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BG was no dummy. If Ohpra was calling him Gupper then there was some serious stuff happening. “C’mon Rev. Lets get a move on.” He said encouragingly to his friend. Rev was now sticking his head up a little further in the air and looking around. He didn’t know for what? But any time Ohpra was calling BG by his given name of Gupper, and that BG was in a hurry to do anything that didn’t involve eating … well there was something up. The four friends began to head back to Cherokee campground. The majority of the walk was through some thicker parts of the forest. It made for some really dark stretches they had to get past in order to reach the campground. They made it through everything except one last stretch of darkness where the trees were especially thick. As soon as they came to the entrance of that stretch the two men were there, waiting. . “Hi kids. Missed you earlier. I guess you thought we gave up.” Said the taller man who reached out and grabbed Ohpra’s wrist. She was caught. The others would never leave Ohpra, so the men had in fact captured all of them. They tied the four friends up and marched them back toward the stream. Then they made a campfire and forced the friends to sit down. “What are you going to do with us?” Noah asked. The taller man answered. “Well we were hungry, so we wanted your fish. Now that we had to go to so much trouble to catch you, there is less desire to just let you go. After all, we let you go and you tell the law that we backtracked. Right now, they’re all downstream looking for us. I think for now we will just keep you around. Shame you kids didn’t catch enough trout for all of us to eat. I think there is just enough for us two.” The two men made sure the four friends were tied up well enough they could not get away. They did that by using the stringers they had in their tackle boxes. They tied each friend to a small tree. Then they proceeded to cook their fish dinners over the campfire. While they ate the friends talked among themselves. “What are we going to do?” Rev said. “What can we do?” Ohpra asked. “Not panic for starters.” Noah said. “We might be able to untie ourselves. These stringers are notorious for not being able to knot up easily. I think over the night I will be able to get my knots loose. We just have to bide our time while using it to try and free ourselves.” “I agree.” Rev said. “They recognized that the knots are not holding well so they made extra effort by tying more than just one knot but it just means it will take longer.” “Don’t do anything until they’ve fell asleep. Then we make our move.” Noah said. “Lets stay quiet and appear to be sleeping. No sense in giving them any extra reason for staying awake longer.” The four friends were tied with their hands behind them to a small tree and told to go to sleep by the two men holding them hostage. Then to be extra sneaky, one of the men used the fishing line off one of their fishing poles, to tie it to one of BG’s shoe laces while BG was pretending to be sleeping. Because he had his eyes closed, he didn’t see the man tie the fishing line to his shoe. Then the man set the fishing pole to allow the line to go out giving it some slack. If BG tried to run away it would allow him for several steps and then the line would become taunt which would let the men know that BG was trying to escape. The two men finally went to sleep late into the night. They were sleeping on the other side of the campfire from where the four friends were tied to a small tree. One by one the friends sat up awake and began to try and untie the many knots the men had made when tying them up. It was a dark night. The moon was out but the moonlight was not reaching the area where the knots were located. They had to feel with their hands to try and untie themselves. There simply was not enough light to be able to see due to the shadows caused by the small tree. Only a couple of hours remained before sunup and the four were very discouraged. They had tried very hard to untie the knots holding them to the tree but had failed. BG and Ohpra had fell asleep leaving only Noah and Rev still trying to untie themselves. They worked feverishly but could not find a way free of the tree. Then Rev felt something hairy and warm on his hands. He heard heavy breathing. Then he felt the line holding him to the tree broke free. It made it possible for him to be able to free his hands. When he turned to see what had freed him, there was nothing. Noah also experienced the same. By the time he got his hands free and turned to see what had helped them, he saw nothing. When he tried to help BG and Ohpra, he realized that they too, had been broke free of the tree. Noah woke BG while Rev woke Ohpra. They started to sneak away when in the darkness something had hold of BG’s foot. Then he felt the shoe taken off his foot. “Something’s got my foot. It took my shoe.” BG whispered to his friends. “Leave it.” Noah whispered. The four friends scrambled away toward Cherokee camp. Meantime a large hairy hand attached to a large hairy arm attached to a large hairy creature: gave a tug on the fishing line tied to BG’s lost shoe. The two fugitive men were about to get the surprise of their lives. “Hey there’s a tug on the fishing line. The kids are trying to get away. All we have to do is follow the fishing line to catch them again.” The two men did follow the fishing line. When they jumped out to surprise the kids they were the ones who got a big surprise. A ten foot tall hairy surprise ————– Chapter ——————– The four friends poured into Cherokee campground and immediately sought out a counselor. The counselor called the police and they were there filling out reports when the two men who had tied up the friends, came rushing into the campground. They ran up to the police and turned themselves in saying they never were going out into the wilderness again. They told a story about tracking some kids and taking them hostage. Tying them up and then when the kids were sleeping they tied a fishing string to one of the kids so they would know if they tried to escape. Late in the night they felt a tug on the fishing string so they followed it expecting to surprise the kids but instead there was a ten foot tall bigfoot waiting for them. They said they ran straight to the Cherokee campground out of fear for their lives. When the kids heard the story they got a good laugh out of it. ———- Chapter ——————- The next day the four friends decided to go back to the crevice. They brought a bow and arrow set with them because BG had an idea. They could shoot an arrow with fishing line tied to it, over to the other side of the crevice across a tree limb. Then they would climb down until they were even with the arrow which would be hanging over the middle of the crevice. Next they got a long tree limb and were able to reach across the crevice half way and get ahold of the arrow. Once they got the arrow wrapped around the end of the tree limb they were able to pull it back over to them. Next they tied the climbing rope to the fishing line and pulled the climbing rope over the tree limb and then back to where they stood. Next they made a slip knot and pulled the rope tight. Now they could swing across the crevice far above where they had climbed down to allow the bigfoot to get out. By swinging across the crevice it allowed the four friends to explore the part of the mountain that had pulled away from the rest of it. On the far side of the crevice was a highway. Rev wondered if that was the reason the mountain had split away from itself. “You think when they put in the highway that it was the cause for the mountain to split away from itself?” Rev asked nobody in particular. “I don’t think so. I read it has to do with while they are growing. Some parts of it are pushed up faster than other parts. Something like that.” BG said. “So we’re standing on a part of the mountain which got pushed up faster than the rest.” Ohpra said “Right.” BG said. “Its probably been like this for a million years.” “Lets climb on up to where it flattens out.” Noah said. So they did just that. When they got to the part that flattened out they discovered two surprises. The first was a small natural pond and the second was the bigfoot. He was standing in the middle of the pond about waist deep in the water. The friends quickly slipped behind some brush that was growing nearby. The bigfoot had not seen them. He was clearly taking a bath. “I bet he doesn’t stink as bad after a good bath.” Ohpra whispered. “I can’t believe we forgot to bring our camera phones again.” Rev said in disgust. “I should pay somebody to kick me in the butt. I had every intention of bringing my phone with me today but I have gotten so used to not having it with me that I forgot it.” “You would have had to ask the counselor for it.” Noah said. “Nope. Grabbed it back when he wasn’t looking before we left. I had it ready to go and then left it sitting on my sleeping bag.” Rev replied. “Shhh.” Ohpra whispered. The bigfoot had turned and was looking in their direction “He’s not going to hurt us.” Rev said quietly. “If he was, he would have done it when he was standing over us. I think we should say hello.” Then Rev stepped out from behind the bushes. The bigfoot remained still in the pond. Ohpra then joined Rev, followed by BG and finally Noah “Hi. Hello there.” Rev said. The bigfoot remained still. “We don’t mean you any harm.” Ohpra said. “We want to be friends.” The bigfoot took a few steps in their direction, causing the entire pond to send ripples across it. As the creature came closer to the shore it rose further out of the pond. Water ran down its fur in small rivers, draining back into the pond. The creature’s deeply lined face creased even deeper as it let go a roar. The entire mountainside became quiet except for one voice. It was Rev. “You aren’t going to hurt us so knock off the bluff big hairy.” Rev said, but his body language said he was ready to start running at the drop of a hat. “You might as well be friends with us because we don’t mean you any harm and I promise we will never bring any other people around.” “I also promise.” Noah said, taking a step toward the bigfoot. The hairy creature stepped out of the water and stood at the edge of the pond. It truly did have kind eyes. “Me too.” BG said, also taking a step toward the bigfoot. “You had me at first roar.” Ohpra said, taking a step in the direction of the bigfoot. The four friends stood about three school bus lengths from where the bigfoot was standing. They stayed that way for a while. Each side just looking at the other. Eventually the group sat down in the spots they had been standing. Neither side moving away or toward the other. All seemingly satisfied to just be spending time in the presence of the other. They spent so much time that way that when a couple hours had passed the group had become so familiar with each other that the four friends broke out the food they had brought with them, hotdogs again, and they had a cook out.
Bigfoot ate all the hotdogs in two packages except for one each that went to the four friends. They used sticks to hold the hotdogs over the fire until they were cooked. Then whoever had the package of buns would hand one over to the owner of the cooked hotdog. Dinner on the mountainside. Big Hairy as they took to calling him, even drank a can of rootbeer. He also showed them how to call for help in the wilderness. It involved hitting a piece of wood against a tree trunk three times followed by making a wooping sound. It was a great afternoon that even involved some swimming. The four friends took turns being thrown into the air by Big Hairy, and then splashing down into the water. They discovered he really did not stink but was just needing a shower that first time they met him. Communication was very limited but apparently the effort they made to free Big Hairy when they first saw him, was enough for him to trust them. He earned their trust back that first day when he made no violent or aggressive acts toward them. Now they were just confirming what they had already learned. Both sides learned a lot about the other. One thing the four friends tried hard to communicate was that bigfoot could not trust most human beings. It was a hard thing to communicate and they were not sure they did it right. They tried acting out so he could see he was suppose to hide until he saw it was them. Of course they coudn’t be sure he understood. The last thing the kids wanted was for him to get shot or captured because of them. Even BG was won over. In fact, it was him that insisted they act out a scenario showing Big Hairy to stay hidden. While the actual meaning of what they were trying to say may have went over his head, the bigfoot certainly understood sincerity for caring. When the day was over and the sun was threatening to set, the four friends said good-bye to their newest found friend. While Big Hairy had no clear understanding of what they were trying to communicate, the four friends also left that late afternoon unaware that it was Big Hairy that had helped them to escape the fugitives the night before. The walk home was uneventful. That night was again a delight in temperature and not a rain cloud to be found. The next day the four friends planned on returning to the crevice pond but when they were just about ready to leave the campground a bunch of game warden vehicles arrived and they were looking for volunteers to help search for a little boy five years in age that had gone missing from a campground not too far from Cherokee. “Sure we’ll help.” Noah said, speaking for his entire group. Other groups that were staying at the summer camp also volunteered. When they had enough volunteers to fill up the game warden vehicles, they raced off toward the last place the little boy had been seen. The four friends talked as the vehicle transported them to the last place the boy was seen. “You guys thinking what I am thinking?” Rev asked, as they bounced in their seats on the rough road. “That this is about as comfortable as if we had rode a pack of camels?” BG replied . “He’s talking about contacting Big Hairy.” Noah said. “I hate to bother him so soon, but if there ever was a time when he would be of help.” Ohpra said. “It is settled then. When we get stopped and are able to get off to ourselves, we’ll use the help signal.” Rev said. “Woop, Woop.” Noah said quietly. “Woop, Woop.” The others answered also quietly. ———— Chapter ———————– When the vehicle stopped the four friends got out and looked around. The landscape here was definitely more challenging than back at camp Cherokee. They were standing in the middle of a parking lot surrounded by thick woods except for one area that was open, where the tents and campfires were made. There was a lot of shade due to the fact there were so many big trees around. It was like being in a state of dusk or dawn all throughout the day. “Kind of spooky looking isn’t it?” Rev said. “I’ve seen worse.” Ohpra said, trying to convince herself more than her friends. “That said, I’m glad we’re calling for Big Hairy as soon as we are by ourselves. I’ll feel a lot safer when he’s here.” “We’re twenty miles from Cherokee. Okay maybe not that far, but maybe further. What I am saying is that it is unlikely Hairy is going to be within hearing distance.” Noah said a little discouraged. “I’m afraid we might be on our own this time.” “Lets find out.” BG said. He walked over to an area void of other campers and picked up a good size stick and proceeded to whack it against the tree trunk three times then he hollered, “Woop, woop!” The friends wandered a little further into the forest away from the game wardens and volunteer searchers from the surrounding campgrounds. “How long should we wait?” Rev asked. “I’d say half an hour.” Noah said, “that should be long enough. Ten minutes later and the four friends began noticing some movement around them. It was almost unnoticable but it then became clear to them that the creature, or creatures, were allowing their presence to be known. However they were doing so in a very cautious manner. A few minutes passed and then they came out in full view. There were three of them. None were the one they had swam with the day before. Apparently the help signal brought help from any bigfoot nearby. It also apparently told the bigfoot that these were human beings they could trust. “How do we explain to them what we are searching for?” Ohpra asked. “I guess we can show them a short person and then act out like they are lost.” BG said. The four friends decided the best way to express what they were looking for was to have Noah and Ohpra stand together with BG in between holding their hands. BG squatted down to show he was the kid in the family. Next they had BG wonder away from his parents and the parents acted like they were looking for BG. It became clear the bigfoot understood what they were telling them. The group broke up and went their ways into the forest. Two hours later the four friends heard a whacking three times and followed by a ‘woop, woop!’. They went through the thick forest toward the signal and were rewarded by finding a little boy by himself. They looked around the area where the boy was found. Rev said to the trees, “Thank you so much! You have reunited a family.” The other three also said their thank you to what appeared to be just trees. “Who are you thanking?” The little boy asked. “Just thanking nature.” Noah replied. “Just nature. We need to get you back to your mom and dad. I know they are waiting for you. They have been looking ever since you became lost.” “I am glad you came. I was getting hungry.” Said the little boy. “I want my mommy.” “That’s where we are taking you now.” Ohpra said. “You are very brave.” “We will have you back to camp in a short while.” Noah told the little boy. “I know you mom and dad are waiting for you.” They returned to the campground and there was much celebration the little boy was found unhurt. The four friends were hailed as heroes. They were sincerely thanked by the parents and given honorary game warden badges from the game wardens. All four took much pride in their honorary badges. What was left in the day was spent in celebration and honoring the heroes that found the lost boy. The friends said nothing to anyone about the true heroes. That night before going to sleep, the four reflected on their day. Rev was the first to bring up their accolades. “Man I didn’t say it but I really wanted to say it. When the game wardens said they were giving us honorary badges I almost said, ‘badges?! We doan need no stinkin’ badges!’, but I didn’t want to seem ungrateful.” The others laughed. Ohpra said smiling, “Now I know what to say if we are ever asked for our badges.” “We don’t need no stinking badges!” BG parroted. “We wouldn’t mind some late night sandwiches however.” “There is a reason they call him Big Gulp.” Rev said laughing. “Dude you just ate a short while ago.” “Being a hero is hungry work.” BG said. “Takes a lot of calories.” Rev looked at BG’s belly and patted it. “You must be the greatest hero of all.” “That’s right. So you know why?” BG asked “Cause you can haul more calories in that belly than a hippo? Rev replied, causing the others to laugh. “You know some cultures view the males with the biggest bellies as being the most desired because it is proof of how successful they are in life.” BG answered defensively. “There are also some cultures that drive a shaft of bamboo into their lower lips creating a big hole in their face which is a considerable problem when they drink.” Noah said. “Pretty sure there’s another culture that eats people. So what’s your point?” “When you put it that way I guess nothing.” BG replied dejectedly. Next Page