Hominid (16 page)

CHAPTER 47

T
ess followed Charlie across the valley. Along the way, bigfoot stopped what they were doing to stare at her. None approached or interfered, but she could feel their eyes tracking her movements across the open space. And while she wasn’t sure what awaited her ahead, she looked forward to getting away from their prying eyes.

Charlie led her to a cave tucked underneath a rock overhang on the far wall of the valley. He ducked inside. Steeling herself, Tess followed.

The cave was at least thirteen feet high, but it wasn’t very deep, only about twenty feet. Along the back wall sat two bigfoot next to a pile of leaves and branches. One of the bigfoot stood up, and Tess felt comforted at the sight of her. “Hi, Mary.”

Mary stayed where she was, darting glances between Tess and the pile of leaves.

The other bigfoot was a male about the same size as Charlie. He backed away slowly from the pile of leaves, keeping his eyes locked on Tess and giving her a wide berth. He did not seem happy to see her. Tess kept an eye on him too, although if he tried to hurt her there was absolutely nothing she could do to defend herself.

Charlie motioned her forward toward Mary and the pile of leaves.

Trying to keep her breathing even, Tess did as he asked, her hands on her pack as if it were some sort of security blanket. As she drew closer, she noticed that there was an old blanket on top of the leaves.
That’s odd.
Then she realized that hair was sticking out from under the blanket. There was someone in there.

She stepped right up to the bed of leaves, for that’s clearly what it was. And now she could see that the shape under the blanket was tiny. Was this one of their babies? But why would they bring her all this way to see a baby? Why were they trusting her with this?

Charlie looked at Tess, then gestured toward the bed of leaves again. Tess knelt, aware of the eyes on her. Very gently, and with a trembling hand, she pulled back the blanket and stared in disbelief as the child turned toward her. She fell back, her hand over her mouth.

It wasn’t a bigfoot child.

It was a human one.

CHAPTER 48

T
ess stared at the child for precious seconds before she moved forward. She pushed the long, stringy brown hair out of the child’s face. It was a girl. With shaking hands, Tess pulled the blanket all the way back. The girl wore an old dress, and her feet were bare. Tess wasn’t sure, but she thought the girl was about five years old, six at most.

The girl mumbled something. Tess reached up and felt her forehead. She was burning up.

Mary kneeled down on the other side of the girl. She placed her hand gently on the child’s back, and the child reached out for her. Mary scooted closer so the child could feel her near.

Tess watched the exchange in amazement. Mary cared for this child—maybe as her own child, or maybe merely as a pet, but it was obvious that she was genuinely concerned about the girl. Charlie sat down beside Mary, his eyes on the girl. Then his eyes met Tess’s, and Tess felt the trust. Charlie trusted her with the health of this child. Tess turned her attention back to the girl.

“Okay. She has a fever. Why?”

She gently checked the girl, but didn’t see anything that could have caused it—until she rolled the girl on her side. Tess sucked in a breath. There, at the back of her calf, was a cut that had become badly infected. It was caked with dirt and oozing pus.
Oh, God. This is why Charlie brought me.

Gently, Tess ran a shaky hand over the girl’s hair. “It’s going to be okay,” she said and hoped she wasn’t lying.

The girl didn’t respond to her words. Tess wasn’t sure if that was because she didn’t hear them or because she didn’t understand them.

Tess slid her bag off her shoulders, aware of the three sets of eyes watching her intently. She unzipped her bag, grabbed a towel, and tried unsuccessfully to rip it apart. “Damn it.”

Charlie grabbed the towel from her and easily ripped it in two. He tried to hand it back, but Tess indicated with hand gestures that he should rip it more. He did, then gave the torn pieces to her.

Tess rifled through her pack again, grabbing her pot, her water canteen, and her lighter. She walked just outside the cave, gathered some sticks together, brought them back inside the cave, and arranged them in a neat pile beside one wall. Mary’s mate watched her carefully.

Tess then picked up her lighter and brought up the flame.

With a yell, Mary’s mate shoved her; Tess slammed into the wall. Her head struck with such force it left her dizzy. She crumpled to the ground and saw stars.

Mary’s mate towered over her. Tess cowered, pressing her back against the wall.
Oh God.

But before Mary’s mate could strike again, Charlie darted forward, stepping between Tess and her attacker. He shoved the other bigfoot back, growling from deep in his throat. Mary’s mate stepped toward him threateningly, but Charlie didn’t back down. He gestured from Tess to the girl.

Finally, the mate backed away. He glared at Mary, then went and sat next to the girl, pulling her into his lap. Tess couldn’t help but notice how gentle the male was with the girl. He held her in a way that could only be described as protective.

Clearing her head, Tess got to her feet. She kept her attention on the bigfoot that had shoved her, ready to run at any aggressive moves. At the same time, she realized the futility of that plan. The bigfoot watched her just as carefully. But Charlie stood nearby, and Tess had the sense that he was warning the other bigfoot to stay back.

Turning back to the pile of sticks, Tess tried to light a fire. Her hands were trembling so hard, it took her three tries to get the lighter to work. Finally it caught. She poured the water in the pot, then placed the pot on the fire to boil.

Then she looked up at Mary’s mate, who glared back at her. And Tess tried not to think about what would happen to her if the girl died.

CHAPTER 49

T
ess spent the rest of the day cleaning out the girl’s wound. She had ground up some ibuprofen and mixed it with water, and with Mary’s help, had gotten the girl to drink it.

By the time darkness began to fall, Tess was exhausted. After the hike, the shock of the valley, and the stress of the little girl’s illness, she was wiped. But she stayed by the girl’s side all through the dark night. Occasionally she would drift off, but the girl’s whimpers would awaken her, and she would replace the hot cloth on her forehead with a cool one and check her wound.

Finally, as the night turned into day, the girl’s fever broke.

Tess allowed herself a small smile and tried not to cry. The girl would be all right.

Carefully Tess changed the girl’s bandage, taping it in place. She looked up at Mary and Charlie, who had not left the little girl’s side. Mary’s mate—Frank, Tess had decided to call him—had disappeared for a few hours during the night, but he was back now, and he looked on, concerned. As did Sugar, who had come in and curled up next to the girl.

Tess nodded. “She’ll be all right.”

She wasn’t sure if they understood her. But she was too tired to do more than that. She lay her head down on the edge of the girl’s bed, closed her eyes, and slept.

CHAPTER 50

T
ess felt a rock jabbing into her side. She opened her eyes.
Why am I—?

She reared back, barely able to hold in her yelp. Sugar sat three feet away, staring at her.

Her hand on her heart, Tess took a deep breath. “Morning, Sugar,” she said quietly, stretching her back as she sat up. Mary was still curled up next to the little girl.

Quietly, so as not to wake the girl, Tess knelt at her side and placed her hand on her forehead. She was cool to the touch. Tess slumped next to the bed in relief.
Thank God.

Feeling eyes on her, Tess caught Mary’s sleepy gaze and smiled. Mary placed her hand on the girl’s back and closed her eyes again. Sugar scampered out of the cave. Frank and Charlie were gone too.

Tess brushed the girl’s hair from her face and tried to figure out what to do. Who was this girl? And how on earth did she end up here? People had spent their whole lives looking for bigfoot, and here this tiny little girl not only had found them, she
lived
with them.

Had they found her somewhere? Did she wander off from a campsite? Tess thought back to the Native American tales of bigfoot kidnapping children. Had this girl been kidnapped? Was there any way she could have
chosen
to live with them? Even if she had, she was only a child. Legally, she couldn’t decide where she lived.

Tess stared at the girl and Mary’s arm protectively covering her. However the girl had arrived here, Tess would not be getting those answers right now. And the best thing she could do for the girl was to let her sleep. So as quietly as she could, Tess made her way to the opening of the cave. She picked up her pack and secured it on her shoulders. She paused at the entrance, not sure how the bigfoot would react to seeing her outside without an escort.

Well, here goes nothing.
Tess stepped out.

She was prepared to dart right back inside if her appearance caused any upset, but to her surprise, no one seemed to object. And they definitely noticed her. Just about everyone nearby stopped and stared. Keeping her movements unhurried, Tess walked a little to the side of the cave and took a seat with a large boulder against her back.

She just looked around, not moving, until eventually the bigfoot turned away, unconcerned. Tess let out the breath she had been holding.

She would have sat there longer, just watching. It was amazing. But there was something she had to do before she could enjoy the view.

She rose quietly and walked around the boulder, out of view. After yesterday’s response to her lighter, she didn’t want to risk startling anyone. She pulled her sat phone from her pack. She wasn’t sure how long she was going to be out here, and she needed to leave a message before everyone freaked.

The battery light was blinking. With everything going on lately, she’d forgotten to charge it. She glanced up at the valley walls and wondered if the call could even get through. She’d have to hope for the best.

She debated for a minute who to call before deciding on Pax. He would be the one most worried if he didn’t speak with her. She quickly dialed his number. Pax answered on the second ring.

“Tess?”

“Hey, Pax.”

“Tess, thank God.”

“I just wanted to let you know I’d be away for a few days. But don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Static answered her.

Tess frowned and raised her voice. “Pax? I said I’ll be away a few days, but I’m okay.”

More static sounded. And then the phone died.

Tess stared at it.
Damn.
Well, Pax had heard her voice—she hoped. He knew she wasn’t in danger. It would have to do.

Tess put the phone back in her pack, walked around the boulder, and took a seat closer to the cave entrance. With her back against the valley wall, she watched with amazement the scene in front of her.

She had noticed the family groups yesterday, but now she had a chance to really study them. She saw juveniles playing together, but there were always a few adults nearby, and the few times the juveniles got out of hand, they were quickly reprimanded by the adults. Tess even caught sight of a few babies, some of them possible newborns. Plus she saw at least two bigfoot that were obviously pregnant.

This must be a breeding ground. The bigfoot probably gather here to help protect and provide for the children. And when they’re old enough, they probably even bring them here to find a mate.
Some researchers had hypothesized the possibility that bigfoot had family units, but most discounted it. They said bigfoot was a loner. While it was true that bigfoot shied away from humans, apparently they enjoyed being in each other’s company.

Over at the lake, Tess spotted a few bigfoot swimming—and they were incredible swimmers. That was perhaps what surprised her the most. Gorillas hated the water and stayed away from it. They didn’t even drink much water, preferring to get their water from plants. But the bigfoot dove and swam liked they’d been born for it. Tess pictured Charlie’s webbed fingers
. Maybe they were.

She tore her gaze from the swimmers as some juveniles raced by playing some sort of tag. Tess couldn’t take it all in. It was incredible.

And it made sense. In all the sightings of bigfoot, very few ever reported seeing a juvenile. But the juveniles had to be
somewhere
. So maybe they did separate during the years, then came back together solely for breeding purposes. Or maybe they stayed together year round and only the older ones were allowed to go off alone—probably to forage for food.

And Charlie’s existence here also suggested they did not write off older members of their groups. Everyone had a purpose. Everyone had a part to play.

Tess watched everything unfolding in front of her with new eyes. This was a cohesive group—a tribe. If not for their size and all that hair, they could be any group of humans.

She caught sight of Kong standing across the valley with a group of like-sized individuals.
Well, almost human.

Kong and his companions held themselves apart from the rest of the bigfoot. Almost like a guard—a general and his lieutenants. Like Kong, the others of his group were more muscular and taller. The more Tess compared them to the smaller bigfoot, the more convinced she became that they were two different species. As she watched Kong, Tess couldn’t help but wonder about his divergent big toe and think about all the subtle differences in the reports of bigfoot around the world.

At the same time, her mind whirled at what she was looking at and what it all meant. She had not discovered a single unknown group—she’d discovered
two
. Two that intermingled, two that lived together and in all likelihood bred together.
Amazing.

Sugar disappeared into the cave and reappeared soon after. Tess felt the worry coming from her, so she rose and made her way back into the cave.

The little girl was moaning softly in her sleep. Tess mixed some more ibuprofen with water and brought it over to the girl. Mary pulled the girl into her lap and held her while Tess held the cup to the girl’s lips.

“That’s a good girl,” Tess said as the girl began to take small sips. Slowly, the girl downed it all. Then Mary leaned back against the wall, the girl snuggled in her lap. Tess watched the two of them, etching the memory into her mind. It was the picture of maternal love.

Tess turned to return the cup to her bag and nearly bumped into Charlie and Frank. Frank’s eyes latched on to the girl and then Mary, who was cooing softly to the girl. Frank didn’t even glance at Tess as he went to join his mate. Mary handed the girl over to him, and with a gentleness belied by his size, Frank held the girl snugly in his arms.

Charlie grunted at Tess before turning and walking out of the cave. Tess paused and then followed him, sensing that was perhaps what he wanted. Sure enough, he was waiting for her outside, and as soon as she stepped out, he started to walk across the valley. Tess struggled to keep up, and Charlie slowed.

They passed an apple tree, and Charlie reached up and snagged a couple. Tess grinned. Apparently he hadn’t really needed her apple supply after all.

Tess realized they were heading for the entrance. Her heart plummeted. She wasn’t ready to go home yet. But Charlie turned before reaching the tunnel, leading Tess to a path that cut up along the side of the wall of rock. It ended at a wide ledge overlooking the valley. Charlie sat down.

Tess could see everything from here. She looked at Charlie and realized no one would be able to see him up here. He blended in too well with the surrounding rocks. She sat down next to him. He handed her an apple. Tess realized they had reached a pivotal point in their relationship. Charlie was now feeding her.

Tess took a bite as the sun began to dip toward the horizon. Neither of them spoke, which for Charlie wasn’t unusual. But for the first time, Tess didn’t feel the need to either.

She just smiled and enjoyed the sunset.