Adam knew his friend Watch well. Watch did indeed go for help, and Bum was at the top of his list. Watch had a pretty good idea where Bum would be. It was Friday evening, and everyone knew it was Bum’s custom to go to the only theater in town and try to sneak in to catch one of the new releases. But since the owner of the theater knew of Bum’s habit, too, Bum was rarely successful at getting inside. Watch caught up with Bum just as he was being thrown out on the sidewalk.
“What’s playing tonight?” Watch asked, helping his old friend up. Bum was dressed in his usual dirty gray coat and smelled as if he hadn’t taken a bath in two weeks. But his bright green eyes had lost none of their humor. He laughed as he got to his feet.
“A horror film, as usual,” Bum said. “It’s a remake of It: The Terror from Beyond. The original was awful, so I don’t mind missing the sequel.” He paused and squinted at him. “How are you, Watch? You look worried.”
Watch nodded. “I am. I took my friends up to the Haunted Cave and the entrance closed up on them. They’re trapped inside.”
Bum was amazed. “Why did you take them there?”
“Cindy Makey, the new girl in town, wanted to go.”
“The one with the ghost for a granny?”
“Yeah, her. We saved her brother, but I don’t know how we’re going to save her now. Adam and Sally are with Cindy.” Watch paused. It was never good to pressure Bum because he could clam up and tell you nothing. But Watch felt in a big hurry, which was unusual for him. “Do you know how to get the entrance to open up again?”
“Sure. You wait. It opens up again, eventually.”
“How long does it take?”
Bum scratched his thinning hair. “Years.”
“But they’ll be dead by then.”
“That is a problem.” Bum leaned closer and spoke quietly. “Did you warn them about the Hyeets?”
“What’s that?”
“The Bigfoots that live in the cave. They’re a nasty lot. You know what happened to Bill Bailey. The blasted creatures ate him alive. Ruined his final photo shoot.”
Watch was concerned. “I didn’t know they were called Hyeets, but I did warn the others about them.”
Bum shrugged and looked down the block in the direction of the diner. “It doesn’t matter if you warned them or not. The Hyeets will get them. Your friends are as good as dead. No sense worrying about them. Hey, how would you like to buy me dinner?”
Watch thought for a moment. “If I do, will you tell me everything you know about the Haunted Cave? And the Hyeets?”
“Deal.” Bum grinned and slapped Watch on the back. “And if you get me dessert, I just might remember another way to get into the cave. You have money on you?”
Watch nodded and checked his watch set on West Coast time. The walk back to find Bum had been long and hard in the dark so his friends had been trapped for over an hour now. He wondered if he had put fresh batteries in the flashlights. Maybe he’d used old ones. He just hoped Bum could help in some way. At the moment Watch couldn’t think of any other leads to pursue.
“I have money,” Watch said almost to himself as they walked in the direction of the diner.