We had given John and Ashton time to get geared up and ready, and
into the woods we went. We quickly made it to the water, and
Henry went on and told us where he had sat and reminisced about the memories
he and his boys had shared there. We couldn't stay long, of course,
whatever it was that Howell didn't seem too far away from our house.
Have you guys ever thought about setting up camp here and staying over night,
Henry asked. My boys and I did that often. We would lay out
under the stars, roast marshmallows and just talk. I think I missed those
moments most of all. I don't know if I would feel comfortable sitting up
camp and staying out here all night, especially after our run in with the
big Foot and the rock escapade recently, not to mention large snarling, oversized
dog men. From the look on everyone's face, they shared my opinion,
you are braver than I am. John said, no way would catch me
out here in the overnight hours. Henry laughed at that. I had a
suspicion that he had experienced many things in his life, most of which wouldn't
go over very well with any of us In his time, I'm sure things
were significantly different. We took Henry around everywhere that we had been. He
showed us exactly where he and his sons were at when they had their encounter.
I don't know what I would have done. Had I been in his
position, I probably would have left the deer and high tailed it out of
there. But I wasn't in his shoes, so I couldn't speak on that.
I wouldn't be opposed to doing something like that, However, I don't
think my wife would be too keen on the idea. What we experienced the
other night was terrifying that I'll admit, but it would give us more insight
on their habits. At night, Ashton spoke up. Connie looked at him
like he had five heads. You gotta be kidding me, you would stay
out here. I couldn't disagree with what he said, but from what I'd
heard on the encounters I had listened to, most researchers came up with nothing
if they went out with the intent to find something. Generally, the encounters
happened to unsuspecting individuals who only had planned to go out camping and stargazing,
some just driving down the road. Not by someone setting up a base camp
and really trying to get to the heart of what's going on. Even if
I wanted to, not that I do, mind you, but you guys
know good and well Marie would never let me stay out here either. I
would almost have to be like a teenager and sneak out after she went to
sleep. John snickered. Connie shot a sharp glance my way. Don't even
think about it, she said sternly. Just then another howl rang out through
the trees. We were all frozen where we stood. Henry let out a
loud, melodic whistle. The noises around us fell silent. We all stood
there, waiting for something to explode from the trees, but of course nothing
did. Henry smiled at us and wainked. I knew that didn't mean anything
in reality, but if that's what he wanted to believe, that's fine.
I'm not going to be the one to burst his bubble. We walked along,
looking at everything. Henry took us on a different route. However,
we had never been this way, and I was kicking myself for not knowing
that this land is also a part of mine and Connie's property. It was
unlike any other portion that we had been through. I looked at John,
and he just returned a shrug of his shoulders, indicating that he didn't know
either. I was more determined than ever now just looking at the expansive woods
in front of us. Maybe the land closest to our house was only the
outskirts of where both of these cryptids actually live. So if you go along
here, Henry said, as he pointed straight ahead, there's another creek bed.
It's a lot shallower than the first one by y'all's place, but it's
nice just the same. Probably about a month after we saw this thing,
I came walking back here and found me a footprint. I didn't have anyone
to share it with. Back then, only my boys would believe me.
Everybody else just said I was living up to my quirky nature and dismiss it
before I even finished the sentence. But this was a weird one. This
one was shaped like a dog. I even said wolf back then, mainly
because of the sheer size of it. I also found a huge wolf print,
Henry Ashton said, But this wasn't a regular sized wolf. Though Henry
cackled and slapped his knee, you're right, about that boy. This isn't
a wolf at all. This was from one of those hellhounds. I just
didn't know that at the time. I'd only seen that one Bigfoot. I
started thinking to myself that we needed to buy at least another dozen cameras,
if not more, to put all the way out here. There are so
many ways they could travel to and from here, and we don't even know
how many there are. If I remember correctly what John told me, Bigfoot
half family units and based on dogs and wolves themselves, these dog men should
also be the same and travel in packs. We all stopped and took a
break. Once we reached the creek. Henry was telling us about how far
back exactly does our property go. Henry, I never knew it came back
this far. If this truly is ours, we got more for our money
than I thought, I said, as I sat down on a large rock
by the water. Ashton walked over and sit down. I have a fashion
to make. I knew all this was back here. This is pretty much
where your land stops, just a little further past the creek. That is.
I just wanted to get our family away from here, so I only
set the price for what We paid for the house just to get out from
Andred. Henry laughed, that's why you've got such a good price. Boy,
I did the same thing, except you got an even better deal than
Old Mark did. Yeah, we borrowed more than the price of the house
because we wanted to do restorations and stuff. Ashton went on. I didn't
know at the time that I was buying the zoo from hell and that none
of the restorations would get done before we had to move on. We sat
listening to all the sounds around us and the water run across the rocks.
This area really wouldn't be too bad for camping. It was cleared out,
with enough room for a tent and then space left over for a camp fire.
It would be peaceful just to hang out here. I left, more
determined than ever to make our whole property safe and usable. Suddenly all the
noises stopped. The only thing that could be heard were the breath that each
of us took and the water in the creek laser focused. We all looked
around to see if there was any type of movement. Low chuffs were coming
from somewhere in the woods, indicating that something knew that we were there.
We were all standing now, John, myself, and Connie drew our weapons
that could be coming from either one of these creatures. Henry whispered, be
ready. Cautiously, we turned and started walking back, but we weren't alone.
Something was pacing us just inside the woods. We all heard it.
Henry broke the silence with another whistle. I cut my eyes at him.
My adrenaline was pumping through my veins, and my patience was wearing thin.
I couldn't handle this half cocked idea that a simple whistle would bring us protection
and we could all skip merrily out of the forest. Henry lowered his head,
sensing my irritation. I almost felt bad, But before I had a
chance to the growls came, one from beside us and one from directly behind
us. We quickly picked up our pace, being sure not to run.
That would be the worst thing that we could do. I didn't realize just
how far we had come in getting back out was taking longer than it should
have. Then my worst fear crept in. We're lost. I don't think
this is the right way, guys, I said. It didn't take us
this long to get to the creek. We all stopped and looked around.
Henry walked a little way ahead of us. We walked the same way that
we came in. We should be fine to go on ahead. It's a
straight shot out of here. I was hot and tired. I was mostly
tired of dealing with the bullshit going on and just wanted things to be normal.
I was losing my cool and I felt it. But this was different.
Yes, I was all the aforementioned things. However, the anger I
felt building inside of me wasn't normal. I'd never felt this way before.
Hey, guys, wait up, I said. I know we don't have
time to talk about this, but it's important. Do any of you feel
angry or confused, or maybe a little disoriented? They all looked at me
strangely. Maybe this was all me and it was just the heat getting to
me. Connie, do you remember the first time we came to the water
and I felt something strange when I pulled my gun. I asked you about
it once we got back to the house. Connie thought for a minute,
Yes, I do. You said you felt like that if you shot your
gun you would regret it. Okay, same way this time, But I'm
so angry I could bend steal with my bare hands, and I don't know
why John walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. You could be
picking up the energy from these dog men. Maybe you're sensitive to them.
It would prove to be useful. Though. If that were true, we
could tell when they were around. I felt as silly as Henry with a
supposed whistling. What a dynamic duo we would be in the woods. This
is all preposterous, Henry the whistler and me the hulk. So you guys
really don't feel anything at all? They all shook their heads. No,
I was afraid of that. The only thing to do now is to keep
going in hopes that they would leave us alone. Heard them growl anymore,
so I could only assume that we were moving out of what they claimed as
their territory. Henry turned out to be right after all. Not long afterwards
we reached the first creek and the clearing where I had shot the wretched beast,
that of which still needed an answer. Did these things really come from
another dimension? Did they hold certain powers to be able to restore themselves?
Or do they bury their dead? And the one that I shot was laid
to rest somewhere away from here. None of these answers would be a surprise
to me. At this point, we have to do something, Connie said.
We can come out here a hundred times, but the results are always
the same. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over
and expecting a different result. Nothing will be accomplished at this rate. Henry,
you said, let's chase them out of here, and that's what I
intend on doing. I know that you say that we ourselves can't get rid
of them, but I'm tired of spending my wheels here. Henry walked over
to where Connie stood. I agree with you, a little lady. Spending
our wheel won't help you and your friends and your family. I told you
that only Bigfoot can get rid of them, and that's partly true, but
I don't think that's the only way. In fact, I know that's not
the only way. We all looked at Henry in confusion. Does he know
secrets that he hasn't told us? Clearly he knew more than he was letting
on. And it was high time that we got to the bottom of this.
Winter would be coming soon, and this is not something we can afford
to be dealing with. Then Connie and I would have to be able to
hunt from meat and sustain ourselves for the colder months. We did have some
animals, but I would sure love some dear meat to go along with those.
So cut to the chase, Henry, I know we just met you,
but you know there's more that you're not telling us. We need to
know what's really going on here, all of it, I said sternly.
I felt myself getting angrier than ever out of nowhere. My blood started boiling.
Then a growl came from the distance. Why is this happening to me?
Every time the dog men get close? It hadn't happened at all until
Henry was around. I didn't feel this one I shot that one, or
in the cornfield. All I felt was fear. But now everyone could see
it. Henry looked at me and then at the ground. He knew he
knew exactly what was happening, and it was time to find out the truth
of why. After we made it back to our house, we all sat
around the kitchen table, eyeing Henry. I had calmed down and I was
ready to learn what was going on here. After my boys and I had
that run in with the big Foot, I set out to learn everything I
could about them. I went into the library and checked out every book I
could get my hands on. I read countless books. It seemed. I
wasn't ever into the internet. Books have always been my go to anyway.
I met a man who noticed my pattern at the library, and eventually he
came up and asked me about it. He said that he had witnessed one
himself and went on to tell me about his encounter. That's when I learned
about the dog man as well. He said that if you have a big
foot on your property, then no doubt you also have dog man. They
go hand in hand, Henry said, John shifted in his chair. Yeah,
I read the same thing when I was doing my research, and I
heard a lot about it listening to those encounter shows. It's like they lived
together or something exactly. Henry went on. He told me that there was
a way to keep them all away, but it would be a little risky.
At that point, I was willing to do anything. I wanted to
protect my wife and I wanted to have time back with my boys in the
woods. Armed with that knowledge, I went into the woods and did what
the man said. It was something I grew to regret. However, I
could only assume that what Henry did was probably an act of evil. Unbeknownst
to him at the time, this was turning into a real life nightmare.
A blood sacrifice was necessary. I did what I had to do, a
fire, blood and a couple of incantations. I wanted my family to be
safe. But that man lied to me. I found that print that I
told you about shortly after I did all those things. It turned out the
man that i'd met didn't live far from here. He was obviously having more
problems than we were. That awful deed had been done, though I was
stuck. The ritual was actually to call them in. He knew that if
he could convince me to do that, it would take them off of his
property and put them here in these woods. Connie gasped, Is there some
way that you can take it back? Though, like a reversal ceremony or
something. I'm not saying I want that on our property because it's pure evil,
But is it a possibility to do so so these things go away?
Before he had a chance to answer, Connie, I interjected with the question
to my own, a question that I desperately needed an answer to why do
I get so angry when these things are around? Henry. It didn't happen
in the past when John and I had our run ins, or even when
I shot one in the face, which is something else I need to ask
you about. But the little time that you've been around us in these woods,
I got so angry when they're around. That is a part of it,
boy, don't you see, he said, visibly agitated. As part
of the whole incantation, I threw that bid in there. Whoever was around
me at the time in the woods would have plenty of warning if they came
around. I knew I wouldn't be around anyone but my boys, and I
wanted to make sure that they were protected, just in case. I was
trying to plan ahead. Once that was done, though, as I said,
it brought them here. Instead of protecting us from them, That dirty
bastard made it impossible for us to stay. It became more dangerous over time.
It changed our whole way of life. My boys went away to college,
and I knew that my wife and I would have to leave. I
sold this place dirt cheap. I thought that at the time whatever was here
would stay in the woods because I wasn't there to bring them out. That's
why they can't break the wood line, John exclaimed loudly. Henry, You're
the key to this whole thing. It was all starting to make sense,
well as much sense as it could make. They couldn't leave the woodline because
Henry wasn't there. That one did that shot, because it was obviously something
more sinistered that a spell could not contain. That still left the question with
the Bigfoot. Are the big Foot still controlling these beasts somehow? Because that
night Connie and I were on the back deck and that dog man reached our
property. The big Foot yelled and it retreated back into the woods. But
why me, why nobody else in the group, I asked. I would
think that whoever was around you would feel the anger that the dog man put
off. Henry stood up and started pacing. Honest to goodness, Bud,
I don't have the slightest idea. I can only assume that it's because you're
the man of the house. You in a sense on the property, and
that makes you own everything, not just the land. When y'all moved here,
you took on the role that my boys and I were supposed to have.
I had made that incantation fool proof for my sons. At the time,
I was planning for the future here. We hadn't planned on moving,
and once my wife and I had passed on, this would be theirs.
You took that place, which means you don't feel any of the unless I'm
around. They are my heirs, so it would have passed on naturally to
them, But with you, I have to be here. Ashton had been
quiet during all of this. I felt bad for him, but I was
glad that it was me dealing with this and not him. He was young,
I'd probably a good twenty years on him. There was no way that
he and his family would have been able to handle all of this. It
was a lot for me to deal with us well, but I think I
have a firmer grip on it than he would. His goal would be to
protect his family. My goal is Connie and myself. That's enough. I
don't know how I would react with my wife plus two small children. He
made the right choice by selling. So how do we break this, Henry?
How can we make this go away? Connie asked. Henry set back
down and put his head in his hands. There's only one way, and
it's not something I thought I would ever have to do. It's something I
didn't want to have to do because of this dishonest man. The only way
to break the sacrifice I made is with a sacrifice in return. What does
that mean? A sacrifice in return? A sacrifice of what John asked concerned?
The sacrifice to break this is me, Henry said, with tears in
his eyes, to put everything back the way that it was, it needs
to be me to sacrifice myself. I never thought that it would come down
to this. It wasn't supposed to. I made that blood oath on false
pretenses. The way this was supposed to go is I would pass this on
to my sons, the protection, not the curse. I didn't know that
it was all based on a lie until it was too late. I'm glad
that we all moved away from this place. Now they don't have to carry
this. They're not ever coming back here, so this won't affect them.
It's affecting me, though, Henry, I yelled. Now I have to
carry this. We have to deal with this on what is now our land.
You can leave here anytime you want, but we still have to deal
with these dog men in Bigfoot, whether you're here or not. And what's
the deal with these Bigfoot? Why are they here? Well, as you
already know, they were here first. I'm sure they were here even before
we bought the house. When we encountered what I know to be dog man,
that's when the Bigfoot whistled and called them off. I believe maybe the
dog men were trickling in, but they were able to hold them at bay,
that is until I did what I did. Ashton spoke up. He
had been taking in all this information and processing it the best way that he
knew. How there has to be another way, though, Henry, if
you made a sacrifice on false pretenses, couldn't you undo it in another way?
Not in the traditional sense? Ashton asked. Henry was silent. We
all were. How was this even reality? I had taken a lot Bigfoot
throwing boulders at our heads, dog men trying to eat us, not being
able to enjoy our property. The list was long, and it seemed to
grow every day. Now you throw in a cooky old man who supposedly did
an incantation in the woods, it all sounds too fantastic, called to be
real. But the fact of the matter is this is happening. This isn't
a dream. We are all part of it. Now, let's do some
research on this before we do anything, crist John said, we have more
options than just books at our disposal. Now. There are a lot of
people who are experiencing this, and it wasn't brought to them by some ritual
done in the woods. I promise you, Henry. You may have been
the one to bring them here, but you didn't infest the world with them.
There has to be something out there that we can find, maybe even
the ritual that you did, and how to reverse it. Henry looked up
at us and smiled with this crooked smile. I knew it came from a
good place. I also knew that he was in a rough spot and carrying
more than I think I could handle. Imagine having the weight of protecting your
family, strangers, and everything out here on your shoulders. I think I
too would be a little off my rocker at that point. But now we
have the full story of what's happening. Now came the hard part of putting
everything back together the way that it was. However, that is Kannie and
I had offered for Henry to stay the night. He went on to tell
us that his wife had passed away some years before, and that he had
not talked to either of his sons in quite a while. They graduated college
and have lives of their own and don't want any part of what they left
behind That also included Henry. It made me wonder if maybe he had told
them what he had done, even though it had been for their protection.
Maybe they just wanted to be completely separated from that. I can't say that
I blame them. I did hate it for Henry, though, to go
through everything he had gone through and to end up completely alone had to be
the worst part of it for him. I'm sure I couldn't say that even
if we figured out how to break this spell or whatever he had done and
send the dog men away would repair whatever had been broken between he and his
sons. But at least it would lessen the weight that he had been carrying
for all these years. Later that night, Kannie and I were laying in
bed talking about everything. At one point we even broke out into laugh,
not believing that everything we had been going through and everything that we had heard
could be true. We knew it was tough, and in our living room
lay a lonely, broken man who had no one left but us. John
called me the next morning. He had done some research on our property and
was eager to tell us about it. Okay, so get this, John
began excitedly. The property attached to yours used to be owned by Otis P.
Welding. That was the man that conned Henry. According to these documents,
he would be in his seventies now. I was certainly excited about that,
because that means he might still be alive. Maybe he can help us
with Henry. And what happened all those years ago? Does it say where
he's at? John, Is he still alive? I could hear him pecking
on his keyboard? Yeah, says he's at some retirement home. The land
went up for auction once his kids moved him to where he is now,
but no one was interested in it, so the county took it over.
It doesn't list much about his land, but I think we all know why
nobody wanted it. It was probably wrapped in so much lower and evil that
no one with half a brain would take that on. So that's probably why
his kids auctioned it off. Are you up for a road trip, John,
I asked, with a smile on my face. He's going to be
our best option. We can bring Henry too. It took quite a bit
of convincing for Henry to finally agree to go with John and I to see
Otis. I knew that he was still carrying anger and malice for him,
but I assured Henry that John and I would be there the whole time,
and that Otis may hold the answer of how to get us out of this
situation without him having to sacrifice himself in the process. We loaded up and
we were off to Shady Lake's retirement home. It was about an hour's drive
from our place, so we had plenty of time to talk. On the
way. Henry told us that he didn't know too much about Otis. They
weren't really friends per se. Acquaintances would be the best word for it.
I can't say that I would want to be friends with someone who completely screwed
me over either. At best, maybe pleasantries exchanged when in public. I
saw Otis's kid shortly before my wife and I moved. They were always nice
to me. I often wondered if they knew what happened. Since they grew
up there, they had to have known that the dog men were there as
well. He probably told him that he got rid of them. I guess
in a sense he did, But he did that lying to me and making
me take the burden to carry instead. I started wondering if coming here was
a good idea. After all? What if he sees Otis and charges him.
That would be a headache and a half that would get us nowhere in
this vicious cycle that we were in. Now, Henry, when we get
there, you need to behave yourself. I know this man has done a
lot of wrongdoing, and he's cost you a lot of pain in your life.
But to help you, we need to see if he can tell us
how to reverse this without you having to sacrifice your own life. He remained
quiet, but I knew that he understood. I stared out the window and
wondered how Henry's life would have been had he not did what he did.
He and his wife living out there moment together on earth, knowing that their
sons were taking care of, peaceful and happy. I could understand why there
would be so much angst now Henry was alone. But it didn't have to
be that way. We pulled up at the Shady Lake's retirement home about twenty
minutes later. I once again reiterated to him that he needed to tuck all
those feelings away, at least for the time being. If he wanted revenge,
then get the revenge by reversing the curse. He nodded in agreement,
and we went in. Yes, we're here to see Otis p welding,
I said to the lady at the front desk. She met eyes with me.
Not many visitors for him these days. I'm glad that he finally has
some company. He's in his room one to eleven. That's just down the
hallway here and to the right. I thanked her and we started walking.
I didn't know which was worse, being in Henry's position or shoved in this
box to live out your final days forgotten about. In a sense, they're
both living the same ending. They were both alone. The only difference is
that Otis isn't covered by a blood curse, so that made Henry's case a
little worse. We walked down the sterile hallway. They had many different events
taped to the walls for the residents to participate in. To bring at least
some joy to their lives, but it was still an empty feeling all the
same. We turned the corner and found Otis's room. Just what the lady
had said. When we walked in, we found who we could only presume
to be Otis, sitting in a wheelchair, facing the window, with his
back to us. I cleared my throat to gain his attention without startling him.
Mister welding, Otis slowly turned from the window to face us. He
met eyes with Henry and a scowl covered his face. You felt, the
bastard, you ruined my life, Henry said. They say you don't gotta
go home, but you cast up trying to try that chime everything. Call
it right back, ride back my joy for me joy, stay right now,
call it right away. Dass says about bout book about talking about the
games and visas uses us and use us uses