The Creature
By Raina Nevels
Tia grumbled. Why had she let her older brother drag her into this? Matt was a conspiracy theorist, and believed in some bizarre things. Tia wanted to just have a nice vacation, but Matt insisted she come with him to look for Bigfoot in the forest. Surely, he was lurking somewhere, he had said.
“I want to relax, not look for imaginary creatures.”
“Bigfoot isn’t imaginary. He just likes his privacy.”
“Then why won’t you leave him alone?”
“I need to see him for myself. I need proof. Perhaps if I take a clear enough picture, then the world will finally know of his existence!”
“Even if he does exist, how can you be so sure he’s around here? For all you know, he could be miles and miles away.”
Matt smirked. “I have a lead.”
“From?”
“It’s better not to ask where I get my information from.”
Tia sighed. There was no convincing him.
“You wanna know where he came from?” asked Matt.
“Not really.”
“Too bad, because I’m telling you anyway. It started in an isolated town in Russia, 1983. Far from the rest of society, a-”
“1983?” Tia scoffed. “What are you talking about? The legend has been around for much longer than that. And in Russia?”
“Yes, yes, I’ll get to it.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Anyway, there was a secret lab of Soviet biologists trying to create human-bear hybrids. These beasts were to be very strong super soldiers - and would surely help the Soviet Union win the Cold War.”
“Human-bear hybrids? That’s ridiculous.”
“No, really. They took the DNA of bears and human prisoners of war to grow new biological specimens.”
“Prisoners of war? That’s messed up.”
“No kidding. The Russian government was willing to do anything. Well, they were growing new creatures in these labs, but they ended up being defective. Most of them didn’t make it. One did, but he was very aggressive and uncooperative. He destroyed the lab in a fit and ran off.”
“Don’t tell me he was Bigfoot.”
“Yup. He was able to survive in the Siberian tundra for some time, but he eventually stumbled upon a secret facility. At the time, the Soviets were building a time machine, as it would also be useful for war. Actually, they were almost done building it when he stormed in. He essentially destroyed the place by rampaging it.”
“And they couldn’t stop him? Wouldn’t they have had guns and stuff?”
“Don’t underestimate how strong he was. He may have been bad at understanding orders, but he was literally made for strength. Bullets wouldn’t do much damage. But he took stuff apart and threw it and the scientists, and most of them were killed. He made it to the time capsule and accidentally sent himself millennia into the past.”
“So, he traveled backward in time and then proceeded to live for thousands of years? How?”
“That part, I’m not really sure about. I think the Russian biologists were trying to give their war beasts immortality through some genetic modification. Maybe the creature’s body is so amazing that it never grows old. Gee, these scientists were geniuses. It’s kindof a shame the lab got destroyed - this new discovery would never meet the world. It probably would have been revolutionary. Then again, the Russians were trying to use it to their benefit, so maybe…”
“Yeah, you’re making this up.”
“Hey! I am not!”
“Then how do you know it?”
Matt grinned. “My sources for obscure information are a secret.”
“In other words, you made it up.”
“The great thing is, the creature destroyed the facility, killed all the scientists, and took the time machine into the past where it’s probably forgotten forever. That time machine could have been what the Russians needed to win the war. With this technology, they could have gone into the past to change the course of history. But now it’s gone. And most people don’t know it ever existed, so it probably will never be replicated. Meaning, Bigfoot saved the world!”
“You have a vivid imagination,” said Tia.
“Anyway,” Matt said, “Bigfoot has lived here for millennia. He has calmed down through the years. He likes to wander the forests, but always keeps himself hidden from people. He doesn’t trust humans, and for good reason. He was very mistreated by the Russians. And several times people have tried to hunt him down. So, he isolates himself. But we’re going to see him!” Matt walked faster. “I believe he’s somewhere around here.”
Tia rolled her eyes. She was so grumpy that she didn’t notice the large branch on the ground. She tripped, and ended up rolling down a hidden hill. When she got up, she couldn’t see Matt anywhere.
“Oh great. Now I’m lost.” She got up and looked around. Behind her, she heard a noise. Slowly, she turned. Something appeared to be hiding in the trees. It was large and hairy, but seemed to blend in very well. It wouldn’t move. Tia, frozen in fear, stared at it. The more she stared, the more she saw the strangeness of the creature. It wasn’t a human, or an ape, or a bear, or anything ever seen before.
Tia tried to back away slowly, not letting her sight off the creature. Despite Matt saying that he was calmer now, he was afraid it might attack her. And she didn’t know what would hurt more: getting beat up by Bigfoot or Matt’s ‘I told you so’.