and intense, deep-set eyes, he was able to understand how people could actually mistake these animals as human.
He jumped down from the boulder and followed it.
Norm was on the verge of hysteria again. He had no idea what to do about his current predicament, and he could think of no way out. He cupped his hands around his mouth again and hollered, "Jaaaaaaaaamie!"
He heard somebody walking through the brush, and he turned toward the trees. He couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but he knew it was Jamie. It had to be. "Jamie?"
His eyes were screwed. He couldn't make out any details of the woods, he could only tell the dark black mass of trees set against the slightly lighter sky. But he could hear the steps; they were moving at a regular pace, not fast, but steadily in his direction.
Norm didn't say anything else. He would just let Jamie have his fun. In fact, he would let him get just close enough so he could knock him cold-- Another sound, almost like a dog growling, and no farther away than the nearest tree. It sounded like something big. A lot bigger than any dog.
Norm grew pale and stood perfectly still. Whatever animal it was that was watching him right now was definitely malevolent.
It growled again, but didn't come any closer.
Norm started to cry.
Montagna lost sight of the Giganto as it went into the woods near the beach, right where Norm probably was. He set the can of lighter fluid on the ground and took the machete from his back. He stuck the tip of the blade repeatedly into the top of the can until he was able to tear three-quarters of it off, making it possible to hurl all its contents at once. With the machete in one hand, and the lighter fluid in the other, he headed for the beach. Everything absolutely depended upon Montagna's ability not to panic. And he was scared to death.
Norm was still facing the trees, trying desperately to make out the shape of the animal. He knew he could run for the water, but if this truly was an island, and not just a peninsula, then it was capable of swimming, and old Norm was a dead man.
He suddenly saw something moving away from what he assumed was a tree and move to another tree, still keeping its distance, still growling.
The Gigantopithecus studied Norm from about ten yards away. Ordinarily it went to great lengths to avoid contact with humans, having no interest in the species, but harboring a natural fear of them. It also remembered all too well being attacked the day before. Dave Bovard's rock had struck the animal hard, and it retaliated. But its head still hurt, and any confrontation with other humans was going to be met with the same hostility.
It knew Norm could sense it, yet it also seemed to understand that he was incapacitated in some way. He was incapable of knowing where it was. The Giganto decided to move in and deal with this man.
Norm heard the heavy footsteps coming his way. He saw a large, blocky form separate from the rest of the darkness that made up the woods. It was coming after him, so he ran for the water.
The animal roared as Norm splashed into the water and swam away from the island. He thought he was making good distance, when he was suddenly grabbed and violently hurled back on the beach.
The Giganto was only up to its knees when it caught Norm and was now coming out of the lake after him.
Norm got up and ran for the woods, praying that the closer he got, the clearer the trees would become. He narrowly averted slamming headlong into one tree, but scraped his hands on the bark. He could hear the Giganto coming up fast behind him, so he quickly felt his way past the tree, but almost ran into another one.
The Giganto roared. Norm screamed, probably exactly the same as Dave Bovard had just before he was killed. Montagna ran in the direction of Norm and the Giganto and... WHAM! Norm plowed into him and they both fell to the ground.
Montagna landed on his back and was splashed with some of the lighter fluid.
"Jamie!"
"Get off me, Norm!"
Montagna felt humbled as he lay beneath this giant animal. He and Norm were completely at its mercy. If it wanted to kill them there wouldn't be a damn thing they could do about it.
But it didn't.
The animal towered over them, contemplating. It had either lost interest in the idea of killing them, or was discouraged by the fact that there were now two of them. It gave a hard grunt and turned to walk away.
Montagna pushed the whimpering Norm off of himself and got up. He came up behind the great ape and when it turned back around, Montagna threw the lighter fluid in its face. It staggered back, fiercely rubbing its eyes and squealing from the pain, when...
WHOOSH!!! Montagna touched it with the butane torch and a ball of gnarly yellow flame burst out several feet from the ape, igniting the lighter fluid that Montagna had spilled on himself.
The Giganto's huge arms swung around wildly as the animal screamed in intense, guttural agony.
It did not occur to Montagna that his chest was on fire. Seeing his only chance, he slashed furiously at the ape with the machete, trying to get the one blow that would at least cripple it until it burned to death. Only when the beast knocked him away, did he realize he was burning and threw himself down on the ground and rolled, trying to put out the fire on his shirt. He had seen people who suffered life-threatening burns, and it was something that always terrified him, so he kept rolling even after the flames were completely out.
The Gigantopithecus was not as fortunate. The fire completely engulfed its head and upper torso, and in its panic, it ran into the woods, shrieking like a devil and trailing flames behind it like streamers. It inevitably came to the boulders on the west end of the island and dropped into the lake, extinguishing the flames with an explosive HIIISSSSSSSSS!!!!!!
The Giganto did not reappear.
Montagna ran down to the beach, stumbling into the water until he was fully submerged. While the flames were extinguished, the skin of his chest, shoulders, and neck was covered with first and second-degree burns. The icy water felt good for about twenty seconds, then the burning sensation started again. He looked wildly around for the Gigantopithecus, certain that it had to be so badly wounded it could not have gotten far. There was no sign of it. Montagna was suddenly overcome with exhaustion and the effects of shock from his burns. He stumbled to the shore and vomited, retching so hard he felt like his ribs were going to crack.
Still dizzy and on his knees, he saw Norm making his way back to the beach. He coughed, "Bastard, Norm.... You didn't even try to help me!"
"What are you talking about, Jamie?"
"I was on fire! You didn't even lift a finger to help me!"
"How was I supposed to help you if I can't see you?" Norm did in fact see the flames. The terror of being hunted by the Giganto returned clear vision to his good eye. He saw the entire incident. "Besides, you could say I offered you about as much help as you were offering me when you used me as bait for that Sasquatch!"
Montagna shook his head. "We've got to go back across the lake."
"My God, Jamie. Don't you even have the decency to deny it?"
Montagna sat down on the sand and rubbed his tender, raw chest. "I left the first aid kit with the backpack."
"You didn't answer me."
When Montagna saw Norm walk over to him, he knew he was able to see again. "Norm, I don't think that Sasquatch'll be bothering us anymore. Okay?"
The red bandanna was gone, and Norm saw the top of Montagna's head all torn up and covered with scabs and tattered skin. "What in the hell happened to your head, Jamie?"
A horrifying thought suddenly chilled Montagna: What about the possibility of rabies? With his luck, he would be the only human being to come down with Sasquatch-related rabies. He stood up, fighting the wobbling sensation in his legs. "Let's go, Norm."
Norm looked warily at Montagna. "Where?"
"We're gonna find Pearl."
"Who the hell is Pearl?"
"Pittman's geek with the Winnebago."
"Is he gonna ride us into town?" When Montagna didn't answer, Norm flew into a rage. "I knew it! You're still gonna try to catch that damn Sasquatch!"
Montagna was calm as he tried to explain. "Norm, you do not understand the significance--"
Norm continued to rage. "Significance of what? Please explain that to me! Did you lose an eye? Were you set up to be eaten by that damn thing? The worst thing that happened to you is you got the top of your head scratched up! What, are you afraid the hair won't grow back? I got news, it was gone long before now!"
Montagna remained stoic, even though he was seriously concerned that Norm may finally have had enough and might actually attack him. "Norm, get in the raft. We are going to find Pearl, and then we are going to head into town to rebuild this expedition. Do you understand me?"
Norm was stunned silent. The only other time he had heard Montagna use that tone of voice was just before they killed Ben Tyler. He nodded. "Okay, Jamie..."
***
Kodiak and Cyrena had followed the Queets River in a vain attempt to locate the juvenile Sasquatch's body. They then decided it was time to make the trek out of the canyon.
After five hours of hiking they came upon another creek, and Cyrena, exhausted from the trek and the merciless heat of the sun, took off her climbing boots and plunged into the water. When she came up, she let out a cry of sheer relief.
Kodiak removed his boots and jumped in after her. The water was only about four feet deep, but its flow was strong enough to carry them a hundred feet while they both just drifted along, feeling days of dirt and sweat wash away.
She climbed upon a large boulder and waited for him to catch up, then they both laid out under the sun. Their clothes were sopping wet, and they felt better than they had in days.
Empty Handed
Norm was complaining about his eye again. He was afraid the dirty, two-day-old bandage might cause an infection, so he removed it. The sight of the vaginal-looking wound, still caked with dried blood and plasma, almost made Montagna sick.
"Please, Jamie. There's gotta be a quicker way out of this canyon. I gotta get to a doctor!"
"Norm, by tonight we'll be back in town, and I'll get you to a doctor! Please, just stop your belly-aching until we get there!"
"But it hurts!"
Montagna was getting furious, but still couldn't look at Norm's eye. "Norm, even if it is infected, which I don't believe it is, because you don't have a fever or anything else, it'll be treated tonight."
"I just want to get fixed up so I can get my hands on Kodiak. That's all."
Montagna didn't say anything. Even though he was no stranger to murder, and was clearly more predisposed to violence after recent events, he was still scared of Kodiak.
***
Kodiak and Cyrena had come to the bank of the Hoh River, where they picked up the scent of something that smelled burned and greasy.
They went another hundred yards along the river's edge when they saw something very large and abnormal-looking sprawled upon the rocks. They approached it cautiously, but it was clear that it could do them no harm.
It was the Gigantopithecus. It had been set on fire, and all the hair from its head, midway down its body and arms, was gone. What remained was covered with open, third-degree burns, and deep slashes from the machete. Its lips and eye lids were charred off, and its eyes were scorched white like a pan-fried trout.
It wasn't dead, but from the gurgling sound that came from deep in its throat, Kodiak could tell it had swallowed some of the flames that had engulfed it.
Cyrena was numb, almost in shock. "That's it... The one that got Dave..."
Kodiak's eyes were welling up as he stood over the animal. "The sons of bitches. They burned him."
The animal sensed their presence and made a feeble attempt to face them. It groaned miser
ably.
Cyrena held back a sob. "Why... Why would they do this?"
Kodiak didn't answer. He was looking around, then walked over to a large boulder and went about the task of forcing it up from the ground.
Cyrena watched him, her heart twisting inside her with sorrow and rage.
Tears rolled down Kodiak's face, and the bitter salt taste fueled his fury until he was finally able to pull the rock loose. He grasped it from the bottom. It was cold and damp with mud, and he could feel small, crawly things moving over his fingers.
He hoisted the two hundred-pound rock to his chest and walked back to the Giganto. He lifted the rock over his head, taking as careful aim as possible and slammed the rock down as hard as he could.
Cyrena wanted to turn away, but she needed to see that the rock landed squarely on the Giganto's head, putting it out of its misery quickly.
The rock came down hard, its dark, muddy underside cracking the giant ape's skull. They heard the low, deep whisper of its last breath escaping from its scorched lungs.
Kodiak stepped back, breathing hard from exhaustion and anger. As he stared down at the dead animal, Cyrena came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
He whispered, "I know you didn't want to see anyone else die. So if you like, I'll show you the way out of this canyon, because I'm going to kill Montagna and Cocke."
She didn't say anything. He could feel her tears forming a warm spot on his back.
He looked across the river and yelled as loud as he could. "MONTAGNA! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN! YOU AND COCKE! YOU'RE DEAD!" The last two words echoed across the canyon in all directions: "YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE DEAD! UR ED! UR ED! UR ED!"