Forsaken - An American Sasquatch Tale Read Online Free Page B

series of little jaunts, depended on finding good cover. A few hundred yards, then down. A few hundred more, then up again. It exhausted her at times, the whole up, down, and dodge dance. But what were their alternatives? The hunters never grew weary.
    According to Mitch, the majority of the seekers were happy with a visual, perhaps a snapshot to show to the world, but the rest wanted a kill, a furry hide to drag back to their pick-ups. They wanted to make a call to whatever agency paid top dollar for proof of the elusive Bigfoot in the woods, yearned to sell their story for millions.
    According to the news outlets, to which Mitch made it his business to pay close attention, no Sasquatch had ever been captured. But that didn’t mean they weren’t killed on occasion. Like her mother. And before her, a Proem elder. Liberty had to consider they may have killed her daughter as well, even without a body.
    The hunters would never admit to it, though. They left bullet-riddled carcasses in the woods, hightailed it back to wherever they came from, and told themselves over and over they weren’t crazy. They knew what they saw. Not a human. Liberty bristled at the injustice.
    She looked up. Not quite time. In her huffy state she’d left a little too early for her job at the kennel. The doors wouldn’t be locked, they never were from the tunnel side, but Mitch had forbidden them to exit the woods before full dark.
    It hadn’t always been that way, but since Ellie passed away, he’d gotten strange, somewhat distant, and even grown a little cold. Everyone dealt with grief differently, but he’d even given Becky, Liberty’s only other human friend and co-worker, the same limitations. She wasn’t allowed in the farmhouse at all anymore, except for the basement. And all of them were permitted there. After dark, of course.
    Becky said he was afraid Ellie’s stuff would be disturbed and he wanted everything of hers left alone. The way it was.
    Liberty headed north toward the small creek, instead of returning to the cavern. She’d had enough of Katie for a day, and even though Gabriel and Adrian were more congenial, she wasn’t in the mood.
    Early October nights were pleasant in Fairfield, low humidity, cool breezes, and the nocturnal creatures hadn’t fallen into their winter lethargy yet--their presence evident in rustles and low chirps. Even at most twenty miles from Proem, the weather seemed milder here.
    She inhaled, exhaled. No visible mist. Her aura throbbed, a mixture of dark blues and greens, no shock there. This was going to be a tough week, no doubt. Nathaniel’s family. Ellie and Sage’s anniversaries.
    She just needed to get through the next couple of nights with Nathaniel’s family and Mitch, and save the hardest for the end of the week. That day she’ll handle one minute at a time. Hard to believe Sage had been gone a full year already.
    She stopped and braced herself against an old fir. It seemed beyond comprehension. Maybe the creek wasn’t a great idea after all.
    She headed back. So she’d arrive at the kennel early. Would Mitch even know the difference? She hated her crappy attitude, but it was true. Worse came to worse, she’d hang out in the tunnel.
    Thunder boomed overhead. The critters shifted in the darkness. Squawks and other warnings echoed through the woods. Rain was on the way to wash away the days’ scents. But until then, lucky her, she’d smell every creature that had passed through the area.
    One invaded her senses a minute from the clearing. Down low and to the left, a rabbit cowered in the hollow recess of a stump. She caught a whiff of fox. No doubt the little guy had skittered inside to save its hide. From the smell, the predator had moved on to an easier meal hours ago, but the bunny was too frightened to come back out.
    She dropped down, bustled, and reached a thick, furry arm deep into the back of the hole. She snagged it by the scruff and pulled it out. She released it off to her