Day 18-2

"Hi, Chase, how was the ride?"

"Gees..." I wince and grab my shoulder, sitting up.

"You alright?"

"Fuck no, I ain't alright, Cut! What the hell is going on? Where the fuck are we?"

"Sasquatch manor!" He is still grinning, but I don't consider it funny at all. "Your shoulder out again?"

"Hell, yeah! He sure put up a good fight."

"Looks like. Whopped 'im, didn't ya?"

"Oh, shut up!" I snap irritated, struggling to my knees. Damn shoulder! Been dislocated so many times, it pops out whenever it wants to now.

"Need some help?"

I turn at the familiar voice, and Chief has a smirk on his face.

"You're here, too?"

"Yeah," Cut answers instead, serious now. "Damn, Chase, there's a whole bunch of guys here. Fifteen or so in all."

"What?"

"Chase?" Jimmy breaks in, motioning to my shoulder.

A nod from me, and a flinch from Cut at the sickening pop when the joint snaps back into place.

"Thanks, man!"

Jimmy just smiles quietly.

"Okay, so what's goin' on here, Cut?" I look around, gingerly rotating my arm to work the stiffness out of it. What a place!

We are in a huge canyon-like spot, rock-walls going straight up on all sides. The trees and bushes are so thick, I can't even make out where we had come through. Gees, Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!

"Well," Cut interrupts my observation, "like I said, we ain't the only ones here."

"Who are the others?"

"You ain't gonna believe this..."

"I'll believe anything now. Just fill me in, will ya?"

"Well," he drawls again and Chief grins. "Found them guys we's looking for. They been up here all along. Kelly's dad, too, and a couple more. Seems he brought 'em in here, so they wouldn't get anywhere near them chemicals."

"Huh?"

"It's true, Chase. He's tryin' to keep 'em safe. Like Jimmy and me...we's halfway back to the camp when we come across a bunch of tracks. Wasn't ours, I could tell. We held up to check things out. Jimmy thought I'd better sit down." He gives him an indignant look, then continues and I don't interrupt. "He didn't come back and I's startin' to get worried. By the way, did you get the asshole that shot me?" he suddenly changes the subject.

"Sure did. Jimmy patch up your shoulder?" I ask since it is nicely wrapped.

"Nope, he did! Dug the bullet out an' all. Real good job too. Didn't even hurt."

"You gotta be kiddin' me!"

"Nope!" he shrugs. "Damn, Chase, did you get a close look?"

"Too close! I still don't believe it though..."

"Pretty wild, huh? Sure puts things in a whole new perspective."

Chief interrupts the conversation, getting Cut's attention and signs something.

"Good question," Cut agrees. "How did he get you?"

"Well..." I scratch my head and start to explain what happened down at the camp.

"A tunnel?" he breaks in when I get to that point.

"Yeah, that's how I got out. Man, Micheals sure didn't waste any time."

"How many's down there?"

"A bunch, Cut. Thought for sure they'd gotten you two."

"Probably would have," he answers dry. "Anyways, what happened next?"

"Not much. Thought I'd cut back around to see what's going on. Didn't get that far though. Buck went nuts and took off. Hope he's alright. Anyway..." I continue with the rest of the story, and he is quiet for a long time after I finish.

Chief taps his arm again and signs when he looks over.

"Yeah. Look, Chase, Jimmy's right. We gotta get outa here."

"No, shit! And just how are we gonna do that?"

"Simple! We'll explain the situation to 'im."

"Huh?" I guess I am not looking real bright again, because Cut snickers and Jimmy smirks, signing something else.

"Right! Get this, man, we found out somethin' real interesting about this guy."

"Like what?"

"Well..." Cut hesitates, giving me a weird look.

"Oh, just come out with it."

"Well," he repeats, "he can actually communicate."

"Huh?" another 'smart' reply from me.

"I'm serious, man. He uses ancient Indian sign-language. At least that's what Jimmy says it is."

I squint at Chief, and he shows no reaction. Just try to keep an open mind, Chase. I can't quite convince myself. Okay, so we can communicate...maybe. Gees, this is too much!

"Chase?" Chief gets my attention, then signs to Cut.

"Look," he starts real serious, "I know you don't believe it, but I swear it's true. Jimmy talked to him before." I don't say anything and he continues. "We found out by accident, 'cause Jimmy was telling me something and he stood there watching real hard. I 'bout freaked when he come closer and started signin' back. Took a while, but Jimmy finally figured out what it was. It's almost like a whole different language, but he knows some of it."

"You never cease to amaze me, man." I squint at Chief again and get an indifferent shrug this time. "So what did he say?"

Some more quick signs and Cut translates for me. "They got talking about what's going on up here. That's how we found out about the others too. Like I said, he's been bringing them here to get 'em out of the way."

"So he understands what is happening?"

"Sure does. 'Cording to what Jimmy told me, he's pretty bright."

"Yeah, but, Cut..." I shake my head, still trying to come up with a logical explanation.

"I know. Hard to believe, ain't it?"

"Got that right. I was ready to shoot 'im, but he just looked too much like people."

"Yeah," Cut smirks, "guess we watched 'Harry and the Hendersons' a few times too many."

"You know, that's exactly what I was thinking, looking at 'im." I finally grin, too. "Okay, so where is Harry now?"

"Don't know," Cut laughs and looks around. "He comes and goes so quick."

"Where are the other guys?"

"Oh, around here somewhere. Chase, you don't know the half of it yet. This place is like a little Fort or something. There's all kinda caves in those walls. Neanderthal City." He is serious and I hold back on a smartass remark.

Chief pushes to his feet, and we try to see what he is looking at.

Then he is suddenly there.

Gees, I still don't believe it. Never seen anything like it before.

This guy is at least seven-foot-eight, covered with hair, but other than that he looks so human, it is almost scary. His eyes is what really gets me. They are gentle, totally calm, and full of understanding.

I swallow hard, getting to my feet. He walks closer, and I can have a better look.

Wait a minute! The realization hits me hard. "Cut," I whisper.

"Yeah, man?"

"This ain't the same one that brought me here."

"Huh?" Now he is doing it.

"I'm serious. The one who caught me had a scar on his arm. I just noticed it, 'cause it stood out real clear against the hair."

"Damn, Chase..." He doesn't say any more because 'Harry' starts signing to Chief.

This is gonna be interesting, I think when Jimmy turns and signs to Cut. Now I need a translation for the translation. I get it right away, too.

"Hey, Chase," Cut starts with a grin, "he wants to know if you're alright."

"Not sure, Cut! Pinch me will ya?...Ouch! Okay, I'm awake."

"Good! He wants us to come along."

"Where to?"

"Don't know...Jimmy?"

Some more signs, and Cut relays the answer. "Says he wants you to come, meet the other guys."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

We fall in behind our hairy friend, and I am glad that Cut actually looks as lost as me, watching Chief exchange signs with the guy on the way. He just turns one time and motions back to us.

"Says he'll fill us in later," Cut informs me.

"Great! Gees, Cut, this thing really beats all."

"Sure does. By the way, what the hell did you mean before when you said it ain't the same one?"

"Like I told you, the one that brought me here had a scar. This one doesn't."

"You know of course what that means, don't you?"

"Yeah," I answer somber. "Now I'm just wondering how many of 'em there are."

"Guess we gonna find out. We ain't had no time to look around real close yet, but what I've seen so far, damn, Chase..." he interrupts himself. It seems we have reached our destination.