Justin and the others made their way carefully across the large yard, handheld search lights illuminating their path, rifles in hand. The lawn ended in a thicket, and beyond it, where a mountain loomed, was the dark maw of an old railroad tunnel.
“I’m surprised it’s not gated off,” Justin said as he and Brandon approached the opening with the others close behind them.
Brandon’s light caught a glimpse of motion, something that didn’t move like any normal animal.
“What the hell isthat?” Gage yelped. A deep growl warned them to stay back.
“Doesn’t sound like a bear,” Justin said as he and Brandon leveled their rifles in the direction of the noise.
“Sounds too big to be a raccoon or a badger.” Emery readied a net while Brandon tried to capture the creature in the bright beam.
A skittering sound made Justin picture long claws scrabbling on rock. The light hit the creature for just a few seconds, revealing a pushed-in face, compact body, and wicked claws, unlike any of the natural creatures native to the Adirondacks.
He felt certain that glimpse would haunt his nightmares for a long time.
“I’ll try to get him again.” Gage repositioned the spotlight. “This time, shoot!”
The beam played over the interior of the old tunnel, and Justin thought the creature might have slipped out already. Then the light caught it again—rough black fur, misshapen head, strangely taloned feet, and bat-like ears.
Justin and Brandon fired. At this distance, they couldn’t miss.
Except that the creature was faster than they expected. It skittered up the rock wall, fled across the ceiling, and vanished into the darkness.
“Fuck,” Brandon shouted. The four men looked at each other, dumbfounded.
“I’ve never seen anything move like that,” Gage said, clearly spooked. “Except in horror movies.”
“There’s got to be a record of something like that, somewhere.” Emery sounded rattled. “I know it’s a deep, dark forest, but if a creature like that has gotten this close to settled areas, someone else has to have seen it.”
“I’ll talk to Liam,” Justin volunteered. “He’ll know if the library’s got anything that might help and will research it if they don’t.”
“Is it gone? Do we just wait here for it to come back?” Gage’s voice made it clear he wasn’t in favor of that option.
“Give it fifteen minutes, and if it doesn’t show, it’s gone,” Brandon said. As the captain of the squad, the decision was his. “But damned if I know how to fill out the report.”
Justin had joined the local volunteer fire department a few years ago. He was already friends with several of the men and liked the idea of being able to help with emergencies that didn’t require flying.
While fires were the main part of their mission, the VFD also helped with other issues like flooding, rescues, traffic accidents, medical emergencies, and nudging wild animals away from backyards and populated areas.
“That’s a wrap for now,” Brandon said after they waited a full half hour without movement or signs of the creature. “Let’s set up some trail cameras around the tunnel and see if we can catch a look when it finally comes out.”
They spread out to set the motion-sensitive, low-light cameras to capture both sides of the old tunnel, and Brandon left some dry dog food just inside one of the entrances, where anything that stopped to eat would be in full view.
“We can put out a safety notice to report any strange sightings,” Emery said as they walked back to the truck. “And warn people away from trying to adopt the ‘ugly dog.’”
“I never know whether those notices help or not,” Gage said. “On one hand, they let folks know to steer clear, but sometimes they also bring out the bounty hunters.”
“Gotta say something,” Emery said. “Maybe one of our shifter pals will have seen something we didn’t.”
The call had come in the wee hours of the morning, but it was now time that normal people got up for work. The crew dropped the truck off at the firehouse and headed out for their regular jobs, reminding each other of the volunteer schedule for the upcoming holiday events.
Something about the creature stayed on Justin’s mind. His intuition, part of his psychic gift, felt disquieted by something that seemed so utterly different and alien. He knew that every so often researchers discovered formerly overlooked species thathad been hidden deep in forests, far underwater. or even in large caves.
He remembered Scott’s question and the sighting with his guest on the plane.Is that what this was? Will scientists show up to document a new species? Are there more of them?
Once he picked up a cup of coffee and a muffin at the café, he opened his phone and started searching. He found several fictional beasts and monsters, but no reliable zoological information on anything resembling what they had seen. More questions kept cycling in his mind.
If there hadn’t been four of us, or if we hadn’t been armed, would it have attacked? We heard its claws. What kind of teeth did it have? Could it kill a person, and are there more like that?
