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I rushed forward. "Cassie, are you OK?" I asked as I knelt beside her.
"Everly? Where am I?"
"Don't move until I check you out," I said. "Can you roll over on your back?" She did as I asked. Her faced was a little scratched and her left hand had some kind of green vine tied around it, holding it close to her body. Her clothes were dirty and... "Oh. My. God." Lying flat on her back, I could see the hairs covering a portion of her jacket and pants for about a foot above and below the waist line.
"What's the matter? Am I injured?"
"No. Sorry. No. I don't see any obvious injuries except some scratches on your face and your arm. "What happened to your hand?"
She tried to raise it but it was secured around her body. I could see she was trying to remember what happened. "Where are Randerran and the guards?"
"They're all dead or in custody. Do you remember what happened to Yellow? We found his body."
"He got impatient. I guess he thought I wasn't really trying to find bigfoot for them. He decided to have a little fun. I objected. I kneed him and tried to run away, but he grabbed my wrist. I guess that's how it got injured. He let go of me when we heard a growl from the woods behind us. As soon as he let go, I ran for the woods. When I looked back a bigfoot was attacking him. I hadn't gone far, before I stumbled over something and fell. I think I put my hands out to catch myself without thinking. That's the last thing I remember. How did I get here?"
"I think a bigfoot carried you?"
She looked at me in disbelief, just like I looked at Chance when he said a bigfoot carried him out of the stream when his leg was broken. "I know it sounds crazy, but there's a lot of hair stuck to your clothes as though you were carried over a hairy shoulder. I know how it sounds. I reacted the same way when Chance told me a bigfoot carried him out of the river when I pushed him off the cliff, but his clothes looked the same way yours do."
She swayed a little when I helped her up. "How long have I been here?"
"I'm not sure, but you've been missing almost two days." I realized that might mean she hadn't had food or water. I led her over to a stump. "Sit down. You need some food and water." I shrugged out of my pack. I've got jerky or granola," I said as she downed a bottle of water.
After she ate and drank her fill, she started asking questions about what happened with Randerran. I understood that she needed to know, but I wasn't in the mood to relive the story again. "Let's get you back where we can get you some medical attention. I'll tell you what you missed once you're checked out by a doctor. DHS agents are all over the crime scenes—Renee's cabin, the A-frame, the caves."
She turned and faced me. "You found the caves? Did you find the bigfoot family?"
"I think they found you actually. There's still a lot I don't know either." Let's just concentrate on getting you some help."
Cassie was weak, but she seemed OK. When we got to the main trail, she pointed to the coral ball of yarn up in the tree. "Did you leave that so you could find your way back?"
"No. That's how I found you. It's from the coral sweater you were wearing. She stopped and unzipped her coat. The sweater was gone. "You must have pulled out the yarn to mark which way you went."
"I didn't," she said.
I saw no point in offering my theory as to what happened to the sweater.
We'd been walking for a while when I heard something coming toward us. We stepped off the trail and hid until I recognized Driscoll.
"Agent Driscoll. I found her," I said.
"It's nice to meet you Agent Carter, are you OK?"
"Mostly," she said.
I gave a quick update on her condition, and Driscoll called in on his radio to let everyone know we found her. On the way back to the helicopter, Driscoll pointed to one of the coral yarn balls and asked, "Which one of you left these trail markers."
"Neither of us," I said.
He looked at me but didn't question me further.