Mystery at Devil's Elbow

Martha was busy caring for the girls and cleaning up after their school snack when she heard a car in the driveway. She looked out to see Tammy Jenkins and three men getting out of a late model sedan. Martha met them at the door and escorted them to the kitchen table.

“Please help yourself to a cup of coffee or tea and some cookies. I’ll go get Lisa.”

The four of them sat at the table, still not understanding what was going on. Gunner poured each of them a cup of coffee, and Casey passed around the cookie plate. Just then, two little girls came into the kitchen with Martha from the backyard.

“This is my daughter Lisa Fisher,” said Martha.

“I’m Tammy Jenkins,” she said, smiling. “This is Gunner, over there’s Casey, and next to him is Sonny.”

“This is my sister, Mary,” said Lisa.

“Your mom says you got a message for us,” said Gunner

“Yeah,” said Lisa.

“We can’t wait to hear it,” said Casey.

“I made a new friend. He is very tall and with red hair all over his body. He’s very friendly, but he doesn’t live here. His family came from a cave about 10 miles away. They had to leave because the Indians hunted and killed them.”

“Does your friend have a name?” asked Tammy.

“No, just friend. You call him Bigfoot.”

“Why doesn’t he just talk to us?” asked Casey.

“He’s tried, but you can’t hear him. I hear him in my head like the Watchers.”

Gunner raised his eyebrows. “Where’s your friend live now?”

“He lives on another planet he calls Europa.”

“Why did he come here?” asked Tammy.

“He and his friends come here to get women.”

“What do you mean women?” asked Sonny.

“Very few women are born to his race, so the men come here to get women to marry and have children.”

Tammy hesitated for a moment. “You mean they come here to get women? Okay, does this have anything to do with the skeletons you found?” asked Tammy.

“Yeah, when the woman become old and die, they bring them home.”

“Are the women scared?” asked Gunner.

“No, my friends are as nice as you guys.”

“But they take these women with them, don’t they?” asked Tammy.

“Yeah, but only women who can hear and speak with them in their head. The women must also want to go.”

“I see, your friend comes here to get women who go back home with them to become mothers and raise children. When they get old and die, they bring them back here to bury them,” said Casey.

“Yeah, that’s part of what he wanted me to tell you.”

“Are there many like him?” asked Tammy.

“He said there are many of him at their new home, but not here on earth. They come here sometimes because this is where they were originally from. But they’re terrified of us.”

“They can’t stay here anymore because people hunted and killed them, right?” asked Sonny.

“Yeah, and they’re afraid you’ll do it again. That’s what he said.”

“What if a woman can speak to them in her head, but doesn’t want to go?” asked Gunner.

“My friends make her forget she was asked.”

“Wow, that’s extraordinary,” said Casey.

“I think the whole thing is extraordinary,” said Sonny.

“What else did he tell you to tell us?” asked Tammy.

“He has other friends. The Watchers that rescued his race from the humans. They bring him and his friends back here.”

“Do they use a spaceship?” asked Casey.

“Yeah, a nice silver one.”

“How do they get into the spaceship?” asked Gunner.

“A light takes them in.”

“How can they travel so far?’ asked Sonny.

“The Watchers have a machine that creates a time tunnel in space, and they go through.

“Sounds like a wormhole,” said Casey.

“I think they called it something like that.”

“Is there anything else?” asked Tammy.

“Yeah, he wants you to write the story.”

“What does he want the rest of us to do?” asked Gunner.

“He wants you to keep people from hunting and killing his kind that are here.”

“Is that all, honey?” asked Martha.

“Yeah Momma,” said Lisa and she hugged each one goodbye.

“Why don’t you girls go back and play now.”

Both girls went out the back door to play in the yard, leaving the adults to talk.

“As I said on the phone, Tammy, you can never use her name or reference her in any way. The same goes for the three of you.”

“I’ll keep my end of the bargain,” said Tammy.

“We wouldn’t dare tell anyone,” said Sonny.

“Thank you. We’ll be on our way now, so we don’t trouble you any more,” said Gunner.

“Thank you. I’d like my family to get back to normal.”

Tammy and the Bigfoot hunters drove back to the Hungry Mans Sandwich Shop. Not a word was spoken on the trip. As Tammy parked the car in front of the stop, Gunner was the first to speak.

“We need to talk about what just happened,” said Gunner.

“Let’s take a seat at that picnic table,” said Casey.

“Okay,” said Gunner.

Tammy and Sonny sat down without saying a word.

“I just wanna make sure we all understand what the girl just told us,” said Casey.

“Apparently, Bigfoot is an early humanoid species here on the Earth. They were hunted by the native people of the world. They were rescued by an alien race that visited Earth,” said Gunner.

“Right so far,” said Sonny.

“The extraterrestrial beings she calls Watchers took them to a moon of Jupiter that we call Europa. Where they live. They apparently don’t have enough of their females to keep the race alive. So, they come to earth to get the women they need to fill in for the missing women of their species. Since they can mate with humans they must be a related species,” said Casey.

“That’s what I assume,” said Tammy.

“I was captivated by the fact that the women were buried here on earth after they die,” said Sonny.

“That got me too,” said Gunner.

“One thing she didn’t say, but the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office determined through research, is that the skeletons were between 19-21 years of age when they disappeared,” said Tammy.

“That’s a specific age group,” said Gunner.

“I thought so too,” said Tammy.

“What did you make of her saying they’ve tried to speak to us? Do you think she literally meant us?” asked Casey.

“I took that to mean the four of us that were there,” said Tammy.

“I’d love to speak to a Bigfoot. It’s a shame they’ve been trying, but it seems I can’t communicate,” said Gunner.

“I thought the same thing,” said Casey.

“Me too,” said Sonny.

“The girl spoke of a cave about ten miles from her house. Do you know where that is, Tammy?” asked Casey.

“I know of one cave, but I can’t be sure it’s the right one. There’s a cave on Fort Leonard Wood that is believed to have been used by Native Americans long ago. We can go see it if you like,” said Tammy.

“I think I speak for everyone when I say let’s go,” said Gunner.

They all loaded into Tammy’s car and drove through the East Gate of Fort Leonard Wood. Tammy had no problem getting in with her driver’s license and the cave being a favorite tourist spot.

Tammy drove down the back roads until she saw a sign for Miller’s Cave that pointed left. She turned left and drove less than a mile down a dirt road where was another sign for Miller’s Cave. A third sign pointed to the entrance down a short trail from the road. They pulled off to the right side of the road and could see a breathtaking view of a valley to their right. They all got out and looked carefully at the terrain on the side of the road. Below where they stood was a walking path with a rope railing that went down to the entrance of the cave.

They all carefully walked down and into the cave.

“There are several entrances, but the cave does appear to be very old,” said Sonny.

“I agree,” said Tammy.

“This must be the place,” said Casey as he looked out of another entrance off to the right. It had a sign that read Main Entrance and opened to a high bluff.

Gunner walked over to the entrance and shook his head. “Who else but a Bigfoot could climb this bluff?”

“Based on what the girl told us, this is an original home of the Bigfoot in this area,” said Casey.

“Yeah, it’d have to be,” said Gunner.

“Missouri is known as the cave state,” said Tammy.

“Yeah, I saw a sign for a couple of them on the drive from Springfield,” said Sonny.

“These caves would’ve been the perfect home for the Bigfoot,” said Gunner.

“Wow, this seems like a dream,” said Casey as he placed both his hands on his head.

“I agree,” said Gunner.

“Just moving my hand along the walls seems special,” said Sonny.

“I brought my camera, and I’ll take several pictures before we go,” said Tammy.

After Tammy snapped a few photos, they drove back. The air seemed electric with excitement. They were all speechless on the ride back. After they arrived at the campground, Gunner was the first to speak.

“Was nice meeting and working with all of you. I have a sudden urge to get home. Think I’ll pack up and drive to Springfield and see what flights are available.”

“I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel the same way,” said Casey.

“I’m dumbfounded. I don’t know what else to do but go home,” said Sonny.

“Why do you all need to return home so soon?” asked Tammy.

“We’ve searched for the Bigfoot for years. Now we have a message from them, and I can’t wait to return home to protect the Bigfoot in my area,” said Sonny.

“They want you to tell the story,” said Gunner.

“How can you be so sure I know the story?” asked Tammy.

“I’ve never been so sure of something in my life,” said Gunner.

“He picked you to tell the story, so you must write what you know,” said Casey.

The three walked back to their cabins, packed everything in sight, and headed west. They would be at the Springfield airport in about an hour. With any luck, they could be on their way home this evening.

Tammy drove back to the newspaper. She wasn’t sure what to make of what just happened, but she needed to sort it out.