Sasquatch - Edge Of The Forest

25.

No one moved a muscle.

Not one person blinked.

Breathing left in shallow gulps.

The sound of the helicopter outside had Abigail on edge and the sasquatches even more tense. It hadn't been any more than ten minutes of Pine and Rowan taking turns firmly laying their heads on her belly that the distinct, though muffled, sound came from outside.

"They're looking for me." Abigail whispered in a panic. Pine pushed his giant finger on her lips and shook his head. His eyes were narrowed, his chest hardly moving. She watched as he silently conveyed an order to Rowan, who was biting his tongue to the point that it bled.

Rowan stepped over to their fire quickly and dumped cool dirt over the flames they kept in a nearby bucket.

Instantly their home was dark.

Cypress had been standing by the threshold and leaning against the cool stone. Now he stood with his hands out in front of him, panic clear on his face. He was frozen in fear.

Abigail closed her eyes as Pine's strong hands wrapped around her waist and plucked her from the ground as if she were nothing. It was a feeling she vowed to never take for granted again. The muffled helicopter was still somewhere outside, unfading as if it hovered close by. Abigail didn't know how she made it back home and she wasn't sure what that Patrolman wanted from her. Her best guess was that after running her ID, her name was flagged afterward. She did not doubt that the people from the underground base were watching her, Brooke had made it clear they would be. Why her name stayed clear until she was in the water, Abigail was sure she'd never know.

Burying her face in his warm neck, Abigail hugged Pine with everything she had as they began to move. A faint grunt came from Cypress but no one seemed to care enough to answer it as they worked their way through the cave. Abigail had been carried this way many times before and already knew Pine was taking her to the safety of their nest.

"Stay out in the front cave and listen for the human-made beast." Pine growled softly, making sure his seriousness was understood by Cypress. "Let me know when it moves away," He caught the look of doubt from his youngest brother, "because it will move away."

Abigail shivered as the vibrations that left Pine's chest provided her security. She kept her eyes closed, wondering what was wrong with Cypress. He hadn't looked happy but he hadn't looked sad or angry either. He thinks I'm annoying... Abigail pushed the thought from her mind. She was sure she was just reading more into it than necessary as that was something had always been told she did. Projecting... I think that's what it's called.

Pine watched Cypress dip his head in some sort of defeat and disappear back to the front of the cave. He attempted to share a look with Rowan but his weak brother only had eyes for their Abigail. "We must sleep." He purred to his female.

Their nest came into his view. Pine carefully laid Abigail on the soft furs. He knew she hated the dark but he couldn't risk anything at the moment. Fear wasn't something he had ever been allowed to openly express. Year and years he had been taught to hide it, suppress it, and not once should another smell it coming from his pores.

"You're a dominant male." His father, Baobab, would repeat to him after beating him for running away from whatever it could have been. "There are weak ones and there are strong ones. Rowan is weak. You, Pine son of Baobab son of Bristlecone, have no choice but to be unfearing of all. Instead, you will be the one who instills the fear. When you roar, your voice will shake the trees deeply rooted in the earth and wake the sleeping giants."