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"We're pretty far behind schedule," Chance said. "We won't make the planned campsite tonight."
"Does that mean we can't complete Harry's plan?"
"No. We'll just have to pick up the pace tomorrow."
I guess my concern showed on my face. "Don't worry. It'll be fine," he said.
I spent the rest of the hike replaying what I'd learned about cryptids and what I'd seen. By the time we made camp and were sitting around the fire eating dinner, I realized what bothered me most about the whole cryptid thing. "Chance, should we be worried about being out here now that we've seen proof that there are bigfoot in the area?"
"We should be fine. We'll take the same precautions as last night," he said. "It's no different than what we'd do if we came across bear scat."
"I think that's one of the things that bothers me about the whole cryptid thing. When you find evidence that you say proves they're around, you don't seem very concerned about it."
"Like I said, I'd react the same way if we found bear scat. I wouldn't turn and run. I’d take precautions. I'm not sure what you think is different."
"I didn't mean to upset you, I'm really trying to understand all this. I'm a naturally skeptical person."
"No problem. I think that's why Harry wanted you to come out here."
"I know you lead hunting trips for paying customers. I checked out your website."
"So, you were checking me out, huh?" he grinned at me.
"I wanted to see how your business operated. The locals all said I'd be safe with you, but I needed to decide that for myself."
"Did you think I'd bring you out here and harm you or leave you in the woods."
"The thought did occur to me. It's pretty clear that you don't like me."
"That's true, but I'd never harm anyone or allow anyone to be hurt if I could stop it."
"That's what everyone told me. Anyway, on your website there were lots of images of you and your customers with the animals you shot. I noticed in all the cryptid photos in the cafe, there's never one of those photos with a bigfoot or a Chupacabra."
We sat in silence for a while, but I could tell Chance was thinking about what I said. He took a sip of his coffee, before speaking. "You're right. We do talk about hunting cryptids just like we talk about hunting bears or caribou, but it's not the same. With cryptids, we're trying to find evidence to prove they exist. Any serious cryptid hunter would never shoot one of the creatures unless they were forced to in order to save a human life—their own or someone else's."
"Why not? Why are you interested in studying bigfoot, but you want to shoot a caribou and mount it on your wall as a trophy?"
"That's a good question. You're right, it's not the same. I hope by the time this week is over maybe you'll figure it out and be able to help me understand it."
I was feeling pretty good about how things we're going, I'd made it through two days of hiking, and I was doing OK. I still wasn't a fan of all the walking, or the lack of showers, or decent food, but I was proud of myself for holding up as well as I was.
I convinced myself the reason Chance hadn't been irritating me was because I wasn't giving him any reason to. I should have known it couldn't be that easy.