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As I turned around to look for Gracie Layne, a large creature stepped in front of me, carrying her. "Cassie," I said quietly. She stopped and turned my way. I'm sure my own expression matched her slack-jawed look.
"Is she OK?" Cassie asked.
I reached up and checked Gracie Layne's pulse. It was fine. "I think she might have fainted," I said.
"I can see why."
"You have the gun, right?"
"Yeah, but I don't think he's a threat." Another large hairy creature, this one a female, stepped out of the jungle and stood beside the one holding Gracie. She moved into the forest in front of us and motioned for us to follow.
I looked at Cassie. She shrugged and fell in line behind the female. I was concerned about Gracie Layne, but not afraid of the creatures. It surprised me that they could move through the jungle so quietly. The male was larger than the female. He carried Gracie Layne with no sign of exertion at all. As we moved through the jungle, I realized the wood knocking stopped when the bigfoot appeared.
They didn't rush but moved at a fast pace. Cassie and I were able to keep up, but I wasn't sure that would last if we had far to go.
I wondered if I was crazy for not being afraid. Although Cassie had a gun, I doubted it would be able to take out even one of these creatures. I worried that we'd never be able to find our way back to the point where we left Chance and Jared. I wish I could explain why it seemed like we should follow them. I can't say. I just know it seemed like what we should do.
Eventually, we walked up a small hill and down into a valley or ravine. It was choked with vegetation. The female lifted some vines and motioned for us to go underneath. There was a whole clearing covered in mats made out of vines. It provided shade and cover. Even the male creature could stand up straight once he was in the clearing. He moved to the embankment and set Gracie Layne down carefully.
Cassie joined us. "I get the feeling they're helping us hide."
"It certainly seems that way." Even with all the encounters I'd had with various cryptids and the evidence I'd seen, I still clung to my skepticism like fleas cling to a hound dog. The male creature walked away but the female stayed with us. A few minutes later, the male returned with another male, this one seemed more fearful of us. The other one pulled him along until they were standing right beside me. I was nervous but stayed where I was sitting on the ground. The male that had carried Gracie Layne, knelt beside me. I should have been scared out of my mind, but I wasn't. He took hold of my arm with a surprisingly gentle touch. He looked in my face and gave me tilty-head like a dog does. A tiny corner of my mind flashed up a horror movie scene where he took a bite out of my arm, but he just turned my arm over and ran his palm over it. It was the arm where I'd been shot. The one Chance was sure had been treated by a bigfoot. That was months ago. It wasn't like they could smell it. He made some grunting sounds and pulled his friend closer. He acted as though he was afraid of me which almost caused a hysterical giggle to escape. Here was this hairy beast who was so tall he'd make Chance look tiny, and he was looking at me—petite, armed only with silverware, as though I was a threat. Eventually, he touched my arm. It was weird. They looked at my arm with something akin to reverence.
Gracie Layne took that inopportune moment to wake up with a moan. The skittish male jumped away from me. Gracie Layne took one look my way and promptly fainted back into unconsciousness.
The two males left us alone with the female. She approached me and pointed to my arm. I held it out to let her know it was OK for her to check it out. What the heck, I felt like it had been examined by so many people and now even bigfoot what's one more, albeit another large hairy one. She was very gentle. She turned it over and ran her palm over it. She brought I to her nose and sniffed loudly. I didn't understand, but I hoped they felt some kind of connection with me because of what their northern relatives had used to treat my arm. I don't know if I'd ever be comfortable saying I believe a bigfoot provided me with wilderness medical care, but it was tough to argue with what was happening here.
After she finished with my arm, she went and sat close to the side of the covering where we had ducked underneath. I moved slowly, not wanting to startle the creatures, and went to sit on the other side of Gracie Layne.
"Do you think she's OK?" Cassie asked.
"I don't know if it’s the creatures or what happened to Mark or all of it that's affecting her." Just then she opened her eyes. Cassie and I both moved so our bodies blocked her view of the bigfoot that seemed to be either standing guard or playing the role of the doorman.
"Hi, Gracie Layne. Are you feeling OK?" I asked. Cassie pulled a bottle of water from her bag and handed it to me. "Here, Sweetie. Drink some water."
I scooted over and put my arm around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry you got caught up in all of this," I said. "We're going to be OK. I'll get you back home. I promise."
As I sat there with my sister's head on my shoulder, I realized I was angry with Dr. Braun and the people that held us captive. It made no sense even to me, but I was really angry with Dr. Wainwright. He had pretended to take care of our medical needs, while selling us out to these people. Thinking about how he used Gracie Layne enraged me. If he wasn't already dead...