Legend Hunter

by Jennifer Mckenzie

  “You are not going to pretend that nothing happened.”

  “I’m not.” She was so calm and he wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled.

  “I told you. I know all the moves.” She started to walk away and he grabbed her arm. “Jeremy says you’re scared.”

  She froze. “I’m not.” But her voice shook.

  “You are scared.” He stared at her. “Why?”

  She wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Leave it alone, Ben. I made a mistake.”

  “We’ve had this conversation.” He glared at her. “I’m not going to be relegated into a regretful encounter.”

  “I’m sorry your ego can’t take it.” She still wouldn’t look him in the eye.

  It hurt to breathe. She couldn’t mean this. “This has nothing to do with my ego.” He shook her. “Stop pushing me out.”

  “It’s just sex, Ben,” she said, but he didn’t believe it. He relaxed slightly. She wanted to believe it. He could tell she wanted to make it less important. He didn’t know what scared her about him, but something did.

  “No. It’s not just sex.” He stroked her arms with his hands and she shivered. “Not to me. And not to you.”

  Even as the sun slipped behind the mountains and the light dimmed, Ben could see the shimmer of tears in her eyes. “Please Ben.” Her voice was steady and quiet. It pierced through all his frustration.

  “What are you afraid of, Kiera?” He tipped her chin so he could study her face. “Are you afraid I’ll leave you?”

  “Yes.” she choked out.

  “Kiera—” He started but all hell broke loose.

  A loud keening wail sliced through the air and echoed against the mountains. It was beginning again. Damn it, not now, he thought. Ben grabbed Kiera’s hand. “Let’s go.”

  But as they stepped towards the camp, a figure darted out from behind one of the trees, and Ben felt something slam into the side of his head. The last sound he heard was Kiera’s scream.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Ben!” A hand touched his cheek. “Wake up.” Jeremy’s voice sounded far away.

  “What happened?” His hand automatically went to where the pain throbbed on his head. Jeremy’s grip stopped him.

  “Someone hit you on the head.”

  “Kiera?” He asked, but he thought he knew.

  “She’s gone.”

  “Shit.” Ben cursed and tried to stand up but the world whirled and spun. He plopped back down. “You have to find her. Leave me. Find her, Jeremy.” He grabbed the Sheriff’s arm.

  “Three of my men are searching now. Lay back. You took a good conk on the head.”

  She was out there at the mercy of a killer who hung bodies up on a hook. He couldn’t just sit there. “I have to find Kiera.” He stood and a wave of queasiness made him unsteady. Jeremy pushed him back down. He clenched his jaw against the pain, against he dizziness. He had to get up. He had to find her.

  “Stay down. There’s nothing you can do.”

  “I can’t lose her. You don’t understand.” His stomach churned and his head throbbed. The thought of Kiera kidnapped made his blood freeze.

  “I do understand. You’re in love with her.”

  “What?” Ben’s mind blanked.

  “Love. You know. Makes the world go around?”

  “Ha-ha. Very funny, Officer,” he muttered. Only it really wasn’t funny at all. Not at all.

  “It’s obvious. I’d laugh if I didn’t feel your pain.” Jeremy put his jacket behind Ben’s head.

  “She’s not in love with me,” Ben said. The words were bitter in his mouth.

  “I’m her best friend, buddy. I’ve never seen her rattled like this. She’s definitely in love with you.” The man pinned him with a stare. “Are you saying you aren’t in love with her?”

  Ben opened his mouth. Was he? She brought out all these uncomfortable feelings in him. Jealousy, caring, sympathy. He didn’t like it. Yet, he wanted her until he was crazy. And yesterday wasn’t near enough. Any other woman would have satisfied him with one time. With Kiera, he just wanted more.

  He shut his mouth. He loved her. Damn it. He didn’t know how it happened, but what the hell was he going to do about it now? He met Jeremy’s gaze with a frantic one of his own.

  Jeremy nodded. “Yeah. You’re in love with her.” He reached out a hand and helped Ben to his feet. “We’ll find her.” He bent and picked up his jacket. “Don’t worry.”

  *

  Hands gripped her ankles. They were bound by rope as were her hands. The back of her head throbbed and she had bruises everywhere. Dragged. She was being dragged.

  Convinced she was going to be another murder victim, she struggled. All she did was twist and hurt herself. She stopped and the relentless dragging continued.

  How long she was dragged with her head slamming rocks and branches she didn’t know. It was pitch dark when her legs were dropped to the ground. A hand gripped her arm and yanked her to a sitting position. Rope wound around her body as she was lashed to a tree truck sitting on her ass.

  What the fuck happened? She’d been arguing pointlessly with Ben and a dark figure came out of nowhere, pounding Ben with something heavy. Then a brown, burlap sack that smelled like fertilizer was shoved over her head. She fought back, but a hand slammed into her shoulder and the ground disappeared from under her feet. It wasn’t as if she’d never fallen before but this time she tumbled completely blind. What a fucking terrifying experience. After that? Nothing. Either she hit her head in the fall or her captor knocked her out. She had no clue.

  Hot tears gathered in her eyes. She’d hang by a hook to be found by Ben or Jeremy. Ben would never know she loved him with all her damaged heart. Jeremy would beat himself with guilt. It was all her fault.

  Through the miniscule holes in the sack, light flickered as a lamp was lit. This was no mysterious creature. This was a two-legged animal with murder in mind. Think, Kiera Think! There had to be a way out of this. But she was trussed up like a pig being taken to slaughter.

  She was no wimp. With determination, she began to work the rope around her hands. She’d get free. Somehow.

  *

  “I have to go look for her.” Ben was frantic. Twenty-four hours had passed and they’d found little sign of Kiera. “What the hell have you guys been doing?”

  Jeremy sighed. “We’ve done a perimeter search. We found traces that Kiera may have headed east, but we’re not sure.”

  “What traces?” Ben demanded. “What did you find?”

  The Sheriff gave him an inscrutable glance. “Actually, I was hoping you could help us out.”

  Stiff, but resolute, Ben got to his feet. He’d been ordered to stay with one of the deputies at the campsite. With the lump on his head, the Sheriff had told him to stay put and let them do the searching. But his head had stopped swimming and the woman he loved was out there, kidnapped by someone, maybe dead.

  “What do you want me to do?” Ben asked the Sheriff.

  Jeremy indicated Ben was to follow him. “Get your gear. We’re packing up and heading for Fanning Creek.”

  *

  The night seemed endless. Her captor was silent. Kiera didn’t hear movement. Had she been abandoned? But as dawn crept over the trees, her captor stirred and untied the rope around the tree. She was hauled roughly to her feet and thrown forward. The ropes on her feet were removed and the blood rushed back into her toes. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.

  All the work she’d done the night before was undone as her captor took the rope from her feet and tightened it around her hands. A long leash stretched back and her captor held the end of it. She lost her footing when she was kicked from behind. The message was clear. Move.

  She trudged forward and had to follow the guidance of her tormentor. The only sounds she heard were the sounds of birds and insects. Across rushing water and onto a smooth trail miles passed. Her captor urged her up and they began a climb up a steep incline.

  Kiera knew
what trail they were on. Dead Line Trail. Why was she being taken there? Her sense of danger increased. There would be no escape on this trail. One wrong move and she could slip off the side and drop thousands of feet below. All her captor had to do was shove her and she’d die.

  The day grew warm and her body began to fail. Her shoulders ached from being pinned behind her. Her lungs burned from no rest and no water. She was severely weakened by her fall the night before. To survive, she focused her mind on the only thing that kept her sane.

  Ben.

  He would come for her. She felt it.

  If he was still alive.

  All day long, she clung to the hope that Ben would find her, save her. As the day faded away, despair crept in. He was wounded, dead. She was doomed. Thirst left her unable to think. She needed to plan. She could…escape. But, how? Pain dimmed her ability to plan.

  At one point, she dropped to her knees, exhausted and dehydrated. Still, she would not ask or beg. She’d rather die. A foot slammed into her back and she dragged her body upright to keep going.

  Hours had passed and her captor had said nothing. She didn’t have any idea who it was or why she wasn’t dead yet. The bag over her head kept her from seeing much and the pain kept her from caring. The steep terrain took a lot out of her so when the rope jerked her back on her ass, she stopped and lay on her back.

  She knew she had to fight back, but had no strength to do it. The silence of her vicious companion and the danger of her situation served to make her think. Not about who had kidnapped her, but about the mess she was leaving behind.

  In a nutshell, Kiera had a damaged relationship with her father that never healed, a tense relationship with her mother who was dying, and no one, except perhaps her friend Jeremy, who would mourn her death.

  Not a pleasant thought.

  Once, when she had been with her father researching Bigfoot legends, she had met an old Yurok Indian man who knew much of the lost Indian lore of the area. It wasn’t his information about Oh-mah she remembered at this moment. It was a thing he said to her after her father left the small shack. The man’s voice was cracked with age and his nose was gnarled and hawkish but his eyes were a bright, piercing black and held her gaze as if he saw through her.

  “Remember, little sister, every step along the path is not always toward the mountaintop.”

  She hadn’t understood and run out of that shack thinking only of the next trip, the next journey up the mountain. Now, as she faced the end of her life, she realized what his words meant. Take the time to wander for no other reason than the path is beautiful. Always, she’d had an endpoint in mind. Like her hikes, she had a map laid out for her life. She didn’t wander. She didn’t allow for deviation. Surprises. Life. Joy. What was it been had said, she’d been hiding out for years.

  There was so much to regret. To spend a life in bitterness and then have it cut short was not something to be proud of. With the last of her strength, she hauled her torso upright and got to her knees. The rope on her hands was slack and she lifted them to try and lift the bag from her head. With her hands behind her, though, she failed.

  If she was going to die, she wasn’t going to do it blind.

  She leaned forward and pressed her knee on a corner of the burlap bag. She managed to get the bag off her head and the dim evening light made her blink. There was no one there. Confused, she started on her hands to release the rope. Maybe she could get free before her captor returned.

  As she loosened the knot around her hands, the crunch of gravel under feet warned her that someone was coming. She dropped down and tried to pretend she was out cold. But she wasn’t going to put that damn bag back on.

  A shadow fell across the dirt in front of her and the sun disappeared behind the figure that towered over her. Shock rolled through her when she saw who it was.

  *

  In a short time, Ben got his things together and broke camp. Jeremy set a fast pace down the mountain to Fanning Creek and they arrived in a short five hours. Evening had rolled in and Jeremy whipped out his flashlight and beckoned Ben to a place by the creek.

  The Sheriff had said nothing as they sped down the trail. Ben had asked no questions. Now, Jeremy pointed to a group of footprints in the soft mud by the creek.

  “What do you make of those? You’re the scientist. You tell me.”

  Ben peered at the deep indentations. There were some striations indicating a bare foot. Next to the print was a smaller booted print. “Those are Kiera’s, aren’t they?”

  “We think so,” Jeremy responded.

  The prints led into the water and eastward. He noted the bigger prints stopped at the creek but one of Kiera’s prints was on the other side. Next to her booted print, the tracks were confused, blotted out. “Someone wants us to think Bigfoot kidnapped Kiera,” Ben commented, and Jeremy said nothing. “I don’t think so.”

  “No? Why?”

  Ben pointed to the confused tracks. “Someone covered up here. Kiera’s print is left clear and obvious, but whoever was with her left no trace.”

  Relief was Ben’s primary emotion. She had been alive when the tracks had been made and they looked about twelve hours old, fresh. Jeremy gazed up at Little Trinity. “The only trail out of here from that side of the creek is Dead Line Trail.”

  “The tracks are confused.” Ben studied the ground on the eastern side of the creek. “There’s only that one print of Kiera’s and nothing else.”

  “I need to call off the search for tonight,” Jeremy stated. “My men have been at it for twenty-four hours and the sun is going down.”

  “I’m not stopping,” Ben replied. “Give me a radio, Sheriff. I’m going to start up the trail and see if I can find anything.”

  “If I tell you ‘no,’ you’re going to go all violent on me, aren’t you?” Jeremy sounded amused.

  “What you’d do if it were Amanda up there?”

  “I know what I’d do.” Jeremy handed Ben a radio. “I’m not going to sleep tonight anyway so notify me if you find anything, I don’t care how small. Don’t go rushing in and be a cowboy.”

  “Right.” He clutched the radio. “Thanks, Sheriff.”

  Ben immediately strode towards the Little Trinity and Dead Line Trail. “I mean it, Harmon!” The Sheriff called after him. “Don’t be a hero. Call me if you find any trace of her.”

  His legs burned, and his heart thudded in his chest. The vision of Bobby Angelos with a hook gash in his body and hung from a tree wouldn’t leave him alone. Whoever had Kiera was a killer.

  There were no tracks on the trail as he struggled to climb the steep switchbacks. Darkness began to close in around him, and Ben knew he had run out of time. Soon the trail would be too difficult to follow. He had to make it to the plateau where he and Kiera had stopped when they carried Amanda up this trail. He should be able to make it in a much shorter time without the burden of a stretcher.

  The sun hadn’t been behind the horizon long as he noted a familiar landmark. He was close. Voices reached him.

  He wasn’t alone on the trail. With careful steps to keep from making noise, Ben crept forward.

  “Surprised, Kiera?” A familiar voice spoke, but Ben couldn’t place it.

  “Only slightly.” Kiera’s voice had Ben almost collapse in relief. He didn’t dare call for help yet, since the slightest noise might alert her captor he was there.

  “Bobby was.” A smug response from the man made Ben grit his teeth. “He died squealing about how he’d helped me and I should let him live. But he knew too much.”

  “Jeremy will find you.” Kiera’s voice trembled a little and Ben could tell she was afraid.

  “Not until after you bleed to death.” A scuffle of feet and a cry of pain wrenched Ben’s stomach. “But I want to complete the illusion.”

  “Let me go!” Kiera didn’t shout and sounded like she’d run out of fight.

  “You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?” The man’s voice sneered.

 
; Kiera was silent.

  “I can see you do. The stones. Once your body is found there, every Bigfoot hunter will come out of the woodwork.”

  “No!” Then a short cry of pain.

  “Now Kiera, you can die easily or painfully. You decide.”

  Ben clenched his fists and gripped the radio. He clicked on the channel and called the Sheriff. “Sheriff Covey, come in.”

  “Sheriff Covey here. Over.”

  The radio seemed too loud. “She’s here. He’s going to kill her. We’re at the camp that’s almost at the peak. You know which one?”

  “I know it.”

  “I’m going in. Hurry.”

  “No! Harmon don’t—” Ben shut the radio off and crept along the rock on the right of the trail.

  “You can’t fight me, Kiera.”

  He heard a scuffle of feet and a muffled curse. “You bitch!” Her captor shouted. “I’ll kill you for that.”

  Ben broke into a run on the trail and, before he registered what was happening, he flung himself at the back of a dark figure towering over the prone form of the woman he loved.

  He and the man hit the rocks hard and bounced off with so much force that Ben was tossed to the side. The man stood and Ben only managed to take in that John McBride had a gun pointed at him. “I expected the Sheriff, not you.” His yellow teeth gleamed in the impending darkness.

  Ben shot a glance at Kiera’s sprawled figure and wondered if McBride had killed her. He glared at the man who held the gun and the power. The click of the hammer only tensed Ben’s muscles more. He wasn’t going down without a fight. The other man smiled and placed his finger on the trigger.

  There was no time to wait anymore. He pounced.

  And found a wall of woman between him and the gun’s bullet. Kiera had launched her body at McBride and the gun clattered on the rocks below. McBride flung her off and slapped her face so hard she spun around and stumbled backwards.

  Ben jumped into the fray and planted a fist in the man’s face. McBride went down, and Ben was going to beat him senseless, but Kiera stepped in front of him. “Untie me.”