by C. G. Mosley
Cochran and Emma eyed him curiously.
“Excuse me?” she said. “You say you know specifically which wood ape killed Lucas Hurst?”
He nodded. “That’s right, ma’am.”
The sheriff took a deep breath. It appears we’ve got a whacko here…
“Cliff, uh, do you care to elaborate a little bit?”
“Sure can,” he replied. “That same wood ape attacked me about four years ago. I’ve been tracking the son of a bitch ever since.”
Cochran and Emma looked at each other simultaneously.
“Well, then,” the sheriff said, suddenly intrigued. “I think we need to go back to my office and discuss this over some coffee and donuts. What do you say, Cliff?”
Cliff smiled. “Do you have any chocolate?”
Cochran smiled back. “I got chocolate, glazed, jelly-filled…whatever you want Cliff. Come on back and make yourself comfortable.”
Chapter 4
Sheriff Ray Cochran’s office was large enough to easily accommodate the three of them for a nice, long discussion regarding what Cliff Lowe knew about the abduction of Lucas Hurst. He seemed so excited to talk he could barely contain himself, and once he began speaking, it seemed he’d never stop. He told the sheriff and Emma a wild tale about an encounter he’d had four years prior in Sanderson Swamp.
“So, you’re saying this particular creature is a rogue and has been banished from the rest of its tribe?” Emma asked, her words oozing skepticism.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Lowe replied, nodding his head enthusiastically. “That thing is evil, so evil that its own kind doesn’t even want it around them anymore. Now that it’s out there and on its own, it must scrounge for food wherever it can get it. It seems that in recent years, it’s taken an interest in humans as a potential food source. To my knowledge, I’m the first one it went after.”
Cochran scratched at the stubble on his chin. It had been a couple of days since he’d shaved. “I still don’t understand how you’re so sure this is the same creature that attacked you. Seems to me you’re making a lot of assumptions here.”
“Did it have one eye?” Cliff asked sharply.
Cochran glanced over at Emma. She looked back at him and shifted uneasily in her chair.
“Mrs. Hurst did make mention of the fact that she thought, in her words, ‘the thing had a messed-up eye,’” Emma answered reluctantly.
Cliff smiled as he watched the surprised looks grow on both their faces. “You know how that eye got messed up?” he asked.
“No,” Cochran replied. “But I guess you’re gonna tell me.”
“It’s like that because I had to shove a knife in its eye to make it let me go,” he said proudly. “I was trying to kill it, but in case you weren’t aware, they are damn hard to kill.”
The sheriff’s jaw tightened as he thought back to the encounters he’d had with the beasts in Walker Laboratory. It was true; they were indeed hard to kill.
“Alright,” he said, momentarily pushing those thoughts aside. “I believe you. It’s the same wood ape. Now, do you have any additional information that can help us find the damn thing?”
Cliff looked at him and seemed briefly confused by the question. “Well, I suppose I could show you where it lives,” he said after thinking a moment.
Emma sat up straight. “Wait, you know where it lives?” she asked, awestruck.
Cliff looked at her and nodded.
Sheriff Cochran walked closer to him and crossed his arms. He stood over Cliff and looked down at him. “How could you possibly know that?” he asked, a bit skeptical.
“After what happened to be in ’85, I’ve sort of become obsessed with finding the thing,” he replied rather sheepishly. “Actually, I prefer to call it a hobby…or maybe passion is a better word.”
“Can you take us to it?” Emma asked.
“Of course I can. But I shouldn’t.”
Cochran rubbed at the back of his neck. He was tired and getting a little cranky.
“And why exactly shouldn’t you?” he said, a bit of annoyance in his tone.
Cliff opened his mouth to answer, but then quickly closed it as he contemplated what to say. “Well, how many men are you bringing?”
“How many should I bring?”
“How many you got?”
“Get to the point, Mr. Lowe,” Emma snapped.
The directness of her tone startled him. “I—I just think you should bring all the men you can,” he stammered. “It moves really fast and it’s real strong. There’s not a lot of margin for error.”
“I’ll take my chances,” the sheriff said. “How soon can you show us where it lives?”
“Today,” Cliff answered. “But you’re not gonna find it there until the early morning hours.”
“And why is that?” Emma asked.
“Because it won’t be home until then,” he replied. “It leaves around five in the afternoon every day to forage for food. It doesn’t return ‘til almost sunrise most of the time. By the time you got your men together and made the drive over there, it’d be too late today.”
Emma considered what he’d said and pulled a Jupiter cigarette from the pack she’d had in her coat pocket while she did so.
“How soon can you get your men ready to go and catch this thing in the woods where it lives?” she asked, the cigarette now dangling from her mouth. She retrieved a lighter from the same coat pocket and lit it.
“I can have them all there just before sunrise,” Cochran answered, trying to make sure he gave his men as much time to rest as possible.
Emma nodded and blew smoke from her mouth. “I think that’s going to be our best move,” she said, and then she turned to look at Cliff. “Mr. Lowe, where would be the best place for us to meet tomorrow morning so you can tell us where this thing’s den is located?”
“Come to my house,” he answered. “There’s a trail that leads into the woods behind my house. It’s a short hike and I’m the only one that knows the path, so I’ll have to go with you.”
Sheriff Cochran glanced over at her and could tell immediately she didn’t like the idea of Cliff coming along with them. He could see Emma mulling it over in her head and he quickly decided to keep the conversation moving along so she wouldn’t begin insisting that Cliff remain in his home.
“Mr. Lowe, I’m gonna need your address,” he said, snatching a yellow legal pad off his desk.
Cliff told him and after a few more minutes of chit chat, the three of them shook hands, and Cliff Lowe exited the building.
“He shouldn’t go with us,” Emma said as soon as he was gone.
Sheriff Cochran sighed. “Agent Honeycutt, where are you from?”
She stared at him blankly. “I’m not sure what that has to do with anything but I’m from Sacramento.”
“Ah,” he replied. “Thought so.”
Her brow furrowed. “And what exactly do you mean by that?”
“Well, it’s clear you have spent very little time in the woods.”
The look on her face gave away that he was right. “I’m still waiting to hear what this has to do with anything,” she said, sounding annoyed.
He chuckled. “If you spent any significant time out there, you’d know that searching for a Bigfoot den will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“He can draw us a map,” she shot back.
Cochran shook his head. “It’s not that simple. This is dense forest and I don’t care if he’s a professional cartographer, if we’re going to find this thing quickly, we’ll need his help.”
Emma finished her cigarette and extinguished the butt on Cochran’s desk. He couldn’t stand it when she did that. “Fine,” she said. “But he’s a civilian and he’s going to be your responsibility, not ours.”
He smiled and nodded, knowing full well that was going to be her response. “You better go check on Agent Milk,” he said. “Someone needs to let him know about this new development.”
“We will be there,” he replied. “Dress appropriately.”
She rolled her eyes and left the station.
***
John Milk was awake and had just gotten out of the shower when he heard the doorbell. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he hurried to the door and opened it to find Emma standing there.
“Oh, for God’s sake, go put on some clothes,” she muttered as she barged in past him.
He sighed and closed the door. “I assume there’s a good reason you just showed up here unannounced?”
“I called but you didn’t answer,” she said. She went into the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water from the kitchen sink.
“I’ve got bottled water in the fridge,” John said.
“Water is water,” she said after taking a gulp from the glass. “That’ll never really catch on.”
He smiled and crossed his arms. They were both standing in the kitchen. “I didn’t answer because I was in the shower. What’s up?”
“I’m about to head over to get some sleep myself,” she said after she finished the water. She placed the glass in the sink behind her. “We got a real good lead on where to find the wood ape.”
John’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “A man came into the station earlier. He said he’s had his own close encounter with our wood ape back in 1985.”
“1985? Well then, that’s before—”
“Before the events that transpired with Kurt Bledsoe,” she interrupted. “Yeah, I know.”
He smiled at her, a wide toothy grin.
“Go to hell,” she grumbled. “Just because he’s not the wood ape that killed Lucas Hurst doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous.”
“That may still be the case, but right now, our focus isn’t with him.”
She looked him up and down again. “No, right now, your focus should be on getting dressed. I’ll meet you at the car at 4:00 a.m.”
John shook his head as she moved briskly out the door. The reality was that Sheriff Cochran wasn’t the only one wondering why she was the way she was.
Chapter 5
Emma Honeycutt woke up in a cold sweat. She didn’t have many nightmares, but what she’d just experienced was exactly that. She dreamt that the vicious wood ape that had once been Kurt Bledsoe had grabbed her in the forest. The beast dragged her deeper into a dark cave and then ripped her apart, tearing into her flesh while she was still alive. She could see the rage in his bright green eyes. The dream terrified her to the point that she sat straight up in the bed. She was panting hard and shaking.
Get a grip, Emma, she thought.
She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand next to the bed. It was almost 3:00 a.m.
“Damnit,” she grumbled as she rubbed the cobwebs from her eyes.
Her alarm had been set for 3:30 so as it was, there was no time to really go back to sleep. Reluctantly, she trudged out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. After showering, she put on jeans and a button-up shirt that she didn’t mind getting dirty. The sheriff had told her to “dress appropriately” and though she’d never admit it to him, she knew he was more knowledgeable about the forest and what was in it than her. It pained her to accept, but she knew he was right about her experience in the forest. Hers was next to zilch.
Once she was fully dressed and her blonde hair placed in a ponytail, Emma stepped into the cool darkness of Dunn, Mississippi. She was on an upper-level apartment directly across from where John stayed. She glanced down from the balcony and could see the interior light on in the car. John was always punctual and on time. She was too. It was probably the only thing they had in common.
“Wow, I didn’t even know you owned jeans,” he said as she approached the car.
Emma looked him up and down and was surprised to see he was still wearing his usual black suit and tie. “You should’ve talked with the sheriff before you made a decision on what to wear this morning.”
“I’m fine with what I’ve got on,” he said. “I don’t have any plans of rolling around on the ground with this thing.”
She let it go and got in the car. “Look, we’ve both got to be on the same page when we meet up with the sheriff,” she said as he climbed in behind the wheel.
“Okay,” he said, unsure of her meaning.
“We’ve got to make it very clear that we are in charge of this operation.”
“That’s always been the case,” John said, still confused. “Something bothering you?”
She glanced over at him as he pulled the car out of the lot. There was a moment she considered telling him about her nightmare but ultimately decided to keep it to herself. “No, nothing bothering me,” she said. “I’ve just noticed you two becoming a little chummy here lately and I don’t want you to forget that we’ve been put here by Mr. Cold to do a job. Sheriff Cochran doesn’t get the final say on anything related to the wood apes or any other cryptids we encounter in this county.”
“Agreed. I’ve got your back—you know that.”
She smiled and his response seemed to help. “I know, and I’ve got yours.”
“You sure there’s nothing else on your mind?” he asked as they headed onto a winding road that would ultimately lead to Cliff Lowe’s home.
She shook her head. “No, really, I’m fine.”
***
When John brought the car to a halt in Cliff Lowe’s driveway, he immediately noticed a man hurrying down the steps to meet them.
“That’s Cliff,” Emma said, opening her car door.
“Good morning,” Cliff said, sounding as if he’d already drunk half a pot of coffee.
“Good morning,” John replied, holding out his hand. “I’m Agent John Milk.”
They shook and then he reached for Emma. “Good morning, Agent Honeycutt.”
“Good morning,” she said. “The sheriff hasn’t made it yet?”
“No. I admit I’m kind of surprised seeing you two here before him.”
“Why is that?” John asked.
“Well, you work for the government and all,” he said with a sly grin.
John and Emma looked at each other.
“I just mean the government is known to be slow and—”
“We get it, Mr. Lowe,” Emma cut in. “You’re quite witty this morning.”
Cliff looked away sheepishly.
“How long of a hike are we looking at to get to this thing’s den?” John asked.
“It’ll take about half an hour on foot,” he answered. “We could possibly go faster but we need to move slow to make sure it doesn’t hear us coming.”
It was then that Sheriff Cochran pulled up with two other deputy vehicles in tow. Once out of the vehicle, he moved to the trunk where he retrieved a shotgun and handed one to Billy, the deputy with the horn-rimmed glasses. The other deputies did the same, and soon Cliff was surrounded by armed local and federal law enforcement.
“Alright, I think we’re all set,” John said, doing his best to not sound anxious. The truth was, he was anxious and ready to see if Cliff could deliver on what he’d promised.
“Mr. Lowe, I think we need to be clear on something before we head out,” Cochran said.
Cliff looked at him curiously. “Of course. What’s on your mind, Sheriff?”
“All we’re needing is for you to show us where this thing’s den is. Once there, we need you to move aside and let us do our jobs. We’ll tell you where to hang back and it’s imperative that you stay where we tell you. I don’t want you getting shot.”
Cliff nodded but seemed a bit disappointed.
Emma, seemingly reading his thoughts, asked, “Mr. Lowe, you’re not carrying a weapon, are you?”
His face told on him and he pulled up the tail of his red plaid shirt to reveal a pistol in his waistband.
“That’s a nice Colt you’ve got there,�
�� Cochran said, holding out his hand.
Cliff sighed, but reluctantly handed the weapon over.
“You’ll get it back when we finish this up,” the sheriff said, shoving the gun into the back of his belt. He then looked past him to the woods behind the house. “We’re ready when you are.”
Cliff nodded and turned without saying a word. They all formed a single-file line and followed him into an opening that led into the forest. Emma and John made up the rear of the line.
***
As they traveled along the well-beaten path, John noticed the lack of sound. He knew it was early, but he expected to at least hear insects or birds chirping away. What he heard instead was nothing more than the soft footsteps in the pine straw and leaves that made up the forest floor.
“Is it just me or is it eerily quiet?” he whispered to Emma as she strode alongside him.
“No, it’s not just you,” she muttered quietly. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Milk.”
He glanced at her. “Really? Why?”
She again considered mentioning her nightmare, but again kept quiet. “This just feels wrong,” she replied. “I can’t put my finger on why.”
“Well, as you said earlier, we’re in charge,” he said. “If there’s a reason we need to halt this, you need to speak up.”
She shook her head. “No. I think I’m just a little edgy is all. I’ll get over it.”
He looked hard at her, trying to see if he could pick up anything from the expression on her face. She was a tough nut to crack at times and this was one of those times. He couldn’t see a hint of anything on her face to give him an indication as to why she was “edgy.”
“Just keep your eyes peeled and stay on your toes,” he said. “We’ve got this.”
She nodded and her eyes narrowed. “Damn, I need a cigarette.”
John smiled. “The smoke would give us away.”
“I know, I know,” she grumbled.
Suddenly, the convoy of men ahead of them came to an abrupt stop.
“That’s it,” Cliff said quietly, pointing.
John and Emma moved briskly to where Cliff and the sheriff were standing.
