Bigfoot island, p.1
Bigfoot Island, page 1
BIGFOOT ISLAND
Eric S Brown
www.severedpress.com
Copyright 2017 by Eric S Brown
BIGFOOT ISLAND
“Keep going! Get to the boat!” Chad shouted, motioning for Deborah and Mary to keep moving. He turned back toward the trees with his pump-action shotgun clutched in a white-knuckled grip. His whole body was drenched in sweat. It poured from his hair, threatening to get into his eyes. Chad ran the backside of his hand across his forehead to wipe some of it away. The boat was their only hope of making it off the island. He needed to buy Deborah time to get the boat started up. The monsters chasing them could swim but the motorboat was a heck of a lot faster than the monsters were in the water.
Chad was surprised the monsters weren’t on him already. He could hear them tearing through the woods and closing in quick though. Checking his shotgun to make sure it was good to go when the first of them came bounding out of the trees, Chad forced himself to take a breath and calm down. At best, he was only going to get a shot or two off before the monsters reach him, and he needed to make those shots count. With any luck, they would slow the monster long enough for him to make for the boat too. Chad didn’t dare turn to look and see how Deborah and Mary were doing. His eyes stayed glued to the trees. He could hear the two girls shouting though and that was a good sign. From the sound of things, they had at least made it to the boat and were aboard it.
A hulking, brown-hair-covered monster burst out of the trees in front of him. It stood nearly eight feet tall, muscles rippling beneath its hair as the creature moved. Its yellow eyes burned in the darkness of the night, full of rage and fury. The monster’s lips were parted in a feral snarl. Chad raised his shotgun, bracing it against his shoulder. Taking aim at the monster’s wide chest, he squeezed the weapon’s trigger. The shotgun thundered as its blare flashed. The heavy slug it fired slammed into the monster. The impact brought the monster to a halt as its ribs were opened up. The monster shrieked in pain from the damage he had done to it. Chad knew the monster had to be a young one to be so small and so easily stopped. Not that the thing was down and out of the fight yet. Despite the hole leaking blood in its chest, the monster continued toward him. Chad pumped a fresh round into his shotgun’s chamber and fired again, this time aiming for the monster’s face. The monster’s nose folded inward in an explosion of red that snapped its head back atop its neck. Careening sideways, the monster toppled onto the dirt and rocks of the shore.
Chad could see two more of the monsters coming his way through the trees. They were much larger than the young one he had just put down. There was no way he could stop them both. Whirling about, Chad started running again. His long, lanky legs pumped beneath him as Chad pushed his body to its limits and then some. Panting, he risked a glance over his shoulder just in time to see the two monsters come charging out of the trees. He stumbled onto the dock that led out to the motorboat, his feet nearly sliding out from under him. Chad caught himself, regaining his balance as one of the monster let loose a roar behind him. Only something didn’t sound quite right about it. The acoustics were all wrong somehow. Chad kept running along the dock, gasping for breath as he went. He worked the pump of his shotgun to ready a third round as he ran. Careful not to slip on the wet wood of the dock again, Chad looked up toward the motorboat and almost wished he hadn’t.
One of the monsters stood near the motorboat. Deborah’s broken body lay at its feet. The monster had ripped away most of her face with its claws, likely in a single swipe from the look of things. Mary was standing in the motorboat, trying to keep it at bay with one of the emergency wood paddles he kept aboard it. As she stabbed at the monster, it caught the paddle, jerking it from her grasp. The monster flung the paddle away as it leaped from the dock onto the motorboat. The boat sunk into the water, bouncing back up to send both Mary and the monster plunging off of it. The monster splashed into the water within reach of Mary. It grabbed her, pulling her close. The monster was so tall that it could still stand up even at the end of the dock and had gotten onto its feet after being flung overboard. The water came up to the base of the monster’s neck. Chad couldn’t see Mary anymore. It was holding her beneath the water’s surface. Bubbles broke the water’s surface before it turned red.
“Mary!” Chad screamed even though he knew she had to be dead. No one survived one of those things getting its hands on you. The boat looked fine but Chad wasn’t going to risk it. Even if he got onboard now, the thing in the water was too close to it. The monster in the water would smash the boat to pieces before he could ever get it started up. Knowing there was nothing he could do but head back the way he had come, Chad turned to see the other two monsters reaching the end of the dock at the shore. He fired the round in his shotgun’s chamber at them without even bothering to aim. It whizzed by the monsters without making contact with either of them as they started out along the dock.
Chad worked the pump of his shotgun again. He had two shells left and had no intention of dying easily. One of the monsters slipped on the wet wood just like he had done, only it wasn’t able to regain it balance. The monster splashed into the water next to the dock. The other came straight at him. Chad jerked up the barrel of his shotgun level with the monster and fired. The shotgun boomed. The monster staggered, nearly losing its footing on the wet dock as the heavy slug tore into its shoulder. Chad worked the shotgun’s pump and fired again. The second slug hammered into the monster’s side as it was still recovering from his first shot. Blood splattered from the hole the slug punched in its guts. The monster grunted in pain as it tumbled from the dock into the waves that were lapping at the shore.
Running as fast as he could without losing his footing on the dock, Chad sprinted for the shore. Relief washed over him as his feet hit the shore. Chad wasn’t trapped anymore but he was far from safe. The monster that had fallen from the dock earlier came splashing out of the water after him. Its fall hadn’t injured it. Ignoring its wounded companion, the monster followed Chad along the shore line. Chad was down to his last shell and knew it wouldn’t be enough to stop the monster. There was nowhere to hide. Heading into the woods that ran along the length of the shore wasn’t an option. God only knew how many more of the monsters were in the trees. Heading into the water wouldn’t do him any good either. The monsters might not be master swimmers but neither was he. As close as the monster was on his heels, the water was as much of a death trap as the woods. Besides, the monster that had killed Deborah and Mary was still out there somewhere in it. Chad had lost sight of it but that didn’t mean it wasn’t out there somewhere, waiting. He could hear the monster chasing him getting closer with every step he took.
Two days ago, not a single person on the island would have believed the monsters were real. They were just a local legend, a myth, a story you told kids around a campfire. According to legend, the monsters had always been on the island but no one that Chad knew had ever seen one. He had no idea what had brought the monsters out of hiding or angered them to the point that they were. And man, they were royally ticked off. They had swept through the island’s sole town on a killing spree that had taken everyone completely off guard. The sheriff had rallied those she could and tried to make a stand against the monsters but had failed. Her stand had ended in blood. Chad would have died with the sheriff and those that stood with her if he hadn’t gone back to get Mary. He had met Deborah and picked up her up on the way to Mary’s. By the time they had gotten to town again, the sheriff’s stand was over and the school she and the others had tried to defend was burning. Together, Deborah, Mary, and himself had come up with the plan of trying to make it to Chad’s motorboat. Now, he was alone again and Mary was dead despite his efforts to save her; Deborah too.
A storm was rolling in from the sea. Chad could feel it in his bones from how the wind was beginning to pick up. The rain was coming to wash away the blood that soaked the streets of the island’s town. Regardless, Chad knew he would never see those streets again. He would be lucky to survive even the next few minutes. Chad could almost feel the putrid breath of the monster chasing him on the back of his neck. Another few steps and it would be on him. He was already running faster than he had ever thought he could and the monster was still gaining ground. In a desperate, last-ditch effort to save himself, Chad threw himself onto the shore, rolling over as he dropped to bring his shotgun to bear on the monster. His move caught the monster by surprise just as he had hoped. As he thudded onto the ground, he squeezed the trigger of his shotgun. The heavy slug caught the monster directly in its snarling mouth as he fired up at it. Fragments of shattered teeth and blood exploded from the monster’s mouth to rain over him. The monster stumbled backward away from him as Chad rolled over, pushing himself up onto his feet. He left the empty shotgun behind as his feet kicked up dirt, rocks, and sand as he launched himself back into motion along the shore.
Another monster burst from the trees, running straight into his path. Chad screamed as he saw it, trying to skid to a halt before he collided with it. His luck had run out though. The monster’s massive hands made a grab from him, latching onto his shoulders. The claws of its fingers dug into his flesh. Chad thrashed and fought against the monster’s hold on him. His fists hammered against its thickly muscled arms in vain as the monster yanked him closer. The last thing Chad saw was the teeth inside its opening mouth before they crunched together through the bone of his skull and his world went dark.
****
Lewis crouched behind the store’s counter. From behind it, he could see t
His only goal was to stay alive. Lewis knew that someone on the island, surely, had managed to get out a call for help. It was just a matter of time until that help arrived. All he had to do was hang on until it did. Of course, that was easier said than done. Lewis didn’t have a weapon. He knew Mr. Jones had an office at the rear of the store. Lewis hoped he would find one there. There were plenty of other things in the general store from medicine to food to ammo but no guns.
The monsters in the street outside were finally moving away from the store in the direction of the other side of town. Lewis watched them go and continued to crouch where he was until their snarls and roars faded out of earshot. Only then did he start toward where he thought Mr. Jones’ office was. He kept low, crawling on his hands and knees, careful of the shards of glass that littered the floor. Lewis reached the door that he hoped led into Mr. Jones’ office, only to find it shut and locked. He slumped against it in defeat. The door felt like he would be able to kick it in if he tried but was it a risk worth taking? That was what he asked himself. The monsters appeared to be gone but if there were one or two still lurking about outside, the noise would draw them to him. All the emotion pent up within him broke loose. Lewis’ body shook with sobs as tears poured from his eyes and he cradled his head in his hands. He had moved to the island to get away from the horrors of city life but this was so much worse. It was like a nightmare come to life all around him.
Lewis sat there crying for a very long time before he finally wiped his eyes and shifted his body to look up and around at the door he leaned against. Staying in the store was dangerous. The monsters could come back at any moment to make another sweep for survivors they had missed. Lewis knew he had to do something. He could slip out the store’s back door and hope the alley behind it was clear or he could break down the door to Mr. Jones’ office in the hopes of finding something to defend himself. Lewis held his breath and listened. The street outside the store was still quiet. Summoning up his courage, he got to his feet and kicked the door to the office open. It broke loose from its hinges on his first kick and swung inward. Lewis dashed into the office. Mr. Jones’ laptop sat with its screen up but powered down on the desk in the middle of the room. He ran to the desk and began to rummage through its drawers. Lewis nearly squealed with delight as he found a .38 revolver inside one of them. Flipping the revolver open, he saw that it was loaded. With another jerk of his hand, he closed the weapon and cocked its hammer. Sure, it wasn’t a shotgun or AK-47, but it was dang better than nothing.
Revolver in hand, Lewis fled the office, sprinting toward the store’s rear exit. He jerked the door leading into the alley behind the store open and hurled himself through it. The alley was clear and there was no sign of the monsters close by. Hurrying to the end of the alley, Lewis spotted one of the island’s few patrol cars in the street beyond it. The driver’s side door had been ripped off but the car’s headlights were still on and its engine was running. Lewis launched himself at the car, moving as fast as his legs would carry him. He slid into the driver’s seat, tossing his .38 into the passenger seat. His hands clutched the wheel of the car as he rammed its accelerator to the floorboard. The car shot forward along the road like a rocket. Lewis swerved hard to the right to avoid hitting an overturned tourist van then jerked the wheel to the left to round the sharp corner that led onto the island’s main road. Laughing like a madman as he drove, Lewis realized he had done it. He’d made it out of town alive despite all the odds against him. Distant roars and angry cries rang out in the darkness of the night but none of them were close enough for him to worry about yet. Lewis kept his foot on the gas and eyes on the road as he aimed the car at the island’s mountains.
****
Colonel Vaughn stared across the table at Senator Wilson and his aide.
“How exactly do you lose an entire island?” Colonel Vaughn asked in disbelief.
“Ahem …” Henderson, the senator’s aide, answered. “Something in the area is affecting all communications … radio, cell phone, all of it. We’ve had no contact with the island of Roak for three days now. The local authorities on the coast have passed the problem onto us after dispatching several boats to the island, none of which returned. Flyovers of the island have produced some rather, uh … interesting photos.”
“Go on,” Colonel Vaughn ordered.
“The island was once home to a population of two thousand people. The flyovers showed no evidence of any activity on the island and its population centers appeared to have been attacked by an unknown player,” Henderson.
“Player?” Colonel Vaughn grinned.
“Colonel,” Senator Wilson cut in. “I’ll bottom line it for you. Something has happened on that island. Something beyond explanation and unprecedented. We need you and your men to go in, find out what in the devil happened, and engage in rescue operations for anyone left alive there.”
Colonel Vaughn leaned back in his chair. “So you believe there are survivors from what happened on the island?”
“We are hoping so, yes,” Henderson answered, nodding.
“Everything comes up clean if you’re worried about a biological attack, Colonel,” Wilson told him. “There are no signs of radiological activity outside of the norms there either.”
“And yet all communications are out,” Colonel Vaughn said, frowning.
“The communications issues we believe to be caused by some sort of electromagnetic interference of unknown origins, but we can assure you that there has been no nuclear activity on the island,” Henderson said.
Colonel Vaughn raised a hand to rub at his jaw with his fingers. “The level of EMP you’re talking about doesn’t just come out of nowhere. Something had to have caused it.”
“We’re working on determining its source, Colonel,” Henderson snapped.
“But in the meantime, there may be people still alive on that island that need help,” Senator Wilson said. “As we’ve said, that’s where you and your men come in, Colonel. We need eyes on the ground there as soon as possible.”
Colonel Vaughn nodded. “I understand that, but my unit?”
“Frankly, your unit is here and ready for deployment,” Senator Wilson growled. “You and your men are the best we have close enough to the island to be there within a matter of hours.”
“My men were on their way home, sir,” Colonel Vaughn pointed out. “They’re expecting some hard-earned time off with their families.”
