“I’m well aware. Trust me, I’d enjoy facing down a pissed off gorilla a lot more. But still, the question remains: what the hell was wrong with it?”
Mitchell stood up and stretched. He retrieved his pack and started pulling equipment from it. “Beats me. As I said before, maybe it ate something.” Derek started to open his mouth, but Mitchell held up a hand. “But I’m going to find out for certain.”
“How long do you think it’ll take?”
“I can use the mobile lab in the van to run most of the tests.”
Derek shot him a smirk at the mention of it. Mitchell had argued against the van when it was first offered to them some months back.
“And yes, you told me so. Don’t rub it in. Anyway, the CDC has an office in Denver. I can link up with their computers and probably have some answers in three or four hours.”
“It’ll take us at least six just to get back to it. We left it in that town.”
“Fine. Then we’ll have answers in about nine hours. Now, do you want to waste more time arguing about it, or do you want to hand me my drill?”
* * *
They stepped from the bushes. For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then the knowledge that their group was whole again, that they had all survived, began to sink in. Greetings, as well as cheers of triumph, rose up from the little clearing. The feeling was euphoric ... for most of them.
Harrison, Danni, and Allison went to check on Greg. Though obviously still in pain, his spirits were high now that he saw the others were all right. He even began to joke about how surviving a fight with bigfoot with nothing more to show than a busted arm was a new source of pride for him. They all laughed when Greg immediately started flirting again with Danni. She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling, too.
Rob, too, was ecstatic. With the danger over, he began pelting his captors with question after question regarding sasquatch and whatever other mythical monsters came to mind. He was firmly in the throes of what Harrison would have deemed a major nerdgasm. Fortunately, both Francis and Chuck were likewise in good moods and indulged Rob’s eagerness ... for a few minutes, anyway.
Unfortunately, the good cheer was not universally shared.
* * *
“Get away from me.”
“Listen, I’m sorry I hit you. I...”
“What part of fuck off did you not understand?” Phil asked, turning his back. After a few moments, Harrison took the hint and walked away.
Phil rubbed his aching jaw. Even so, the pain from the fist-sized bruise adorning his cheek paled in comparison to the damage he had suffered inside. He was ashamed of himself for how he had acted, but his feelings for the others had been forever darkened by the experience.
They had embarrassed and belittled him in his time of weakness. As far as he was concerned, his charade had been little more than harmless fun, yet they had treated him like a pariah. Now he remembered some real lessons he had learned growing up. On the streets of Chicago, disrespect could not go unanswered.
There would be no forgiveness.
* * *
Rob had been so enthralled that he failed to notice his girlfriend wasn’t holding up very well at all. That Paula was bone-tired was the least of her issues. The encounter with the creature had shaken her to her very core. There was no room in her beliefs for such a thing to exist. It was an affront to her faith. Surely a just and loving God wouldn’t allow such an abomination to walk this earth. Yet it had been real, and in the end it had been bullets, not prayer, which had defeated it. What that told her, she still wasn’t sure.
* * *
Derek and Mitchell rejoined them a short while later. Soon the entire group, seven campers and their four escorts, were setting off on the long trek back to camp. Once the small talk finally petered out and everyone began to concentrate on the hike ahead, Harrison asked, “So what happens now?”
“We walk out of here and get our injured the medical attention they need,” Derek replied, keeping pace with him.
“I kind of figured that. I mean, what happens to us? You did technically put us under arrest.”
“You’re not under arrest,” Derek replied. “You’re just in custody until we can get all the paperwork sorted out.”
“‘Paperwork’?” He lowered his voice so the others couldn’t hear. “I really hope that’s not some code word for shoot us all in the head and bury the bodies.”
Derek snorted out laughter. “You watch too many movies, kid. If that were the case, we’d have just let that thing eat you for lunch, then mopped up later.”
“Okay, I’ll buy that.”
“It’s the truth. When I said paperwork, I meant it. We’re talking signed affidavits swearing your silence on the matter ... under penalty of treason.”
“Don’t they usually execute people for treason?” Danni asked from behind, where she had been eavesdropping.
Derek turned his head toward her and smiled. “Not unless you were selling nuclear secrets to that squatch.”
“So then, what if we refuse to sign?”
“This is the U.S. government we’re talking about,” Derek explained. “Believe me, they have a way of making your life miserable. You could find yourself on the no-fly list. Cops might suddenly show a lot more interest in you on the highway. I don’t handle the details. I just know that the suits in D.C. have a way of getting what they want.”
The siblings appeared to consider this. Finally, Harrison said, “So what was that earlier about interviewing us for the show?”
“Exactly that. You’re all eyewitnesses. Outside of a few of the more sensitive details of what happened, it’ll make for great TV. The Adventure Channel loves that sort of thing. Adds drama to the show.”
“We’ll wind up looking like crackpots, is more like it,” Danni groused.
“There’s that, too,” Derek replied. “No offense, but it fits right in with the affidavits. Think about it. If you appear on a show like mine, ranting about bigfoot, who’s gonna believe you – aside from the other crackpots?”
Harrison chuckled and Danni gave him an eyeful. “You think this is funny? Mom and Dad are gonna think we’ve been doing drugs out here.”
“Well...” Harrison replied, thinking back to the previous night. “Anyway, that’s not what I was laughing about. I was laughing because it’s so damn perfect. It basically hides the truth in plain sight.”
“Now you’re getting it,” Derek said with a tone of admiration. He was finding this Harrison character to be likeable. The kid was smart and kept his cool. If they ever needed an intern for the show, he’d have to give him some consideration.
* * *
Phil continued to sulk alone near the rear of the group. He kept back from the rest as far as their chaperones would allow. He had no desire to be amongst them anymore. He kept his eyes down and his mouth shut. His darkening thoughts were only interrupted by a female voice saying, “Hey.”
He looked up to find that Paula had joined him. She had bags under her eyes, and her hair was unkempt. She looked as if she had just been chased by the devil, which wasn’t too far from the truth, now that he thought of it.
“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 t
he 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. It 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.
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