Something of a Kind

chapter 11 | ALYSON

The blue of his hoodie disappeared in the woods ahead. He moved beneath a low canopy, sprinting behind the thickest parts of the brush to circle her. Reentering the path, he held his breath, sneaking behind her.

Aly stood on the tips of her toes, inclining her head as though it would help her searching eyes dart through the trees. She jumped as he wrapped his arms around her waist, leaving a kiss on her cheek before resting his chin on the crown of her head.

She laughed. “That was kind of evil.”

“Maybe,” he agreed, pleased.

Impressed, Aly inquired, “How’d you do that?”

“Magic,” Noah teased.

“Hey love -birds, come see!” Owen shouted, sounding like a child showing his mother a Lego creation. Aly grabbed Noah’s hand, sprinting ahead until he met her pace, surpassing until she struggled to keep up. "Right where my dad said it would be!"

A footprint burrowed into the ground. Surrounding wet dirt was a clay-like consistency, the dip filled with water from last night’s rain. It was nearly twice the length of Aly’s sandal. Distinct toes, no claws, no balls of human feet. Whatever it was, it was flat footed – and the size of Goliath.

“Wow,” Aly commented, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe the big man here was sleepwalking,” Luke snickered.

“Maybe your fellow pigmies dug you a watering hole.” Owen snapped.

“Young, your mom’s a hunter,” Noah said. “What does this look like to you?”

“Bigfoot,” Luke snickered. Bending to his knees for a better look, he stared for a moment, squinting with scrutiny. He blanched. “Well, yeah. I guess it’s… It looks like the freaking wood beast.”

“I’ve got my phone. We can take pictures,” Aly offered.

“We really should cast it.” Luke rolled his shoulders as he stood. “I don’t have the stuff for that kind of thing though.”

“Don’t some people dig it out of the ground?” Owen asked, fingers outstretch, miming where they could cut.

Noah shook his head. “You’d probably just crush it anyway.”

“Pictures it is,” Aly decided, digging her phone from her pocket. “So, who’s playing foot model?”

“What?” “This thing is huge. We need something to scale it with so they can figure out how big in case these get ruined while we're gone.”

They hesitated, exchanging glances. Luke raised his hands in a silent refusal. Owen scratched his head, sighing. “Look, I’m really sorry Alyson. We can’t be on camera if you show those to your dad.”

She blinked. “Why?”

Noah’s jaw set. “It’s because they’re scared of the elders.”

“We’re considering our parents, Noah. You know we’re not supposed to mess with this stuff. We were raised to respect this thing,” Owen defended, his voice both offended and apologetic.

“A God-fearing respect,” Luke added.

“So that it didn’t steal your wife and force her to have its mutated baby spawn.” Noah threw up his hands. “Those legends are outdated, most aren’t even from this area. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but people can’t breed with animals, no one here is married, and the idea of displeasing the big scary sasquatch is like saying it’s going to run out of the woods and burn the place down. The people who are telling you to freak are the same ones who thought bigfoot could breathe fire. I’m not saying we can’t respect the stories and the elders, but this has got to stop.”

“No, you have to stop,” Owen retorted, crossing his arms. “We shouldn’t have come up here.”

“Then why did you?” Noah demanded.

“It just doesn’t feel right, okay?” Owen yelled, blushing beat- red. “Get over it.”

“Guys,” Aly intervened, exchanging a look with Noah. “It’s totallyokay. I respect that, Noah respects that. No one’s going to force you to do anything. I’m just as capable as sticking my leg out, figuratively or not.”

They looked to Noah, expressions commanding agreement. He nodded.

“It’s not a big deal.” She smiled to dissipate the tension. Stepping beside it, she snapped a picture, and another, holding it to different angles. Backing up to gouge the shadows, she noticed another in front of it, a smudge after that. By the time she was finished, it was documented like a crime scene. The boys watched, occasionally pacing, taking interest in a tree here or a flower there. It took a few minutes for her to realize they were on high-alert, Noah included.

Suddenly, Luke jerked his chin in the air. “You know, if you want to geta perfect picture, you’ve got to get the beast out here.”

“What are you talking about? I thought you were freaked,” Noah smirked. Owen’s brows knitted in suspicion.

“I won’t be a coward,” Luke insisted, reaching down to lift a fallen branch jutting into the path. Stepping on one end, he broke most of the leaves off, struggling to hold it at shoulder level. With a quick thud, he cracked it against the tree, once, twice, until it was in pieces. Despite being thin and rotten, the sounds rang, reverberating. He flexed his hands, covered in dirt and wet bark fragments, palms red with skin irritation. Ignoring Owen’s ruthless glare, Luke instructed, “Now listen for knocks. They knock back and forth, Rolland said so.”

The forest fell silent.

Noah sighed.

Aly held her breath.

Luke glanced at her, a slow smile flooding his face. His gray eyes flashed, expressive and devious.

“Don’t,” Owen warned, suddenly looking small, despite his brawn. “It’s not funny, man.”

He looks terrified.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, Luke let out a howl. It was more high-pitched than wolves or dogs, practically hooting, but still throaty, straight from the gullet.

Pitching screeches erupted from the brush, sending a chill down her back. Noah’s hand tensed around her wrist.

“Luke,” Owen whispered angrily, punching his friend in the arm.

“Oh come on,” Luke groaned, rubbing the spot. “I was just messing with you. You went on and on, so damn sure of yourself. I thought I’d humble you. I was doing you a favor. Don’t give me that look. Come on, man, it was a joke! Nothing”

Turning her head towards another knock, Aly expected Luke to have continued his harassment with sticks. Instead, a flash of motion shuffled in the trees. She lifted her phone, taking as many serial photographs as the loading would allow, hoping to catch something.

She fell to the ground, screaming and pulling a knee to her chest before she realized what happened. Noah was at her side, warm arms curling beneath her knees and around her waist. He lifted her from the ground, speed-walking to a bench further down on the trail. He set her down with a squeak, her face twisted in pain.

Blood slid down her ankle, scrapes covering most of her shin. The area around it was reddened, quickly purpling. Catching the words slipping out of her mouth, something garbled, she shut her lips, looking back to where it happened. A massive rock sat in the middle of the trail next to the phone she had dropped, Owen and Luke staring at it, skin ashen, faces deadpanned.

I’m being such a big baby.

“It hit me?” she whispered, thankful she wasn’t crying. The pain was starting, in floods, dull and throbbing where the heat of the cuts weren’t searing. The wound was dirty, wide. In denim shorts, her legs had no protection against the rough surface. She had never seen a bruise blacken so fast.

Please don’t be broken.

“I think it was… it was trying to hit a tree. The knocking,” Noah stuttered, hands fluttering, unsure what to do. She swallowed, lightly probing the forming contusion. Hitting a tender spot, she sucked air in through her teeth. He tensed.

“It’s okay. I’m okay,” she insisted, enunciating each word slowly. She put a hand on his cheek, looking into his panicked eyes. “Thank you for helping. Do you mind grabbing my phone?”

He nodded, running up the trail. By the time he returned, she was frowning, unsure what to do with the bleeding. Her leg pounded like a headache, stabs of pain rolling through the agonizing rawness.

This is so gross. I’ve got Band-Aids and tissues, but my bag’s in the car.

Sighing, she forced herself to look away, accepting the cell. She flipped through the pictures, a smile brightening her face. “It’s a black blur, but it’s definitely something. The trees are too yellowish to miss a thing like that.” Glancing up, she continued, “Did you see it?”

His brows knitted. “I saw something – movement, a shadow maybe. You should get that looked at. We should probably get out of here.”

She nodded, accepting his hand as she tried to stand. Wincing, she said, “Fair warning, I’ll look like The Hunchback of Notre Damefor a while.”

“Want me to carry you?”

Aly blushed, lips parting, shaking her head. “No, no, no. I’m good.”

“I don’t mind. I lift frozen meat like wrestlers bench. It’s really not a problem,” he offered.

“That’s an interesting mental imagine,” she teased. “But I insist on hobbling with dignity.” Offering her arm, she added playfully, “Be my crutch?”

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he promised, “Always.”