The Boys Who Cried Sasquatch

Chapter 26

"Do you think anyone would question us where we are going?" Bethany asks once we were further away from the campground. "Are there any trails where we need to go?"

"I don't think anyone will take notice at what we do," Julian points out. "The cave wouldn't be near the trail, otherwise people will be going near the cave, wanting to check the place out. Even if people was to wonder off trail and come anywhere near it, the perimeter of the cave would be secure. I'm sure of it."

"How long do you think it will take us to find this place?"

"I don't know really. It will be a few hours walk I'm guessing."

"Just as long as we find the place before sunset," I reply, thinking of what could happen if we are out here during the night, especially when we didn't have camping gear or even a flashlight. We never brought it with us, thinking we wouldn't need it at all.

Sally hoots like an owl and then laughs. I roll my eyes knowing Sally and Julian will make fun of my phobia. They always do, especially at the time when Mom took my sister and me to the zoo a year before the divorce. Julian tagged along with us. I freaked out in the bird section where the owls were kept. I couldn't even look at them without my sister or Julian laughing at me.

I don't even know or remember why owls frighten me. It's just a fear I have always had.

"Don't worry, David," Julian chuckles as we walk off the trail and into the forest. "We will make sure we aren't out here too late. You will be safe from owls."

"What's wrong with owls?" Bethany asks.

"David is terrified of them," Sally says with a grin.

"Aw, how can you be terrified of them?" Bethany wanted to know. "They are so adorable."

"Not at night they aren't," I reply. "Their eyes glow in the dark."

Bethany just laughs.

We keep walking through the forest. We discuss plans of what we might do. The four of us knew it wasn't going to be easy to find a way in and figured we should wait to see where the entry of the cave was before we came up with a proper plan. It wasn't easy to come up with one when we had no knowledge of any of the entry points of the cave.

It has been half an hour and my feet were beginning to get sore. My throat was dry and my stomach grumbles. We stop for a rest. Julian had a bottle of water and shared it out other before continuing on with our journey.

The forest is quiet. The only thing you could hear was the sounds of birds in trees, and I'm sure I could hear a woodpecker as well, and the sound of our own feet scrunching the dry leaves or snapping twigs on the ground. I try to imagine what it might be like for Bigfoot to live in this habitat. I couldn't picture myself out here, especially at night when you couldn't see a thing. I wonder how he gets along with other wildlife out here.

"David, I need to stop for a bit," Sally tells me.

I stop for my sister as she sits down on a fallen tree. Julian and Bethany stops as well. I sit down beside her.

"How much further do we need to go, Julian?" I ask him.

"I have no idea." He glances at the map. "We should be coming up to a river soon. There is a couple around here so it should be somewhere near the river."

"David, do you mind carrying me for a bit?" Sally asks me.

I nod, and stand up. I help her stand onto the log and she climbs onto my back. I walk slowly with her, making sure I don't drop her. I almost slip going down the hill. Luckily Julian was standing nearby and grabs my arm to steady me.