Considering Bethany's home was twelve blocks from my home, where she lived near Wolf Bay, going by car would be quicker. But instead I take my skateboard, zooming down the pavement with it. It was best I left my car in the driveway because if it wasn't there and Dad returned early, I would be in even more trouble where I probably wouldn't be able to leave home until I'm fifty.
The streets are deserted as I zoomed through the suburban area. I kept a lookout every way I turned, making sure Dad or his colleagues weren't patrolling the area. I soon meet up with Julian when we are just a block away, where he was riding his bicycle.
Bethany meets us outside her neighbour's home, which had a hedge in the front yard. She waves to us. Julian and I both get off our skateboard and bike.
"You guys didn't have trouble getting here?" she asks us.
We shake our heads.
We follow her up the driveway. Julian and I left our belongings beside the stairs and then walk up them. The porch light switches on. Bethany was just about to knock on the door when a man in his forties answers the door. He ushers us in, telling us to take a seat in the living room.
I sit on the three-seated brown couch at the end with Julian beside me and Bethany at the other end. I sit there with my hands in my lap and twiddling my thumbs. I glance around the room. Everywhere you look there is something with Sasquatch – pictures, lamp, a mole of his foot. Gosh, I don't think I have ever seen this much artefacts or seen anyone keep a room full of it. I wonder what else he has that isn't displayed in this room.
The man walks in, asking us if we wanted a drink. We answer no. He sits down in a matching arm chair that is to the left of us.
We sit there waiting for him to start speaking. He watches us. I wasn't sure what he was waiting for.
"So you are the two boys who cried Sasquatch," he says finally.
I nod. "That's correct."
"So who are you?" Julian asks.
"I'm sorry," he apologises. "I should have introduced myself as soon as I invited you inside. My name is Paul. As you can see, I collect Bigfoot artefacts."
"How long have you been collecting them for?"
"When I was nine I went on a camping trip with my family. I was sitting beside the river when I saw something behind the trees. My dad said it was only a bear, but it didn't look like a bear to me. Since my encounter I collected everything of him, proving that Sasquatches do exist."
"Would you know where he could have been taken to?" Bethany asks.
Paul nods and crosses his leg over his knee. "I'm about to tell you something that you cannot tell anyone at all."
We promise we wouldn't. Even if we did say something, no one would believe us. They would laugh at us and tell us we have lost our minds.
"A while ago I went on one of my expeditions to search for Bigfoot," he resumes. "Are you familiar with Maze Cave?"
My friends and I look at each other, seeing who could know the answer. Bethany's face was blank. I wasn't very great in geography. In fact I'm the last person you could ever ask to be in charge of directions. I glance at Julian for answers. If he isn't looking out for aliens, he spends his time memorising maps. He has located every river, lake, campsite and trail in the forest. I may go up there with him every time, but I couldn't remember every detail.
"Isn't it in Jamaica?" Julian questions.
Paul nods. "Yes, it is. But I'm not talking about that cave. I'm talking about the one here in Washington State. It's located in the Colville National Forest."
I stare at him confused. I have never heard of any caves in the Colville National Forest. I don't think there is any. I turn to my friends. Bethany's face is still blank from confusion, while Julian is thinking hard.
"There is no cave by that name," Julian says.
"That's because it's not on the map," Paul tells us. "It's a restricted area. I went hiking near the cave. I was lucky I wasn't seen or I would have been shot on the spot."
"What's in the cave?" I ask.
He shrugs. "That's the question. No one knows. I believe they are hiding something inside, like a laboratory. That's why it isn't on the map or near any roads or trails."
"And you think they could be hiding Bigfoot in there?" Julian says.
He nods. "Yes, I do."
"Did you ever see them with a Bigfoot?" Bethany asks.
"No. But they were carrying a wooden box that looked like a body was inside it. I couldn't see much from where I was hiding. I couldn't get any closer without being caught. I could go in there and find out exactly what is in there. When I saw the three of you on the news, I knew you three would be perfect to be able to get into that cave. If Bigfoot is down there, you could save him."
The three of us stare at each other. I wasn't sure if we were the right ones to rescue Bigfoot. Ever since Julian and I found him, nothing has turned out the way we wanted. There was a chance the three of us could go to the save and rescue him, but be killed saving him. That was something I wasn't prepared to let happen to me or my friends. If Dad found out our plans, he would forbid us from going.
"What if we are killed saving him?" Bethany asks.
"It's the risk you have to take. Sasquatch is an unique creature. He needs to be protected. He is known to protect our forest, so the least we can do is protect him. So are you up for the challenge to save him?"
The three of us stare at each other. It takes six hours and seventeen minutes to get to Colville National Forest from here. It's right at the other end of Washington. It will take us half of the day to get there.
I stand up from the couch. "I'm in."
"Are you sure, David?" Julian looks up at me.
I nod. "Yes, I am. We got Bigfoot into this mess. Now it's up to us to get him out of this. It's my entire fault for wanting that bit of fame when we found him. But I now realise fame isn't important. The important thing is he is kept safe."
Bethany stands up. "I'm in too."
Julian stands up. "So am I."
I see Bethany shoot him a smile. He wasn't looking in my direction, but I knew no doubt he was blushing.
Paul smiles at us, and walks over to a bookshelf. He takes out a brown hard cover book and opens it. He takes something out before putting the book back on the shelf. He hands the piece of paper to Julian.
"This is a map that will lead you to Maze Cave," he tells us.
"Aren't you coming with us?" Julian asks.
Paul shakes his head. "No. I'm unable to go hiking due to a knee operation I had a couple of weeks ago. I'm unable to go on any expeditions for a while."
"Are you sure you can't come with us?" Bethany asks.
"I'm sure."
We thank him and leave the house. We stand on his front lawn, discussing what we are going to do. It wasn't going to be easy sneaking out of the house. It's church tomorrow and it will be Dad's day off.
"We need to leave early for this trip," Julian suggests. "If we leave, say around six, we will maybe get there by noon. It will leave us about six hours of daylight to find the place.
We agree with the plan, deciding to take my car. Julian and I then say goodnight to Bethany before heading back home. I have to make sure I get home before Dad does. I walk a couple of blocks with Julian before we head off in different directions.
Suddenly I'm grabbed from behind as a large hand covers my mouth. My skateboard rolls away under bushes of someone's property. I scream, but it was muffle by the hand. I was drag into the back of a van. Inside is dark with no light. My heart pounds fast in my chest as I soon realise who the man was. Ken Brooke.
He switches on a light in his van. "Well hello, David. It's nice to see you again."
I try not to act scared in front of him. If I act scared or even show that I am, it wasn't going to help me get out of here. I move backwards to get away from him. My back hits something behind me, rattling something. I look behind me and see cages. They are small metal cages, only for small animals such as racoons, possums, turtles or whatever animal is in the forest that I can't think of right now. I made sure I was careful not to press my back too much into them otherwise I might knock them over.
"Let me go, Ken," I tell him.
"No. Not until you tell me where Bigfoot is."
"I will never tell you. And even if I could, I don't know where he is."
Ken frowns, and then reaches for something behind him. He picks up a shot gun. I eye the fire arm in his hands, one that he probably uses for hunting. I was tempted to run, but I knew if I did, he would fire at me.
He grabs the collar of my jacket, pulling me towards him. He places the nozzle of the weapon directly under my chin. A small cry escapes my mouth, praying silently to myself that he wasn't going to do anything to me.
"You and your friend have cost me money," he says. "If you didn't play games with me, then Bigfoot would be mine by now."
"That's why we went to find him," I tell him. "To stop people like you from killing him, just so you can make a fortune and prove he exists."
He jabs the nozzle hard against my chin. My head jerks backwards, knocking into the cage behind me. They rattle and before I could stop the one above me, it tumbles down. I quickly push Ken's weapon out of the way so I could move. I barely get out of the way as the cage lands on my leg. It sends the other cages to the floor.
My leg only hurts slightly. The cage was heavy, but wasn't heavier enough to crush my leg. I went to move it, but Ken stops me. He points his gun at me before I had the chance to move it. I stare at the nozzle pointing directly at my face.
"You and your friend are going to pay for losing my money," he threatens.
I force myself to breathe easily, but it wasn't easy when a gun is pointing directly at you. Any wrong move could mean life or death.
"You will never find him," I say.
"Oh yes, I will."
"You will go to jail. My dad will make sure you will be locked up forever."
He chuckles. "I will be long gone once your father finds out what I did. And you won't be able to tell him anything because I will make sure your mouth stays shut."
I don't say anything. I'm afraid to open my mouth in case I make him angry and he will pull the trigger.
"Now, I'm going to let you go. But if you and your friend interfere with me hunting for Bigfoot, I will shoot you and your friend. I don't know what your plans are, but wherever you go, I will follow you. I know you know where Bigfoot is, and I will make sure I will find him before you do."
I don't respond. All I could really think is how we were going to get to Maze Cave without being followed by Ken. Maybe he won't follow us at all. It's all a threat for not being able to get what he wants.
Without saying another word to me, he pulls the fallen cage off me and then grabs my arm, yanking it as he pulls me to my feet. He yanks it so hard that I thought he might pull it out of its socket. I bite my lip hard to stop myself from screaming. He slides open the door throwing me out onto the pavement. I land on my knees hard, pain shooting up before I put my hands out to stop myself from smacking my face into the concrete. My palms burn as they scrape across the concrete.
I figure he would laugh at me or threaten me once last time, but he doesn't. He gets back into his van and starts it, driving away. I don't move. I stay there on my hands and knees as I recover from the pain in my knees. After a few minutes I sat on my bottom to look at my injuries. Underneath a street light I see the scrapes on my palms. I roll up my jeans and see that the wounds I previous had on my knees had opened up from the hard fall.
I wince as I get onto my knees again to get my skateboard. I find it in the bushes and get onto it. My knees ache as I push the board along to gain speed, recovering slightly as I place both feet on the board, gliding down the street. Half way home the pain starts to subside, but bending my knees was something I couldn't do at all.
Dad isn't home yet. I stumble up the stairs. I had to stop a few times to recover from the pain. I soon make it up the stairs and limp slowly to my sister's room. Sally is sitting on her bed reading a book when I enter. She gasps when she sees the blood stains on my jeans.
"David! What happened?!" she cries.
I sit down on her bed. I tell her what happened on the way back.
"You have to tell Dad, David."
I shake my head. "No. Dad won't believe a word I'm saying."
"He might now that he knows Bigfoot is real."
"No. He won't. Sally, tomorrow I need you to do a big favour for me. I'm going on a road trip with Julian and our friend Bethany to Colville National Forest. We have been told by Bethany's neighbour that Bigfoot could be hidden there. We are going tomorrow to rescue him. I need you to cover me for Dad. Please don't tell him where I am."
Sally is silence as she stares at me. After a few minutes she says, "I can't."
I stare at her, confuse. "What do you mean you can't?"
"I can't because I'm going with you."
I wait for her to laugh and say she is joking, but she doesn't. She is serious about coming along with us.
I shake my head. "No. You need to rest your leg."
"David, my leg is in a boot cast. I can walk. I don't need crutches."
"I know, but you need to rest it. There will be a lot of walking."
"I know there will be, and I don't care. I want to be able to go with you and help rescue Bigfoot. Yes, my leg hurts, but I'm taking pain killers to stop most of the pain. I helped you and Julian before and I want to do it again. Please, David."
I stare into my sister's pleading eyes. I could say no, but I wasn't sure how to say it to her. I don't know how she could help us with a broken leg, but probably there was something for her to do.
I give in and tell her she can come. She screams with excitement which I'm sure might make me go deaf. She hugs me tightly. I tell her to get some rest since we will have to be up before Dad is. I leave her room and then go to take a shower, washing off the dry blood from my wounds.