This story is the eleventh chapter of a fictional series by SRI’s Mark Banta. We are also honored that SRI associate Pat Barker has contributed her talents to illustrate the series. We ask that you respect both the author’s and the illustrator’s copyrights and do not download or post these works on other sites.

Mark and Pat return with this month’s exciting installment of A New Reality.

If you haven’t already, read Chapter 10 of A New Reality or start at the beginning.

Chapter XI

The horrific scene from the previous night cycled unabated through Grady’s mind. The image of Psycho’s prone form with Rhino standing astride him haunted his thoughts. The thumping sounds he’d heard while being pulled away from the scene still echoed in his mind. The female sasquatch that had lain atop Psycho for protection had saved the life of both Psycho and Grady. In honor of her, he had named her Angel. He wondered if she had survived the brutal attack. He had both hate and love for these animals. They could be so endearing, yet so savage. Not so different than humans, he reminded himself.

The sun had come up a few hours earlier, and as was their custom, the sasquatch had stopped to find concealment in the daylight. Rhino had placed Grady next to a tree and regarded him with stern malevolence. The silver leader tossed him a handful of tuber roots.

“Trying to fatten me up, are you?” Grady remarked sarcastically. “You know I don’t taste very good.”

“Rhoot,” Rhino grunted. He then crossed the small clearing where he settled down next to a honeysuckle bush.

Sniper sat a few feet away from Grady, as though on sentry duty. His multicolored coat glistened in the late morning sun. His dark eyes shifted from Grady to Rhino, who soon had his eyes closed and appeared to be sleeping. Grady had no way of knowing for sure, but he sensed that Sniper only followed Rhino out of fear, as did the others.

They sat in a small clearing in the middle of a thorn thicket, less than a hundred yards from the muddy Swine Creek. The weather was mild, but a crisp chill hung in the air. The temperatures had been hanging in the lower 50’s throughout the day and dipping into the high 20’s at night. A slight wind slowly pushed at the limbs and vines around their small enclosure, causing it to move as though it had breath and were a living thing.

The morning dragged out uneventfully, until the rustlings of something approaching came through the thick underbrush. Grady’s heart leapt. The sasquatch came to attention and looked alert until a bobwhite quail whistled. Grady had learned that the strange creatures often communicated in this way, imitating various woodland creatures. The animals relaxed and Grady saw something big and brown appearing from the underbrush. He hoped it would be Angel and Psycho, but it was the alpha female. He decided at that moment he would call her Bee. B for bitch, he chuckled to himself. He waited anxiously, hoping that Angel and Psycho would be following behind, but it was not to be. They’re outcasts, he thought to himself, just like the one John and I killed. Suddenly, and for the first time, Grady felt a considerable stab of guilt for having killed the sasquatch. It must have been Psycho’s dad, he thought miserably. This made sense to him and explained Psycho’s odd behavior.

Bee walked across the small clearing and sat next to Rhino, who had been lying prone beneath the large honeysuckle bush. She sat with her back to him and looked toward Grady. Her eyes betrayed no emotion, but Grady reasoned well enough how she felt about him. Rhino rose up on his haunches and began to groom Bee’s head and shoulders. Methodically, he ran his thick index finger against the grain of her coat, using his opposite hand to pick for small digestibles. I wonder who’s really running this show, Grady thought ironically.

Continuing to scan the clearing Grady saw the mother and infant sasquatch were nestled close together and soon were fast asleep. The adolescent female was close by and looking into the sky as if expecting good fortune to fall upon her. Doc was close to Grady as always. He lay just a few feet away and was snoring soundly. Grady reached out and padded the young one’s back. Doc had a rough night and Grady was glad to see him at peace for the moment. Doc rustled a little and moved closer to Grady, nestling his face into a pile of leaves near Grady’s knees. Grady lovingly placed his hand on the youngster’s head and felt his warmth. He was starting to feel a genuine affinity for the red headed prankster.

Grady continued to fight fatigue, but by midday, he could no longer fight off the exhaustion. His hope that Angel and Psycho would return had faded to only wishful thinking. Doc now had his head in Grady’s lap and his snore was almost like the purr of a kitten. Grady leaned his head back against the tree and drifted off to sleep.