The Crater Mountain Sasquatch Legend Page 4

  Chapter 4

  THE CAVE WAS BARELY DISCERNIBLE. All was a white blanket of snow. If it wasn’t for the trees he would’ve passed on. Curling bellows of steam escaped and partially melted the snow. This created long bars of icicles at the opening.

  The footprints, practically covered over with snow, came from this general direction.

  ‘The small cave entrance may be larger than it looks.’ he hoped Trevor had to find out because with all of the steam, he might sleep someplace warm tonight. ‘A cave heated by natural hot springs? What luck!’ Immediately climbing through the deep snow to the cave, Trevor ignored his frost bite as he trusted the heat source. There, he scraped the snow away beneath the ledge and ducked his head inside where the moisture and warm air escaped. A rude musty odor came up like the stench of rotten garbage. This melted the snowflakes from his beard. ‘Oh, it’s warm.’ His eyes watered a little. Trevor dug more snow away and found that the interior of the cave was much bigger than he expected. Sliding inside, he took some brave deep breaths. The odor was putrid, but in favor of the warm air, he tolerated it. The cave stretched on into a corridor with a soft red glow, illuminating from around a distant bend. Trevor crept further into the cave. With each step, he tried not to make a sound. He felt like there was something else alive in the cave with him. The foul stench could only be from some hibernating bear, Trevor suspected. If this were true, he didn’t want to awaken it. Surprised by the sheer space within and how unnaturally cleared out the structure was. As Trevor suspected, it had been hollowed out on purpose.

  ‘Miners!’ Trevor hoped to find evidence that this was an old collapsed mine. To believe this had been tunneled out by the creature disturbed him. It would mean Trevor was trespassing on the creature’s dwelling.

  At his feet, Trevor found the ground littered with smooth wooden sticks. Tearing a piece of fabric away from the bottom of his shirt, he tied it around the end of a stick. Lighting the fabric with a wooden match, Trevor fashioned a torch. From the light of the torch, he could see that what he thought were sticks, were in fact, the bony remains of animals. The bone he had chosen to make his torch with was a hind leg bone of a moose.

  Now Trevor had no doubt, he was inside the creature’s den. The creature did truly exist.

  A chill ran through Trevor’s body. ‘I don’t belong in this place.’ Moving toward the cave’s entrance he heard the sound of a young girl’s laughter. It echoed down through the deep cave.

  This was far too creepy. He thought better of investigating. Poking his head back out to the cool, crisp, fresh air, he could see the shapes of not one but two large dark shadows walking toward him. Together they climbed up the steep snow bank with ease. Hesitantly, he considered bolting out of the cave and escaping the creatures, but the sight of their powerful forms scared him something terrible. No time remained. A successful escape wasn’t possible.

  Trevor slid back inside the cave. Taking hold of his torch once more, he turned and swiftly crept deeper into the cave. Rounding a lazy corner and peeking over a rock, Trevor gazed upon a young girl who was caring for a large hairy baby. The baby lay near a fire pit of glowing embers. Because of the over casted shadows and dim lighting, it was difficult for Trevor to make out the details. It looked as though the baby lay nestled in a pile of furs.

  Over the fire was a long bowed tree and hanging from it was game meat, garlic and fish. Trevor decided to try communicating with the girl. Placing his rifle into a narrow gap between a rock and the cave’s wall, Trevor wouldn’t forget where it was hid. Slipping his pack from off his shoulders, he laid it over his rifle.

  Slowly, Trevor stepped out into plain view holding only his torch out in front of him.

  When the young girl saw him, she let out a ghastly cry of fear. Throwing her body in front of the baby, she would give her life to protect it without hesitation.

  At that moment, a great sound erupted behind Trevor as the two huge Sasquatch entered the cave. One of them was six feet in height and darted right at Trevor. He thought he was going to be laid to rest as the smaller of the two Sasquatch ran toward him with supernatural speed.

  Shutting his eyes tight, he received a sharp swat.

  The powerful dark form dodged around Trevor using its knuckles to run like an ape. With such wide strides it was as though it flew to the baby.

  This Sasquatch was covered in short black fuzzy hair. Judging from the large breasts, Trevor knew it was not only the female, but the mother of the baby. In an urgent tone, she chattered to the young native girl and the girl responded respectively. The mother quickly inspected her child, then she glared at the intruder.

  Trevor stood back up with his torch still held out before him. He would have felt safer if he was still holding his rifle. Turning, Trevor saw a huge male Sasquatch reared up before him. It held an elk by the neck. As it moaned a strange sickly snarl, it dropped the elk. Trevor could see that this was his prized elk because the blood marked where it had taken his shot.

  When Trevor risked making eye contact with the creature, its emotions changed from surprise to relentless anger and rage. The dim light of the fire’s embers reflected in the Sasquatch’s eyes. The presence of the creature was of a demonic realm.

  Screaming and roaring like thunder, the flame of Trevor’s torch flickered under the creature’s terrible breath.

  This was Gurchukk, the mighty Sasquatch.

  Trevor had no defense. The only thing between him and the creature was his torch. Hoping it was enough to keep the creature back, he had no other ideas. Standing perfectly stiff with fear Trevor continued to hold the gaze of the Sasquatch.

  Gurchukk was uncomfortable when a man looked him in the eyes.

  Trevor only fueled his rage. Waving his arms around and striking the cave’s walls with incredible force, Gurchukk filled Trevor with an indescribable level of stark fear. The beast’s bright white fangs looked hungry to devour Trevor whole.

  The young girl began to scream, then the baby and mother joined in with the crescendo.

  Trevor broke eye contact with the beast and looked up at the ceiling of the cave. He feared the whole cave would collapse under the great noise and thrashing. Trevor slid his butt up onto the large rock that was directly behind him. Sitting there with his feet dangling, he put his best poker face on.

  Gurchukk’s anger only seemed to grow. He picked up a huge stone and threw it at Trevor. Trevor didn’t move a muscle; he was so scared, he was petrified. The stone shot past him and pulverized on impact with the cave’s wall. Some of the rubble from the broken rock rebounded and sprayed over his back and head.

  Then Gurchukk moved in right up close to Trevor, sniffing him rapidly then he roared. The creature’s head was enormous.

  Spittle flew onto Trevor’s face, and this time the roar left his ears ringing. Now Gurchukk was frustrated because he didn’t intimidate the man. With his angry ape-like face nearly touching Trevor’s, Gurchukk pushed at him.

  Trevor was considered a big man by human standards, but next to Gurchukk, he was tiny. Trevor didn’t know what to do. He tried to think, but his brain was too distracted to carry out a plan, even if he had one.

  Then he remembered his rifle, but it didn’t kill the elk. ‘Would it be enough to kill this creature?’

  Gurchukk began to hit Trevor. It was testing him. Hitting him harder and harder with each passing moment. He was certainly no match. The hitting made Trevor so angry. Without making any sudden moves, he moved the torch between them. The gap was narrow so the heat from the torch was intense for both of them. Then Trevor did the opposite of what he wanted to do and smiled up at Gurchukk.

  The flaming stand-off was very hot and intense. Gurchukk stepped back before his hairy chest was singed. Groaning, he tilted his head; inquisitively. Trevor turned his head slightly and looked into the Sasquatch’s eyes once again. This upset Gurchukk and he pounded the floor leaning forward in a threatening manner. It sounded like he barked at the man.

  Quickly tur
ning his head to look at the females and the baby, Trevor hoped he was permitted to do so.

  At this, the mother became defensive and screamed. Trevor quickly turned his head away again and focused on the far wall. He could see everything with his peripheral vision, but he learned not to make eye contact of any sort. As long as Trevor did this, everyone calmed down.

  Now Trevor was the center of attention. He tried to keep his smile on his face even though he had nothing to smile at. Even the baby stared at him in the silence. Though Trevor didn’t make any direct eye contact with anyone or anything, he noticed the young native girl next to the mother Sasquatch.

  She held tightly to the mother’s large fuzzy arm. The mother cradled her baby in her arms and it wasn’t long before she began to nurse the baby.

  Her face was covered with the short dark fuzzy hair with only her nose and eyes exposed. From what Trevor could see through the darkness, the mother had some very unique cat-like features to her face.

  Gurchukk chattered something at the mother. The young girl backed away as the mother reached up over the fire with a slow elegant motion. Plucking one of the fish off the bowed tree, she handed the meat to the girl. The girl took the fish and ran off to the far corner of the cave where she crouched down into a ball and ate from her hands.

  The mother took a chunk of game meat from the tree. Cautiously, she made her way over to Gurchukk and handed it to him. Neither of the two Sasquatch let their eyes leave Trevor.

  Gurchukk held out his hand to receive the morsel of fish as the mother slowly placed it in his hand. Trevor wasn’t sure if he was expected to do something. He did, however, find it difficult to keep the funny looking grin on his face. The flame soon extinguished at the end of his torch. The bone alone wouldn’t keep the flame alive. Without his torch, the cave seemed so much darker. Hearing breathing and movements of the creatures, his imagination began to race. Unable to know what they were doing, Trevor began to panic. His heart beat went up into his throat and he began to choke up. Never before had he felt so vulnerable. This was one of the scariest instants of Trevor’s life.

  Suspecting that these were nocturnal creatures who could still see him in the dark, he continued to remain still. Time passed slower.

  ((-Thwump, thwump, thwump-)) Trevor heard the footsteps of the massive creature. Following the sound, he was sure where the creature was. At times the sounds came too close, or they felt too far away.

  In Trevor’s mind, he fought to keep from going mad. Fearing a sudden attack to a swift death, Trevor had never known such a level of stress as this. He tried to relax until he thought about a slow death; a painful torturous end to his young life. Many fears flooded his mind. ‘Will I soon be eaten alive?’ Nothing in his military career could’ve prepared him for this.

  With no way of gauging the passing of time, Trevor became very uncomfortable sitting on the rock. It was not just his rear end that was stiff and sore, his entire body suffered. Trevor had to shift his body for comfort and blood flow. Attempting to move ever so slowly, Trevor executed long slow movements, as he slid off the rock.

  Instantly he felt much better. Needing to get to his pack, Trevor slowly crept toward it. Upon the moment of touching the pack, another large stone whistled past Trevor’s head and exploded against the wall.

  This answered the question of whether the Sasquatch could see him in the darkness. Trevor didn’t care anymore. He was actually quite surprised that he was still alive. Lifting his pack, he slowly took out two wax candle sticks and placed them on the rock. Handling out two cans of refried beans from his pack, he opened them with his can opener. With a quick motion, he lit a wooden match.

  The Sasquatch grunted with surprise and began to roar, but it simmered quickly to a muffle. He was fascinated with fire and somewhat interested in what the man was doing.

  Trevor lit his two candles, and turned to where he thought the Sasquatch was in the darkness. Taking a couple of steps forward, the low Sasquatch growl warned him to approach no further. Trevor set one of his cans of beans on the ground. The reflection of the light could be seen in the eyes of the ferocious creature. Trevor looked away immediately so as not to upset the creature.

  Taking a few steps back to the stone and candles, Trevor used his fingers to dig some beans out of the second can and eat. He was so hungry he made seductive sounds. Acting like this was the most delectable food ever, seemed to interest the Sasquatch. It wasn’t until the smell of the beans hit his nose that he became really ornery. He moved forward using his straight arms to walk his body to the can. Taking the can, he dumped the beans into his mouth all at once. The portion was hardly enough to satisfy the appetite of a Sasquatch. Gurchukk licked the can completely clean. Tossing the can to the side, he made a gruff sound demanding Trevor to give him more.

  Approaching Trevor violently fast, the Sasquatch’s entire coat of hair shook. Trevor nervously dropped his can opener when he was in the middle of opening the third can. Taking the can of beans from Trevor, the Sasquatch also grabbed his back pack. The hands of the Sasquatch were at least five times larger than his own. Trevor had to keep out of the creature’s way or he’d risk injury.

  After Gurchukk licked the third can clean, he searched the pack for more food. Ripping the pack apart, he found another two cans. Picking up one of the cans, he wanted it open. Smacking it against stone, he dented it until the aluminum ruptured. Licking the sauce that leaked out, didn’t satisfy him for long.

  After setting the can down, he lifted a large rock and smashed it over the can. Beans sprayed out under pressure and made a mess. The can had been flattened. Gurchukk licked the spilled beans from the rocks, and then he went back to inspect the flattened can.

  Where the can had opened, sharp twisted metal reached out like burly thorns. Gurchukk licked the can and cut his tongue in the process.

  This didn’t bother him too much. His hunger demanded more of the beast’s attention than his pain. Picking up the last can, he smelled it. Licking it he tried to bite it. Holding the can at each end, he twisted it. The creature didn’t make much use of its thumbs. The can was crushed between the mighty palms of the beast, and then it tried to pull it back into shape. Then the can was squished again. This went on, as he toyed with it like it was an accordion.

  Trevor tried his best not to let the creature see him laugh. The can finally split but the creature couldn’t get its tongue into the severed opening because of the sharp metal. Out of frustration, the Sasquatch tossed the entire can into its mouth and began to chew it.

  Its eyes bugged out wide. Then it spat the mangled can out of his mouth. The can was covered in blood.

  For a moment, the creature looked at Trevor as though it was his fault that he was wounded. Tears filled Gurchukk’s eyes then he began to wail in pain. Standing up quickly, Gurchukk walked to the entrance of the cave. There he dug his hands into the snow-covered opening and filled his bleeding mouth with snow. The mother carried her sleeping baby with her as she met with Gurchukk. She was very concerned for him.

  Trevor began to worry. When the Sasquatch returned, they would likely kill him. This time he was certain of it, judging by the look Gurchukk gave him before he left.

  Trevor’s life was beginning to flash before his eyes when he looked down at his pack and noticed he still had some strips of jerky in the side pocket. Three long crinkly dark pieces which were like peppered leather.

  Looking down the cave, he could see the Sasquatch had their backs turned to him. Looking in the other direction, the girl was sitting up in a thin bed of furs. She was looking at him. Trevor figured he had nothing to lose. He ran to the torn pack and picked out the pouch of jerky. As he began opening it, the Sasquatch noticed him and ran back to him moaning with frustration. Trevor closed his eyes and held out one piece of the dried meat.

  Sensing his gesture had caused the Sasquatch to stop in their tracks, Trevor opened one eye to inspect what they were doing. Both of the Sasquatch heads were touching the jerky with
their noses as they sniffed at it. The mother Sasquatch quickly snatched the withered ribbon of meat out of Trevor’s hand and turned away.

  This upset Gurchukk. He placed his huge hand on the smaller female Sasquatch’s shoulder and spun her around. He mumbled something to her which seemed to be to the effect of, ‘You better give that to me, you have seen what the other item did to my mouth.’ But the mother barked at him to leave her alone.

  At this Gurchukk backed away. Though the mother was half his size, she knew how to stand up to him. She could clearly take care of herself and with regards to the prized jerky; she knew a good thing when she saw it.

  Popping the entire strip of meat into her mouth, she chewed it twice before spitting it out. She wiped her mouth with her arm and as she stepped back, she wiped her tongue with the palm of her hand.

  Gurchukk considered his mate with kindness before he turned back to Trevor with a frown on his face. Trevor smiled up at the creature and held a new piece of jerky up to it. Gurchukk carefully took the little morsel from the man. Looking back down at Trevor, he stretched his mouth, in what could be interpreted as a smile. Trevor smiled back. Gurchukk worked the jerky through his flexible lips. He chewed it with a foul expression on his face. Looking at his mate, Gurchukk’s eyes teared up, then he spat the meat out. Gurchukk had an obvious embarrassing look on his face. His mate made a low chuckling sound from her chest. It appeared she was laughing at him. As Gurchukk’s eyes shifted from his mate to Trevor, his expression changed from embarrassment to despise. They each seemed to have lost interest in Trevor for a short while and walked away.

  Trevor was not sure, ‘Why didn’t they like the jerky? Was it too dry or too spicy? Maybe both.’ It didn’t matter, because if they continued to look to Trevor for food, they’d find it was all gone. The only thing Trevor had left was his last strip of jerky. He decided to save it for later. If they don’t offer him something to eat, he’d need it. Settling down next to his rock with the two candles burning on it, Trevor crossed his arms and tried to get comfortable. Though he was too wired to sleep, he was determined to try.

  Closing his eyes, the smell of the den made it near impossible to be comfortable enough to sleep. Remembering that he should blow out his candles to preserve them, he opened his eyes a little. He looked to his left and saw, standing next to him, were two bare feet belonging to the young native woman. Sitting up, he looked at her. She held her hands out to him and spoke a mysterious word, with want in her eyes, “Loota…”

  Trevor figured she was watching him give food to Gurchukk and the mother so she wanted some food also. Looking at her eyes, Trevor found her very attractive. If not for all of the dirt with a scared childlike innocence, he could very well grow fond of her.

  He offered her his last strip of jerky. She grabbed it out of his hands. She didn’t trust him, but she held the strip of meat tightly to her chest. She took the jerky back to her bed of skins where she ate it with little nibbles.

  With a frustrated look of contempt, she didn’t care for the pepper corns either.

  Trevor rolled over and tried to rest. The great footsteps of Gurchukk paced back and forth throughout the cave. There were moments where Trevor thought the Sasquatch was going to step on him. Gurchukk went outside and returned with an old dead tree. He broke the thick tree over his lap and piled the wood onto the fire pit.

  In no time, the fire crackled with tall, hungry flames. The sharp shadows of the Sasquatch were cast on the jagged stone walls.

  Gurchukk returned to the man to pester him some more.

  Trevor was certain they purposely woke him whenever he was about to drift off to sleep.

  Gurchukk poked Trevor as he studied him carefully. He smelled him, and considered his bright blue eyes. Trevor’s beard was examined also, as was his clothes. Then Gurchukk tried to stuff a rank garlic into Trevor’s mouth.

  Trevor tried to chew it but the garlic was too big. His eyes watered because he really didn’t care for garlic, but if it pleased the Sasquatch, Trevor would try his best to eat it.

  As he chewed, Gurchukk and the mother, enjoyed watching him. He was the main attraction of their entertainment.

  In turn, Trevor found the smiles on the Sasquatch’s faces quite humorous.

  Gurchukk toyed with Trevor’s mouth as he ate. He chuckled along with the mother and their laughter was like bellowing bursts of thunder.

  Things began to die down and the mother started to rock back and forth with her baby cub in her arms, then she began to make a deep sound like she was clearing her throat. It took Trevor a moment to figure it out, but he found that she was in fact humming to her baby.

  Though the Sasquatch didn’t like Trevor looking at them, they never let their eyes leave him. They watched everything he did at every moment. As the mother swayed forward and back, with her deep grumbling hum, Trevor began to mimic this movement.

  Gurchukk noticed this of course, and began to laugh. When Trevor noticed Gurchukk found him humorous, he swayed all the more. Gurchukk laughed harder. The mother hummed louder, so of course, Trevor accentuated his movements even more.

  Knowing the young lady was watching him, he glanced her way and smiled.

  She always stayed near the mother though she actually seemed to be the property of the male. What Trevor thought he read from her eyes was an interest in him. It fascinated her to rest her gaze upon another person who was like her. Trevor was more her height and he wasn’t covered with body hair. Though she could barely remember what a human looked like, she examined her arms and her hands after looking at Trevor. That’s when Trevor noticed she was missing the last three fingers of her right hand.

  When she noticed Trevor saw her hand, she quickly tried to cover it up, as though ashamed and embarrassed about it.

  They couldn’t speak to one another, so Trevor figured he’d never learn the story behind how that happened. Turning, she looked at the Sasquatch and made a huge discovery for herself. Up until now, the girl thought she was a Sasquatch.

  As time passed, Trevor wasn’t certain what the Sasquatch had planned to do with him. His mind never ceased to come up with a new terrifying thought. The horrific face of Gurchukk would forever more flash through his mind. If Trevor did dare to drift to sleep, he was awoken with a start as the haunting hideous face of the Sasquatch was with him even in his nightmares. Though he couldn’t keep an accurate record of the passing days from within the cave, he did count long sleeps as a night.

  As it was, Trevor could barely get a wink of sleep due to all of the loud rolling snorts of snoring and heavy breathing. Then there was the constant and unending farting. The cans of beans certainly didn’t set well with Gurchukk’s digestive tract. The unbearable stench of the cave became the unbreathable odor that was only useful in one way; it kept the fire going through a long sleep.

  Trevor’s fear slowly dwindled as all hope was sucked out of him. He imagined death and decay rotting him on the inside. Despair led to loneliness. He was an outcast, not only from the clan of Sasquatch, but of his own people. He couldn’t blame them. Yet confusion set in. No one from his world knew where he was. ‘Is anyone even looking for me?’

  Forgotten and uncared for, his life felt so meaningless, useless and worthless.

  A pit began to form in his belly as hunger increasingly twisted his stomach. Watching the others eat from the meat that hung from the tree branch over the fire, they didn’t throw him any scraps. The great Sasquatch tore meat off the bone of his elk. As the others ate, Trevor was silently going crazy. Despite this, he had never craved food so badly in his life. The smell of the putrid den made him gag. What used to smell like old garbage now smelled like rotten eggs. Trevor was so nauseous his mind swirled and he wasn’t sure if he could eat. Even more desirable than food was the quenching thought of water, to restore his dry throat. With captors who wouldn’t feed him, he’d slowly starve to death.

  Shaking his head slightly, ‘No.’ Trevor told himself, ‘I have to try something!’
Slowly rising from where he sat, Trevor took a step toward the others. No one noticed him. Their attention was fixed on their meals.

  Gurchukk made his usual grunts and smacking chewing sounds with his back turned to Trevor.

  Holding out his hand, Trevor took another step on the strangely littered floor.

  Suddenly, Gurchukk stopped eating and lifted his head. The others stopped eating also and locked their eyes on Trevor. Turning his upper body slightly then lifting his head even further to glance over his massive shoulders, Gurchukk also gazed at Trevor.

  Freezing in position, Trevor sheepishly smiled.

  Gurchukk’s huge face spun around to Trevor’s front at once. The roar of the great beast made Trevor want to jump right out of his skin. Though Trevor couldn’t recall stepping backwards, he realized, he was sitting back against the boulder again.

  No longer fearful of the Sasquatch any longer, Trevor felt himself slipping into a deep sense of shock. With no strength left in him, his whole body was petrified. Like becoming a third person, Trevor felt the evil of the Sasquatch’s presence move in closer to him. His vision blurred as dark spots began to crowd in on his sight until the darkness had completely overtaken him. Trevor passed out.

  Strolling down the main street of Seaton Portage, Trevor enjoyed a bright and beautiful afternoon. Many other people were out enjoying the day also. Trevor tilted his hat and nodded to the pleasant ladies and gentlemen as he greeted them all with a “Hello.” He then bid them “Good day.” In turn the people would greet him with bright and cheerful smiles.

  Breathing in the fresh air, he thanked the good Lord that his Sasquatch experiences were just bad dreams. Though he still carried an uneasy feeling inside, he knew that any thoughts of the Sasquatch were just meant to be forgotten.

  He looked down the street as an eerie fog came lingering in. Noon time shifted quickly into night. As he looked off into the distance where the road at the edge of town trailed off into the country side, he saw the distinct form of a Sasquatch lumber across the road, but it was not easily seen due to the ever thickening fog.

  “Did you see that?” Trevor asked one of the town’s folks nervously.

  “What is it, sir?” questioned a young man who was courting a young lady.

  “I just saw a Sasquatch, down there.” Trevor pointed down the road.

  The couple squinted their eyes as they tried to peer through the dark fog. They began to laugh, “A Sasquatch, sir? Really.” The young lady answered. The two began to laugh heartily as they strolled off together.

  “No, really. I saw it…” As Trevor listened to the words that he spoke, he began to remember that the Sasquatch were in fact real indeed. He found it strange to be in the town as he recalled his encounter with a Sasquatch. He looked down at his feet as he stood upon the dirt road. Where he was, was a real place, he decided, “No, the Sasquatch is the dream. This cannot be a dream.” Trevor confirmed his statement to himself as he continued to walk down the street, though something told him that he was wrong and the Sasquatch was real.

  Trevor stopped in the middle of the town. No one was around him any longer. He gazed upon a lady’s yellow dress that was displayed in the window of a little shop. The dress was very dainty with white lacy trim. It was worn by a mannequin of a modern woman.

  Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder broke forth like the roar of a mighty Sasquatch. In a split second, at the very moment of the flash of light, when the entire town had lit up, the dress in the window was worn by Gurchukk the Sasquatch. Trevor’s heart skipped a beat and he gasped, but the vision only lasted for a brief moment. Trevor took a closer look at the dress in the display window and it wasn’t altered but still worn by the beautiful and unthreatening mannequin.

  Trevor wondered. ‘Am I going crazy?’ A part of him screamed to warn himself just how real the Sasquatch were. Around Trevor, in the middle of the road, the town’s people began to appear. They stepped out from the fog and the shadows. Trevor didn’t feel safe anymore. None of the people were pleasant to look at. With grim expressions, they began to whistle and growl at Trevor.

  “What’s wrong with you people?” Trevor asked. He was getting all worked up. “Cut it out!” He demanded.

  One by one, the people, young and old, began to tear their faces off. Their faces were not real; rather they were masks to conceal the Sasquatches who were disguised within.

  Ape-like faces of monsters, wild and full of hatred, chased after Trevor. They clawed and bit at him.

  It was at that moment when Trevor realized; that the message behind this dream was that the humans were the true vicious creatures. They were the beasts.

  Waking from his horrible nightmare, Trevor found he was still on the floor in the same position he was when he blacked out. The sounds of the Sasquatch snoring was unbearable. With an insatiable need to have to urinate, Trevor carefully sat up. He needed to figure out how he was going to relieve himself without disturbing the others. Waking Gurchukk wasn’t a good idea. He could be pretty upset when his meal was interrupted, so Trevor was quite sure that the same should be expected in this scenario also.

  Rocking his body forward so his weight was on his feet, Trevor stood up. Taking hold of his rifle from behind the rock, he slowly began to creep across the floor of the cave. Besides the bones, twigs and a disgusting black goo, the uneven floor was made up of stones and potholes. Trevor detected none of this in the darkness. His need to find a washroom escalated. As he walked, Trevor tried to imagine that he was lighter than air, and he could float over the floor. That was when Trevor decided he would float right out of the cave and escape.

  At that moment, his head brushed up against some small bones that hung on a branch near the entrance. The sound of the dry bones tinkled together.

  Trevor tried to make sense as to why the bones were left to hang in the dark near the opening. Was it there for decoration, like a child’s mobile? Was the Sasquatch a witch doctor? Or was the Sasquatch actually brilliant enough to set a devise that would warn him of something at the cave’s entrance? He could only speculate.

  Freezing in his place, Trevor listened for snoring. The snoring had stopped. He was not going to be caught now. Trevor dashed for the opening of the cave. ‘I’m getting away with it.’ Trevor mused with optimistic jubilee.

  Behind him, Trevor could picture Gurchukk sitting up right. Then an ear piercing sound penetrated Trevor’s skull as Gurchukk cried out a thunderous scream of agony. In automatic survival mode, Trevor clasped one hand tightly to his left ear. His rifle pressed against the right. ‘Nothing can keep me from getting out of this cave!’ Scampering out the snowy opening and into the cool night air, Trevor headed down the steep snowy hill. The sounds of the Sasquatch screams faded behind him as he desperately made some distance. Gravity pulled him along and he was really trucking it down the steep slope.

  Impossibility, Gurchukk’s screams increased. He was much too close! The others were heard joining in with cries of agony.

  When Gurchukk stopped, so did the others. Then they started all over again. It went on and on, until their cries were answered by another Sasquatch or two. Recognizing the sounds from his first night in the Seaton hotel, all he wanted was to get as far away as he could.

  He didn’t want to rest until he was safe at home again.

  The screaming was loud like a siren. ‘Shut-up, shut-up, shut-up!’ Trevor thought, ‘I’m going nuts!’ He reached down and grabbed a handful of snow and shoveled it into his mouth. Despite the cold, the snow in his mouth was nourishing.

  Finally, Trevor could go no further. His need to pee was too great. Stopping next to a bent pine, he relieved himself. The sound of the warm stream melting into the snow distracted Trevor. Suddenly he was alert to sounds of the creature charging after him.

  While he was finishing up, he came to the conclusion that the screams of the Sasquatch were to scare away any possible threat. It was territorial a warning.

  The wind was cold but Trevor di
dn’t care. Dashing off again, his feet, frozen and wet, he had a wonderful sense of freedom.

  ((-Thump!-Thump!-))

  A distant muffled sound caught Trevor’s attention. It came from high up the mountain. Defensively Trevor cocked his rifle and took aim up at the mountain. Ready to squeeze off a shot at the first twitch of a shadow, he turned his ear to the wind and listened for anything that might reveal the Sasquatch’s position.

  A twig snapped and with it Trevor fired his weapon. Sparks sprayed from the barrel and the mountain side lit up for a moment in the flash. Trevor was certain that he had hit nothing.

  Suddenly, the Thunderous roar of Gurchukk erupted. With the powerful bluster of the beast’s anger, it dislodged a sizable boulder and sent it rolling down the mountainside toward Trevor.

  Eyes widened, Trevor backed away and nearly stepped over a ledge. Wobbling for a moment to stabilize himself, he had to let go of his rifle to correct his balance.

  With powerful momentum, the boulder bounded past him. It followed his rifle down the mountain. The rifle clattered as it struck one steep outcropping after the other. The boulder made a terrible racket and split into three parts before they embedded amongst the other fallen rocks. At a glance Trevor saw his rifle damaged far below and he knew that it could have just as easily been himself down there.

  The Sasquatch bounded toward Trevor. Following the boulder, the Sasquatch looked like a storm of turning snow. Before Trevor could turn and continue running, the Sasquatch was upon him.

  Gurchukk was very upset with Trevor. He picked up the man and roughed him up violently, then he tossed him into the snow. Gurchukk wasn’t gentle with Trevor.

  Crouching down low, Gurchukk put his huge scowling face up in Trevor’s wide eyed expression and began speaking to him with his chirp-like language. This time when Gurchukk spoke, he was so angry and rude, he wanted to make absolutely sure that Trevor would understand his discipline.

  After snorting in Trevor’s face, the Sasquatch pinched the man’s hand between his huge finger and thumb.

  Down on his knees, Trevor wished the Sasquatch could be gentler. As his hand was squeezed, his fingers spread out straight, “Ouch! Not so tight! Owe, owe, owe…”

  Just when he thought his nightmare couldn’t get any worse, the Sasquatch bent forward and bit Trevor’s pinky finger off.

  Trevor’s eyes bulged. Never had he felt such pain. He couldn’t believe the dry sorrowful cry he made could come from a man.

  He was in shock as he bled into the snow, then he pushed his wounded hand under the red slush. His body began to sweat, but what really drove him crazy was when he heard the Sasquatch crunch the bones of his finger loudly as it was chewed in the monster’s mouth. The swallowing sound of the beast finalized it all.

  Trevor shivered in the snow and looked up at the creature. Spit froze to his beard.

  Then Gurchukk looked down at Trevor and smiled.

  Translating this he imagined the creature saying, ‘Thanks for the snack. Maybe we can be friends after all.’

  At one point, Gurchukk dragged Trevor through the snow as the Sasquatch’s powerful body motored its way up through the steep sheer rocks.

  Gurchukk forcibly chucked Trevor through the cave’s entrance. Trevor slid on his face through the black goo of the cave’s floor. Sitting up he found some of the black goo was responsible for the horrible taste in his mouth. Spitting what he could out of his mouth, Trevor learned the black substance was Sasquatch poop.

  Entering the cave, Gurchukk marched up to Trevor with a gruff snarl. The Sasquatch grabbed Trevor violently and shook him. When Gurchukk dragged Trevor next to the fire, it was a suspicious move. Trevor could only hope Gurchukk didn’t like the taste of his finger that much.

  Exploding with a bone chilling roar, Gurchukk beat his chest. This time the Sasquatch had a different look in his eye. It was of an anger and rage Trevor had never seen before. Gurchukk’s mate, however, knew it all too well, Trevor was in serious trouble.

  When Gurchukk lunged at Trevor, the mighty Sasquatch was intercepted by his mate who knocked him over. Gurchukk was about to kill Trevor once and for all and Gurchukk’s mate knew it.

  Trevor was surprised to find the female standing between Gurchukk and himself. She protected this human the same way she had protected her baby.

  Trevor’s main concern was his wounded hand. The bleeding still hadn’t stopped. While Gurchukk was engaged in a heated discussion of chirps and grunts with his mate as she attempted to calm him.

  Slamming his dismemberment into the hot coals, Trevor cauterized his wound. Grinding his teeth, he made not a sound but the native girl witnessed all that he did. She was surprised and seemed concerned for Trevor.

  Gurchukk’s mate finally persuaded him to join her near the fire where the two hairy bodies ate more of the hanging elk meat.

  The native girl regarded Trevor with sincere caring eyes, but then she looked away when she noticed him look her way. Taking the Sasquatch infant in her arms, she sat closer to the fire with the others. She was thrown scraps, but it was clear that she wasn’t allowed to take food by herself.

  Everything grew quiet in the cave. Gurchukk and his mate laid down in each other’s arms. Their deep breathing meant they had fallen asleep.

  Trevor was shaking, but he wasn’t sure if it was because he was cold or because he suffered from a deep sense of fear. Tears streamed down Trevor’s cheeks as despair and failure washed over him.

  Laying on the floor in a fetal position, Trevor wanted to sleep but the pain of his hand was too great. He concentrated on his breathing and tried not to make any noise. He couldn’t take another beating… Not now…

  Trevor had never been so broken and terrified.