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Rowan knew at once something was wrong. He put a hand on her elbow, but she didn’t flinch. He didn’t move. His gaze followed hers into the trees. Beyond the clearing, a dark shape disappeared into the cover of the forest. “Lauren? What was it?” He started after it, but she didn’t move. He paused, torn between the chase and her thousand-yard stare. “Lauren?” He glanced back at the woods and shook his head as he turned around. Her face was neutral — no fear, no pain, just blank.
Rowan snapped his fingers in front of her face. She blinked slowly then turned. She looked at him, but it seemed to take a split second for her to see him. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “What?” she asked. She looked down at the camera in her hands and took her finger off the button. She looked back at Rowan. “What?”
“What was it? Did you see it?” He took the Nikon and scrolled through the pictures. Nothing but blurred images.
“See what?” She looked around. He could see her knees suddenly turn to rubber. Rowan forgot about the camera and took her by the arm.
“Come here and sit down.” He took her over to a fallen log, handing her a canteen of water. “Drink this.” He brushed her bangs out of her eyes. Her skin was cool, but a mist of sweat collected on her brow and upper lip. Rowan checked her pulse and encouraged her to drink more. “Tell me what you saw?”
“I’m not sure.”
* * *
Lauren was still dazed when they found the others. Rowan did his best to explain what had happened.
“I have heard reports that the Sasquatch have the ability to hypnotize people. To make them forget what they see,” Jean-René said, snapping his fingers in front of her face. She blinked a half second slower than someone operating at full capacity might. “Lauren? Are you okay?”
She turned and looked at him. “Hmm?” She answered a beat too late. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Oh?” Jean-René lifted a brow. “Why don’t you come sit down over here?” He took her arm and led her over to a place by the fire.
“Grab her camera,” Rowan said to him. Jean-René reached for it, but she drew it back defensively. “Lauren? It’s okay. Let him have it,” Rowan said kindly. Lauren looked at him with uncertainty. She relented and gave the Nikon to Jean-René. He patted her shoulder and took it over to Rowan.
Jean-René took the memory card and plugged it into the computer. They sat around looking at the pictures on the computer screen. “I suppose that may be why you can’t remember anything about what happened to ... before.”
Lauren wrinkled her nose. “That’s nothing more than superstition and hokum. Don’t you think?” she asked. Jean-René tried to improve the resolution on the picture. The bushes obscured the image. She’d done a terrible job getting the subject in focus, much less in the frame. The pictures were useless. She had plenty of shots of the ground and the horizon, even the toe of her boot. But, the one halfway decent shot of a dark form in the bushes was rubbish.
“Score another point for the reigning Hide-And-Seek champion of the world,” Jean-René snarked. Bahati chuckled at him, returning to the task of making dinner.
“It’s not like you to take bad pictures like this.” Rowan came to sit by her. She leaned into him.
“I don’t know what happened.”
“When I found you, you were just standing there like you were in a trance. Your mouth was hanging open. You had drool running down your chin, for Pete’s sake.”
Lauren glanced down at the dark spot on her black tank top, and then shook her head dubiously. “Whatever.” Bahati brought her a plate, and she wasted no time. Rowan watched her. He noticed Jean-René did too. She shoveled the food into her mouth like she hadn’t eaten in a year. While Rowan was happy to see her eat, he was duly concerned. Normally she picked at her food, rarely eating more than a few bites. She was usually more interested in getting back to work.
“Maybe the lab can clean it up,” Jean-René suggested, closing the laptop.
* * *
Lauren gazed into the fire long after the sun had set. She wrapped her arms around her knees, deep in thought. One by one, the team disappeared into their tents. Rowan and Lauren had the first watch. He spent it watching Lauren.
“Tsi stu wu-li-ga’ na-tu-tu’n une’gu-tsa-tu ge-se’i,” she finally said, in a low, soft voice.
“What’s that?” Rowan poured himself a cup of coffee and came over and sat across from her. Jean-René and Bahati came over too.
She repeated it. “The Rabbit was the leader of them in all the mischief,” she translated. The flames cast a glow on her golden skin. He could almost see her ancestors in her dark glowing eyes. “The Rabbit always got the others in trouble, but never seemed to get caught himself.” She continued, resting her chin on her knee. “If the Rabbit was the leader, it was Tsul’Kalu who would judge him.” Rowan knew that word. He had played the recording from the hospital enough times. “When the ancient Rabbit was caught, the animals demanded justice and brought him before Tsul’Kalu. The Ancient One began to recount the sins of the Rabbit and all his ancestors. Speaking in the ancient language of All Animals, he counted the Rabbit’s transgressions. One hundred generations back he went. He told of the time the Rabbit’s great-great-great-great-great-grandfather made the buzzard bald. How the Rabbit’s great-great-great-great-grandfather stole the bear’s tail. How the Rabbit’s grandmother spilled the milk and the dog ran through it and escaped into the sky, leaving a trail across the darkness. How the Rabbit himself tried to steal the stars from the sky...” Lauren took a deep breath. “When the Rabbit denied the claims, Tsul’Kalu shook his head, and silenced the mischief-maker with a deep growl. ‘It is not a sin to be who you are, Rabbit,’ the Ancient One said. The Rabbit smiled to himself, thinking his cleverness was about to acquit him. ‘But justice demands repayment for the trouble you and your ilk have caused,’ Tsul’Kalu continued. ‘Your fate is to dwell among the briars. You will be tormented by thorns for all your days. You will be chased by wolves, snakes, owls and eagles. Never to rest. Never safe in the day. Never safe in the night. Tormented, as you have tormented others. This is the fate for the leader in all the mischief’.”
She was quiet after that. Rowan scratched his chin with his thumbnail. “Who is Tsul’Kalu again?”
“The Ancient One,” Lauren’s gaze locked on his. “The Tall Man. The one we seek.”
“Bigfoot?” Jean-René confirmed.
Lauren took a deep breath and nodded. “The Rabbit will be judged. Tsul’Kalu will ensure it.”
“I never heard you tell that story,” Bahati said, standing.
“I just learned it today,” she said, getting up too.
“From who?” Rowan asked.
“Tsul’Kalu told me,” she stopped and turned around. “He will show us. In the north, signs of the Rabbit’s mischief are there. We will find it.”
Rowan’s gaze passed between his team. His brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. He saw his own concern reflected in the faces of his friends.
“Pauline said there was another camping area to the north,” Bahati said. “We didn’t have time to check it today. We came back when we got your radio call.”
“What did you find at the camping area south of here?” Rowan asked.
“A couple of smashed trash cans. Looks like vandals. Nothing I would chalk up to Sue Kal ...? How did you say it, Lauren?”
“Tsul’Kalu,” she said. “The Ancient One.”
“We’ll go check it out tomorrow then,” Rowan said. He rose, taking Lauren’s hand. “Go get some sleep. You’ve had enough excitement for one day.”
Lauren, uncharacteristically, obeyed. Without argument, she went to bed. She didn’t fuss or pitch a fit, she just went and crawled into her tent. As Rowan watched from the entrance of the tent, she collapsed into a deep slumber.