"In the bag, there," she pointed. "But listen. Don't shoot unless they come close and act aggressive. I don't think they want to hurt us."
"Come into the camp? I'm shooting like a freakin’ wild man if I get hit by another one of those boulders," he said.
Laura grabbed his wrist and squeezed so hard he felt the blood struggling to pump through her grip. "Listen to me," she said. "Don't do anything to antagonize them. I think this started because you peed on a tree. They thought you were marking your territory. Just please do what I say from now on. Don't wander off too far to relieve yourself. Keep it within our clearing, pretty much."
"Well, that's pretty gross," he said. "I'm not pooping in our camp, just so you know."
"And don't make any loud banging noises trying to scare them away. And keep the fire small. They might be nervous about the fire. Let's just lay low for the next few hours. I'm pretty sure they don't want to hurt us, or they would have by now."
"Well, I'm not so sure about 'them' not wanting to hurt us," he air quoted the them. Those weren't bouquets they were tossing our way." As he spoke, he reached across Laura to retrieve the bag containing the gun.
"But they didn't hit us, at least not with the big ones," she said. "They could have, I'm pretty sure."
"Then what?" he asked as he examined the handgun he was now holding. "We sit here a few hours and then what happens?" He wasn't sure what she was trying to accomplish.
"Then we wait and see if they start to show themselves. If we're lucky, they'll get curious and start coming close."
22
Physical Evidence
"We should check on Chaz," Laura said. "It's weird that we haven't heard from him." She spoke in an urgency that made it clear that she'd forgotten about the man's existence. Once they'd gathered enough wits to get properly dressed, the two of them had been sitting in silence for the past fifteen minutes, listening for footsteps or other signs of life. David assumed that Laura had been stunned and lost in thought, as he had been.
He had no idea how anyone could have produced the effects they'd just experienced out in this wilderness. Then again, he wasn't a magician, but he knew they could pull off some impressive illusions. Whatever was actually going on, he'd decided he wasn't going to push the issue with Laura any longer. Maybe she was being duped by her producers. Who knew.
"Want me to check on him?"
"Please?" she asked.
David unzipped the tent flap and stuck his head into the fresh air. The world around him seemed normal enough at first glance, especially in contrast to the strange ordeal he'd just experienced. But something was off. He pushed his way out and perused the campsite again. Something was different, but he wasn't sure what. The large rocks were still there, where they'd landed, and David noted again that there was no way a human could have been responsible for sending them flying through the air. They gave the campsite an eerie feel, like their mere presence represented something deeply sinister, but that wasn't what was bothering him. He couldn't put his finger on the strange feeling in the air.
As he made his way toward Chaz's tent, he realized what was bothering him. It was the silence. There were none of the usual sounds of birds or insects; even the wind seemed to have stopped rustling the leaves in the trees. There were no sounds of planes flying overhead and no sounds of squirrels scampering. It was an impossible silence.
David reached Chaz's tent, which was zipped tight. "You okay in there?" he called.
There was no answer.
"Hey, buddy," David said. He poked at the front of the tent. "Laura wants me to check on you. You okay?"
Still nothing.
This is irritating as shit, David thought. He grabbed the zipper and wound it around to create an opening. When he stuck his head inside, however, he saw tree trunks. His brain stretched for an explanation. Why was he seeing trees inside the tent? After a half second of confusion, it dawned on him that he was gazing straight through a gaping hole in the back side of the tent. The back wall was completely shredded.
"Chaz!" David screamed as he pushed his way back outside. His head was pounding along with his rapid heart beat. He turned in every direction and yelled into the forest, calling out the name. "Chaz! Where the hell are you?"
"Is he gone?" Laura said as she appeared beside David. "He's not in his tent?"
David could hear the panic in her voice. This was not an act. Whatever was happening in these woods, she was not involved. He was certain. He grabbed her and pulled her tight. "Listen, babe." He tried to keep his voice steady as he spoke. "I don't know where he is, but I'll find him."
"Are you sure he's not in here?" She pulled away and bent toward Chaz's tent before David could stop her.
"Don't go in there!" David said. He reached for her, but she was already poking her head inside. She fell backward again. Her hands were over her mouth, and her eyes were bulging open.
"Oh my God," she squealed quietly. "Oh my God."
David sat beside her and pulled her close again. His mind raced and he started babbling in an effort to comfort her. "Listen," he said. "I can explain this. Have you ever heard of that incident in Dyatlov Pass? Those kids?"
"Yes," she whispered in a high pitch. "And they were found dead."
"Yes," he said. "But remember how they cut their way out of the side of their tent with a knife?" David was pretty impressed with the theory he was inventing on the spot. His panicked mind seemed to be operating at some new level. "Some people say they heard an avalanche starting and they cut their way out in a rush, because it was the quickest way."
Laura looked up at him with a blank stare. She was trembling all over.
"I think Chaz must have done that," David said. "He heard that loud sound from earlier and he thought it was an earthquake. It might have been, you know. They make horrific sounds."
"Maybe," Laura said. Her eyes were dashing around, like she was rapidly mulling over the possibility.
"He must have panicked and cut his way out. Afraid of a tree falling on him. That must be it."
Laura leaned in and rested her head on David's chest. "Maybe you're right," she said. "He's probably close by here somewhere."
"I'll take a look around," David said. "As soon as you're ready, I'll circle the camp. He's probably dazed."
He led her to a large log that he'd placed beside the fire pit. While she sat watching, he opened the supply pack and found the coffee kit. "This will work wonders," he said, as he lifted the bag containing the ground coffee. Laura smiled back at him.
"Sorry to be such a wuss," she said. She turned her head to look out toward the trees, causing several exquisite, curly locks to tumble from her shoulder. "But I'm scared."
"No wonder!" he said. "It hasn't been the greatest morning, so far." He looked downward, not wanting her to see the worry in his own eyes. He reached down to grab some branches and dry leaves and tossed them over a large log that still smoldered from the night before. He jabbed the pile with a stick, and several small flames began twirling and flickering around the edges of the log. "Coffee always works wonders," he repeated.
"David," she said, her voice taking on the tone of a small girl. "There's something I need to tell you. Sometimes they eat people."
He was pretty sure he had it figured out. In the twenty minutes he'd spent sipping coffee and staring quietly into the fire next to Laura, he was pretty certain he knew exactly what was happening. Chaz and the other men had conspired to create this whole scene. Who knew how long they'd been creating experiences like this to convince Laura that Sasquatch really existed. David was now certain that Chaz had informed the other guys about the location of the expedition, and they had undoubtedly gone ahead to set up some equipment to stage this scene. How difficult would it have been for the men to set up specific coordinates where this would all take place? Now that he thought about it, it was clear that Chaz had been steering them toward this location in subtle ways. David remembered several occasions when Chaz had suggested that
they make certain corrections to avoid rough-looking terrain, or he'd suggested that they travel a certain direction to more easily cross a river. And David had no doubt that old man Wythe was in on this, as well.
He wouldn't tell Laura, just yet. Once she realized what was really happening, she'd have to face the fact that her career had been a sham, and that the people she'd worked with for years had lied to her. She'd been made a fool of by people she trusted. How could he break that to her? The first thing he needed to do was find evidence to support his theory. He'd collect proof that Chaz and the others had concocted this entire ruse, and present it to Laura at a time when she felt less vulnerable. For now, David planned to play along with whatever happened, and be supportive and protective of Laura. Everything was making sense.
"Are you good?" he asked, as he wrapped an arm around Laura's shoulder and squeezed her close to him. "Mind if I go take a look around?"
"I think you should," she said. "I'm really worried about Chaz.”
David gave her another hug and kissed her on the forehead. "I won't go too far," he said. "Just shout if you need anything at all."
Laura nodded in return, and David stood and scanned the trees around them. To his left, he knew there was a steep drop off, so there was no point in heading that way. He decided to examine the area where he'd first been hit with a rock, that morning. If the culprits had used any sort of wheeled vehicle to transport their equipment, and they must have needed some heavy equipment, then David should be able to find some kind of tracks or indentations. He made sure to keep Laura and the fire within eyesight, turning every few steps to make sure he didn't get disoriented. He knew how easily people could get turned around in the woods, even those with decades of experience.
Nothing seemed out of place. He wasn't exactly an experienced woodsman, but he could see no disturbances in the undergrowth that would indicate anything amiss. He walked slowly, circling their camp, looking for any sign of footprints or flattened grass patches. He was nearly half way around the camp when he stopped to listen. Some pattern of sound stood out from the other noises of the forest. He waited, and then he realized what had caught his attention. There was a rhythmic tapping sound that seemed unnatural. He stopped to lean against a tree and stood still, trying to discern the direction of the sound. A slow, steady tap, tap, tap, sound seemed to come from his right. He walked a few yards in that direction, looking back to keep the camp in his viewing range. He realized that he was now standing several yards behind the place where Chaz's tent was situated, and through the bushes, he had a view of the gaping hole. It dawned on David that he should have started from this location. He'd need to look around that tent to see if he could find Chaz's tracks. All around him, the forest floor was shadowed in deep, red tones. His thoughts were interrupted by a heavy raindrop that hit him on the back of the arm. He swiped his arm across his shirt, and felt another drop on his shoulder. He put a hand up and swiped at the wet spot, and realized that he must have injured himself, since his fingers were then covered with blood. But he knew he wasn't injured. What the hell? he thought. Before he could make sense of it, another drop on the arm made him realized that the drops were coming from above him. He looked upward, and fell straight to his knees. The tree, the leaves, everything around him was covered in blood. Above him, the red-smeared body of a man was wedged between two branches. The arms and legs were gnarled and twisted into an impossible pose that made his appendages seem like extensions of the branches. He could tell that the body was most likely Chaz's, since there was a clean patch of flannel shirt material that David seemed to recognize. He couldn't be sure, however, since there was no head connected to the body.
23
Logic
"It had to be a mountain lion," David said. "I heard once that leopards do that. They drag their kill up into trees and stash them there. They go back for it later." David recognized that he was babbling his words, but he couldn't help himself. His nerves had never been pushed to this extent, and his whole body was vibrating with fear. He was gripping Laura's gun with both hands, keeping one finger resting on the trigger. His eyes darted around from tree to tree as he scanned the shadowy landscape around them.
"We can't leave him there," Laura said, as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"We can't stay here," David said. "And he's too high to reach. I think we just need to mark the location and send somebody back. How far are we from a town?"
Laura glanced toward Chaz's tent. "The GPS is on his watch," she said. Her voice cracked as she spoke, and another stream of tears fell down her cheeks. "Oh, God. I hope he's not wearing it."
"Come with me," David said, swinging the gun around as he stood, pivoting on his foot like a little boy imitating a bad Western movie actor. "We'll search his tent. We need to stick together, in case that thing comes back."
Laura stood and grabbed David's elbow. He felt her tight squeeze on his arm as he led her toward Chaz's tent. "It's orange," Laura said. "The watch."
"You go in. I'll keep a lookout."
Laura ducked into the tent and David continued to scan the area around them. He could hear Laura tossing things around inside. A crack of a branch made him jump, and the gun nearly fell from his hands. Some hero I am, he thought. He could barely keep his grip on the weapon. His hands were sweaty and shaky.
"Found it," Laura called from inside. "Thank God." She emerged from the tent with the device in her hand, and began thumbing away at its controls as soon as she regained her balance. "He taught me to use it in case anything happened." Her words came out in high pitched squeaks. "I can't believe he's gone."
David wrapped his arm around her shoulders again. "Don't even think about it, now. Let's just get to safety and send somebody back to get him. I think we should put it out of our heads and concentrate on staying safe, for now."
"It's still at least a full day's hike to any road," Laura said, still pressing away at the tiny buttons. "Or we could go the opposite direction and get to a pretty remote lake on the other side of that mountain." She gestured to the East with her eyes. "There could be campers there. With phones. But there's no guarantee."
"I think that sounds risky. Let's head for the road and try to make good time. Let's gather the essentials and head out," David said. "Before it comes back."
"David," Laura said. "You know that wasn't a mountain lion."
"Not now, Laura." Whatever had killed Chaz and stuffed his body in a tree was a monster, alright. But David wasn't sure what kind of monster—beast or human—he was dealing with, and he wasn't ready to discuss it.
"But there are things you should know," she said. "I'm pretty sure they're going to follow us."
"Why would you say that?" he said. "Based on what?"
"Based on my gut. I feel like they will come after us next."
"You're not being rational, Laura," David said. "We need to head for civilization."
24
Observational Evidence
Apparently, Laura talked a lot when she was scared.
They'd been hiking nonstop for three hours, and, at first, they'd walked in silence. David had been concerned that Laura was suffering from psychological trauma. He'd tried to get her to talk a few times, asking questions as she checked the GPS watch to make sure they were staying on track to get to civilization as quickly as possible. He felt the need to keep her alert; otherwise, he noticed that she'd start to sink into a zone—staring straight ahead, big-eyed and silent, slipping further inside herself. And under these circumstances, that could be dangerous. They needed to stay sharp. David had decided to confess that he'd never actually read her book past the foreword, and that confession had seemed to transition Laura into another zone, completely. Since then, he hadn't heard more than fifteen seconds of silence. Laura had decided to fill him in on the entire content of her book in nervous whispers, filling him in on all the graphic details he didn't want to know. It wasn't exactly comforting to him. She'd spent the entire time explaining that the even
ts of the morning were very indicative of an aggressive, aggravated Sasquatch clan. Dr. Whythe had predicted that the creatures they would encounter might be a little more dangerous than the run-of-the-mill primate, she explained. They’re more intelligent, and more capable of scheming and planning. She hadn't been too concerned at the beginning of the expedition, since she'd had several brief encounters before, and nothing terrible had happened. But it was possible, she agreed, that because the creatures were running from the fires to the South and experiencing a loss of habitat, they could be abnormally irritated by encounters with the human species that caused all the habitat destruction. They were intelligent enough to make the connection.
"Do you recognize those flowers?" David had asked at one point, trying to change the subject. His ploy didn't work. She shook her head briefly and continued on her Sasquatch lecture. The whole situation was surreal and terrifying. David didn't know what to believe, at this point. Something terrifying was happening in these woods, but he'd rather not dwell on it at the moment. He'd much rather wait to make up his mind about the whole thing later, once he had the luxury of calm and clear thinking. At the moment, his brain was operating in survival mode. But he'd decided to let Laura go on and on, explaining things to him in great detail, since it appeared to keep her busy and alert. She had a purpose at the moment, so it was less likely that she would withdraw from phycological trauma. He'd actually read somewhere that physical exercise was good for helping the brain deal with a shocking event, so this marathon hike was, at least, a good elixir for their psyches.
Laura stopped suddenly and grabbed David's arm. "Did you hear that?" she asked, turning her body to look to the left.
"What did you hear?" He felt a chill wash down his torso, like ice water pouring over his body. "Shouldn't we keep moving?" He could hear his heart beating.
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