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I debated whether to go back and say that Blue had been attacked by bigfoot or stay hidden in the woods and try to take out more of them. That's when I remembered Jim said something about caving. He must be planning to attack in the caves. That meant we needed to get Randerran into the caves. I had to go back.
I had Blue's gun. I thought it was loaded with tranquilizer darts. I couldn't walk up to Randerran carrying it, but I hated to give up a weapon. I circled around behind Randerran and stashed the gun under a log. I hoped I'd be able to find it again if I needed it. I looped around and came out of the woods near the spot Blue and I had gone.
I took some shallow breaths and ran up to Randerran. "Where's Blue?"
"Bigfoot got him."
"You saw the bigfoot?"
"Yes."
"Let's go. Take us to where you saw it."
Fudge. I should have realized this would happened. I needed to get them into the caves. "It ran off with Blue. If it's living in the caves, maybe we can set up an ambush."
"That's actually a good idea. Let's go." Randerran led the way down the slope to the clearing. "Fan out. See if you can find an entrance."
I walked to the side of the rock wall, where we thought the entrance would be. It was well-hidden behind some brush, but I found it. I looked inside the entrance but couldn't see anything. I made my way to Randerran. "I found it." I turned and led them back to the entrance. I looked for footprints around the opening but didn't see any. "Do you have lights?"
Randerran handed me a flashlight and pushed me into the cave. Apparently, I was going to be the first one to invade the bigfoot's home. The entrance tunnel was short which seemed odd. The tall creatures would have to bend over to get in and out. I'd gone about four feet when it opened out into a larger tunnel at least ten feet in height. "What do you want me to do?"
"Find bigfoot," Randerran said.
I stopped when I came to a fork. "Which way?"
Randerran shoved me down the right-hand tunnel. I decided it might be good if I put more space between me and Randerran. I was trying to stay alert for any opportunity to take out Randerran or Patch, but I found myself looking around for any indication that bigfoot lived here. We checked every cave we passed but saw nothing until we reached a large cavern. There was a fire pit in the center and the roof above it had been blackened by smoke. I thought I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I wasn't sure if I wanted to step away from it or head toward it. It could be bigfoot or some other creature that inhabited these caves or it could be my rescuers. I chose to keep my distance from everyone.
As I neared the back corner of the cave, an arm snaked out and covered my mouth. Someone dressed all in black, moved in front of me.
"Drop your weapons," Jim said. I relaxed a little when I recognized the voice of the man in front of me.
Patch moved to remove his rifle, but Randerran turned toward us and fired. Jim fell backward knocking me down and landing on top of me. I wriggled to the side and pulled the gun from Jim's hand. I aimed it at Randerran and pulled the trigger three times. I heard a gasp of surprise and then a thud. Another voice I didn't recognize shouted drop your weapons. I wasn't sure if they meant me or not, but I dropped Jim's gun beside me and pulled myself free so I could check on him. I was looking for my flashlight when two men approached.
"Hello, Ms. Mason. Are you injured?"
"I don't think so, but Jim's been shot." One of them handed me my flashlight, and we both knelt beside Jim. "Jim are you OK?" He didn't answer. "Do you have a medic or a doctor?" I asked the other man.
"I'm Agent Driscoll," he said, before shouting for the medic. A young woman ran over carrying what looked like a large tool box. "Let me help you up," Agent Driscoll said, offering me his hand.
"You'll have to give a full statement later. Right now, I need to know if there are others outside of the cave." he said as we watched the medic examine Jim.
"Cassie, she's a DHS agent too, is outside somewhere with another of Randerran's men. They went off looking for bigfoot. Two of his men are injured or dead outside. Henson and the one I called Blue."
"Can you take me to where they are?"
"Not until I know how Jim's doing?"
The medic looked up. "I'm sorry, ma'am, Agent Stafford is dead."
"No. He can't be. Can you call a real doctor?" I pleaded with Driscoll.
"He was shot in the neck. There was nothing I could do. A doctor couldn't have helped."
I fell to my knees beside Jim. "Why did you get in front of me? You can't be dead. Laurie will kill me. I know we've had our disagreements lately, but I cared about you. I need you."
"I'm sorry, Ms. Mason. I know this is difficult, but we need to retrieve the others before it gets dark. They'll take care of Stafford's body. Can you show me where the others are?"
He pulled me up and led me out through the tunnels back to the clearing. I looked around but didn't see any sign of Cassie, Yellow or any bigfoot. I felt numb. I must be dreaming. Jim couldn't be dead.