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I got a trade of going on to hear something to kill my dog.
Something killing your dog. My dog would flam doing here over the trade.
I don't know how it did it, Okay, damn, And I'm
really confused. Both my dog coming over the bed and they were dead.
More gan to grow teeny cars although I saw is my dog coming over the
fence? Dan? Why what are your putting? We got someone or something
crawling around out here? Did you see what it went? It was standing
up. I'm out here looking through the window now and I don't see anything.
I don't want to go outside. Jesus great, you ready, charl
deal, Hello, get somebody out here. What's point on the outair?
That's thought of a bitches? About sixty fot nine? I don't know he
seemed the outtair. Yes, I'm booking a right, Eddie m. We
had given John and Ashton time to get geared up and rady, 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 overnight? 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 you 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 him 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 all admit, but it would give
us more insight on their habits. At night, Aston 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 winked. 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 indicated
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 hell hounds. 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 that 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 dogmen 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 confession 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 undred. 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 campfire. 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 than 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 come, 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 that if you shot your
gun you would regret it. Okay, same way this time. But I'm
so angry. I could ben still 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. We hadn't 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 need an answer. Did these things really
come from another dimension? Do 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 wheels 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 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 When 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, Eye and 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 bigfoot
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 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
you 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 bit 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 protect did 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 I shot because it was obviously something
more sinister that a spell could not contain. That still left the question with
the Bigfoot. Are the Bigfoot 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 and 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 anger 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 will, 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 in each 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 fantastical 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.
Crass 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 his 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.
I 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 Connie 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
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, Connie and I were laying in bed talking about everything.
At one point we even broke out into laughter, 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. 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 the 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, that's it. 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 their moments together on earth, knowing that their sons were
taken 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 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 filthy bastard, you ruined my life, Henry
said. They say you don't gotta go home, but you can't stay here.
Trying to try that chime everything. Call it baby, bright, baby
my joy for me to stay right, to call it right away. Don't
because backs us to us, to us, to use Jesus