Love Like This

4

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Get that light out of my face," Hunter croaks, shielding his eyes from the bright light. This time, he's wearing a snapback instead of a beanie to hide his unruly hair.

"Sorry," she squeaks, frowning.

"What in the world are you going out here?"

Jane's not sure if he's surprised or mad. "Looking for Bigfoot, what else?" she sarcastically replies.

That was not what Hunter expected to hear her say, but he decides to just go with it. After all, she's right next to his bait tree. "Where did the meat go?" he asks, confused. It's not like a vegetarian would eat it all, he thinks.

"I don't know, but look, someone left their clothes here. Were they here when you put the bait out earlier?" She's hoping he says yes, but she has a bad feeling the answer is going to be--

"No," he gasps, eyes widening. The hairs on his arm stand up as a chill runs down his spine. He glances at the pile of clothing for a final time before backing away from it. "Let's go back to the tent."

A meat-loving, naked stranger is roaming around the woods, and Jane doesn't want to admit how scared she actually is. Peeking over at Hunter, she wonders if he feels on-edge, too. Surprisingly, his true feelings are masked by a concentrated look on his smooth face.

They walk up the dirt pathway, heading back to camp. Hunter leads the way as Jane follows closely on his heels, glancing over her shoulder every now and then out of paranoia. The perceptive boy senses her fear and reaches behind him to grab her hand. It's a pretty bold move on his part, but it serves its purpose. Jane feels a little less alone.

Their tent comes into view as the dirt dips down into a small valley that definitely wasn't there before. Jane tugs on his arm, shocked and speechless as she puts two and two together. "Hunter, look," she breathes, pointing the light of her phone onto the ground, "it's the footprint you were talking about."

The footprint closely resembles a human's footprint with the exception of the five toes being almost of the same length and width and the enormous size of the impression. "It even left us a bit of its snack," Hunter replies, circling around the footprint to point at a forgot tidbit of red meat lying next to it.

"So that would explain what ate the bait, but what about the clothes?" she wonders.

Suddenly, the smell of an awful body odor and death washes over the pair. Jane's heart drops to the pit of her stomach as she looks at the boy across from her with wide eyes. Hunter pales, slowly backing away from the campsite as he leads her blindly into the woods.

Out of pure curiosity and confusion, Jane turns around to see a giant, hairy ape-monster standing at the other edge of the dirt. Tiny, fragmented thoughts run through her racing mind as she slowly backs away from the threatening creature: towering height, thick chest, bloodshot eyes, pointy nails, yellowed teeth. It growls when its beady eyes land on them, shaking the ground as it takes enormous steps to approach them.

"Run!" Hunter yells, dragging her deeper into the forest.

Adrenaline pulses through their veins as they dash to safety, jumping over fallen limbs and weaving between randomly dispersed trees as fast as their legs can take them. Jane's phone provides them with enough light to realize that the dense forest ends to reveal a massive lake surrounded by tall grasses. A small wooden pier is the only man-made creation in sight.

"What are you going?" Hunter hisses as she quickly leads him to the edge of the pier. The water around them looks dark and murky like a jar of black ink.

"Hiding," she impatiently replies, clicking off her phone so that the dark night conceals them. She then throws it so it lands on the wet earth. The tall grass engulfs it so it completely disappears. "Get under the pier, hurry!"

Jane silently slips into the lake, sinking under the pier so that the ice-cold water rises to cover her chin. Hunter follows her lead a little less gracefully but manages to join her as they feel the ground vibrate.

They wait.

And wait.

And wait.

The thumping of Bigfoot's ragged walk becomes louder and louder as its awful scent enter their noses. Jane internally panics, afraid that today is the day she's going to die. Sensing her nervousness, Hunter wraps a protective arm around her torso. Jane's heart beats 1,000 times a second (it's unclear whether this is because she's never been this close to a boy before or that Bigfoot is coming to kill them).

Above them, the wooden planks creak and groan under the weight of the creature. The pair freezes, taking shallow breaths. Jane closes her eyes and prays that the pier is strong enough to support its weight.

A crash breaks the silence, and Hunter lets out a quiet shriek of pain before pulling her closer to the muddy embankment. Bigfoot howls, scurrying off the collapsing pier. The vibrating ground become less violent as the monster retreats to the forest.

"Are you okay?" Jane asks after a long moment, shell-shocked.

"Yeah, yeah, where's your phone? I need to see the damage."

At first, Jane thinks he's talking about the damage the pier suffered. After all, Bigfoot's foot plunged through the rotting wooden fixture. But after handing over her cell phone, she realizes that he's referring to the damage done to his face.

"How bad does it look?" he questions, shining the light on his face.

"It's bleeding a lot," she replies, gazing at the long, deep scratch extending from his temple, down his cheek, and ending at the tip of his chin. Blood gushes from the wound and runs down his face. "We need to get you to the hospital."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *