Dawn Pisturino posted: " (Still photo from Bigfoot film by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin, October 1967) Crack! The bullet zings past my ear, hitting an old oak tree. I drop the salmon wiggling in my hands and run along the bank of the Mokelumne River, propelling my"
(Still photo from Bigfoot film by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin, October 1967)
Crack! The bullet zings past my ear, hitting an old oak tree.
I drop the salmon wiggling in my hands and run along the bank of the Mokelumne River, propelling my long, hairy arms for speed. Behind me, the hunters move carefully through the dense underbrush, tracking my movements.
Sharp green thorns snag on my hair and tear at my flesh as I struggle through the blackberry briars and wild grapevines. I hike deeper into the wilderness on two strong legs, climbing skillfully around granite boulders barring my way. In the distance, the jagged outline of Deadwood Peak rises above the trees. If I can only get there, I will be safe.
Rounding a bend I see her, tearing meat from a rabbit carcass with big, sharp teeth. Mama! Her shaggy brown head turns in my direction. With a low growl, she opens her long, hairy arms as if to embrace me.
And then she smells it, the distinct odor of musky sweat. The hunters are near!
We run, ignoring the stones piercing our feet, causing us to stumble. Behind us, the humans call back and forth, "Bigfoot!"
Together, we melt into the shade of a thick stand of pines, hoping to slow down and catch our breath. But our feet become tangled in nets concealed by pine needles, and suddenly, we are swinging up, up into the air, and dangling from the limbs of a sturdy pine tree.
Mama struggles inside her net, growling with rage. I struggle, too, yelping helplessly as the net swings back and forth above the hard ground.
"We've got them now," says a bearded hunter to his companions. "Bigfoot! That TV show, Monster Search, will pay us big bucks for these babies."
"We'll be famous," cries a husky hunter with red hair. "Scientists won't laugh at us anymore. Finally! Proof that Bigfoot exists!"
"How are we going to get them back to San Francisco?" asks an old man with spectacles. "I mean, we weren't really expecting to find anything."
The bearded hunter pulls out his camera. "I'm taking plenty of pictures, just in case something goes wrong. They can't call it a hoax this time!"
While the camera clicks and the three men argue over the best way to get us back to the city, I turn my head from view and gnaw on the net's thick webbing with my teeth. Pretty soon I've made a small opening, large enough to stick my fingers through. I wiggle them at Mama, and she understands what to do.
The red-haired hunter chuckles as he pokes me in the back with a long stick. I give him a warning growl, but he keeps it up. My powerful jaws chew faster on the netting.
"We need some of that fur," says the old man with spectacles. "We can send it to a lab for analysis."
"Good idea!" says the red-haired hunter. "Then, if they get away, we'll still have proof."
The three men stand under the nets, looking up at our shaggy brown bodies hanging in the air. Suddenly the nets give way, and Mama and I find ourselves lying on top of the three men on the ground.
We howl victory cries and scramble to our feet. The men, tangled in the nets, shout curses at us as we run away.
The Miwok Indians tell stories about us -- great hairy beasts roaming these desolate mountains. They fear us and protect our sacred habitat on Deadwood Peak. We are going there now, secure in the knowledge that we cannot be followed. Men from the city will continue to hunt us. But, with help from the Miwoks, they will never find us. And we will never let them capture us alive.
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