Alexis

by Erica Rodgers

  Alexis: What makes you say that?

  Sydney: Usually people writing about Bigfoot are all the same. They’re weirdoes who spend too much time in the woods. But lately all kinds of people are talking about him. Old ladies visiting the mountain, kids on field trips, people like that.

  Alexis: School kids?

  Sydney: Yeah, I’ll email you the article.

  Alexis: Thanks! You know, Syd, if this really is Bigfoot, it would be a new species, right?

  Sydney: Right. And that doesn’t happen very often. When scientists find a new animal, it’s usually a weird fish or something that lives at the bottom of the ocean. It’s really the only place that hasn’t been explored all the way. I’ll do a little more searching and see what I find. After my report is done, of course!

  Alexis: Thanks, Syd!

  Sydney: No problem, Alex! Talk to you soon! Ta-ta for now, Mack!

  Alexis set the computer on McKenzie’s bottom bunk.

  “Well, that was interesting,” she said.

  “Yep,” said McKenzie. “So all kinds of people are seeing Bigfoot now? I wonder what that means.”

  “Maybe he’s not as shy as he used to be,” said Alexis. “Or maybe he’s being forced out of the forest because he’s looking for food. That happens with bears and coyotes back home.”

  The girls shivered as they thought of the missing cats and dogs in town. Alexis hoped that Bigfoot wasn’t really eating them.

  A horn sounded from outside.

  “I bet that’s Rick!” said McKenzie. The girls grabbed their backpacks and flew out of the cabin. A university van was waiting in front of Kellie’s shop. They jumped in with Rick and a female scientist and headed up the mountain. Before they got to the parking lot of the visitors’ center, a park ranger stopped the van. The girls flashed their name tags that Rick had given them, and the ranger waved them through.

  “Wow, that was easy!” said McKenzie.

  “Yeah,” said Rick. “Security isn’t too tight right now. They just don’t want tourists up here in case they have to evacuate. We scientists know what we’re running from and how fast to move out of the way. Tourists tend to linger to take one last picture.”

  Alexis jumped out of the van and looked around. There weren’t very many people in the parking lot. A few scientists were clustered around their gadgets, scribbling frantically in notebooks.

  “What are they doing?” asked McKenzie.

  “It’s called forecasting,” said Rick.

  “Like weather forecasting?” asked Alexis.

  “Very much like that,” said Rick. “But instead of telling you when it will rain, we try to tell you when a volcano is going to erupt. First, we look at the earthquakes. Hot lava, called magma, moves into a holding chamber under the mountain. When it moves, it causes earthquakes.”

  “So keeping track of the earthquakes tells you how much lava there is?” said Alexis.

  “Sometimes,” said Rick. “But just because there’s lava doesn’t mean the mountain will blow. Sometimes it just cools and turns into rock inside the mountain.”

  “What else do you look for?” asked McKenzie.

  “We watch the mountain to see if it’s bulging.”

  “Bulging?” said Alexis. “That doesn’t sound good!”

  “Well, the hot lava lets off gasses. Eventually, there is so much gas that the mountain starts to expand, like a balloon.”

  “But it’s not a balloon!” said McKenzie. “It’s a mountain! How does it expand?”

  Rick sat down on the stone wall and took a deep breath.

  “In 1940,” he said, “a bridge up in Tacoma collapsed.”

  “Gallopin’ Gertie!” squealed McKenzie. “My mom told me about that last summer when we drove over the new bridge.”

  “The real name was the Tacoma Narrows Bridge,” said Rick. “It collapsed in mild winds because conditions were just right. If you watch the video, it looks like the steel and concrete had turned to liquid. It twisted like a piece of taffy for a while before it finally broke and crashed into the water.”

  Rick looked out over the mountain.

  “To us, a mountain seems so strong. What could possibly move it? But when conditions are right, just like the steel and concrete of that bridge, the mountain will blow. Think of it like the balloon again. If you blow and blow into a balloon, soon it won’t be able to hold any more air, and it will pop.”

  Alexis looked across at the mountain. For the first time since she had arrived at the mountain, Alexis was afraid. The forces of nature could be scary. Earthquakes and volcanoes were powerful things. Alexis took a deep breath and suddenly smiled.

  But I know who made the earthquakes and volcanoes, she thought, and the Creator is always more powerful than the creation!

  Psalm 27:1 popped into her head, and she said it to herself a few times. “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”

  In an instant her smile grew even bigger.

  “Alexis!”

  McKenzie had crossed the parking lot. She was looking at the mountain from another angle. When Alexis looked up, McKenzie started waving at her wildly.

  “What is it?” asked Alexis as she jogged over. McKenzie pointed to the dirt on the other side of the rock wall. It was another set of footprints left by huge, bare feet.

  “It looks like they follow the wall,” said Alexis.

  “Good!” said McKenzie. “Maybe this time we can follow them without you falling down a cliff.”

  “Ha, ha,” said Alexis. She pushed McKenzie playfully. “Come on, let’s go!”

  They followed the tracks along the wall until they almost ran into the visitors’ center. The footprints ended there.

  “Why don’t they go off into the woods?” said Alexis.

  “Because whatever left them didn’t go into the woods. Look. The last two prints are facing the wall, like he was getting ready to climb over it.”

  “Into the parking lot?” said Alexis. “I wonder why Bigfoot would be wandering around in a human parking lot?”

  “We don’t know this is Bigfoot, Alexis.”

  “You’re right, but I don’t think some big basketball player with huge feet is running around the area barefoot either.”

  Alexis took out her digital camera and snapped a few pictures of the tracks. When she got to the wall of the visitors’ center, something tickled her elbow. She looked down and saw a clump of brown fuzz. She picked it up and put it into a plastic baggie she dug out of her backpack.

  “What do you think it is?” asked McKenzie.

  “I think it’s fur,” said Alexis. She looked at McKenzie and raised her eyebrows.

  “Man, Alexis! I wish we had a science lab like they have on TV. Then we might be able to tell for sure what kind of fur it is. Alexis? What are you staring at?”

  Alexis pointed across the parking lot to where Rick was helping another scientist load gadgets into the van. He looked up and waved the girls over. It was time to go back down the mountain.

  “Come on,” said Alexis. The girls trotted back over to the van, and Alexis held up her plastic baggie. “Um, Rick, do you have any way to tell us what kind of animal this hair came from?”

  Rick took the baggie and held it up.

  “I study rocks, Alexis. I don’t have the right tools to do that,” he said.

  “Oh,” said Alexis.

  “Bummer,” said McKenzie.

  “But I know someone who does,” said Rick. The girls looked up. Alexis hadn’t been so excited since she found out she was coming to St. Helens.

  “Margaret, the girl who rode up here with us today, would have exactly what you need,” said Rick. “It might take a day or two to get any results, though.”

  “Wow, thanks, Rick!” said Alexis.

  “No problem. If this really is Bigfoot, it’s a big deal!”

  The girls got into the van with the other scientists, and Rick dropped them
off at Kellie’s. Alexis almost didn’t recognize the shop. It was crowded with tourists.

  McKenzie and Alexis pushed their way through the crowd until they found Kellie. She was behind the cash register filling shopping bags with her statues. The shelves were clearing out fast.

  “Hi, girls!” she said when she saw them. “Isn’t this great? The Bigfoot sightings are getting people excited. They love my statues, and tonight I’m leading a camping trip.”

  “You’re going camping with a huge unknown animal on the loose?” asked McKenzie.

  “That’s the point, McKenzie,” said Kellie. “People want to see Bigfoot. We go and hang out around a campfire. If we’re lucky, Bigfoot might come to see us. He may not get too close, but maybe we’ll get a glimpse. If you want to come along with us, go get your sleeping bags ready!”

  Alexis followed McKenzie out the back of the store and across the yard to their cabin. It was beginning to get dark. They had to hurry. Alexis stuffed an extra pair of clothes into her backpack and grabbed her sleeping bag and pillow. She made sure her video camera was still in her backpack too, just in case. If they saw Bigfoot, she wanted proof.

  That night they stayed up past midnight. They sat around a campfire, listening quietly while Kellie told stories of her father and how he had seen Bigfoot.

  “Come on out, Bigfoot! We won’t hurt you,” one lady yelled into the darkness.

  Alex and McKenzie looked at each other, rolling their eyes.

  Alex wasn’t sure if Kellie was trying to spook the people on the trip. She didn’t know if that was part of the thrill for the campers. But she caught people apprehensively looking into the darkness as if they thought Bigfoot would suddenly appear and eat them!

  No matter how long the girls tried to keep their eyes open, they never got a glimpse of Bigfoot. When they finally rolled out their sleeping bags, Alexis was having a hard time keeping her eyes from closing. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard a noise. It sounded almost like the lonely howl of a wolf, but it was deeper. She was sure it came from a much larger animal.

  What the Neighbor Saw

  The next morning, Alexis and McKenzie followed the rest of the weary campers through the woods. They hadn’t seen Bigfoot, but it had still been a fun night. Most of the tourists were convinced they had heard Bigfoot. That would be a great story to tell too.

  Alexis was about to ask McKenzie a question when she heard Kellie yell from the front of the group.

  “What in the world is going on here?”

  The campers stopped in their tracks. Alexis and McKenzie ran to the front and saw what had surprised Kellie. Police cars surrounded her shop with their lights flashing. One man was tying yellow crime scene tape to a nearby tree. Husky was tied around another tree, frantically wresting his body around, trying to get the muzzle off that someone had put on his face.

  “My dog!” Kellie cried, running to her pet.

  “Sorry, ma’am,” one of the police officers answered. “He was going crazy when we got here and seemed like he was going to bite us, so we had to muzzle him and tie him up for a while. Please leave him tied up until we leave.”

  “What happened?” Alexis asked McKenzie. She tried to see what had happened, but there was too much commotion.

  “Over there,” said McKenzie. She poked Alexis’s arm and then pointed to the back door that led into Kellie’s kitchen.

  It had been torn completely off its hinges.

  “Oh no!” said Alexis.

  Kellie turned around and thanked all of the campers for a good trip. Then she asked them kindly to leave so the police could do their job. As the tourists left the scene, Kellie stormed off to find whoever was in charge.

  “It looks like someone broke in,” said Alexis. “But why?”

  “Maybe they wanted to steal the statues. Or maybe they took the money out of the register.”

  “There’s only one way to find out for sure,” said Alexis. She dropped her backpack near a tree and dug out her pink notebook and a pen. “We have to ask some questions.”

  Alexis walked toward one of the officers, but McKenzie grabbed her elbow.

  “Those cops aren’t going to talk to us, Alexis! This is a real investigation.”

  “Our investigation is real too, McKenzie!” said Alexis.

  “I know it is,” said McKenzie. “That’s why we should talk to that guy over there.”

  McKenzie pointed across the yard to the young policeman who had been tying up the yellow tape a moment before. He was standing at the corner of the shop looking bored.

  “See what I mean?” said McKenzie. “The other cops are too busy to talk. He looks like he would love to answer our questions! We just have to act like we’re curious and scared because we’re staying here and all.”

  “I don’t have to act,” said Alexis. “It’s creepy to think about someone breaking into the shop. What if they come back to break in to our cabin?”

  The girls shivered, and then McKenzie walked across the yard to where the young police officer was standing. He was drawing pictures in the dirt with his black boot.

  “Um, hello,” said McKenzie. “I’m McKenzie, and this is my friend Alexis.”

  The young man nodded.

  “I’m Officer Johnson,” he said. “Can I help you? I don’t think anyone is supposed to be back here.”

  “We are staying here right now, Officer. Kellie Sanderson is our friend, and we are here visiting,” said Alexis.

  “Oh,” said Officer Johnson. “Well, be glad you weren’t here when the break-in happened. Whoever did this is strong and violent. Just look at what he did to that door!”

  Alexis realized that the glass in the top of the door was gone. Broken pieces littered the ground around the back steps. Two chunks of wood were missing where the door had been attached to the house.

  “That’s crazy!” said McKenzie. “Was the inside destroyed too?”

  “No,” said the officer. “That’s the funny thing. There’s a little bit of mud inside, but nothing else was messed up. We don’t even think anything was taken.”

  “So why would someone break in if they weren’t going to take anything?” asked Alexis.

  “Not sure,” said Officer Johnson. “Maybe they just wanted to make a mess. Is there anyone who doesn’t like Ms. Sanderson or her work?”

  Alexis remembered that Jeremy, the news guy, didn’t like Kellie’s Bigfoot sculptures. But she didn’t think he would break down her back door. She shook her head.

  “Well, I would be careful if I were you,” said Officer Johnson. “Don’t go anywhere without an adult, okay?”

  “Yes, sir,” said McKenzie and Alexis together. They waved goodbye and walked toward the back of the shop. Kellie had just gone inside, and Alexis wanted to see if the police officers would let McKenzie and her in too. They might find some clue the police had missed. McKenzie walked past her, and Alexis grabbed her arm.

  “Not so fast!” Alexis said. “If we walk slowly, we might hear what some of the other police officers are talking about.”

  “Good idea!” said McKenzie. They strolled through the yard, waiting to hear something interesting. Two officers were arguing over their favorite doughnuts.

  “No way!” said one officer. “Chocolate frosting with sprinkles!”

  “Nope,” said the other officer. “I like it simple. Just a light glaze.”

  Alexis rolled her eyes as McKenzie tried not to laugh. They obviously weren’t going to get any useful information out of those two.

  Near the broken door, a policewoman kneeled to snap a few pictures of something in the dirt. Alexis leaned over her shoulder and saw a boot print.

  “Is that the only print you guys found?” said Alexis. The woman jumped and almost dropped her camera.

  “Yes, it is, but you two need to back away. You’re going to contaminate my crime scene.” The woman went back to taking pictures. Alexis got out her camera and shot a quick picture over the officer’s shoulder. When the pol
icewoman turned around, Alexis and McKenzie were already a few feet away examining the door. Alexis took a few pictures of it too.

  “Man,” said McKenzie. “Someone had to be incredibly strong to yank this door off its hinges.”

  “Yeah,” said Alexis. “But maybe they used a tool of some sort. Why would they rip it out anyway? The glass was broken. They could have reached through the window and unlocked the door from the inside.”

  “Hmm,” said McKenzie. “Ooo! Here comes Kellie!”

  Kellie’s voice drifted out the back door seconds before she came tromping out of it.

  “What do you mean nothing is missing? My favorite statue is gone!”

  Kellie was nose to nose with the lead investigator.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said. “It was hard to tell. It didn’t look like anything had been disturbed.”

  “Well I’m disturbed!” said Kellie. “Please tell me you’re going to find this guy.”

  While Kellie and the officer kept talking, Alexis spotted something on the doorjamb. Stuck on the splinters where the door had been ripped out was a small, brown piece of fluff. She gasped and jabbed McKenzie in the ribs.

  “Look at that!” she whispered. “It looks just like what we found at the mountain today!”

  “You’re right!” said McKenzie.

  Alexis took a picture before she interrupted Kellie’s conversation.

  “Excuse me,” she said, tapping the lead investigator on the shoulder. “I think your officers missed something. There’s a tuft of hair caught in the doorway.”

  She pointed up, and the officer stared. He looked around to the woman officer who had told Alexis and McKenzie to go away.

  “Officer Keith!” he said. “Why was this overlooked?”

  “Uh, well, I’m not sure, sir,” she stuttered.

  “Well, take care of it!”

  “Yes, sir!” The woman nudged Alexis out of the way so she could begin taking pictures of the hair.

  Kellie led the girls under the yellow tape and away from the crime scene.

  “I’m going to go around front and look for Chad. I haven’t seen him yet,” said Kellie.

  “Okay,” said McKenzie. “We’re going to our cabin for a bit. We’ll be out in a little while.”