As Real as it Gets

Happy Campers (Chapter 5, Part 4)

The birds are chirping and the sun is shining. Rays of sunshine hit the tent, making everything light and bright. You slept pretty well through the night. Sitting up, you started putting on your clothes and shoes. Rick was still sleeping soundly so you decided to let him be for a few more minutes. You unzipped the tent as quietly as you could and stepped outside. What you saw or rather, what you didn't see shocked you tremendously.

"Rick wake up!" you yelled.

He jolted awake, "Wh- What?"

"Where is the kids' tent?"

"It should be right next to ours." He rubbed his eyes.

You panicked, "It's not here!"

"WHAT?" he stepped outside and looked around. No tent in sight.

"Oh my god, they've been kidnapped! Rick we gotta find them before they get killed or or -" you started hyperventilating and your eyes were watering.

Rick pulled you into an embrace, "We'll find them, don't panic. It'll be fine."

"This isn't fine. How is this fine?" you quavered into his chest.

He walked over to where the tent was, "See here? Giant footprints leading over there, into the forest. The tent was probably dragged- "

"OH GOD THE BIGFOOT ATE THEM ALIVE!"

"Y/N stop screaming!" he grabbed your shoulders and shook you, "We'll find them." Walking over to his tent, he grabbed his lab coat, "C'mon, let's go."

The two of you followed the giant footprints deep into the forest. They led to one of the motion-capture cameras, the branch was broken and the camera was lying on the ground. Rick untied it from the branch and looked at the footage. The video showed something big and hairy, but it was too close to the camera to see clearly. It also recorded sounds of grunting and a large object being dragged. The creature got even closer to the camera and knocked it down.

"Okay, so they must have been- "

"Is this Summer's phone?" you picked up a phone with a purple case.

"It is." He unlocked the phone and went to the gallery, looking through the recent recordings, "If they were asleep while they were being kidnapped I doubt that it would slip out of the tent. She probably left it here on purpose."

He played a video that was recorded 5 hours ago, it was dark with only faint silhouettes of the kids, "I think the Bigfoot is dragging our tent," Summer whispered in a panicked voice, "I don't know where it's taking us, but if you find this, please save us... I'm so scared." She was interrupted by gunshots in the distance and the creature dragging their tent screamed and growled.

"Rick... why were there gunshots?" you asked when the video ended, "Is someone out here hunting the Bigfoot?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what it is..." Rick agreed. The two of you were making your way towards the other camera when Summer's phone started ringing. It was Beth, "Hey sweetieee!" Rick answered, "Summer is just, uhh... gone with Y/N to the stream, with the water, y'know? And she forgot to bring her phone... Oh, yeah everything's going great... see you soon! Bye!" he hung up. "She's gonna fucking kill me."

"Yeah, I'll kill you too if we don't find them." You said with a stern voice.

"You're not making me feel better." he whispered.

The other motion-capture camera recorded not something, but someone. It was a guy, in his 40s, long beard, plaid shirt and jeans and a shotgun in hands. He was hiding behind some bushes and trees. He raised his gun to aim at something, but he cut his arm on the thorns. Then he went away to find a new hiding spot.

"That's the guy." Rick said. The Bigfoot trail got lost pretty quickly after that. Footprints suddenly ended, it made no sense. "Bigfoot can't climb, that's stupid. They're too heavy..." He looked up at the tree tops, nothing.

You walked around where the footprints end. Where have they gone? The tent was pretty big, it would be quite obvious if it was around and if it got shredded then... where are the bits and pieces? You took a step onto a grass patch without thinking much of it. The ground beneath you collapsed, the grass patch only serving to cover up an entrance to a cave or something. You screamed in surprise, but managed to grab onto a tree-root and not falling into the darkness of the giant hole in the ground. Rick ran over to you in a second and pulled you out.

"They're down there?!" you panicked.

"Time to be Alice in Wonderland." Rick slowly started making his way down into the dark void of the cave. He turned on a flashlight and you could see the bottom. "Your turn." He said, "I'll catch you."

"I'm too old for this shit." You whispered while slowly moving down. A rock you were standing on crumbled and you fell into Rick's arms.

"Looks like you fell for me." He giggled.

You slapped him, "Your grandkids are missing and you're- " A bloodcurdling shriek was heard from the tunnels as well as screams of Summer and Morty.