“Hey,” he answered back sullenly.
“Are you okay?” she asked in a listless voice.
“No.”
“Neither am I.”
“Why don’t you ask your boyfriend for some comfort?”
She sniffed. “I’m finding myself not liking him too much right now. He just doesn’t get it.”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure he’d have married that thing if given the opportunity.”
To his surprise, she actually smiled. He managed a quick grin in return before he resumed trudging along.
After a few moments, Paula spoke again. “I don’t believe them, you know.”
“Believe what?”
“What they were saying about you.”
“What’s not to believe?” he said, then spat on the ground.
“Them,” she said. “It doesn’t take a genius to see they’ve been jealous of you since we met up yesterday, Wild Feather.”
“I don’t think they’re jealous anymore.”
“Sure they are. I bet they were just looking for an excuse to take you down a peg. And the fact that Harrison cheap-shotted you like he did was just an asshole thing to do,” she said, raising a hand and putting it on Phil’s bruised cheek.
He was momentarily taken aback by this, but then he smiled and replied, “Thanks.”
“No problem. Hey, it’s a long walk back. Do you have any more stories for me? I’m starting to like this Great Spirit of yours.”
Chapter 17
The group split up after returning to the campsite. Derek and Francis needed to pack up their own base camp, which was, coincidently, only about a mile further north. Mitchell and Chuck stayed behind to help the rest get back to Bonanza Creek. This served the dual purpose of acting as escort while also ensuring the wounded were treated in a timely manner.
While they packed their gear, Harrison began to notice the oddness between Phil and Paula. The cold shoulder from the faux-Native American wasn’t surprising. After all, Harrison wasn’t too sure he’d be all that chummy either with someone who had slugged him. The rest of the group, though, hadn’t been overly harsh to him during the walk back. Regardless, he had pointedly stayed away from almost all of them.
Paula’s behavior, however, concerned him more. She seemed to be on better terms than ever with Phil. Though they appeared to be casual, he could see the little looks and smiles they had been passing each other. Normally, he’d say it wasn’t his place to interfere, but Rob was his friend. He was also acting hopelessly clueless about the whole thing. Not surprising, considering the circumstances, but not good either.
“How’s it going?” Allison asked from behind him.
“Hmm?” Harrison muttered as the question began to register. “Oh, sorry. Caught me daydreaming.”
“Anything good?”
“Nah, not really. Just thinking how much of a bust this trip has been. And now we have house arrest to look forward to. Not turning out to be quite the Spring Break I had imagined.”
She smiled. “It hasn’t been all bad.”
Harrison raised a quizzical eyebrow.
“Okay, it’s been mostly bad. But look on the bright side. Nobody got killed, we got to meet a minor celebrity, and we learned that bigfoot is real.”
“A little too real,” he said.
“True. And I also got to meet you.”
“Oh yeah. Me, the guy who almost got us eaten by that thing.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. First of all, this wasn’t entirely your idea. Danni picked the place ... and no, I’m not blaming her. But you should be proud. You kept it together. In fact, you’re the only reason I didn’t completely break down and cry myself out. What I’m trying to say is thank you. You were a real hero out there.” She leaned over and planted a kiss on Harrison’s cheek. Before he could respond, she gave him a wink then turned around to finish packing.
All thoughts of his roommate’s wayward girlfriend evaporated from his mind as he watched her walk away. His eyes strayed a little further south than they should have as a smile found its way onto his lips. Perhaps the trip hadn’t been such a bust after all.
♦ ♦ ♦
The exchange didn’t go unnoticed. Phil quickly and chaotically stuffed his gear into his pack. He didn’t care if it was neat or not by that point. Once finished, he had sat down against a tree and kept out of everyone’s way. However, he wasn’t blind. He saw how Allison spoke to Harrison and how the asshole had responded. He probably planned this. Wanted what was mine and did whatever he could to embarrass me and take her away.
Phil then glanced in Danni’s direction. He regretted not bedding her when he had the chance. If he had acted, he could have had them both several times over by now. Instead, he had enjoyed playing them against each other, teasing things out until it became too much for either of them. Now it was over. He’d be lucky if either of them ever spoke to him again. I don’t care. Bunch of filthy twats. I wouldn’t piss on them if they begged me.
His thoughts turned to Paula. He had no real feelings for her. He wasn’t sure he had feelings left for anyone at that point. He felt dried up inside, like a husk. It was like that creature had literally scared everything out of him.
It wasn’t a bad thing, though. In its place was left a vacuum, and in that cold emptiness he felt like he was thinking clearly for the first time in a long while. He wouldn’t waste time playing games with her. She seemed receptive to him, and he planned to make the most of that. Best yet, whatever he did with her would hurt her little twerp of a boyfriend. In turn, that would hurt Harrison.
Oh yeah. He could feel himself hardening at the thought of what he was going to do to Paula.
♦ ♦ ♦
What Phil didn’t realize was how little effort would be required. She, too, had packed her things quickly, if more neatly than he had. Since meeting him, she had been somewhat enamored of Wild Feather. For starters, he was exotic, which was exciting to her. She had grown up in a middle class Catholic family, the middle child of three. She had tried to be a good little girl and live up to her parents’ stern teachings. That had meant going to church, remaining chaste in all things, and making sure, that when she started dating, she only brought home men who would meet her parents’ expectations.
Still, that didn’t mean she never fantasized. Often times at night, she would lie there thinking of the things that men, men her father would deem undesirable, might do to her. She imagined herself walking the streets of Queens, only to be dragged at knifepoint into an alley and then violated by a Negro with a huge black penis. She envisioned going to a dance club and falling under the spell of a hot Latino who would later seduce her in some cheap motel room.
Now she found herself indulging in a new fantasy. She had never considered being taken by an Indian, but, ever since the walk back with Wild Feather, that’s exactly what she had been thinking. She saw it clearly in her mind’s eye: her, hiking alone in the woods, coming upon him in a clearing. He’d be wearing nothing more than a loincloth and war paint as he put a tomahawk to her throat and forced her to undress. Then he’d take her like the savage he was, her cries for help going unheard as they gradually became cries of ecstasy.
Now, for the first time, she found herself seriously considering one of her fantasies. She had held Rob in a mediocre light for some time now. He was smart and funny, but ultimately he bored her. Her parents adored him, though, and thus she had continued to date him, not to mention tolerate his pathetic attempts at pawing her. Hell, to make her parents happy, she would probably have eventually married him and then be forced to tolerate his pathetic attempts to fuck her.
But now that had changed. That horrible creature had been an offense to her and every belief she held dear. Rob should have been equally offended by its existence. Sure, he loved watching that stupid little show, but she always assumed he had about as much belief in those things as she did in the teen dramas she favored. Instead, he had been practically orgasmic regarding the creature. I
t was like a slap in the face. How dare he show more attention to that thing than to her?
She was still fuming about it when he came over to check on her.
“Almost finished?” he asked, shrugging on his pack.
“Oh. I think I’m quite finished,” she replied emotionlessly before once more turning her thoughts toward Wild Feather and his loincloth.
♦ ♦ ♦
Once Danni had finished packing her equipment, she went over to check on the injured men. Greg and Chuck were sitting off together, both resting against the same tree. Her concern for them quickly dissipated, though, as she approached and caught the end of a dirty joke Chuck had been telling. The two guffawed at it but quickly stopped when they saw her approaching. Two peas in a pod, she thought, not unkindly. If they were well enough to laugh, that was a good sign.
This trip had been mostly her idea. Now that the excitement was settling down, she could feel a massive thunderstorm of guilt threatening to roll in. She knew it was silly. Everyone here was an adult. They’d all come of their own accord. Still, she couldn’t help but think that people had gotten hurt because of her. Greg and this other man had been injured physically. She was also well aware there were probably deeper scars starting to form in a few of them, particularly Paula.
She tried to remind herself that it might all very well just be in her head. She and Allison had been on better terms in the past few hours than they had been in weeks, especially in light of how they had both been played by Phil. Then there was her big brother. If he had come down on her with a guilt trip, she didn’t know what she would have done. Though she wouldn’t admit it, even under torture, she had always idolized him. Fortunately, he hadn’t thrown even a smidgeon of blame at her. If anything, he seemed to have come through this stronger than ever.
As for the rest, it was obvious that Rob was having the time of his life. Phil ... well, she wasn’t sure what to think there. She was still sorting those feelings out. Regardless, she was pretty sure that whatever might have been there was gone now. She could handle him being scared. His deception, which Allison had brought her up to speed on, was a bit too much to handle, though. Still, there was plenty of time to sort that one out later. For now, there were more important matters to take stock of.
“Something funny?” she asked the two men.
“Nothing,” Greg replied, leaning against the tree with his good arm. “The Chuckster here was just telling me a joke.”
“Chuckster, eh?” the other man seemed to consider. “Okay, guess I can live with that. Better than that Woodchuck bullshit. God, I tell you, Derek has us do those stupid comic book conventions a few times a year. Says it’s for the fans. Then I have to sit there all day listening to geeks ask me, ‘Hey, Woodchuck, can I get a picture?’ Fuck that.”
For some reason, Greg found that uproariously funny. Danni wasn’t sure why, then she took a breath through her nose, smelling a familiar herbal scent in the air.
“Greg!” she scolded.
“Don’t be mad at him, little miss,” Chuck said with a smile. “He was just sharing some happiness ... for medicinal purposes only, of course. Kill the pain a bit.”
Greg looked up at her and tried to make puppy dog eyes, but he wasn’t quite able to keep the grin off his face. Eventually, he dissolved into giggles.
Danni put her hands on her hips and tried to look disapproving. Deep down, though, she was relieved. If these two were over here sharing a joint while laughing at dick jokes, then perhaps that was a hopeful sign. Despite everything, she actually felt a smile forming on her lips.
♦ ♦ ♦
They were aware of the intruders in their territory. They were always aware when such things happened. In the past, they would go out of their way to avoid the two-legged things. Something in their memories told them it was a wise thing to do. Occasionally, they would be seen when their innate curiosity got the better of them. Even rarer, one of the young males might chase them out of their territory during rutting season. For the most part, though, their existence was one of avoidance and stealth where the two-legged things were concerned.
Then the fever had come. At first, it had only affected the young male. Little by little, he had become erratic. Finally, he had begun to violently lash out at the others of the clan. They were mostly a tolerant species, and it wasn’t until many of them bore wounds that the Alpha had acted and driven him away. By then, it was too late. Most of them had been infected, and as the violence inside of them began to awaken, the rest soon followed. The rage claimed the entire clan, the sole exception having been a cub savagely beaten to death by his mother after he nipped her too hard while nursing.
While most were not so far gone yet as the young male had been, a few had since wandered away in a daze. They had not been seen for at least a day. Those that remained, however, still understood order within the clan. They still followed the Alpha.
Thus, when the Alpha began to lead them toward the intruders, they did not disobey. They were still curious, but their curiosity was now tinged with madness. They would observe the two-legged things, but when they acted, it would not be to drive them away. The two-legged things would never be allowed to leave their territory.
♦ ♦ ♦
“Are you sure it was a good idea to leave the body out there?” Francis asked, hoisting his camera.
They had returned to their own camp to pack up. Without Mitchell or Chuck, their load was heavier than usual. Fortunately, they didn’t have far to go. It would slow them down a bit, but it wouldn’t be oppressive.
Derek shrugged. “What else were we gonna do with it? I sure as hell wasn’t going to carry it back to town, and we didn’t have all day to bury it. Besides, within a few days nobody will ever know it was even there. Scavengers will take care of it.”
“But I thought you said it was sick.”
“Might be sick. Mitch disagrees. He thinks it could just be food poisoning.”
Francis laughed. “Oh, please. I had some bad Chinese food last month. Gave me the Hershey squirts, but I didn’t go around killing campers because of it.”
“Yeah, but we still don’t know too much about these things. A bad case of indigestion might put them in a much fouler mood than you or I,” he replied unconvincingly. He was trying really hard to make himself believe in that theory, but it just didn’t sit well. He had worked with animals for far too long. He was certain it had been sick, and Mitchell had humored him by taking the tissue samples. Derek just hoped he was wrong.
“So, what if it was sick?” Francis asked, echoing Derek’s thoughts.
“Probably no matter,” he answered distractedly. “The big predators won’t touch a squatch, not even a dead one. Beetles and maggots will take care of most of it, and I’m not too worried about them.”
“What if it wasn’t the only one infected?”
There it was – a question that Derek had been desperately trying not to think about. He didn’t even want to consider it. They could handle a rogue squatch or two. But a whole clan of them? It was a bad thought. Even though he had seen creatures that few other men had, there were still some things that frightened him.
“I wouldn’t worry,” he finally replied to Francis, forcing a smile. “There’s almost no chance of that happening. So, are you up for getting some filler footage as we bug out of here?”
“Always, chief.” As the camera switched on, the lens panned across the canopy. “What about the trap cams?”
“Leave them for now. We can come back in a few days and grab them ... oh, and don’t call me ‘chief.’”
“Good point. I’ll save it for that Indian wannabe we saved,” Francis said with a chuckle before concentrating on his filming.
Bigfoot Hunters (Tales of the Crypto-Hunter Book 1) Page 14
