Creature of Creation

Part 1- Chapter Three - Creature

The scent of bacon mingled with the heady aroma of an open fire coaxed Zach into finally opening his eyes. The stiff throbbing throughout his back soon caught up to him. He had begged Gabriel to let him bring an air mattress for the tent but was shot down.

"Not unless you want to carry it," Gabriel had said.

Yesterday, Zach had skipped his afternoon courses to set out on an investigation with Gabriel. They had spent most of the daylight hiking through the groomed walking trails of the York Creek nature reserve, then set up their camp. Gabriel had insisted they go as deep into the forest as possible. The further they got from the other hikers and civilization, the more likely they would be to see the creature. All the reports he and Zach had read so far took place within the dense part of the forest where most of the trails hadn't been cleared in a few seasons.

There had been several accounts of a winged creature raiding camps. Some people had seen it skulking about in the dark. One story spoke of the creature's intense blue eyes that seared like hellfire from between the trees. Its wings were five metres long. Sometimes they were feathered, others said they were leathery, like those of a bat.

Zach unzipped the tent and joined Gabriel by the grill. The sun barely peeked over the treetops, but Zach still had to shield his deep blue eyes against the crisp dawn glare.

"You're up early," Zach said.

Gabriel shrugged. "We can't afford to waste daylight if we want to be the first to document the creature. Other people are probably after it too." He flipped the bacon. "I figured we could eat then head out."

Zach groaned.

Gabriel frowned at him. "This was your idea, remember? I could be home with Sam right now, but you wanted to do this."

"I thought it would be easier, ok?" Zach crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. "There I said it. Are you happy?"

Gabriel grinned, and his green eyes twinkled. "So you admit I was right?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Zach mumbled. He pulled up the hood of his sweater. The early morning breeze was starting to bite at his exposed ears. He was envious of the thick black toque Gabriel wore. He made a mental note to ask Sam to make one for him too when they got back to Gabriel's farm.

After breakfast, they packed up camp and continued their journey further into the forest. His camping rucksack grew heavier with every step while Gabriel forged ahead. As they progressed, the trail became more and more overgrown. Zach grew weary of seeing only the plaid back of Gabriel's jacket ahead of him and the endless rows of trees and underbrush on either side. A strange fear they might be lost choked up in his throat.

"I don't think we're in the park anymore," Zach said.

"We left the park boundary a half hour ago."

"Do you think we should go back before we get too turned around?"

Gabriel shrugged and kept going. "We'll be fine."

"You might be."

"I won't let you die out here," he laughed. "It's not my first rodeo. Hopefully, we won't have to spend another night but I'm prepared if it comes to that."

"Ugh, I hope it doesn't. I have school in the morning. I can't afford to miss any more classes if I want to graduate on time this year."

"This could be the story of a lifetime, but that's only if we're the first ones to get to the bottom of it and report it officially. We've been researching the GreenerPastures laboratory for so long, I don't want to give up now. Not when we're so close to finally getting some proof."