The Nightmare Continues... (Book 2)
Prologue
The constant fear of the creatures returning had taken its toll, and I was beginning to have nightmares.
It seemed like I had one every time I closed my eyes. The nightmares were horrible, full of beastly creatures hiding in the shadows and other ghostly things. I feared that I would never be able to sleep peacefully again.
I had no control over what was happening to me, and I couldn’t understand why. I never had any nightmares, even after watching the creatures repeatedly. Evidently, my fear was getting the best of me.
I was traveling into the abyss and could barely function. I thank Dean and our sons, who helped me overcome this crisis. Dean sat up with me at night, monitoring the forest. He assured me that nothing bad was going to happen. He kept reminding me that we had lived here for several years without knowing about the creatures and survived.
I also wanted to believe the Bigfoot investigator, Mr. Hill, when he said the Bigfoot weren’t here to harm us. However, he was referring to the human-looking reddish brown-haired ones, but what about the other type and the Dog-man beast? Even he didn’t know how to deal with them.
We discussed putting the house on the market and moving, but it wasn’t that simple. Dean had contacted a few realtors, and they told him that selling our home could take up to a year. We also considered other more drastic options such as renting. However, if we wanted to keep all four dogs, we needed to sell the house and buy a new one. We decided to put our house up for sale in the summer.
I wanted to move forward with our lives and leave all this behind. The house, in my eyes, was ruined. I was afraid to stay alone in it, and none of our renovations seemed to matter anymore. The whole situation was draining, and I felt damaged, beaten, and, worst of all, defeated.
I was indeed at my lowest point when suddenly it occurred to me that even if we moved tomorrow, it wouldn’t do me any good. The fear was paralyzing, and I needed to find a way to cope with it first before moving on. I didn’t want to suffer from horrible nightmares for the rest of my life, and crying all the time wasn’t the answer.
I knew that running from the problem may provide instant relief and self-preservation. However, I would carry the fear with me. It seemed like a fate worse than death, and I knew this wasn’t an option. I needed to fight my way back from the brink of the abyss.
So I stopped crying, got up, and went on the computer to continue documenting the creatures.
It was my only option. Or, so I thought.
Ch. 1 Ghastly Things
As the weeks passed, the forest across the street was quiet, and we were cautiously optimistic that the creatures were just here during the hunting season. Even though Mr. Hill, the Bigfoot investigator, said it was part of a male Bigfoot territory, they would never leave.
Either way, the snowstorm devastated the forest. It was full of fallen trees, broken branches, and debris. It seemed impossible for any beast to get through it without making a sound. We would have easily heard their footstep over the microphone - or so we thought.
~~~
On January 15, Dean returned to the office after fixing a cup of coffee. We planned to be up all night again, listening to the forest for activity. Over the microphone above the front door, we only heard static sounds, just as we had the night before and hoped would continue.
Dean was sitting on one side of the desk while I sat on the other, away from the window. He was playing his video game on the computer, and I was working on documenting previous recordings. All the dogs were also in the office, quietly sleeping.
As the hours passed, the static continued until suddenly, we heard the sounds of police sirens approaching in the distance. The sirens were getting closer and growing louder, and then all hell broke loose.
The forest erupted into a beastly symphony of eerie howls that were stunning. There were so many beasts howling that we could hardly believe it. We heard no sounds of any presence in the forest, yet many creatures were in it. Within seconds, our dogs started to react. Cockapoo was the first to growl and bark next to the recording device. I jumped up to shush the dogs so we could listen.
The chilling howls began with a bizarre, elongated wail. One of the animals that sounded like a Bigfoot started hollering. He was much louder than the sirens. The extreme volume of the creature engulfed the forest and resonated through the neighborhood. The Bigfoot wailing provoked the other howling beasts, creating the bizarre montage that continued after the sirens
ended.
I recognized the Bigfoot hollering immediately due to the volume and tone. However, I couldn’t identify the other beasts. Some of them could have been coyotes, but if so, their howls were very strange. They sounded like a pack of hyenas yelping and cackling in the night. When the howling frenzy finally ended, I said to Dean, “They’re definitely back.” (Chilling howls)
He replied, “I guess they weren’t just here during the hunting season.”
The dogs needed to bark and go outside; they were agitated, so Dean got up to take them. He stayed with them in the side yard pool area while I remained in the office, staring at the monitor
screen.
My heart was pounding, and my stomach was turning. As I wondered, were some of the howls from the Dog-man beast? After all, we didn’t know what they sounded like, but I assumed their howls would have sounded similar. Either way, I knew that hearing the Bigfoot hollering wasn’t a good sign going forward.
When Dean returned to the office with the dogs, I was glad he had his pistol, just in case we needed it. He went back to playing his game on the computer while I anxiously waited. I anticipated hearing more sounds, but the rest of the night was quiet - and maybe a little too quiet.
~~~
The following day, I videoed and photographed the forest through the office window. Looking for any signs of the beasts, such as dark shadows moving, weaved dead vines, or peeled trees. These were a few warning signs I was looking for, but the forest appeared untouched. How could I have missed the creatures returning? It was baffling.
Later that evening, as Dean and I sat in the office, we talked about the howling recording. We had to listen to it repeatedly so I could document it. After hearing it again many times, I said, “Can you imagine this is in a neighborhood with families and children? It sounds like we’re in the middle of Africa!”
He replied, “Yeah, that or the middle of a zoo when something triggers all the animals to
scream.”
It was all so horrifying. These creatures were roaming and hollering in our neighborhood, and there wasn’t a damn thing anyone could do about it. It was a helpless feeling.
Then, at 10:15 p.m., we heard them, two Bigfoot talking in their creepy, mimicking, childlike voices. One said, “Mommy,” and then a few seconds later, we heard it again, but at a greater distance. An hour later, one returned and said, “Mommy eat.” The Bigfoot was adding words, and I wondered if it knew what it was saying. If so, no one in this house was going to feed it.
After hearing their creepy voices again, I tried to stay calm as we continued listening for the rest of the night, but deep inside, I cringed. It was starting all over again. (Mimic # 5 & 6)
The next night, as we listened again, we heard “Mommy” repeatedly over the microphone, followed by an eerie barking sound. However, this time, I didn’t think it was Bigfoot talking. The voice was different, and the static frequency on the monitor suddenly changed. It sounded like a ghostly transmission from the phantom figures in the forest. Unfortunately, I had seen those, too, while looking out the window at night. (Mimic #7)
~~~
A few days later, we heard, “Mommy, come here, come here eat,” at 2:00 a.m. (Mimic #8) It was the Bigfoot again, and the beast added words; after hearing it, I told Dean, “Are you kidding me? It’s talking in sentences. Can things get any more bizarre? I have the chills just listening to it. Where are they learning these words?”
He said, “The voice they use is childlike for a reason.”
He gave me a perplexing look as if I should have known why.
He said, “They’re listening to the children playing in the parks nearby.”
I just stared at him as my mind began to absorb his words. What he said was absolutely chilling. I hadn’t even considered the parks.
In our neighborhood, there were two large parks. One park sat on the backside of the forest across from us, intersected by a street. While the other park sat across from Mr. Drake’s house, our neighbor on the corner, across the street from him, a set of houses bordered it.
The park across from Mr. Drake’s house hosted school field trips for little children. It had swings, slides, a jungle gym, and a community swimming pool that was open during the summertime. The park also had tennis and basketball courts, baseball diamonds, and walking trails. It hosted carnivals for Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve celebrations, Halloween parties, and other fundraising events. Local restaurants would set up cooking booths at least once a year to reintroduce themselves and thank the community.
The park along the back side of the forest across from us was primarily used at night. It was where all the Little League baseball games were played.
The Bigfoot were mimicking the children as they watched them. I hadn’t even considered all the reasons why the creatures were in the forest in the first place. Mr. Hill told us it was because of the freshwater creek and people like us placing food in the woods. However, Dean was correct; there was another reason - the parks.
With only one isolated, dark street between the forest and both parks in either direction, the Bigfoot could have easily traveled back and forth unseen. They were probably raiding the trashcans and large trash bins during the night. It would be an easy source of food for them. No wonder why there were so many creatures across the street. They were just waiting for the parks to close. It all made perfect sense.
I told Dean, “This is really disturbing. Do you think Mr. Hill knew the Bigfoot were going back and forth to the parks? He never said anything.”
He said, “Well, I figured it out, and I don’t investigate these creatures, so what do you think?”
I said, “I think I’m going to be sick.”
My stomach turned as I pictured those hideous creatures watching the children, probably within arm’s reach. I could hardly breathe as I wondered if any children had ever been reported missing.
~~~
A few days later, we heard a bone-chilling scream that echoed in the night. It lasted almost a minute. The scream was high-pitched, and we didn’t recognize the animal that made it. Whatever screamed sounded like it was being tortured in the forest, but all we could do was listen. Out of all the creepy sounds and voices we heard, the screams were what bothered me the most. They reminded me of how helpless I felt. I really hated hearing them. (Scream #2)
~~~
On January 26, the two Bigfoot were back again. One called out, “Mommy,” followed by weird barks and mumbled voices. Then he spoke again, “He’s making sound,” then another faint
voice said, “Net.” (Mimic #9)
They sounded close to the front porch microphone when Dean and I heard them. Upset by all the recent vocal taunting, I grabbed the night vision scope and went upstairs to look for them.
However, when I reached our dark bedroom, I paused. I stood still in the darkness for a few minutes. I reflected on all the horrific things I had seen looking out the window and the nightmares that followed. Intense feelings of fear and despair engulfed me, followed by a single thought: what the hell am I doing? A Bigfoot is the last thing I need to see, along with the other things. I turned around and went back downstairs. When I returned to the office, Dean asked, “What happened?”
I said, “Nothing; I think I’ll stop looking out the windows at night for a while.”
Dean didn’t say anything. He knew that I suffered from having horrible nightmares, so he understood.
I was watching things that weren’t meant to be seen, and watching them affected me. I needed to protect myself and recover, and Dean was helping.
During the night, we often took breaks to make snacks or watch a little television. It helped with the stress. Most nights, we would stay up until the sun rose; other nights, we went to bed around 3:30 a.m. if we had errands to run the following day. Our hours were sporadic. Although it made no difference to me, I only slept a few hours at a time due to my nightmares, but Dean could sleep longer.
Regardless, our lives were turned upside down, and the life we knew before was diminishing. How did we get to this point?
Looking back, we made many mistakes. We should have never pursued the creatures; to begin with, chasing them and placing bait was a bad idea. The Bigfoot wanted to stay hidden so they could move freely through the neighborhood, but they couldn’t hide from us anymore.
Especially after that night, Adam stood eye to eye with the creature standing on the pathway, and Jack ran into the forest to feed it. Even during the investigation, when we went into the woods to collect evidence of them, they were probably watching us the whole time.
I kept thinking of the night Mr. Hill placed the gaming camera in the forest when the four larger Bigfoot appeared. The way the creatures were standing on the path, staring at our house, gave me the impression they were deciding our fate. After all, it seemed our fate was up to them.
In hindsight, had we ignored the howling in the beginning, maybe none of this would have happened, and we wouldn’t be aware of the creatures. Unfortunately for us, that ship had sailed, and there was no way to put that genie back into the bottle.
“Come here, find me,” was the next childlike voice we heard, loud and clear. The creatures were taunting us, and I wondered if they knew I had been watching them from the windows. (Mimic #10)