The Beasts Of Stoneclad Mountain Read online

  Ethan could hear warblers in the overhead branches, flittering between the leaves, searching for grubs and building their nests. Noisy blue jays flew about in the higher treetops with nothing better to do than to disrupt the natural order of things.

  Ethan could smell the telltale aroma of pot as he climbed upon the crest of a slight plateau cut into the side of the mountain. He gazed at the impressive field with its rows upon rows of 10-foot tall marijuana plants that stretched back into the trees.

  Blu sat by his feet and sneezed a few times, not fond of the distinctly strong odor, which was overwhelming his keen sense of smell.

  Clay and Mia stepped onto the rim, and stood beside Ethan, also admiring the illegal crop of cannabis.

  “That’s a lot of weed,” Clay said.

  “That there’s easily a million-dollar cash crop,” Ethan said.

  “Is it safe to be standing here?” Mia asked nervously. “I mean, don’t drug-traffickers post guards with machineguns?”

  Ethan shared Mia’s concern and glanced around. “I don’t see anyone, but that doesn’t mean they’re not around.” He slung his hunting rifle off his shoulder.

  Clay followed his uncle’s lead and held the Winchester across his chest, at the ready.

  Mia placed her hand inside her coat and closed her fingers around the butt of the pocket gun for reassurance even though the puny firearm would hardly be a fair match against a fully automatic assault rifle.

  Ethan held onto Blu’s leash to keep the dog in check and started walking across the furrowed rows of rich, organic dirt. A slight breeze blew out from the trees, fanning the tall budded stalks, like a prairie wind swaying the tops of a wheat field.

  The sudden change around them only added to their unease.

  Blu tugged at the taut leash as if sensing danger.

  “What is it, Blu?” Ethan said to the dog.

  The coonhound bayed a reply.

  That’s when Ethan saw the body lying on the ground. “Hold up a sec. Wait here.”

  Clay and Mia waited apprehensively while Ethan and Blu went ahead.

  Ethan stared down at the dead man. The right side of his face was completely gone, which at first, looked like it had been shoved into the whirling blade of a meat cutter. But as he leaned closer, he saw that there were indentations around the savage wound left by an enormous bite impression.

  A circle of dried blood surrounded the man’s lower torso and the empty trouser leg. The right coat sleeve was bent back, the arm inside a compound break as the bone was sticking out.

  An assault rifle with a banana clip was lying in the dirt not too far from the body.

  Ethan studied what was left of the man’s face and recognized who he was.

  Reluctantly, Ethan waved Clay and Mia over. “I have to warn you, this is something you might not want to see.”

  Mia took one good look at the mutilated corpse and gasped, “Oh my God!” She turned away as if she might throw up.

  “Did they do this?” Clay asked. He instantly started looking around as maybe those things were out there, watching them at this very moment.

  “Well, it wasn’t a bear. A bear would have torn into him to get to his internal organs. I don’t see any claw marks,” Ethan said. “Plus half of his face was bitten off with one bite.”

  “That’s so disgusting,” Mia said, once she had gathered her composure.

  “Any idea who he might be?” Clay asked his uncle.

  “One of the Payne brothers. James.”

  “The Payne brothers? Who are they?” Clay asked.

  “A mean bunch. I’d say this is their weed-growing operation.”

  Blu got a whiff of something and bolted into the marijuana field, pulling the end of the leash from Ethan’s wrist.

  “Blu! Come back here!” Ethan rushed through the plants after the dog.

  Clay and Mia stayed with the dead man, not knowing whether to follow or not.

  Soon, Ethan returned with Blu at his heels. He was carrying a human leg with a boot on the foot.

  “How did that get way out there?” Clay asked.

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” Ethan replied.

  “So what do we do with the body? We can’t just leave him lying here for the animals,” Mia said.

  “Mia’s right,” Clay said. “I really don’t know anything about him, but it just doesn’t seem right to just leave him out here.”

  “All right then. But you’re going to have to give me a hand,” Ethan said.

  “Sure.”

  The men removed their backpacks and put down their rifles.

  Ethan walked over to the mouth of the cave and laid the severed leg on the ground. He went back, and together, Clay and he each grabbed one of the dead man’s wrists and pulled the corpse just inside the cave entrance.

  “There, gather that tarp and we’ll cover him up.”

  Clay pulled the tarpaulin over that was on the ground and covered the body.

  Ethan looked at his pocket watch. “We still have plenty of daylight, so I suggest we keep going. That is unless you’d rather spend the night here inside the cave.”

  Mia looked at the long bulge tenting the tarp. “No way.”

  Without another word, Ethan and Clay strapped on their backpacks and picked up their rifles. Ethan grabbed Blu’s leash and made an extra turn around his wrist for good measure.

  “Let’s go,” he said, pointing to what looked like an old migratory path going up.

  Instead of heading in that direction, Blu was persistent on returning to the field.

  But after a stern reprimand, Blu relented, and led the way into the woods.

  15

  After almost two hours into their hike, Ethan was beginning to think that Blu had lost the scent as the coonhound was hesitant and would stop, sniffing the ground, then look one way then another indecisively. He let Blu get a good long whiff of Casey’s baby blanket, but that just seemed to confuse the dog even further. Ethan figured with all the handling, even though he had been wearing gloves, the fabric had picked up other odors that were stronger than the smell of the little boy.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Clay asked, as the puzzled dog sat down on his haunches as if the whole ordeal was just too much and he needed time to ruminate.

  “He’s having trouble picking up the trail,” Ethan said.

  “So what now?” Mia asked impatiently. “We should just keep going, right?”

  “Give him a minute. You have to believe me when I say this is a big mountain. We can’t afford to be off-track. Not if we’re to find Casey.”

  “Maybe we should take a five-minute break,” Clay said, looking over at Mia.

  “I could rest my feet,” she said.

  Ethan looked up through the trees and saw a rocky ledge above. A stone face, void of any vegetation, rose thirty feet above into more forest. “We’ll rest up there,” he said, and pointed to the spot.

  Ethan held onto Blu’s leash as the two ambled up the crude trail.

  Clay and Mia followed ten feet away, Mia just a step behind Clay.

  “What if we lose them?” Mia whispered to Clay. “What then?”

  Clay glanced over his shoulder. “Mia, we’re going to find him. You have to believe that.”

  “How do we know he’s not already dead?” Mia said, unable to stop the tears from welling up and streaming down her cheeks.

  “Mia, we’ll find him,” Clay assured her and stopped to give her a hug.

  They held each other for a moment, and that seemed to be what Mia needed to muster her courage. “I’ll be all right. We better catch up.”

  Clay kissed Mia on the cheek and turned. They were almost to the ledge, stepping out of the trees…

  When a watermelon-size rock struck the granite and bounced off the ground like a cannonball right for Clay and Mia. They dove out of the way just in time, avoiding the rock as it smashed into the brush behind them.

  Another rock hailed down from above.

 
“Find some cover!” Ethan yelled. He scrambled behind a tree stump with Blu.

  Ethan stole a peek and saw the two looming figures on the ridge above. They were bending over, picking up stones, and throwing them down like contestants at a carnival, attempting to strike down targets, not for prizes but to draw blood.

  The black-furred beast roared as it picked up a large boulder, held it over its head, and then hurled it down. When it hit, the boulder broke into flying shards.

  Clay threw himself over Mia as the rock chips flew over them.

  The barrage continued, some of the well-placed throws almost hitting Clay and Mia, as the rocks ricocheted and hurtled over their heads.

  Ethan raised his rifle and aimed for the next one to show itself.

  The brown bigfoot stood with its arm cocked, ready to throw.

  Ethan put the creature in his sights, slipped his finger in the trigger guard…

  Blu yelped as a cobblestone struck where the dog was hunched behind the tree stump.

  Swinging the muzzle of his gun, Ethan saw the black bigfoot howl triumphantly having struck its intended target and inflicting pain. Ethan fired off a shot, but knew it would never find its mark as the big creature had already stepped back away from the edge of the precipice.

  Ethan dropped his rifle and scooted over to Blu.

  The dog was on his side with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. His pupils were rolling back exhibiting the whites of his eyes.

  His body started to shake.

  “Blu, please don’t die on me,” Ethan pleaded.

  16

  Ethan discovered the narrow path that led up to the ridge where the bigfoot had staged their attack. He poked his head up for a quick look around to make sure they had gone before climbing up on the jutting ledge that had served as a battlement for the creatures. They had even amassed a small pile of cobblestones.

  Clay came up and joined Ethan, who was standing looking at the loose stack of rocks on the ground.

  “Did they do that?” Clay said.

  “I believe they did,” Ethan answered.

  “You mean they’re that smart?”

  “Enough to set an ambush and pitch rocks. I’d say we were pretty lucky…” then Ethan stopped as a lump formed in his throat.

  Clay pointed the Winchester as he scanned the edge of the forest. Even standing on the outcropping of rock, it was impossible to see further up the mountain due to the tall pines which allowed only a glimpse of the patchy clouds in the sky.

  “Let’s go back down,” Ethan said.

  They shuffled down the declivity to the flat rock down below and joined Mia, knelt beside Blu. The dog’s front legs were stretched out while his hind legs were bent and pulled into his groin. His body did an involuntary jerk, went completely still for a moment then shook once again. His eyes were dull and he looked somewhat incoherent.

  “How’s he doing?” Ethan asked. He knelt on the ground next to Mia. He undid the end clasp on the leash hooked to Blu’s collar.

  “The seizures are not as frequent.”

  “We’ll give him a few minutes,” Ethan said.

  “I thought for sure he’d been hit by a rock,” Clay said.

  Mia stroked the back of Blu’s neck while Ethan kneaded his flank to soothe the ailing coonhound.

  “Let’s pray he comes back himself,” Ethan said.

  “What do you mean?” Mia asked.

  “After he had his last epileptic seizure, he was temporarily blind for an hour or so.”

  “Poor thing,” Mia said.

  “The longer we wait here, the further away those things are going to get,” Clay said.

  “I know, son,” Ethan said.

  Mia glared at Clay. “I didn’t tell you before, Clay, but Blu saved my life.”

  “What? When?”

  “You remember that rattler I said was under our car?”

  “Ah, yeah. What was that about?”

  “It would have bit me if Blu hadn’t nudged me out of the way.”

  Clay dropped to his knees beside Mia. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry, I must have sounded pretty callous just then.” He put his hand on Blu and stroked his fur.

  After a few more minutes, Blu began to act his normal self, and even sat up.

  Ethan poured some water from his canteen into a small dish he had gotten out of his backpack.

  Blu slowly lapped up the water.

  Everyone gave the revived dog a pat.

  Getting on his feet, Blu’s legs were wobbly at first, but then after walking about, he seemed fine in getting around.

  “All right then. Time to go,” Ethan said.

  As they headed up the incline, Mia asked, “Did you see any sign that the gray one was up there?”

  “No. And during the attack, I only saw the black one and the brown one,” Ethan replied.

  “They looked like males. Wouldn’t you say?” Clay asked his uncle.

  “The way they acted, I’d have to agree.”

  Blu bolted up the slope and was the first one at the top. He let out a boisterous bark as if to hurry everyone along.

  “Looks like Blu’s good as new,” Clay said.

  Blu bayed and ran for the trees.

  “Certainly would seem that way,” Ethan said, with a big smile as he led the others into the forest.

  17

  It was close to nightfall when Ethan said they should make camp. They found a small clearing suitable enough and slung off their backpacks. Ethan instructed Clay to make a fire pit surrounded by rocks. Mia was to gather up as much wood as she could find before it got dark.

  Ethan went about erecting a lean-to out of large branches that would give them proper shelter and help contain some of the warmth from the fire. As they didn’t have sleeping bags, they would be sleeping in their clothes and bundled up under a single blanket that Ethan had brought along.

  The rear of the shelter was butt up against a small embankment, which served as both a windbreak and fortification. That meant that they could sleep in shifts and only have to worry about the semicircle of woods in front of them in the event of a night attack, which Ethan doubted would happen. He was pretty sure that the creatures wanted nothing more than to distance themselves as much as possible.

  After Clay had built a fire, everyone clustered around, staring into the flames.

  Blu nestled up beside Ethan. Clay and Mia sat together with their legs crossed, rubbing their hands in front of the warm fire.

  Other than the crackling fire, the woods around them seemed eerily quiet.

  “It seems so strange not having our baby,” Mia said.

  Clay put his arm around Mia and pulled her against him.

  “I know. I miss him, too.”

  Mia looked across the flickering fire at Ethan, who seemed transfixed in another world.

  “Uncle Ethan?”

  After a moment, Ethan answered, “Yes?”

  “Tell us about them. The bigfoot.”

  Ethan sat for a moment as if he had been asked to reveal a long-kept secret that once exposed would bring everything crashing down.

  “I was hunting one year,” Ethan started. “Up on this mountain. I’d been up here for most of the day and hadn’t seen one buck, which I thought was odd as it was the mating season.” He paused to throw some more wood onto the fire.

  “I was coming back down when I heard what sounded like a large animal, huffing and moving about. As I got closer, I could see this massive creature bent over a deer. It was tearing the deer apart with its bare hands and eating it. At first, I thought it was a bear. But as I watched, I suddenly realized it wasn’t. This thing was nothing like I had ever seen before.”

  “Did you shoot it?” Clay asked.

  “No. I just watched it eat the deer. It was like I was in a trance.”

  “Weren’t you afraid that it would come for you?” Mia asked.

  “I don’t know what I thought,” Ethan replied.

  “So what happened?” Clay a
sked.

  “It must have gotten its full and went off because before I knew it, I was standing there, all by myself, staring at that dead deer, what was left of it.”

  “And you never told anyone?”

  “Who would have believed me?”

  “We would have,” Mia said.

  18

  It was late morning by the time the Payne brothers made it up the mountain to their grow-site. Landon was the first to enter the field, and the first one to see the footprints everywhere and the bloodstained dirt.

  “Something’s not right here,” he said, raising his arm.

  Mason and Jacob stood fast, a few feet behind their eldest brother.

  “What is it?” Jacob said, raising his pump shotgun.

  “Looks like we might have been raided,” Landon answered, drawing his Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum out of the shoulder holster.

  Mason came up and stood beside Landon. The twin was well armed with a Colt AR-15 machinegun.

  “Look how the ground has been trampled,” Landon said, pointing to the impressions in the loose soil.

  “You don’t think it was them?” Mason asked.

  “I don’t know. Where’s James?” Landon looked around and yelled out, “James! Where the hell are you?”

  There was no answer.

  “You don’t think he’s still asleep?” Mason asked.

  “Not James,” Jacob said, joining his brothers. “The kid’s always up before sunrise.”

  “Then, where is he?” Landon asked.

  They strode across the furrowed marihuana rows, pointing their guns this way and that, half expecting to be fired upon.

  Landon looked inside the cave and saw the bulged tarpaulin on the ground. He walked over, reached down, and pulled the canvas tarp away.

  “Holy shit!” Mason said once he saw his dead brother.

  “What the hell?” was all Jacob could say.

  Landon just stared for a moment, then said, “Look what those bastards did to him.”

  “Jesus, they cut off his leg,” Mason said.

  “And shot off his face,” Jacob added.

  “He didn’t deserve this.” Of all the brothers, James had been the innocent one.