Gil’s bladder emptied as the beast charged him.
The next two minutes were both the longest and last of his life. Much of what came out of his throat – while he could still make noise – was little more than inarticulate screams.
However, one thing was certain. During those few minutes, Gil Mercer loved camping a whole lot less than he usually did.
PART 1
Chapter 1
Since man first walked the Earth, people have seen the unexplainable:
Lights in the sky, ghosts from the past, monsters in the mist.
Do they exist, or are they just our imagination?
Science has scoffed at these stories ... until now.
My name is Dr. Derek Jenner, and I dare to believe.
Together with my team, I will find what is out there.
The truth cannot hide from me.
I am ... the Crypto Hunter.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, turn off that crap,” Harrison said. “You’re supposed to be packing.”
“I like this show,” Rob, his roommate, protested. “And we’re not leaving until this afternoon anyway. Besides, who cares if we’re late? Last I checked, they don’t shut the forest down if you’re not on time. So stop being so freaking anal.” He turned back toward the TV.
“Fine, have it your way. If you forget anything, you’re not borrowing it from me,” Harrison said, resuming his own packing. “I don’t know why you watch that stupid show anyway. It’s not like they ever find anything.” Despite his argumentative tone, he didn’t feel any real annoyance toward his friend and frat brother. It was just part of the normal bickering they did on a day-to-day basis.
Harrison Kent and Rob Alieri were both juniors at Alamosa University. Harrison was a business major. However, he spent the majority of his time with either the lacrosse team or the myriad clubs of which he was a member. That was in stark contrast to Rob, who studied biology and could usually be found either in front of the TV or online – when he wasn’t immersed in his textbooks. Harrison often joked Rob seemed intent on rotting his brain during those few moments when he wasn’t busy trying to build it up.
“Don’t be a hater. They find some cool stuff sometimes,” Rob replied, still facing the TV.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about all the blurry photographs and redneck witnesses. Yeah, real cool,” Harrison sniffed as he started rolling his sleeping bag, feeling a bit of regret that he wouldn’t be sharing it with anyone for the next week. Things had been rocky between him and his girlfriend, Amy, for a while. That she had flat out refused to even consider the camping trip told Harrison maybe the writing was on the wall for their relationship.
He had tried not to let it get him down. They’d only been dating for a few months. If they were done, so be it. It wasn’t like there weren’t at least a few other potential prospects in his crosshairs either. He had a naturally athletic build and an outgoing personality, both virtues that meant he’d spent few Friday nights of his college career alone.
“These things take time. Besides, all they need is one good piece of evidence, and then BAM – the scientific world would be on its ear. I mean, seriously, wouldn’t it be great if even one of them wasn’t total bs? What if they found an actual thunderbird? Or what if that dinosaur in Africa turned out to be real?”
“What if my aunt had a mustache? She’d be my uncle,” Harrison countered.
“Knowing your family, she’d also be your mother and your cousin.”
Harrison couldn’t help but chuckle. Rob had his own running jokes at Harrison’s expense, his family tree being one of them. He couldn’t argue against it either. He had at least a few cousins back East that he wouldn’t be too surprised to learn had married their sisters.
“Besides,” Rob continued, “did you know they had an episode of The Crypto Hunter last year that wasn’t too far from where we’re going?”
“Really? Let me guess, we’re all gonna be anally probed by aliens before the week is out.”
“Nope, it was about bigfoot.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep,” replied Rob. “They found tracks and hair.”
“Tracks and hair!?” cried Harrison with mock enthusiasm. “Oh, well, that settles it then. There couldn’t be anything else out in the woods responsible for that.”
“Dude, keep an open mind. Besides, it might make for some good campfire stories.”
“Planning on scaring Paula’s panties off her?” Harrison joked.
Rob turned and gave him the stink eye. Unlike Harrison, he didn’t exactly have his share of coeds to choose from. He was average looking at best, skinny, and somewhat introverted. Whereas Rob was plain, his girlfriend, Paula, was quite cute, though. He knew damn well he was dating above his pay grade and thus was willing to endure a little sexual frustration.
“I’m pretty sure her panties are welded on,” Rob replied, a touch of annoyance in his voice.
Paula came from a devout Catholic family and was firmly in the saving herself for marriage camp, something she had made clear to Rob almost immediately after they had met at one of Ki-Beta-Phi’s many yearly mixers. With the ground rules of their relationship set, they had been a stable, if perhaps trifle dull, couple.
“Wrong attitude, man. We’re gonna be in the woods for a whole week. You gotta work on your ‘me Tarzan, you Jane’ attitude.”
“Are you kidding? I’m still not even sure how you dragged me into it. I hate camping.”
“It’ll be fun.”
“Until we get mauled by bears.”
“I thought it was bigfoot,” Harrison replied as Rob flipped him the bird. “Besides, don’t be such a pussy. Think of it as a rite of passage, a chance to get away from it all for a while. No books, no studying, nothing but good times with good company.”
“Didn’t Friday the 13th start off with a speech like that?”
“Yes, and until they all got chopped up by Jason, it was one big sex party in the woods. I could live with that.”
“I’m pretty sure you won’t be in too much of a sex party mood with your sister around. Or is there something else about your family you haven’t told me?”
Harrison laughed. Though he himself had spent most of his life in the Denver suburbs, his parents were originally from West Virginia where they still had family. His had always been a close-knit clan, so reunions were held regularly. Though he was fond of his eastern cousins, even he had to admit they had a Hatfield/McCoy vibe about them.
The funny thing was that his sister, Daniella, seemed to be taking after them. She was a freshman, attending school in South Dakota – studying to be a forest ranger, of all things. It was she who had originally suggested the trip.
Harrison was typically neutral on the concept of camping. He had done a stint in the Boy Scouts and had gone rock climbing on more than one occasion, but that was about it. Regardless, he and his little sister had always been close – albeit not in the way Rob liked to joke – thus he had agreed almost immediately to go along. That Harrison was also a little over-protective of Danni and didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone out in the woods – especially those as dense as where they were going – was also a factor in his decision.
Ironically, of the two, Danni was probably far better qualified for this outing. Hell, this was her thing after all. Not to mention, she wasn’t going to be alone, regardless of whether he was there or not. She was driving in with some friends, at least one of whom sounded suspiciously like a boyfriend. Harrison didn’t like the idea of her being out there by herself, but he also found he wasn’t particularly keen on her being with a guy – especially one who might wish to get back to nature with her. Thus, it had been he who had suggested they make it a group outing.
As Harrison continued to pack, he couldn’t help but overhear the idiocy in which his roommate was engrossed. This episode was apparently set somewhere in South Carolina where they were searching for lizard men. He rolled his eyes at the concept. Christ, the shit that some pe
ople would watch. As far as he was concerned, so-called reality TV was a vast wasteland. He could think of dozens of better ways to spend his time than watching a bunch of clowns shout “Monster!” every time they heard a twig snap.
A quick check of his watch confirmed there was still plenty of time before they needed to be ready, so he decided he could let Rob finish his silly show before pestering him again. He was still somewhat amazed his roommate had even agreed to go. The guy wasn’t exactly a survivalist on his best days. Harrison suspected it all had to do with Paula. He had discussed the trip with them while sitting together in the campus dining hall, and she had been surprisingly enthusiastic about the idea. As such, Rob couldn’t exactly say no without losing points with her. In the end, he had agreed to it – albeit not without a good deal of bitching, at least whenever Paula wasn’t within earshot.
Unfortunately, with spring break looming, Harrison hadn’t had much luck with regards to getting others to join in their little adventure. Most of his friends were either going skiing or heading toward warmer climates. His only other recruit had been another frat buddy, Greg, although Harrison suspected he was only coming to get stoned in a place far from the eyes of the cops that prowled most spring break hangouts.
On the upside, a small group might not be a bad thing. His sister had rented a car for the drive down, and Harrison had his old beat-up Wrangler. Fewer cars in their caravan meant a better chance of getting where they were going without someone getting stuck once they were off-road. All in all, it was probably for the best.
Now if he could only get Rob to shut off the goddamned TV and get packed.
Chapter 2
Two and a half hours later, the foursome loaded their supplies, including a cooler full of refreshments, into the back of Harrison’s Jeep when they looked up to see a blue Nissan Xterra pull into the campus lot. Harrison spotted his sister in the passenger seat thanks to her mop of unruly blonde hair. Even if he hadn’t, the arm hanging out the window and waving in his direction was a giveaway. Harrison was impressed. She was actually early. Assuming her group didn’t require much more than a pit stop to use the facilities, they could all be on the road within the hour. That gave them an excellent chance at making it to their destination before dark.
The other vehicle had just barely stopped when the passenger door flew open and his sister came running in their direction. Harrison noted that college life had apparently been good to her. Rather than put on the dreaded freshman fifteen that seemed to plague new students, she appeared to be in as good of, if not better, shape than when he had last seen her some months earlier.
He had barely enough time to register these thoughts before she launched herself at him. Unsurprised, he caught her in a big bear hug. “Oof!” he mock protested. “Just a little glad to see me?”
She laughed. “Always happy to see my favorite brother.”
“Your only brother.”
“At least you don’t have to worry about any competition,” she replied as he put her down. “So, are you all set?”
“Almost done. Come and meet your fellow wilderness freaks,” he said, turning toward his small party.
“Hey, Rob!” Danni said as she approached. They had met a few times over the years and were on good terms with each other in a casual, “friend of a friend” sort of way.
“Good to see you,” he replied with a nod.
“Danni, this is Paula, Rob’s girlfriend,” Harrison said. Paula gave a small smile in return. She was curvy, with auburn hair done up in a tight ponytail and dressed in functional, if plain, hiking clothes. Both her outfit and quiet demeanor immediately set her apart from Danni, who stood there beaming with her wild blonde hair, running shoes, and almost too short cut-offs.
Harrison wondered whether there might be tension on the trip between the two. Danni was outgoing to the point of sometimes seeming overly flirty, whether or not she meant to be. She was just that type of person. Paula, on the other hand, was fairly conservative. Whereas Danni might just chat with Rob for the sake of talking, Paula might very well perceive her to be a threat.
He made a mental note to monitor that situation as the week progressed. Being stuck in the woods with two fighting wildcats did not seem like a particularly fun prospect to him.
Up next in the introductions was Greg, who stood there looking every bit the casual slacker he was. Harrison liked him because the guy was almost always mellow. Little bothered him. At the end of the day, he was the perfect person to go on vacation with because he just went with the flow.
Harrison didn’t fail to notice the appraising eye that Greg gave to his sister, but that didn’t worry him too much. Danni was a little bundle of energy. It was doubtful whether Greg would be able to keep up with her, even if he got the opportunity to try – which wasn’t likely because Danni had brought company of her own.
“So, what about your friends?” Harrison asked, noticing that her companions had parked and were now approaching. There were two of them. The first was a pretty girl of Asian descent. She was a bit taller than Danni, with a similar athletic build. As she got closer, Harrison couldn’t help but notice several appreciative glances she was giving the third member of their group. Harrison turned and found a similar look on his sister’s face as they approached.
So this is the guy Danni mentioned. His first impression was of a man who had watched one too many Westerns as a child. He had deeply tanned skin, almost mocha in color, and wore faded jeans, moccasins, and a fringed deerskin jacket. He rounded out the look with long black hair tied in what looked to be ... yes, it was actually a feather. Harrison wasn’t usually the judgmental type, but something about this guy’s appearance seemed to scream that he was trying too hard. Although, he conceded internally, he might be slightly biased due to the longing gaze his sister wore plainly on her face.
“I want you to meet my friends,” Danni said, peeling her eyes off the male half of her contingent long enough to make introductions. “This is Allison Chan.”
“Hey, guys!” Allison replied with a big smile. She seemed friendly enough to Harrison. It didn’t hurt that she was a looker, too. If not for the fact that she seemed to be enamored of the guy in their group, he might have considered the possibility of getting to know her a little better. Oh yeah, if those thoughts were flitting through his head, his time with Amy was definitely coming to a close.
“And this...” continued Danni, indicating her male companion, “is Wild Feather.”
“Wild Feather?” Greg quipped with a slight chuckle.
A slow, even voice replied, “It is the name given to me by my people.”
“Your people?” Harrison asked, a bit more skepticism in his tone than he had intended.
“Wild Feather is a Comanche,” Danni said with just a touch of defensiveness. “He’s Native American.”
“I know who the Comanche are,” sniffed Harrison, struggling to control the eye-roll he wanted to give her. He stepped forward and offered his outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Wild Feather reached out and grabbed Harrison’s forearm instead. “It is a pleasure to meet the brother of the fawn. I look forward to us communing with the Great Spirit during this journey.”
Harrison couldn’t believe it. This guy was piling on the bullshit in layers, and his sister – not to mention her friend – seemed to be swallowing it hook, line, and sinker. Even Paula seemed to be giving this guy a much friendlier smile than she had afforded Danni.
Harrison was thinking his earlier instincts about being over-protective were spot-on. If he left his sister alone with this guy, they’d be having an orgy under the moonlight by the end of the first day.
A nagging voice in his head reminded him that Danni was an adult and could therefore have as many orgies with as many people as she damn well pleased, but he ignored it. He decided to make it a point to keep an eye on Wild Feather. If he accidentally happened to do any cock-blocking along the way, well, that would just be a damn shame.
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Bigfoot Hunters (Tales of the Crypto-Hunter Book 1) Page 2
