Henry

Chapter 3

            My eyes fluttered open. Yet there was still little light. I was slightly discombobulated from the blow to my head. I knew not to start panicking yet… I need to check my surroundings, first.

            My fingertips grazed the ground I was lain on. It felt like a mix of cold gravel and dirt. I was near a rising surface so I moved my hands to that—it was rock. It was cold and damp in here… I was in a cave—deep within a cave. But then I smelled a really foul stench—the smell of rotten eggs and feces. I continued to twist my head about to find the source until my eyes laid upon a black mass just behind myself.

            Things began to come back to me. This monstrous creature had invaded our campsite and nearly killed us all. I tried to make it back to everyone but it had taken me. That is when I began to feel the panic set in. I could be miles away from where the campsite is let alone civilization.

            The beast seemed to be asleep. I absolutely needed to get out of here. I slowly rose from the ground and tiptoed my way through the semi-dark cave toward the light of the early morning. Once the amount of light increased my legs could not be controlled, and I didn’t try to stop them. I took off running at full speed, my footsteps echoing loudly off the stone walls.

            I got to the edge of the cave just as I heard the animal within roar. I could hear him getting up and storming after me. I panicked even more and darted forward, looking for anything vaguely familiar. But there was nothing. No one happened to be walking through the woods, I couldn’t see our campsite, and there was no highway… nothing.

            “Help! Help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I let my feet carry me as fast and as far away from the cave as possible. “Somebody please help!” I tripped over a fallen tree branch and had cut up my hands. I looked behind me and saw the creature gaining on me by the second. It looked almost gorilla-like but nearly ten times the size. Attempting to ignore the pain, I got back onto my feet and took off again.

            Just as it was last night, the footsteps of the beast grew louder and louder, despite the long strides it took. I wasn’t sure if my heart and lungs could take much more of the running. Eventually, my adrenalin would run out and I would collapse and fall to the hands of the wild animal chasing me.

            I dared myself to look behind. Once I did, I scared myself from the sight of the creature so badly that I tripped on another large branch and fell forward, crushing my knee on a rock. I cried out in agony before I screamed in fear.

            The beast had grabbed me around the waist with both of its hands and threw me over his shoulder. It turned back and made its way slowly back to the cave. At that point, I lacked any energy to beat at the animal. I was lost to catching my breath while my head spun and spun. Not to mention the incredible pain on my palms, head, and knee. There was one thing I noticed, though, that suddenly poured a little more energy back into my system.

            His feet.

            I had only seen that size of a foot once before and that was on those ridiculous Bigfoot-hunting shows on television. People had never been able to come up with enough evidence to point to their actual existence. There were only peculiar photos from persons around the world, foot moldings, untraceable hair samples, and various tales told by people that went on camping trips, etc.

            And I, of all people, had stumbled across one. Bigfoot in the flesh.

            We returned to the cave where he gently sat me down against the cave walls. I could not recall a time that I had ever been this frightened. With the little strength I had left, I pushed myself against the wall hard enough to make myself part of the stone. I refused to look in the eyes of the Bigfoot for fear of them paralyzing me with terror.

            I watched as he fumbled around the cave. After several minutes he sat down again on his behind and nibbled on some sort of food he had found. Strangely enough, I wasn’t hungry at the moment.

            This seemed to be just the right moment… he was busy eating… I had my energy back… I wasn’t in as much pain as I was a while ago… I bolted up and made to run for the entrance to the cave but the Bigfoot grabbed the back of my shirt and stopped me in my tracks. I fell to the ground with a loud thud. Just another item to add to my list of painful injuries…

            I looked around, feeling as if I was about to be his main course. But what I did see came to me as a surprise. I could have sworn that the animal shook his head very subtly as if to say not to run…

            The Bigfoot was such a scary sight to take in. It was, in a way, like staring at an overlarge gorilla in Oregon, which made things even more unbelievable. His eyes were a dark shade of red, even when light was not being shined into them. His face was a black, almost dark blue color of skin with fur surrounding the perimeter. His feet, of course were at least fifteen to twenty times the size of my own foot.

            My thoughts then wandered to Blake, Neil, and Holly. Were they alright? Did they make it to the road safely without me? Were they looking for me? Do they even care to look for me? Did they get lost and are in about as much trouble as I am? I suddenly got the feeling of helplessness… I could neither be helped nor help my friends and family. I was trapped in this damp cave with a Bigfoot that was blocking my way to freedom. And even if I tried to escape, it would be right back on my trail within minutes, and I would end up in the exact place I am in now.

            My head flew back in despair as I whispered, “What am I doing here?”