Nick heard Clance screaming at the creature just outside the door and ran to help him. His feet slipped on the blood and snow just as Gavin moved toward the door and the men got tangled up and fell in the slick mess.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
When the men were able to untangle themselves they burst out the back door, just as the reports of a large handgun emptying a full clip in a matter of seconds ended. The outside lights shined enough to see the monstrous beast collapse in a raging shriek on top of Clance. The other was lying nearby. Both of the assailants were dead! Nick put two more slugs from the Casull into each of the Sasquatch bodies, just to make sure after helping Clance back up on his feet.
The Sasquatch was huge and reddish brown in color and the fur was matted with mud, blood, and snow. The stench of the beast was nauseating and was enough to make even the grizzled old mountain man heave. Together, Nick and Gavin helped the elder Denizen into the house. The ferocity of the attack left everyone in complete shock and thankful to be alive.
Billy, Troy and Phil had held their positions during the melee’, but now that it was over and quiet again they met the others in the living room. Mathew had already gotten back on his feet, picked up his rifle and sat at the counter on a bar stool waiting on the others. He had a deep gash across his forehead, but shook off any assistance, saying it probably looked worse than it really was.
The sheriff was able to close the back door and drop the crossbar back in place. The small band of warriors found some clean wash cloths and began quietly dressing wounds and taking stock. There was no conversation, just methodical triage.
Jolene was shaken up and in shock, but otherwise fine. Gavin had several bumps and bruises though nothing that wouldn’t heal given enough time. The one that was most worrisome was Clance who suffered the most grievous of injuries. Among the claw marks on his face, chest, and arms he seemed to have a few broken ribs and a busted arm. Nick set the bone with Troy’s help and then helped dressed all of his wounds. A few of the claw marks were deep and nasty, and he knew they would require stitches.
The rag tag ensemble sat quietly in the early morning solitude of the mountain and discussed what to do when daylight came. It was only a few hours off now. They felt certain that they could hold off any further attacks.
Billy stood in the living room with his back to the group looking out through the busted window at the two Sasquatch that lay dead under the front yard light. His eyes were glazed over and his shoulders slumped as if he had been carrying a ton of weight on his back. He was exhausted from being so incredibly tense all night. He turned to look at the others.
“How many have we killed now?” He asked.
The question made the others stop what they were doing and look up at him. After a moment or two of silent contemplation, Clance spoke in a slow and strained voice, “Seven… by my count.”
Phil was down on one knee leaning on his rifle. He slowly stood up and looked around the room studying everyone’s faces. “Yeah, I think seven is right.”
The sheriff stood up from where he was helping Jolene dress a wound on Clance’s shoulder. “Wait a minute. Clance said before that he’s counted about nine or ten of ‘em through the years. Maybe there’s only a few left now and they’ll leave us alone? Maybe it’s all over and we can get out of here now?”
Phil replied, “If there is another one or two out there, we’re still not safe! We’d better keep our guard up. It may not be over at all! We’re safe inside the cabin for now. I vote we stay at least until daylight.”
The others all agreed and began making sure that all the doors were secured in order to wait it out. The sheriff built up the fire and had the others close off the doors to the other rooms and hang blankets over the exposed windows so the heat could stay isolated. Most of the windows were busted out from the rocks and were letting the cold in. He had it blazing warm in the living room in no time.
Clance was resting as comfortably as he could with his wife sat at his side. Everything was quiet and still and the group finally began to relax.
Gavin suggested they turn the inside lights off, but leave the ones on outside to keep watch. Troy agreed and switched them off. He grabbed a thick wool blanket out of the closet and went upstairs to the deck. He would keep watch there while Phil patrolled the rooms below, watching through the windows on each side of the house. When he got to the top of the staircase and opened the door, he could see several huge rocks that had been thrown by the creatures and remained on the deck. He knew it was a ridiculous thought, but he wondered how much it would cost him to repair all of the damage to his house. His mind swirled with thoughts of the last few months leading up to this moment. After all he’d been through, it still wasn’t over. Despondently, he started thinking it would be a miracle if any of them survived this ordeal. He found a spot against the wall, pulled his blanket tighter about his shoulders and slumped down on the deck with his rifle in his lap. He was exhausted.
+++
Sheriff Nick Blaine’s head bobbed with drowsy fatigue causing him to wake with a nervous start. His immediate reaction was to reach for his gun. He felt like he had just nodded off for a brief second and had caught himself, but when he glanced around the room he saw that everyone else was asleep. He relaxed, taking long deep breaths, he let the tension fade. With a big yawn, he stretched his legs out, stood up and walked over to the coffee pot. He was feeling every muscle in his body ache with pain as he filled his cup, and he moved over to the window.
The coffee cup shattered on the floor and Gavin, who had fallen asleep in the recliner, woke suddenly and jumped up ready for action with his rifle in his hand. “What is it? What’s going on?” He asked.
“They’re gone!” The sheriff exclaimed.
The cabin was suddenly bustling with activity as the men scrambled to see what was happening. Everyone had fallen asleep in the quiet aftermath of the night’s battle including Troy. He suddenly woke when he heard the shouts down below. He let the heavy wool blanket fall to the deck when he jumped up. He guessed that the sun had been up for a good hour now as he slept. He walked over to the edge of the deck railing and peered down below, drawing a deep breath of the morning air into his lungs. It was bitter cold, but the sun was shining. The wind blew a sharp gust of cold air into his face and caused his eyes to water. He wiped the moisture away and rubbed his eyes. When he was able, he looked all around the area below and instantly knew something was wrong. He turned to head downstairs, but instantly froze. What he saw made him shiver to the bone. Giant footprints could be clearly seen in the snow on the steps and in places on the deck. The Sasquatch had been up here - watching him while he slept!
“They’re all gone,” Gavin shouted.
“Yeah, the two out back are gone too,” Mathew stated.
Gavin came back into the living room and reported that the one at the corner of the house was also gone. None of the beasts that they had killed in the night were still there. They all stood silently in disbelief. There had to be several more of the creatures around in order to have taken all the bodies so quickly, but nobody had seen or heard a thing.
Mathew, who was standing near the front door of the cabin, suddenly turned and shouted out excitedly, “Sheriff, there’s trucks coming up the road with their lights flashing.”
Nick hurried outside to the porch in time to watch three vehicles that looked to be state police cross the bridge and turn toward the house. He told everyone to put their rifles and handguns down so that they wouldn’t have any of their visitors worried about coming up on the scene. Everyone did as instructed and came out to the front porch to watch them slide to a halt in front of the cabin.
The lead vehicle was driven by Deputy Chastain, followed by a state trooper SUV, and then an ambulance with two paramedics. The deputy jumped out and hustled around his truck quickstepping to the front porch. He slowed when he noticed the sheriff’s truck and the other fou
r-wheel drive sitting next to the driveway. He let out a long, slow whistle. The vehicles had busted windows and obvious dents all over them that looked like they had been in a hail storm of boulders. Rocks were strewn about everywhere and some still lay on top of the vehicles. When he looked back up he noticed the cabin windows were busted out as well and rocks were still lying on the roof, the porch, and all over the front yard. He nearly fell as he stumbled over one. With panic starting to set in, he asked, “Sheriff? Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“You’re not going to believe us, Noland, but I’ll explain everything. Right now we have an injured man inside. Let’s get that gurney in here, fellas.” Nick called out.
The two paramedics rushed to the back of their ambulance, retrieved their medical equipment and hurried to the cabin. The state troopers who were following behind the deputy noticed the blood stains in the snow and cautiously approached with their hands on their weapons.
“What the hell happened here, Nick?” a trooper asked.
“Long story, Tom. Just damn glad to see you!” Nick replied.
Chapter 30
“So, what are you going to do now, Troy?” the sheriff asked.
It had been a few weeks since the ordeal on the mountain. The District Attorney had agreed to drop all charges against Troy and the ankle bracelet had been removed. The story had been circulating around the country and reporters had been clamoring to get the inside scoop. Hawthorn may have been a ski resort town, but now it was inundated with every type of ‘Bigfoot’ hunter imaginable. Film crews had to be reprimanded by the sheriff’s deputies for trespassing on private property. Everyone wanted to see where this alleged attack took place.
“I’m not real sure, Sheriff,” Troy said. “I’m headed to Oklahoma with Phil for a while, not sure how long I’ll stay. Craig didn’t have any family, except a few cousins that he really never talked to, but we wanted to go help settle his estate. He didn’t have much, but he may have had a will or something.”
“I guess you have everything you need then?” Nick asked.
“Yes sir. Phil and I got everything packed and loaded into Craig’s truck. We’ll drive it down. I’ve made arrangements to have my Jeep stored until I return. I wanted to stop by and let you know what’s going on. We’ve secured the cabin and, of course, you know about the gate. Who knows if it’ll help or not,” Troy explained.
“I know we’ve had a hell of a time trying to keep people out of there. The new gates can only stop the honest ones, but for every honest person that won’t cut a lock on a gate, there’s a half a dozen who will,” Nick replied.
“I’ll most likely be back in a few weeks, but who knows. I’ve been thinking about selling the place. I’ve had a hundred offers on it, mostly from quacks and nut jobs who just want it to make some kind of Bigfoot business out of it or something, but I’m not interested in selling the place right now,” Troy said.
“I understand. I’m sure the folks around town appreciate your thoughts on not selling out just yet. Personally, I hope you come back and stick around,” the sheriff said with a smile.
“So tell me, Sheriff. Do you think it’s over? Do you think we’ve seen the last of ‘em,” Troy asked.
“Who’s to say? I hope so. I think what drove them down in the first place was the encroachment on their hunting grounds. When Blanchard started building up on that part of the mountain they had to cut roads right through the middle of it. It must’ve made ‘em angry so they struck back. There’s just no way of knowing for sure I suppose, but it seems a likely theory. I’m sure it will die down soon,” Nick said.
“I appreciate that, Sheriff. I love the place, I really do, but I’m just not sure about living alone out there anymore. After going through everything I just did…” He left the thought lingering.
“I understand. Listen, you take care and when you get back into town, drop by and see me,” the sheriff said as he stood to shake hands.
“Sure will, Sheriff. Take care.”
Troy turned and walked out of the sheriff’s office and made his way out to the big Ford truck where Phil waited in the passenger seat. The town was much busier with all the new traffic. People were flocking to the area in hopes of catching a glimpse of ‘Sasquatch’. Troy and Phil had packed up all of Craig’s belongings and planned to take them back home. Troy was going to stay with Phil for a few weeks and possibly longer until he decided what he was going to do about the cabin. Phil urged him not to make any hasty decisions right now and encouraged him to wait until spring. The cabin wasn’t going anywhere and hopefully all of the Sasquatch hunters would be gone by then and life could get back to some sort of normalcy.
The Denizens were staying in town at a relative’s house for now. Troy and Phil had visited with them a few times since the ordeal. Clance was recovering in the Hawthorn Memorial Hospital from his wounds. He would have a nasty scar across his face and several other ones on his neck and shoulders, but he would recover fully. Jolene never talked much when they stopped by. She simply sat and stared at her husband and kept her thoughts private. The attack through the window had scared her more than anything she could have ever imagined. He couldn’t blame her. It was a brutal attack and they were all lucky to be alive. Had it not been for her husband flinging himself out the back door of the cabin when the creature attacked, the beasts may have gotten in and hurt a lot more people, maybe even killing someone? Clance Denizen had saved them all by sacrificing himself. Troy felt a great deal of admiration for the mountain man.
Phil seemed to enjoy the company of Irene Denizen and Troy saw a few glances pass between them that certainly seemed like more than a simple ‘hello’ look. Maybe that’s why Phil doesn’t want me to sell the place and move away, Troy thought.
In the days that followed the rescue, the state police along with the sheriff’s department and the state wildlife department all combed the mountain on snowmobiles and helicopters searching for any sign of the creatures. The photos that the sheriff got on his cell phone were the only evidence of what the beasts looked like. Those photos had already circulated across the continent via Facebook and every other social media website. Many non-believers called it an elaborate hoax. Others were skeptical, but for the most part believed that ‘something’ happened, just not sure what exactly. Giant footprints were found; casts were made, and sent to anthropologists for study. A few samples of blood and hair were collected as well and sent to labs for testing. It was all a flurry of activity and one that the locals wished would go away.
Troy put his seatbelt on, shifted into drive and pulled away from the curb.
+++
The sheriff sat at his desk reading the morning paper when Lindsey walked in the front door of the office. He glanced up at her when she said good morning. He returned her greeting and continued reading the paper. When he was finished, he shuffled the paper back into a semblance of the original fold and discarded it in the trash can with obvious disgust.
“I wouldn’t worry about what they’re saying in the funny papers, Sheriff. It’ll run its course before long and then some other story will take its place.”
“I know, Linds, but this town is already being bombarded with skiers and now we have Sasquatch hunters all over the mountain to deal with, too!”
“Look at it like this, Sheriff. It should be good for business and good business during an election year can’t be a bad thing!”
The sheriff gave a half smile and said, “Well, maybe you’re right. I’m just really thankful for you, Linsdey. Without your quick thinking when you got that email from Turner, none of us may be here to tell about it.”
‘No worries, Nick. I honestly thought nothing about it that night you didn’t come back to the office before my shift ended. Wasn’t a need to honestly. You’ve always done that, but when I saw you never came in at all by the next morning I knew something was wrong! That’s when I noticed that email come through from him and to be perfectly truthful here…I didn’t notice that the date sta
mp on it was over three months old!”
“Three months old? What do you mean?” The sheriff asked.
“The way I figure, Sheriff, is that Troy sent that email on the first night that they were attacked. It just didn’t go through because of his internet connection being down. And then when he was released nearly three months later and went back home, he must have got the internet back on and all of his emails went through at that time. So you see, that email that saved your bacon was an old one! Sorry no pun intended with the bacon comment, Sheriff.” Lindsey said with a laugh.
The End
A note from the author
More and more authors are self-publishing every day. With over 4 million titles on Amazon, gaining a presence in the world of booklovers can be a daunting task for new authors. Thus, reviews generated by readers become an important factor. The thoughtful feedback provided not only helps to create exposure for authors in such a robust market; it also helps the author hone their craft. Invariably, mistakes will happen. Typos occur. Words are misspelled. Efforts are made to ensure mistakes are found and corrected.
It is my hope that my stories will instill a sense of wonder, excitement and eagerness for more when finishing one of my novels. If you enjoyed this book, please consider posting a review on Amazon and Goodreads. It only takes a moment and is very much appreciated. You have my thanks and gratitude.
Paul G Buckner
About the Author
Paul G Buckner is a Native American author, musician, an amateur photographer and an avid outdoorsman. The oral tradition of his Cherokee family drove him to collect folktales and stories of those he met in his travels across the U.S. Many of these stories have been passed down through many generations. It is these stories that provide inspiration for his writing.
Siege at Hawthorn Lake: Murder on the Mountain Page 24
