Hominid

by R. D. Brady

  Ahead, Tess spotted a tall mountain maple that had grown around a large boulder. She remembered that tree, although she wasn’t sure which way to go from here.

  Up ahead another chopper reappeared, heading back the way it had come. They had kept track of this one because unlike the others, its flight path would take them very close to the valley. Tess looked over at Shawn. “Do you think they found them?”

  “Maybe. Or they could just need to refuel.”

  Tess looked in the direction the chopper had appeared from. Maybe the bigfoot had heard it and had been able to hide before it could get a reading.

  “Which way?” Dev asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Tess said.

  “It’s that way.” Missy pointed off to the right a bit.

  “You’re sure?” Shawn asked

  “Mm-hmm.”

  Tess shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

  It was another hour before they stopped again. Tess took a swallow of water. Her legs were beginning to feel numb, but she knew they needed to press on.

  Then, without warning, she felt absolutely terrified. Her head whipped from side to side.

  “They’re here,” Missy whispered.

  Tess looked at the guys. “Do you feel that?”

  They all nodded. Dev pulled his shotgun from his pack.

  “No,” Tess said. “No weapons. They’re warning us away. Let me have Missy.”

  Shawn squatted down, and Missy scrambled off his back. She ran over and took Tess’s hand. “Do you know where they are?” Tess asked.

  Missy pointed. “That way.”

  “You guys stay here. We’ll be back,” Tess said over her shoulder.

  Dev stepped forward. “No chance.”

  Tess put up her hand. “Trust me.”

  Dev held her gaze. “You have five minutes, and then we’re coming after you.” Shawn and Pax nodded their agreement.

  “Okay.”

  Tess went in the direction Missy had pointed. As soon as they were out of view of the boys, she said, “Can you tell them we need to speak with them?”

  “I think they already know that,” she said softly.

  Tess looked over her shoulder and jumped. The bigfoot standing behind her was ten feet tall, with a scar along his cheek. Kong. “Can you tell him the tribe is in trouble? That bad men are coming after them?”

  Missy stepped forward, but Kong ignored her, his gaze fixed on Tess. Tess could feel his anger. Damn it, why did it have to be Kong?

  Finally he looked down at Missy, and for a split second, Tess saw his expression soften. Missy began to speak with him. When she was done, he looked back at Tess.

  “You need to go,” Tess said. “They’re coming.” She knew her words wouldn’t be understood, but she hoped her tone conveyed the importance.

  He grunted and said something to Missy.

  “He wants us to come with him,” Missy said.

  Tess thought of where the boys waited and shook her head. “We can’t split up. It’s not safe.”

  Missy relayed what she’d said, and Kong disappeared into the trees.

  Tess looked around. “Um, what did he say?”

  “Nothing. He just left.”

  Tess sighed. “Well, great. Come on, let’s get back to the guys before they storm in after us.”

  The three men had their weapons in their hands when Tess and Missy returned.

  “What did I say about weapons?” Tess growled.

  Shawn gave her a pointed look. “Tess, this forest is crawling with the usual dangerous animals as well as a paramilitary force. We’re not dropping our guns.”

  “Okay. Good point,” Tess said.

  Pax hugged Missy. “Did you find them?”

  Tess nodded. “We ran into Kong. Missy told him what was going on and he wanted us to come with him. But then I said you guys couldn’t be left behind, and he just disappeared without a word.”

  “So what do we do now?” Pax asked.

  “Well, we’ve warned them, which is what we had wanted to do. So… I guess we just head back,” Tess said.

  Pax looked around the group. “Does anyone else feel like this was all a big build-up with little payoff?”

  Tess wrapped her arm in his and teased. “Well, sorry I couldn’t make it more exciting for you, but—”

  “Tess,” Dev said, a warning in his voice.

  Tess followed Dev’s gaze and saw Kong stepping out of the woods. “Everyone put down your weapons, now,” Tess ordered.

  From the corner of her eye she saw them follow her orders. And she also saw three of Kong’s lieutenants stepping out of the woods as well.

  They were surrounded.

  CHAPTER 115

  Tess examined the four bigfoot that surrounded them. They were all dark brown and stood between ten and eleven feet. None of them looked happy or even peaceful. They were the second type of bigfoot, the more aggressive ones like Kong. Oh boy.

  “Nobody make any sudden moves,” Tess said quietly.

  Missy held onto Pax’s hand, and Tess could see him shaking.

  Kong looked over the entire group before finally letting his gaze rest on Shawn. Tess wasn’t surprised. Shawn was by the far the biggest and strongest of their group, so according to Kong, that would probably make him the alpha. Kong stalked toward him.

  “Shawn, don’t move,” Tess said. “Look at the ground.”

  Shawn kept his eyes fixed on the ground, and Kong walked right up to him, stopping a mere foot away, a growl low in his throat. Shawn didn’t move.

  Kong stood there for a full minute, almost daring Shawn to do something. But Shawn remained perfectly still. Finally Kong backed up, and Tess let out a breath. Next to her, Pax nearly lost it. “Oh my God,” he whispered.

  Tess held on to his arm. “It’s okay. He was just testing to make sure Shawn wasn’t going to try to fight him for alpha status.”

  “Okay?” Pax hissed. “He nearly ate my husband.”

  “They don’t eat humans—I think.”

  Pax glared at her.

  “I’m fine,” Shawn said. “He kind of reminds me of one of my old drill instructors.”

  He was joking, but Tess could see how shook up he was.

  “Should I be insulted or happy he didn’t think I was the alpha?” Dev asked.

  “Happy, definitely happy,” Shawn muttered.

  Kong grunted, and Tess’s head snapped back to him. “Missy? Do you know what he wants?”

  “He wants us to go with him.” She raised her eyebrows. “All of us.”

  CHAPTER 116

  Together they hiked behind Kong for a few minutes, but Tess could tell he was getting frustrated by their slow pace. Finally he stopped and grunted something to his friends.

  “Missy?” Tess asked.

  “He’s going to give us a ride.”

  Pax’s eyes went large. “What does that mean?”

  Kong walked over to Tess and Missy, then turned around and knelt down. Tess understood. She picked up Missy and helped her onto Kong’s back. Then she climbed up herself. Kong stood.

  Tess looked over her shoulder, unable to hide her grin at the men’s expressions. “Your turn.”

  Each of the other bigfoot knelt down in the same manner. The men exchanged glances. Finally Shawn stepped forward and climbed on. Pax and Dev followed, one on each of the other two bigfoot.

  Pax grinned. “This is actually kind of cool. I really wish I had a camera right now. Hey, you think they’d let me take a selfie with them when we get there?”

  Tess opened her mouth to answer, but just then Kong took off at a run, and it was all she could do to just hold on. She could understand now why their pace had been frustrating Kong—right now they were practically flying through the trees.

  In mere minutes they had reached the base of the cliff that led to the valley. Without even stopping to catch his breath, Kong headed up. Behind her, Tess heard Pax give a little yell as Kong’s companions started to climb, too.


  When they reached the ledge with the tunnel, Kong knelt to allow Tess and Missy to clamber down. Kong immediately ran down the tunnel, no doubt to sound the alarm. Missy ran after him. Tess wanted to yell out to her to wait, but the fact was, she would be safe with them.

  The other three bigfoot crested the cliff in quick succession. They knelt down as Kong had, allowing the men to climb off, and then they, too, ran down the tunnel, leaving Tess and the men alone.

  Tess looked everyone over. “You guys okay?”

  Pax’s complexion was gray. Dev held on to the cliff wall. Shawn, though, grinned. “We’ve got to do that again. You have the coolest friends.”

  Tess laughed. “Well, come meet the rest of them.”

  She led them down the tunnel to the valley. The sun shone brightly overhead, reflecting off the lake at the far side. As before, groups of bigfoot were scattered around the area, sitting, walking, and playing.

  Just ahead, one bigfoot had Missy wrapped in a giant hug.

  “That’s Frank,” Tess said to Dev and Pax. “He’s the father.”

  A female bigfoot came sprinting across the valley. She took Missy from Frank with a squeal.

  Tess smiled. “That’s Mary, the mother.”

  She looked around for Sugar, but didn’t see her. Then a tall female bigfoot loped down from one of the rocks and made her way over to them. It can’t be.

  The bigfoot ran her hand over Missy’s hair. Then she let out a happy bark and sprinted over to Tess and the others. The men took an uneasy step back, but Tess took a step forward. Sugar pulled her off the ground and twirled her around.

  Tess laughed. “Okay, okay. I’m getting dizzy.”

  Sugar put her down gently. Tess looked up at her. Sugar had grown nearly a foot since Tess had last seen her. She was now a few inches taller than Tess.

  “You’ve grown,” Tess said.

  Sugar jabbered back at her. Then her eyes landed on the men behind her. Tess took Sugar’s hand and led her over. “Sugar, these are my friends. Everybody—this is Sugar.”

  Sugar walked up to each man and tilted her head, inspecting them from head to toe. She inspected Shawn last. She reached up and tentatively rubbed her hand over his bald head. Then she laughed.

  Tess laughed too. And for a moment, she forgot why they were here. She just enjoyed being here.

  She felt Frank walk up behind her, and she turned. Missy was back in his arms.

  “Did you tell him?” Tess asked Missy.

  “He doesn’t think they need to go. No one’s ever found them before.”

  Tess had known this was going to be the hard part. They had no understanding of technology. They didn’t realize how much easier it would be for humans to find them now.

  Tess nodded toward her gun. “Tell them they have stronger guns and better eyes. They can see them from very far away. We have to go.”

  Missy relayed the message to Frank. Frank responded, and Missy shook her head at Tess. “He doesn’t believe it.”

  Tess looked at Mary and saw the uneasiness on her face. Past her, she saw the tree that marked Charlie’s grave. Tess had promised she would keep them safe. But how was she supposed to do that if they wouldn’t let her?

  CHAPTER 117

  Tess spent the next few minutes trying to convince Frank of the coming danger, but with no success. Eventually, he just turned and walked away.

  Tess blew out a breath. Mary came and sat next to her. Tess took the female bigfoot’s hand, wishing she could talk directly to her.

  Mary nodded toward the men. And Tess saw the question in her eyes: Which one is your mate?

  “Dev,” Tess called, and he walked over. Tess looked at Mary and then placed her hand on Dev’s arm with a smile. “This one.”

  Mary smiled. She whacked Dev on the arm, and he nearly fell over.

  Tess laughed. “I think she approves.”

  Dev rubbed his arm with a grimace. “I’d hate to think of what she’d do if she didn’t. Mind if I go back out of harm’s way?”

  “Sure.”

  The men were doing pretty well for their first interaction, but Tess could tell they were all pretty nervous. She supposed she couldn’t blame them.

  Tess and Mary sat together enjoying the quiet, but Tess couldn’t help but worry about what was coming. They’d already been here for an hour. How much more time would they have? I should try to talk to Frank again. Maybe—

  A yell went up from the entrance, and Tess looked over. Kong came charging through, letting out a bellow that shook the valley. Tess didn’t need to know the words to understand the meaning. They’re coming.

  She leapt to her feet. Dev and Shawn were sprinting toward the tunnel, while Pax was running over to her. Frank came running over too, Missy clinging to his neck. A dozen bigfoot trailed them, all agitated.

  “Missy, is there another way out of the valley besides the tunnel we came through?” Tess asked.

  “There’s a way under the ground over there.” She pointed to the other side of the valley by the lake.

  “Tell them they need to leave that way. Right now.”

  Missy spoke with Frank. Frank barked at the bigfoot behind them, and they turned and ran across the valley, sounding the alarm.

  Dev sprinted back from the tunnel. “They’re here,” he said.

  “How many?”

  “Three dozen. Maybe more.”

  “Damn it.” Then she looked around. “Where’s Shawn?”

  Dev grinned. “Leaving them a surprise.”

  CHAPTER 118

  Shawn sprinted out of the tunnel entrance, waving his arms. “Run! They’re right behind me!”

  Mary pulled Missy into her arms and took off running. Tess was about to race after her when she heard the sound she’d been dreading: chopper blades. She looked up just in time to see a black helicopter come over the high cliff wall and hover just above the valley.

  Tess’s heart clenched when she saw the guns mounted on the front of it.

  Just then a cry echoed across the valley, and Tess turned to see Kong racing back toward the tunnel, his guard behind him.

  “No!” Tess yelled. “We need to go the other way!”

  But it was useless. They didn’t understand, and even if they did, they wouldn’t listen to her.

  An explosion blasted through the entrance of the tunnel. The roof of the tunnel collapsed. Shawn’s surprise. “Well, at least no one’s getting in that way,” Tess said.

  “Yeah, but they’ll find a way around. We’ve only slowed them down,” Dev said.

  Before Dev’s words had even died away, the chopper opened fire. Dev launched himself at Tess and knocked her to the ground, covering her with her body.

  One of Kong’s men was hit and fell. Kong let out a yell and ripped a tree from the ground with his bare hands. Then, turning like a shot putter, he launched the tree at the chopper.

  It slammed into the side of the chopper and busted the propeller. The chopper veered dangerously to one side, then overcorrected in the opposite direction. It began to spin. Even just watching it was dizzying. It was completely out of the pilot’s control.

  Tess held her breath as soldiers dove from the chopper, landing on the rocks above the clearing.

  The chopper slammed into the cliff face at one side of the clearing. There was an explosion of fire and rock, and shrapnel flew across the valley. Shawn leapt out of the way as a piece of one of the rotors missed him by inches.

  “Oh my God,” Tess murmured, knowing the pilot couldn’t have survived that crash.

  Dev helped her to her feet. “Come on. We have to move.”

  “You okay?” she called to Pax, who also got to his feet.

  Pax pointed a shaky finger at Shawn had nearly been killed. “Did you see—”

  “He’s okay,” Tess said quickly.

  Shawn ran full tilt across the clearing toward them. “Go, go!” Behind him, Kong’s lieutenants descended with howls of outrage on the soldiers who’d escaped the chopper.


  Dev grabbed Tess’s arm. “Let’s go.”

  “Pax!” Tess yelled.

  Pax stood waiting for Shawn. Tess shook herself free from Dev and ran over to him. She yanked on his arm. “We need to move, Pax. Shawn will catch up.”

  “But—”

  “There will be more coming. Come on!” Tess yelled, yanking him forward. Dev grabbed his other arm, and finally Pax began to run.

  Tess looked ahead, but she couldn’t see Mary and Missy anymore. She wasn’t worried; she knew Mary would protect Missy with her very life. She just hoped she wouldn’t have to.

  Even through the terror of the approaching threat, Tess reeled at the scene around her: she was running in the midst of a tribe of bigfoot. A mother, her small child clutched to her, loped past Tess on the right, her longer stride eating up the ground. Smaller bigfoot, about Tess’s size, outpaced her, their muscular legs propelling them. In fact, it didn’t take long before all of the bigfoot had sprinted past the slower humans.

  “Hope they wait for us,” Shawn said as he caught up with them.

  “Or at least leave the door open,” Tess said.

  But they hadn’t been forgotten. Just then they saw Kong and three other guards running back to get them. They didn’t kneel down and give piggyback rides this time, they just each grabbed a human, lifted them up into their arms, and ran. Tess swatted at Kong’s hair as it blew around her face. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst. She pounded on Kong’s arm, and he loosened up a little, allowing her to breathe. She sucked the air in greedily.

  Ahead, at the rear of the valley, she saw the last of Kong’s guards waiting for them beside the opening to a tunnel that looked like it might be too small for the bigfoot. But as soon as the guards saw them coming, they ducked inside. Without stopping, Kong and the other two guards followed. Tess held her breath as Kong’s head barely passed under the cave ceiling.

  This tunnel was much longer and winding than the entrance tunnel, and after the first turn Tess couldn’t see a thing. But Kong slowed his run only slightly, and Tess said a small thank-you for his incredible vision. A few minutes later, they burst out once again into the sunlight, and Kong started running east.