The Veritas Codex Series, #1

by Betsey Kulakowski

“What are we going to do with all these rocks?” Billy hoisted the heavy knapsack over his shoulder. It was full of the uncut stones. The diamonds were worth more money than he’d ever seem. Mitch couldn’t wait to cash them in. The last load they’d hauled out had brought in more than ten thousand dollars. He was saving up. He had big plans. Plans that required cash, and lots of it.

  “You just let me worry about that, Billy. I think they could be really pretty if we polish them up. We can make Indian Jewelry out of them ... sell them to the tourists,” he knew he was lying through his teeth. He didn’t care. Billy wasn’t all that bright. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury while playing football when they were kids. He had no idea what they’d really been doing for these past few months. He just thought they were digging for rocks. Mitch didn’t want him to know what they really were.

  “Think we’ll make ten dollars?” Billy’s eyes lit up in the dim lamp light.

  Mitch smiled to himself. “Maybe.”

  “I could do a lot with ten dollars,” Billy said, waiting for Mitch to finish packing his bag.

  “Like what?” Mitch sneered.

  “Think I could get me a hooker for ten dollars?”

  “What would you do with a hooker, Billy?”

  “Well I don’t know. I never had one.” Billy shrugged. “If I found a pretty one, I could take her on a date.”

  “A date, huh? Come on, let’s go.”

  “What about those people?”

  Mitch turned and looked blindly down the dark cavern where they’d left them. There was no way anyone could get out of there in the dark. “We’ll come back for them later,” Mitch said.

  “Promise? I wouldn’t like being left down there in the dark.”

  Mitch wanted to smack Billy, but his hands were too full. “Can we just get out of here already?”

  “Promise we’ll come back?” Billy stood fast and wasn’t about to move.

  “I freaking promise, Billy. Now, let’s go!”

  * * *

  The Ancient One came into the cavern. Lauren was aware of his presence. She could sense he was agitated. His breath rumbled heavily in his chest. She felt her hair prickle on her neck. She lifted her head from Rowan’s shoulder, sitting up as he approached. She hadn’t realized they were alone in the cavern.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Danger.” His eyes spoke the words in her head even as the cavern began to tremble and debris began to fall. Lauren threw herself instinctively over Rowan’s body, supporting her weight on her hands and knees. She shielded his head with her arms, sacrificing her own safety for his.

  The Bigfoot did the same for her. She could smell the odor of wood smoke and herbs in his fur, along with an earthy, beastly smell. Had she not been so afraid, she might have gagged at the stink. Instead, she buried her face against Rowan’s chest. He didn’t smell April-fresh either, but it was somewhat better. It was a more familiar smell.

  A piece of debris hit the top of her hand and rolled close enough for her to see. She’d never seen uncut diamonds loose like that before. But she knew that’s what it was when she saw it. Being the scientist that she was, she wanted to study it. Without second-guessing herself, she reached out and picked it up. It wasn’t until the ground stopped shaking that she had time to question her decision to collect data during an earthquake, but by then it was too late.

  “Come.” Tsul’Kalu lifted her up effortlessly by the arm. She suddenly recollected him catching her like that once before. He’d caught her to pull her away from the fake Bigfoot who’d kidnapped her. The memory of the pain echoed in her bones, and she flinched. The Ancient One abruptly sat her down. “Forgive me, Truth Seeker. It is easy to forget how fragile you are. I never meant to harm you.”

  “You saved me,” Lauren put a hand on his arm. “I don’t blame you.”

  “We must go. It’s not safe here.”

  “But, Rowan ...”

  The beast scooped him up as if he weighed nothing. Lauren shouldn’t have been surprised. His arms were like tree trunks. Rowan winced. He looked like a child in the Bigfoot’s arms. “Follow me.”

  More of the creatures fled through the lava tube, and none too soon. The shaking began again as they entered the tunnel that Lauren presumed would lead them out. She fell against the wall, and was shielded again by the Bigfoot. As soon as the quake subsided, they continued.

  The passage twisted through the mountainside, weaving left and right, and Lauren was completely turned around. When it got so dark she couldn’t see, she clutched a handful of fur on the Bigfoot’s arm and let him lead her. It seemed to take forever to get to the surface.

  When they broke out of the small entrance of the cave, there were at least a dozen Sasquatch gathered in the dense underbrush. The white Bigfoot tended a wounded Sasquatch’s forehead. She turned to Tsul’Kalu, and Lauren suspected he had communicated with him in a way she couldn’t fathom.

  In the distance, a fellow tribesman called to the group. One of their band tipped back its head and returned the call. Lauren trembled, stepping closer to Tsul’Kalu out of reflex. She’d heard these calls in the distant, but never had she been so close. It was a bone-chilling cry. She understood now. It was little more than a simple call. “Over here!” or, “We’re here!”

  The Ancient One grunted something and Lauren sensed, rather than heard, him directing them to scatter into the woods and regroup at another location, the name of which Lauren didn’t understand. They did as he ordered; the uninjured aiding the wounded. “We must find your people,” Tsul’Kalu said.

  Lauren was so turned around, she had no idea which way to go. It was dark, save for moon glow behind thick clouds. How long had they been underground?

  “Longer than you realize,” the beast answered in her head. “Come.” They picked their way down the side of the mountain. He could have traveled much faster alone. Carrying a man and leading a frightened woman was slowing him down.

  He led her through the dense trees, over outcroppings of rock and then out across a wide plain of volcanic ash. Nothing grew there. The earth was crunchy beneath their feet. Lauren sensed the beast’s discomfort at being out in the open. Like a doe with fawns entering a meadow at dawn to feed, he was on edge. He moved quicker. “Keep up, little one,” he thought.

  “I’m trying,” she answered.

  They finally cleared the wide expanse of what had been pyroclastic flow from the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helen’s. Ashen sand made uncomfortable grit in her boots but she had no time to attend to it. At the moment, comfort was less of a priority than safety.

  Chapter 40

  Jean-René came out of his tent at the first trembling of the ground. The rest of the team gathered around the fire where the morning watch had just put on coffee. He’d just leaned down to pick up the pot when the ground had started shaking again. He landed hard on his butt, startled, but wide awake.

  Without warning, a large tree cracked. It snapped at the base and splintered. It twisted and came crashing to the ground. Landing in the middle of the fire at the center of camp, a spray of sparks and flame were jettisoned into the air like firecrackers.

  His heart sank in his chest when his eye followed the trunk of the tree to see the remains of his flattened tent beneath the once-tall pine tree. He genuflected blankly, saying a silent prayer under his breath.

  Derry picked him up under his arm pits, while Katie stomped out burning flotsam as it came to rest on the ground. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” Jean-René was alert, though definitely shaken. “Thanks.” He wiped the litter from the seat of his pants with trembling hands. He froze when a distant howl broke through the forest. Everyone else froze too. A second call answered a moment later from a different direction.

  “Think the quake upset the Bigfoots? Bigfeets?” Katie fumbled for words.

  “Oh my God, Lauren is gonna be mad she missed that.” Jean-René cussed to himself. As he paced, he debated what to do.

  “Your ca
mera wasn’t in your tent, was it?” Katie asked, calmly.

  “Tabernaque!” He nearly doubled over, pounding his fists in his knees. A long string of French expletives rolled out of him like a river. “Tabernaque!”

  “Surely that’s not the only one you brought,” Derry said.

  Jean-René paused a moment. “Lauren’s, maybe.”

  He climbed over the fallen tree to Lauren and Rowan’s tent. He returned with her Nikon. It had night-vision, as well as FLIR. They might need that.

  He fumbled with the controls. He was not as familiar with her little gizmo. He raised it to test it just as a giant beast crashed through the trees. It skidded to a stop less than thirty feet away. Jean-René froze, but not before he clicked the camera on.

  A second form sauntered out into the clearing behind the beast. The man pulled out a pistol. He leveled it at the group. The rangers already had their weapons drawn, but they were startled by the hairy beast beside him. The creature dropped the heavy bag he was carrying and raised his arms, roaring at them.

  “Well look at this, Squatchy.” Mitch grinned devilishly, stroking his unshaven chin. “Got us a couple of Rent-A-Cops think they’re gonna shoot us.”

  “Put the gun down,” Miller said, pulling his credentials from his shirt pocket, “FBI. You’re out numbered.”

  “Outnumbered?” He scoffed looking smugly at what was clearly a fake-Bigfoot. “I don’t feel outnumbered, do you, Squatchy?” The beast grunted. Katie took a step back, positioning herself beside Jean-René. “The way I see it, Squatchy here is worth two of you. Besides, I know something you don’t.”

  “Oh yeah?” Jean-René felt his blood rise in his face. This guy was ticking him off. Who did he think he was fooling? That was no Bigfoot. It was a very large man in a monkey suit. That was the hoax-monger in a monkey suit! It had to be.

  “Yeah.” The man seemed very relaxed. That ticked Jean-René off too. “I know where your people are.”

  Katie muffled a gasp only Jean-René could hear. Miller spoke calmly. “What?”

  “Tall guy and the chick with the long dark hair?” he described Rowan and Lauren. “Oh, she is so sweet.” He inhaled, as if breathing in Lauren’s perfume, his eyes squinting as a broad, wicked smile spread over his face. “We’ve met her before,” he said. That frightened Jean-René even more. “Hot babe.” He made a motion with his hips that made Jean-René nauseated. “I’d tap that any day.”

  “Where are they?” Jean-René demanded. “What have you done with them?”

  The man paused. He stroked the trigger of his gun as he trained it on Jean-René. “I don’t think I want to tell you,” he smiled, wickedly.

  “I will tear your limbs from your body!” Jean-René spat angrily. Katie caught his arm, holding him back. “Where are they?!”

  That made Mitch smile even wider. He laughed menacingly, stopping, snapping his aim on Miller. The agent started to move, but froze when the gun turned on him. “They’re alive. For now.” He pointed with his gun. “Drop your weapons, or I promise you ... they’ll never see the light of day.”

  No one moved.

  Mitch pulled back the hammer on the gun and honed his aim on Katie. He studied her up and down, his menacing gaze softening maliciously. “Oh, you’re fine, too.”

  “Bite me!” She taunted, weapon still drawn.

  “Put the gun down!” Mitch started towards her in a near charge, but Miller flipped the safety on his gun back on. He held it up in surrender. He eyed Jean-René with a cautious gaze.

  “Fine,” Miller said. “Fine.” He laid his weapon down and kicked it away from the aggressor.

  “Go on, the rest of you. Put your weapons down!” Mitch yelled.

  “Do it,” Miller instructed. Hesitantly, the rest followed suit.

  “We don’t have any beef with you. Just tell us where Lauren and Rowan are,” Miller said.

  “We left ’em down in the caves for the Bigfoots to eat up,” the fake Bigfoot chuckled, muffled behind his mask.

  “If you hurry, you might be able to find ’em before the squatches do.” Mitch turned just as a rock hurled through the trees and pegged Billy in the side of the head. Billy cried out. “That hurt!”

  “What the hell?” Mitch caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eyes. “Don’t touch it!” A gunshot echoed. The dirt just inches from Miller’s hand exploded. He had almost made it to his gun. He turned with his hands up by his ears. “Another move like that, and I might get lucky. Might accidentally shoot someone,” Mitch turned the gun turned towards Katie. Jean-René noticed her stiffen.

  “Something bit me, Mitch.”

  “Shut up!” Mitch snapped. “You think a little bug hurts? Wait until I get a hold of you.”

  Jean-René had seen the rock flying through the darkness. He strained to see where it had come from. He was debating making a dash for it. But he had no idea what these two were up too. He didn’t care. He just wanted to find Rowan and Lauren. He moved behind the others, lifting the camera. He scanned the trees. There was something there. He flipped over to thermal imaging. There was a form behind a nearby tree, and he tried to discretely pan in on it. He waited until he was sure no one was paying him any mind. He zoomed the lens in.

  “Pick up the bag, dumb ass,” Mitch rebuked his partner.

  His large companion, still holding his wounded head, bent down to collect his bag. He fumbled with it. Its contents spilled out amidst the pine needles. The remaining fire light made the stones sparkle. “Are those diamonds?” Katie asked.

  “So it would seem,” Mitch chortled.

  “We’re gonna make ten dollars!” the Bigfoot said. He scrambled to get the stones back in the bag. Most of the stones were no more than pebbles, a couple might have been the size of acorns.

  “Ten dollars? That’s got to be a half-a-million dollars’ worth of uncut stones!” Katie gasped, her voice rising. “You can’t take those. It’s against the law. This is a National Park.”

  Mitch just laughed. “I figure in the right market, I’ve got more than a million,” he said. “And I can take them. You can’t stop me.”

  “What are you going to do? Shoot us? You can’t take out all of us,” Miller said. “You pull the trigger and you might get one of us, but the rest of us will take you down before you get off a second shot.”

  Mitch laughed even harder. “In that case, I think I’ll start with you,” he raised the gun, and cocked back the hammer. Suddenly, a large stone flew through the trees and struck Mitch in the side of the head. He was sent tumbling. The gun fell from his hand. It landed at Katie’s feet. Everyone scrambled but she managed to grab the weapon and trained the gun, first on the fake Bigfoot, then on Mitch. He rolled over and moaned. “Son of a ...”

  “Don’t move,” Miller and Derry had their guns again too.

  “What the hell was that?” Jean-René swore. He turned the camera in the direction the rock had come from. A smaller form appeared from behind a tree. A hand raised then flipped him off. He sucked in a breath, forcing himself to maintain his composure and stifle a smile. That could only be one person. A wide grin spread across his face.

  Chapter 41

  Miller held the gun on the fake Bigfoot. “Take off the mask.”

  “But it’s my lucky Bigfoot mask ...”

  “Leave him alone,” Mitch snapped.

  “Shut up,” Katie snarled. She glanced up at Jean-René, catching the end of his smile. His attention returned to the scene in front of him. She shrugged. “What?”

  “The Federal Agent told you to take off the mask. I suggest you do it,” Jean-René said. His thick accent added to the command.

  “Aw, man.” Billy reached up and pulled it off.

  “What is your name?”

  “Don’t tell him!” Mitch snapped.

  “Billy.” He swallowed hard, wringing the mask between his hands, looking down at his toes.

  “Billy what?”

  “Billy Birdsong,” he whined. “Billy A
lex Birdsong, I live at 19 Mountain View Road, Seattle, Washington. My phone number is ...”

  “That’s enough.” Jean-René glanced back at the rest of his party. All weapons were trained on Mitch. “How do you know this piece of garbage?” He looked at Mitch.

  “He’s my cousin, Mitch.”

  “Mitch what?”

  “Sheesh, Billy!”

  “Mitch-ell.” Billy was sobbing as he shuffled his feet. He twisted the mask between his hands.

  “Keep going,” Jean-René encouraged him

  “Mitchell Wayne Anderson. Please don’t shoot him. He’s my best friend,” Billy cried.

  “Anyone got any handcuffs?” Pauline asked.

  “I’ve got some zip ties,” Katie said, holstering her weapon. She went to find her knapsack.

  Jean-René turned his attention back to Billy. “I won’t let them shoot him, Billy, as long as you both do what you’re told. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, sir.” Jean-René realized he was the sort to be respectful of orders and probably did whatever he was told. Mitch probably told him what to do often. He probably wouldn’t even be here if Mitch hadn’t brought him.

  “Okay,” Jean-René said. “Stick out your hands and let the agents do their job.”

  “You’re not gonna take me to jail, are you?” He cried. “My momma will whoop me with her belt if I go to jail.”

  “We just have to ask you some questions.” Katie came over and took the mask, watching him as he held out his hands and let her bind them. He cried pitifully.

  “You didn’t tell me we were going to get in trouble, Mitch. I’m gonna tell your Daddy on you!”

  Miller didn’t get the same docile response from Mitch. As the agent bent down to secure him, Mitch kicked him in the knee. He punched him in the stomach. It was pandemonium. Mitch bolted, tackling Derry. He knocked the gun out of his hand. Someone shouted, “Get him!” Mitch scrambled to his feet intent on escaping into the darkness. Jean-René ducked, feeling the wind rush past him as a much larger rock came from over his shoulder and clobbered Mitch in the back of the head. The man’s momentum carried him a few feet. He fell flat on his face.