Primitive: A Bones Bonebrake Adventure

Chapter 6

Bones was an experienced tracker and he was able to follow the signs left by the passage of whatever had passed this way with little trouble. The ground was thick with undergrowth, but here and there he spotted a partial footprint, broken branch, or a twig or leaf pressed down into the soft earth. The first couple of times he spotted something, Slater had him point it out and explain it for the benefit of the camera, but after that they moved on as quickly as they could.

The path they followed, if it could be called that, plunged deep into the swampy forest, occasionally bending back in the direction of the river, but generally following a southeasterly course. Bones lost the trail a couple of times and was forced to double back again, but always managed to find it. The farther they went, the quieter their surroundings grew. It was hard to believe they were only a handful of miles from a decent-sized city.

Spirits were high during the first hour or so of their trek. The crew was duly impressed by his tracking skills and never voiced any concerns that he might be steering them on the wrong course. By the second hour, though, their enthusiasm began to wane.

“Is it dangerous here?” Dave asked. “I mean, aside from crazy rednecks?”

“It can be if you’re not careful. While we’re in the woods, you’re not likely to run into anything. I guess there’s an outside chance we could stumble across a black bear, but the odds of one of them messing with us are pretty slim. They just want to be left alone. If we do see one, just follow my lead and it’ll be cool.”

“You said ‘while we’re in the woods.’ What about when we get to the swamp?” Dave smiled as he spoke, but Bones could hear a tremble in his voice.

“Snakes and gators, but just keep your eyes open and you should be fine. And try to stay out of the water. I don’t want to have to pull you out of quicksand.”

“I hear there are giant pythons in the swamp,” Carly said. “People buy them as pets and set them free when they grow too big.”

Bones donned his most patient smile. “Tell you what. You guys take a break from worrying and stay close to me. It’ll be fine.”

“How far are we going to go?” Carly asked, glancing back the way they’d come.

“Until we find something, I guess,” Bones said. “Or until the boss tells us it’s time to knock off for the day.”

“It’s still early,” Slater said. “Plenty of daylight left.”

Carly didn’t seem pleased. “Are you sure we’ll be able to find our way back?”

“I’m sure I can get us back. All I have to do is follow the tracks you three have trampled into the ground. Seriously, it’s like an elephant walk back there.”

“What if we get separated from you?” Dave chimed in, unabashed by Bones’ commentary on his woodcraft.

“Don’t.” Bones turned away and resumed his trek, but Dave wasn’t satisfied.

“No, really. What do we do if we get lost?”

Bones stopped and counted to three before replying. “Seriously? The kind of show you do and you’ve never spent any time out in the woods?”

“Not in such a small group, and not with a guide who can follow invisible trails through the middle of nowhere. Besides, this place is… ”

“… creepy,” Carly finished.

Bones shrugged out of his backpack, took out a bottle of water, and took a long drink, buying time for his annoyance to subside. “All right. Listen carefully. If one of you wanders off, head east until you hit the river and then turn right. Follow it until you get back to the park. It’s really that simple.” He supposed he should explain to them how to determine which way was east. “To know which direction is east, you just… ”

“It’s cool,” Dave said. “Our cell phones have compass apps.” His countenance suddenly brightened. “Wait a minute!” He took out his phone and tapped it a few times. “I’ve got a signal. That means I can use GPS to get back. Looks like there was nothing to worry about.”

Bones pressed his lips tightly together until he could speak without cursing. “That’s just… awesome.” Not trusting himself to say more, he turned on his heel and plunged forward, double-time.

Bones continued to follow the signs left by whatever had passed this way. The occasional partial print kept his spirits up. These were no shoe or boot prints. They were tracks left by large, bare feet. He was finally beginning to consider the possibility that the skunk ape was, in fact, a reality and not a mere legend. Of course, he was predisposed to wish that such things were true, but that didn’t change what he saw as he moved through the forest. Tracks were immune to personal bias.

“Do you think we might actually find something?” Carly’s tone indicated she wasn’t exactly thrilled by the possibility.

“I hope so,” Bones said, keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him.

“What if we come across an actual skunk ape?” Dave asked.

“No offense, but as clumsy as you white people are out here in the woods, any woodland creature worth its salt is going to hear you coming a mile away and clear the hell out of the area until we’re gone.”

“Somebody’s snippy today,” Slater said.

“Sorry. I get that way when I concentrate. It hurts my brain to think too hard.” He grinned at his three companions, hoping to break the ice a little.

“We’ll try to be quiet, won’t we, guys?” Slater glared at her crew, who nodded in unison.

Bones knew it wouldn’t do much good. None of them were practiced at woodcraft, but at least they were making an effort. He supposed he might as well give them some pointers.

“A few things to keep in mind. First of all, don’t step on anything that will make noise, like twigs, dry leaves, or loose stones. Try to step where I step.”

“Because we’re all seven feet tall.” Slater gave him a wink.

“Just do your best. Also, try not to brush against anything. That makes unnecessary noise. Ideally, the only thing you’ll touch out here is soft earth with the balls of your feet. And try not to talk so much. Got it?”

“It ain’t going to help.” A new voice rang out from somewhere up ahead, amused, with a touch of youthfulness. A young man, freckled and sandy-haired, stepped out from behind a live oak. He wore overalls with no shirt underneath and carried a .22 rifle. Bones put him at about thirteen years old, give or take a year. “Either you’re a woodsman or you ain’t.” The boy cleared his throat and spat on the ground. “You are,” he nodded at Bones, “but they ain’t.”

“They’re trying,” Bones said. “You live around here?”

The boy shrugged. “Not real close by, but I spend a lot of time out here.”

“What’s the gun for?”

“Squirrels or whatever else I might feel like having for dinner.”

Bones nodded. He enjoyed squirrel meat from time to time, though he had to go home to North Carolina to get any. “You got a name?”

“Yep.” The boy’s face cracked into a wide smile and his eyes sparkled. He seemed to think he’d made a great joke.

Rednecks, Bones thought. I can’t even stand the juvenile of the species. “I’m Bones; this is Slater, Carly, and Dave.”

“I’m Jack.”

“You said you spend a lot of time in these woods?” Bones asked.

The boy raised his eyebrows. “Is Danica Patrick a race car driver?”

“I have no freaking idea.”

“She is and she ain’t. She drives a race car but she’s a woman so she ain’t no race car driver.” The boy threw back his head and cackled.

“Youthful misogyny,” Slater mumbled, “such a sight to behold in its nascence.”

“I actually understood that,” Bones said. He turned back to Jack. “We’re tracking something,” he said. “Something that moves on two feet. You haven’t seen anything unusual, have you?”

The boy froze, his eyes suddenly hard and his expression blank. “That ain’t a good idea. You should just go on back where you came from.”

“Can’t do it. You got any idea which way we should go? I’m going to find the trail one way or the other, but it would save me some time if you’d point me in the right direction.”

“There’s twenty bucks in it for you,” Slater said.

Jack spat on the ground again. “Thank you, but I shouldn’t take your money. If you’re hell-bent on this, you need to turn south and head into the swamp. I don’t know if you’ll find much of a trail once you get there, but that’s the place you should look.” He paused and looked away. “I don’t never go in there. Nobody does.”

“Thanks,” Bones said.

“You see them two pines that are leaning together?” Jack pointed deeper into the woods. “You want to walk right under them and that’ll put you on the game trail that takes you where you need to go.”

“Got it.” The kid didn’t seem the handshaking type, so Bones made a curt nod and turned the group south. He kept his eyes on the ground, watching for signs to confirm they’d been steered in the right direction.

“You think he knows what he’s talking about?” Slater asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

“He seems to know his stuff. Worse case, we retrace our steps and find the trail again.” He glanced back over his shoulder. Jack was gone. “He can move in the woods, I’ll give him that much.”

“There’s the two pine trees. The game trail should be right through there.” Dave quickened his pace and moved ahead of Bones and Slater just as they passed beneath the pine arch.

Bones smirked at the cameraman and returned his eyes to the path in front of him. Something wasn’t right.

“Stop!” He dove forward and grabbed Dave by the belt just as the ground disappeared between the cameraman’s feet.

Dave cried out in alarm, his arms pinwheeling as he slid forward, his fall not fully arrested by Bones’ strong grasp.

Slater sprang to Bones’ side and grabbed hold of one of Dave’s flapping arms. “Hold still,” she hissed. Together, she and Bones pulled the young man out of the dark hole that gaped beneath him. Once he was free, he lay back, breathing hard.

What… was… that?” he gasped.

“A Burmese tiger pit,” Bones said, staring down at the dark hole that had been only partially uncovered by Dave’s fall. “You dig a hole, put sharpened stakes at the bottom, and cover it with twigs, leaves, and dirt. Someone comes along and falls right in.” He knelt for a closer look. “This one is deep and there are no stakes at the bottom, just a lot of muck since we’re so close to the swamp. It’s not a killing pit.”

“So what is it for?” Carly asked.

“Trapping. Bones and Slater exchanged a dark look.

“So, was the kid trying to trap us?” she asked.

“I don’t know. How about I ask him?” Bones made to rise but Slater put a hand on his arm.

“Don’t bother. He’s got a head start and you said he moves well in the woods.”

“You don’t think I can catch that little assclown?”

Slater smiled. “I’m sure you can, but it’ll be a waste of time. He’ll just say he didn’t know the pit was there.”

Bones gritted his teeth and gave a single nod. She wasn’t wrong. “It could be that the pit is just there to make outsiders feel unwelcome.” He sighed. “I guess we go back to where we left Jack and try to pick up the trail again.”

“Um, isn’t that a footprint down there?” Carly pointed down the barely-visible game trail. In the middle of a patch of soft earth lay a single, perfect print.