THE TOCABAGA CHRONICLES: (BOX SET PART III - BOOKS #9-10)

by Thomas H. Ward

  Carlos kept looking behind us watching the ape men. I looked back once more only to see them fade away into the darkness of the swamp.

  We drove over to Tommy and the rest of the crew. We told them about the Skunk Apes but no one seemed concerned. They didn’t really believe the story.

  All of us helped quarter the meat. We cut it up into pieces that would fit into our body bags to keep it clean. It took us a good two hours. We made a real mess of it. Steve should have come along since he knows how to butcher a cow.

  With blood all over us Ron said, “Ok, let’s go to my cabin and clean up. It’ll be getting dark soon so we’ll stay the night.”

  “Good idea,” I commented.

  A few more miles down the road we crossed the little bridge which brought us to the end of the trail. Ron’s cabin, which he built himself, was sitting there looking the same as it did ten years ago. Scattered around the area were a few old trailers and two other hunting cabins.

  The cabin sat on a patch of high ground a quarter mile wide and half a mile long. It was surrounded by the swamp. Big Oak and Cypress trees block out the sun. It was ten degrees cooler in the shade. It smelled like the swamp and looked eerie with Spanish Moss hanging off every tree limb.

  We dismounted and Ron started the generator. He turned on the propane to heat the hot water tank. Ron’s cabin was entirely self-sufficient. There was a septic system along with a fresh water well. The only problem is you need to boil the water before drinking it. I planned on taking a hot shower.

  Tommy and Johnny went over to the fire pit and started building a fire which would help keep the mosquitoes at bay. The mosquito is the Florida State bird.

  Maggie and Lisa went into the cabin with Ron. They would be the first ones to shower and clean up before we cooked dinner. Mike unzipped one of the body bags. Rick pulled out a nice piece of meat. He plopped it on a cutting board table and began to slice it up into strips. We were going to have fresh beef tonight. The last time we had beef was a while ago when the Rangers provided us a steak dinner.

  Ron helped Lisa and Maggie set the table. We were all hungry because the last time we had anything to eat was around 10 o’clock. Adolf was walking around the camp with Johnny getting familiar with the area.

  Ron said, “When it gets dark you need to keep him on a leash.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “At night the gators come out. They’ll smell the blood and come over here. They could go after your dog. I lost one that way.”

  I called Adolf over and commanded him to sit. He smelled the meat and wanted something to eat. All animals have an amazing sense of smell.

  Maggie asked, “Will gators come by the fire?”

  Ron answered, “Yeah. Gators aren’t afraid of anything.”

  “Then we’ll have to shoot them,” Lisa replied, with a giggle.

  “I’ll be in the cabin asleep by then,” Ron told her. “I don’t wanna mess with any gators.”

  I said, “We’ll keep the meat in the truck so they can’t get at it.”

  “The fire is ready. Let’s clean up and eat!” Tommy shouted.

  We took our turns in the shower and put on some spare clothes that Ron had kept at the cabin. Ron brought out some cans of baked beans which would go great with the beef steaks. The cans were way past the expiratory date. I opened a can, smelled it, and took a taste. The beans tasted fine to me. I don’t think canned beans ever go bad because of all the sugar.

  While Mike and Rick were cooking our food I said, “I’d like two men on guard all night. We’ll rotate shifts every two hours. Who wants to go first?”

  Maggie and Lisa raised their hands to pull first duty starting at 10 pm. Then Adolf, Carlos, and I, followed by Rick and Mike, with Tommy and Ron last. We’d let Johnny sleep the whole night.

  Carlos asked, “What if the ape men come after us?”

  “I’ve never seen ape men here. Besides that they’re five miles away. They don’t know we’re here,” Ron told him.

  I pulled a piece of rare meat off the fire, let it cool a little, and tossed it to Adolf. He gobbled it down in one bite and sat up waiting for more.

  After eating the best meal in a long time, Ron and I went for a walk around the camp. It was dusk and soon the swamp would be black. Even a full moon wouldn’t shine through the dense tree canopy.

  As we were walking back to the cabin Ron commented, “I wonder what happened to the good old boys that lived here.”

  “Maybe they all left like you did.”

  Ron shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, maybe.”

  I stopped to light up a smoke. Adolf was by my side and he let out a low, soft growl. It’s the type of growl that’s warning you someone or something is nearby. He pointed directly into the thick woods.

  I told Ron, “He smells something.”

  “He probably smells a gator or something.”

  I stomped out my butt and looked in the direction that Adolf was pointing. The woods are scary-looking because they’re so dark. Anything could be out there. It could be 50 feet away and you wouldn’t even see it.

  Ron said, “I don’t see anything.”

  “Me neither. Let’s go back to the cabin,” I replied.

  “I got a bottle of JD back at the cabin.”

  “Great, I could use a good drink.”

  We were walking away but Adolf still stood there growling. I had to lower my voice and command him to come. It took several verbal commands before he ran to my side. That meant there was something out there for sure. I trusted Adolf’s senses more than my own.

  Arriving back at the cabin I sat down at the fire and Ron brought out the bottle. Mike took a swig and asked, “Did you guys see any Bigfoots out there?”

  I didn’t reply and Carlos looked at me. “Well did you see anything, Jack?”

  I could tell Carlos was still spooked. “Adolf saw or smelled something but I didn’t see anything.”

  Mike let out a laugh, “I’ll believe in Bigfoot when I see him right in front of me.”

  “Be careful what you ask for,” Carlos said.

  Ron took a drink, passed the bottle back to me, and commented, “I told you there are swamp people out there.”

  Maggie said, “All this talk about gators, swamp people, ape men, and Bigfoot is bull shit. You guys are just trying to scare us.”

  “Yeah, you’re trying to frighten us and little Johnny, so cut it out,” Lisa said.

  Tommy asked Johnny, “Are you scared?”

  “No, I’m not afraid of Bigfoot.” Johnny jumped and looked around behind him. Everyone laughed but Johnny. “That’s not funny.” Mike had thrown a stick behind Johnny. He ran over and lightly punched Mike in the arm.

  It was almost 10 pm so the men went in the cabin for some much needed rest. I advised Lisa and Maggie to sit in the Hummer during guard duty just in case any gators came around. I would catch about 2 hours of sleep before it was my turn.

  AUGUST 3, 2025

  SOMETIME AFTER MIDNIGHT

  Adolf’s low growl woke me up. Soft deep voices were coming from behind the cabin near the swamp. They slowly moved around to the front where the fire circle and trucks were.

  I peeked out the window and there were five men walking up to the vehicles. I checked my watch and it was past midnight. I wondered why Maggie and Lisa hadn’t called out.

  Then I heard a scream. “Jack!” It woke everyone up and my dog started to bark.

  Ron asked, “What’s going on?”

  “There’s some men outside,” I told him.

  Ron gazed out the window and shouted, “It’s the swamp people! Don’t shoot them!” Ron bolted out the door to greet them. We followed him with our guns in hand. I put Adolf on a leash.

  The men were dressed in rubber wading boots, jeans, T-shirts, and had on straw hats. They carried old lever-action rifles and a couple of double-barreled shotguns. They all had long scraggly hair and beards. They turned and watched us come out of the cabin while holding their guns
in a ready position.

  I immediately wondered if these were the men who chased Carlos. If they were we could be in for a fight because I shot one of them. I looked at Carlos to see his facial expression. He didn’t seem concerned about the strange men.

  We spread out behind Ron, who greeted them by shaking hands with each one like he was a long lost friend. Ron said, “Greetings friends. I’d like you to meet my family.” Ron pointed to us and then to Maggie and Lisa in the truck. The men all nodded their heads as if to say howdy, but none spoke. We all nodded back.

  “How can I help you?” Ron asked.

  One big brute, stepped forward and spoke up. “We know you many years. What you here for?”

  Ron replied, “We came to hunt.”

  “What you hunt?”

  “Wild cattle, deer, and maybe a turkey.”

  The big man nodded his head and spoke in another language to his men. It sounded like half English and Spanish. He asked, “You no hunt gators?”

  “No hunt gators,” Ron replied.

  “That good,” he replied. He walked over to the pick-up truck and touched a body bag. “You got meat here. Give me some friend.”

  We all stood there and wondered how much of our meat he was going to take. I knew we could kill these guys, but there was no sense in doing that if we didn’t need to. There could be another hundred of them hiding in the swamp. We might not make it out of here alive.

  Ron said, “Friend, take what you like.”

  The big brute ordered two men, to grab some meat out of the truck. They each picked up a bag, which were about 100 pounds each, and carried it over to a small flat-bottom boat. Laying in the bottom of the boat I noticed a dead gator. I assumed they dragged that little boat through the swamp behind them.

  A young man said, “Look at them guns, Daddy.”

  The kid walked over to me and reached out to touch my gun. Adolf growled at him and he backed off.

  The kid replied, “I wanna see it,” while holding out his hand.

  Ron said, “Sorry friend, we don’t give our guns away.”

  The old man whom he called Daddy said, “Leave them be, boy.”

  I said, “Wait a minute. I got something you’ll like.”

  I went to the Hummer and found the Bowie knife I took from Sam. While there I whispered to Maggie and Lisa to stay in the truck.

  If the swamp men get a good look at the girls they might want them for breeding. We’ve been through that before.

  I walked back over to the boy. “Here, you can have this Bowie knife.”

  His Daddy stepped over to see it. “That a fine knife. Take it, boy.”

  He reached out and took it from my hand and a smile came across his face. He said, “Thanks, Mister.”

  Big Daddy asked, “When y’all leave?”

  “At day-break,” Ron replied.

  “Y’all be careful. Swamp Monkeys are about. They don’t cotton to strangers.” Big Daddy turned and trudged away. His men followed him dragging the small boat back into the swamp. No one said another word.

  We watched them disappear into the woods. We saw other shadowy figures come out from behind the trees leaving with them. I was right; there were a bunch of people hidden in the swamp.

  Ron said, “I’m glad they’re gone.”

  “Yeah, that was intense,” I replied.

  “They’re simple honest people. They never stole anything from me. If they wanted to they could have broken into my cabin, but they never have.”

  “Where do they live?” Mike asked.

  Ron answered, “I don’t know. Rumor is they have a little village somewhere deep in the swamp. The swamp is a big area that covers a couple hundred square miles.”

  “Screw that, who cares where they live. Did you hear what he said? There’s Monkey Men out there,” Carlos blurted out.

  “Yeah, he must mean Skunk Apes,” Mike said with a slight laugh.

  “I don’t think it’s funny, Mike!” Maggie shouted.

  I looked at my watch and it was going on 2 am. I told everyone, “There’s no way we’re going back to sleep. If everyone agrees, let’s load up and move out.”

  “Monkey Men or Skunk Apes, I don’t wanna be around if they come here,” Carlos replied.

  Everyone started to collect their gear and load it up. Adolf and I were standing by the Hummer as I was having a smoke. Suddenly he let out a low growl. He was tied to the bumper, otherwise he would have took off after whatever was out there.

  I looked at him and he was sniffing the air. He smelled something. Putting out my butt, I sniffed the air also. I could smell something and it didn’t smell good. I don’t know how to describe it, other than it smelled like a wet dog, mixed in with the smell of rotten fish.

  I glanced around the woods and looked down the road. I didn’t see anything but Adolf kept growling. My sixth sense kicked in. A danger alert went off in my brain.

  I yelled, “Hurry up guys! I think we got company coming.” I picked up my M4 and scanned all around the camp as everyone was rushing to put their gear in the trucks.

  Lisa asked, “Do you see anyone?”

  “No, but I can smell something.”

  Lisa took a big whiff of air. “That smells like shit.”

  Carlos softly said, “That’s them. That’s what the apes smell like,” as he looked around in the dark clutching his shotgun.

  “If we see any Apes don’t shoot them. They’re an endangered species,” Ron commented.

  Maggie asked, “What if they attack us?”

  I said, “Don’t shoot them unless they attack us. Come on people. Let’s move it and get out of here.” I had no sooner said that and my dog went nuts growling and barking while tugging at the leash.

  I turned glancing in the direction he was looking. On the dirt road behind us, shadows appeared out of the foggy mist, about 300 feet away. They seemed like ghosts coming out of the fog one at a time. I shined my Sure Fire flash light at the group but I only saw their red glowing eyes. The fog reflected the light beam obstructing most of my view.

  “Here they are!” I yelled. My crew all looked at the shadowy figures with red eyes.

  Mike commented, “Holy shit!”

  Tommy ushered little Johnny into the Hummer. Just then one of them let out a loud bloodcurdling howl that would scare anyone. Then the others followed in suit. Adolf stopped barking and tucked his tail between his legs as he scampered closer to me.

  Maggie asked, “What do they want with us?”

  Carlos said, “They want what all animals want, food. They smelled our meat and came to get it.”

  Ron said, “All right, let’s unload the meat.” I watched the Bigfoots while Carlos, Ron, and Mike unzipped the bags and threw the meat out onto the road.

  The ape men stood there watching what we were doing. We had unloaded about half of the meat when they started to slowly advance. I shouted, “Ok, that’s enough! Let’s get the hell out of here!”

  Everyone scrambled into the vehicles. I did a double check to make sure no one was left behind. We drove across the little bridge stopping about 400 feet away for one last look-see. We never did obtain a good clear view of the mysterious creatures but I think we’re all believers now, including Mike.

  A big monster, at the head of the pack, reached the pile of meat first. He picked up a big chunk, smelled it, and took a bite. Then he did something strange. He howled and raised his arms in the air. Maybe it was a victory sign they use. Maybe it was a thank you sign. I didn’t have any idea what his actions really meant, but I liked to think we did communicate in some way. Maybe we did something good for the poor bastards.

  After his actions the rest of the pack moved to the pile of meat and began to feed. We quickly drove away along the fog-lined road. The mist made it tricky driving on Trails End but we made it back to Route 48 with no problems.

  We pulled over, stopping in a church parking lot, a few miles away. Everyone dismounted and Carlos said, “See Mike, I told you Sku
nk Apes were real.”

  Mike replied, “Yeah, you were right Carlos. If I hadn’t seen them with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it.” Mike gave Carlos a little slap on the back as gesture of friendship.

  “Yep, we saw Bigfoots. It was an incredible sight,” Tommy commented.

  “Gee whiz. I didn’t get to see anything,” Johnny said as he kicked the dirt. I rubbed his head, messing up his hair.

  Ron said, “Not only that, we met the Swamp People.”

  Maggie replied, “Yep, it’s been a wild trip. I’m ready to go home.”

  I said, “Let’s get the hell out of here.” Adolf barked twice as if agreeing with me. Everyone laughed as we mounted up.

  We finally reached I-75 and as we drove up the on ramp, in the dark, Tommy slammed on the brakes. The highway was blocked by cars, trucks, and people.

  I told my crew to stay put while Mike, Tommy, and I walked up with Adolf to check out what was going on. As we walked up to the highway we observed a line of cars on south and north bound sides of the road. It looked like hundreds of people were camped along the side the Interstate.

  Most of the people were sleeping but some were awake sitting around camp fires. No one paid any attention to us as we walked down the side of the highway. I had my M4 slung across my chest with my hand on the grip.

  An old man walked up to me and Adolf didn’t even growl. He asked, “Mister, you got any food or water you can spare?” He had no visible weapons and didn’t seem a threat. He looked a little skinny and undernourished. I guessed he was about 75 years old.

  The old man reached out and petted Adolf on the head. That was strange because Adolf doesn’t let strangers touch him. I noticed Adolf even wagged his tail.

  I replied, “No Sir, I don’t.”

  He said, “It’s not for me it’s for my grandkids. Don’t you have anything?”

  “Tommy, you got any food on you?”

  Tommy stepped up to him. “Here you go, Mister.” He gave him a handful of energy bars.

  “God Bless you both.”