Alexis

by Erica Rodgers

  “I said it was closed to tourists,” said Dr. Rick. “But I never said it was closed to scientists. We can still go up there all we want.”

  Alexis raised her eyebrows. She didn’t want to be rude, but how was it going to help her if the scientists were still allowed on Mount St. Helens? They might be able to do their jobs, but that would not help her do hers.

  Dr. Rick opened a leather messenger bag at his feet and pulled out two badges. They were something like the one he had around his neck. He placed them on the table and slid one to McKenzie and one past a plate of bacon to Alexis.

  Alexis read the badge and gasped. There, beneath the university seal and the title “Amateur Geologist” was her name.

  “Wow, Rick, what are those?” asked Kellie. She came around the table to look over Alexis’s shoulder.

  “They’re just name tags,” he said. “But as long as you two are with me, you’ll be allowed on the mountain. You should be able to keep filming for your story.”

  Now Alexis knew why Rick had been smiling. She was smiling again too.

  “That’s amazing!” she said. “Dr. Rick, thank you so much!”

  “No problem,” Rick said. “I’m a bit busy this morning, but I should be able to take you guys up later this afternoon if you have time.”

  “That sounds perfect, Rick,” said Kellie. “I can keep the girls busy for a while.”

  After breakfast, Alexis and McKenzie helped Kellie in the shop for a few hours. Kellie showed them the tools she used to shape the clay into figures and the pottery wheel she used to create bowls like those the Native Americans of the area had taught her to use. “Some of them took me under their wing when I first started out,” she explained. “They taught me how to make pottery from the natural resources around here, including the unique dyes they used from flowers and plants.

  “In fact,” she continued, “I spent a lot of my summers around here as a child, camping with my parents. So I was familiar with this place. When I first graduated from the Art Institute, I worked here with an old Native American woman who’d had this store for decades. She taught me how to make her pottery and figurines and how to improve my art skills. And she taught me the practical side of succeeding in a business. Her children weren’t interested in living in the woods and trying to make a profit from things like this. So when Mrs. Running Deer was ready to retire, she sold me the business.”

  Next Kellie showed the girls the kiln, where she fired all the clay pottery and figures to make them hard and strong. The kiln was huge and could fire many pieces at once.

  “It’s old and heavy, but it does the job,” Kellie said. “The temperature in here gets up to more than 2,300 degrees. That’s twice as hot as the lava coming out of a volcano. After being in there, a figurine could withstand a throw from Bigfoot himself,” she said with a little chuckle. “If Mount St. Helens behaves itself, while you’re here I’ll let you make a figurine to take home as a souvenir.”

  After the intricate tour of the shop, the girls dusted figurines most of the morning. Even though they worked hard, the time seemed to fly.

  Alexis never had so much fun cleaning before. She noticed that not all of Kellie’s sculptures were of Bigfoot. There were tons of small animals native to the Northwest. There were tiny beavers and soaring eagles. Ashy turtles and salmon were displayed near gurgling fountains. Kellie really was good at what she did.

  A silver bell jingled, and Alexis turned around to see two women enter the store. They were wearing baseball caps with “I Love Bigfoot” on them. They hardly noticed the girls as they chatted to each other about the guide they’d had on a helicopter tour they’d taken over the volcano a week earlier.

  Alexis and McKenzie stopped their dusting and hovered near the cash register to stay out of the ladies’ way and let them look around. Kellie greeted them and told them to ask if they had any questions. She didn’t have to try to get them to buy anything. Within thirty minutes they were piling all sizes of statues on the counter near Alexis.

  One lady took off her cap and leaned on the counter.

  “We sure were glad to find your little shop,” she told Kellie. “With the mountain closed, there’s not a lot to do in the area.”

  “You’re right,” said Kellie. “If they’ve closed the mountain, they probably will close the nearby parks as well. No swimming or boating. I’m glad I could give you somewhere to spend your time!”

  “And our money!” said the other lady. She wobbled up to the counter carrying one of Kellie’s larger statues. Kellie laughed.

  “There are a couple of shops in town too,” she said. “The jewelry place has a lot of local art.”

  “We were going to shop there this morning but decided to wait until everyone calms down a little.”

  Kellie looked at Alexis and McKenzie. She was as confused as they were.

  “What do you mean, calms down?” asked Kellie. “What’s going on in town? Usually it’s a pretty quiet, low-key place to be. Not much drama there.”

  One of the women put her hand on her hip and rolled her eyes, but she was obviously more than happy to share the gossip.

  “Well, honey, we’re not locals, but something has people all worked up.”

  “And it’s not just the mountain that’s grumbling,” said the other lady.

  “People are grumbling?” asked Kellie. “But the town is usually so friendly.”

  The first woman leaned on the counter and lowered her voice, even though no one else was around to hear her secret.

  “Dogs and cats have started disappearing,” the lady said. “The rangers haven’t had any complaints of bears or mountain lions in the area, so some of the local people are starting to blame it on Bigfoot. It’s causing quite a stir.”

  At the mention of Bigfoot, Kellie’s eyes got really big. Alexis thought she could guess what Kellie was thinking. She wanted nothing more than to find Bigfoot, but Kellie would be heartbroken if he turned out to be some sort of monster who ate people’s pets.

  Alexis put her hand on Kellie’s shoulder.

  “We could go check it out,” Alexis suggested. “We could interview the ranger about the volcano, and while we’re down there we can see what all the talk is about.”

  “That’s a great idea!” said McKenzie.

  The girls looked at Kellie with pleading eyes. The town would be a great place to start digging up clues about Bigfoot, since so many people from town had reported seeing him.

  “Well,” said Kellie, “I guess Chad could watch the store for a bit. We could go in and get lunch at the diner and then stop in and talk to the rangers.”

  “Yes!” said both girls together. They ran through the kitchen and grabbed their things. They wanted to get their backpacks if they were going investigating. Alexis made sure her notebook was still in her bag. She grabbed her small video camera too. In less than five minutes the girls were back with Kellie in the store.

  “That was fast,” Chad said. He was washing the front window. Husky sat beside him as if checking to make sure Chad didn’t miss any spots. “If you guys are going to the diner without me, you’d better bring me back a burger!” Chad turned to Husky and rubbed the fur between his ears. “Isn’t that right, boy?” Husky thumped his tail. “And bring one back for my friend here. And hey, while you’re at it, add some onion rings. And maybe a chocolate malted. And—”

  “And we’d better get out of here before he has us buy out the whole diner,” said Kellie with a laugh. She waved at Chad.

  “Now sell billions of dollars worth of merchandise while we’re gone,” she called as she walked out the door.

  “Is that all? I was going for trillions!” he called in reply, returning their waves.

  The ride to town only took twenty minutes. There wasn’t any traffic going to or from the mountain, so the only other people on the road were the scientists. The little town was just outside the borders of the St. Helens National Park. It was very small, with only the diner, a couple of shops,
a tourist information shack, a few old-fashioned motels, a general store, and the ranger station.

  A lot of people were hanging around when Kellie parked near the ice cream parlor. Tourists were there, as usual, but there were a lot of locals too, and the locals looked angry. Alexis, McKenzie, and Kellie followed a group of people toward the diner. Many were stopping to look through the windows at some commotion inside.

  Kellie led the girls inside. They sat at a table covered with a checkered tablecloth and ordered lunch, and then Kellie pointed to a table across the room.

  “That’s what all the commotion is about,” she said. Alexis looked over her shoulder and saw a man in a ranger’s uniform eating with a man in a thick flannel shirt. A huge dog lay on the floor at the second man’s feet. Alexis thought it looked like a wolf.

  “What? Are they staring because a dog’s in here? Is that even legal?” McKenzie asked. “What kind of dog is that, anyway?”

  “It’s an Alaskan malamute,” Kellie answered. “No, it’s not the dog. I don’t know if it would be legal in the city, but Sam, who owns this place, is best friends with the dog’s owner. The dog’s the best-behaved dog in three states, I hear. Next to Husky, of course.”

  “Then what’s everyone staring at?” Alexis asked.

  “The man in the uniform is Ranger Davis,” said Kellie. “The other guy is Bill Randall. He’s a hunter who lives just outside of town. We usually just call him Randall. He and the ranger have never been friends. I wonder why they’re eating together? I bet that’s what has everyone so curious.”

  The girls paid little attention to the two men as they decided to follow Chad’s example and order burgers, rings, and malts.

  “You’re looking a little distraught today, Melody,” Kellie said to the waitress as Melody placed their orders on the table a few minutes later.

  “Oh, my cat disappeared this week,” Melody explained. “I’ve had him a long time, and he’s never wandered away from home.”

  “That must be really upsetting,” McKenzie said.

  “Well, it is,” Melody said. “But on the other hand, there are so many wild animals around here that once in a while a pet disappears. It’s the price we pay for living near bears and mountain lions and wolves and such.

  “In fact, that’s what those two are discussing. A lot of pets have been disappearing lately. Billy Randall insists it’s because Bigfoot’s on the prowl,” Melody explained.

  “Really?” Kellie said a bit sharply. The girls craned their necks to look at Mr. Randall.

  “Yeah, he’s trying to get a special license to go into the national park land and hunt down Bigfoot,” Melody added.

  Almost as if on cue, the men’s voices rang louder through the shop. Alexis and McKenzie stopped eating to watch.

  “We have no evidence of any large animal around town,” said Ranger Davis. “I’ve said it a hundred times! There’s no reason to go hunting down anything! Especially not a mythological creature!”

  “It’s no myth!” cried the hunter. “I’ve seen him myself, just outside my property!”

  “Well, if that is true, then it’s the scientists that need to find Bigfoot not the hunters,” said the ranger. “Besides, Randall, you can’t hunt anything without a license.”

  Someone growled. Alexis couldn’t tell if it was the hunter or his dog.

  “No license exists for hunting Bigfoot,” said the hunter.

  “Exactly!” said the ranger, flinging ketchup from one of his french fries. “So hunting him is out of the question! If the scientists find a new species of animal, and we figure out that there are enough of them to allow hunting, then you’ll be the first to know. Although most of the sightings have been near the mountain, and you can’t hunt in the national park anyway.”

  Some of the people in the restaurant laughed at this. The hunter glared around the room.

  “What about that missing hiker?” asked the hunter. He wasn’t yelling anymore, so people had to lean in to listen.

  “What about her?” asked Ranger Davis.

  Alexis remembered the woman in the newspaper. The girls had heard on the radio on the way into town that the woman still hadn’t been found.

  “Well,” said the hunter, “if this Bigfoot creature is out there eating our cats and dogs, what’s he going to do to a helpless human lost in the woods?”

  Ranger Davis stopped chewing his food and stared at the hunter.

  I guess he hadn’t thought of that, thought Alexis.

  The hunter stood up and glared down at the ranger. There was another growl, and Alexis saw the dog get up too.

  “Davis, I’m warning you,” said the hunter. “There’s something worse than starvation waiting for that poor girl if the creature finds her before we do.”

  The hunter slapped a ten-dollar bill onto the table to pay for his lunch and stomped out of the diner.

  The ranger sighed and added some money to the pile. Then he got up and walked out the door, leaving half of his burger untouched.

  “Come on, girls,” said Kellie. “I want to talk to Ranger Davis. This doesn’t sound good.”

  They stopped at the counter to pay and order Chad’s burger to go. They would come back and get it after they talked to the ranger.

  Outside, the crowds had disappeared. Locals went about their own business, and tourists crowded into the shops as usual. There wasn’t anything else to see for the moment.

  The girls found the ranger in the ranger station across the street. He was sitting at his desk with a cup of coffee at his elbow. It didn’t look like he was interested in drinking it. Ranger Davis looked up when the three girls came in.

  “Oh, hi, Kellie,” he said. He took off his hat and ran a hand through his dark gray hair. “I heard that you have some company staying with you. Young television gals.” He turned to the girls. “Welcome to our lovely area,” he said.

  “Hi, Ranger,” said Kellie. “This is Alexis and McKenzie. You’re right; they’re doing a documentary about Mount St. Helens. Hey, is everything okay?”

  “Well, it’s been better in St. Helens, that’s for sure,” he answered. “I knew I could expect to see you down here sooner or later, with all this Bigfoot blabber. I wish your dad were still around. He’d know how to handle these crazy hunters.”

  “Is it that bad?” asked Kellie. “You told Mr. Randall no, right? He wouldn’t hunt anything without permission. He’s a little rough, but he’s not crazy.”

  The ranger sighed again.

  “I’m not sure of anything anymore, Kellie,” he said. “All I know is that if Bigfoot’s out there, he’d better be careful. He’s got more enemies than the average animal.”

  The Call of the Creature

  Alexis hoped that Bigfoot knew he might be in danger.

  If he really is out there, she thought. He was supposed to be big, but could he defend himself against a forest full of hunters—with their high-powered guns?

  “McKenzie,” said Alexis, “is it silly to worry about an animal that may not even exist?”

  “No, Alex. Of course not,” said McKenzie. “I’m worried too. Even if this creature isn’t Bigfoot, he’s being hunted. What if the creature is innocent? What if he’s not the one making cats and dogs disappear?”

  “I don’t know,” said Alexis. “I can’t believe that hunter just wants to run around the forest with his gun without knowing the facts.”

  Alexis finished tying her shoes and pulled on her backpack. Rick would be there any moment to take the girls back up the mountain.

  “You have a point, Alex,” said McKenzie.

  “What do you mean?” asked Alexis.

  “Well, you’re right that the hunter doesn’t have the facts, but neither does anyone else,” said McKenzie. “No one really knows what’s going on here.”

  “Then we have to find out,” said Alexis. “The first thing we need to do is email Sydney.”

  “Why Sydney?” asked McKenzie.

  “Because you know what a n
ature nut she is. She knows everything about the weirdest animals. The last time we talked, she was telling me all about a new fish they found somewhere near New Zealand.”

  “You’re right!” said McKenzie. “If this news about Bigfoot is on the internet, I bet she has seen it.”

  “Yep. She might be able to help us separate the facts from fiction. It will save us a lot of time, since we’re only here for a few days.”

  Alexis grabbed her notebook computer and then put it back on the bed with a frown.

  “We should have thought of this earlier,” she said. “Now we’ll have to find a ride back into town to send the email.”

  “What do you mean?” asked McKenzie. “This may be the woods, but it’s not Little House on the Prairie. Every cabin has wireless internet.”

  “Really? I thought maybe we couldn’t pick it up here because of the trees,” Alex said. “I just brought my notebook in case I needed to go ahead and start doing some editing while we’re here.”

  Alexis turned on her computer and waited. Sure enough, it detected a signal that would connect her to the internet. Alexis was about to open a new email when a tiny picture popped up in the corner of her screen. It was Sydney.

  “Sydney’s online!” Alexis said to McKenzie. “I bet we can IM her instead of emailing. We’ll get her answer right away!”

  Alexis’s fingers flew over the keyboard.

  Alexis: Hey there, Sydney!

  Sydney: Hey, Al! What’s up? I’m a little busy. I’m writing a report on ring-tailed lemurs.

  Alexis: Well, I’m in Washington State with McKenzie, and we’ve stumbled onto something interesting.

  Sydney: Well, hi, Mack! Ooo, Washington State? Watch out for Bigfoot!

  Alexis: LOL, very funny. Seriously, though, that’s what we wanted to ask you about.

  Sydney: I’m being serious too, Alex. Watch out for Bigfoot. It’s all over the internet. People have been running into him a lot this spring.

  Alexis: So you know about it?

  Sydney: It’s hard to pick out the truth from the other crazy things people say, but there have been enough sightings to make it seem real.