Walkie-Talkie

I had always aspired to be a cop as a child. It was my dream job really to say the least. I thought it would be an honor to one day manage the law and monitor the well-being of domestic issues. I also of course, being young, was drawn to what you call "Hollywood" aspects of it. Wearing a badge meant you could kick down doors, fight crime, and take down criminals. It was for me at least the closest thing to a real life superhero. They swooped in and saved the day relieving everyone of dangers. There wasn't anything more that I wanted then to be that hero.

As a young child I of course played several games, I didn't really have many friends, so most of the time the only other participant was my little sister Katie. I'm sure you can connect the dots, we played cops and robbers, staged detective cases, and even went around pretending the neighbors were criminals. Sometimes Katie would get lost since she was so young and our woods was so vast, but we both kept trusty walkie-talkies with us to defeat this problem. Anytime that she needed my help, all I had to do was guide her back. I basically knew that forest like the back of my hand. She never got lost with my help, never except for once.

Our next door neighbor, Mr. Gunderson, had been emptying garbage bags into the stream running through his backyard. Suspicion seemed to be at an all-time high, and we were determined to search his garbage. We jumped over branches and fallen logs, attempting to reach his property. It was quite an adventurous route. Once Katie and I arrived at the scene we ducked under the nearby bushes. I didn't allow even the slightest peak to sneak out.

Both of us quietly crept over to his bags by the river. As I grew closer and closer to the bag I noticed a particular scent. It was distinct and rather repulsive. I covered my nose to avoid sniffing the odor. I looked to Katie, "Ready?” We gave each other an assured nod and stretched the plastic to the point of ripping. I flew back at the sight of what was inside the bag.

I began gagging and coughing, I could smell it to the point of tasting it. I could barely recall what I had seen in the flash instant, so I returned to the bag. Once standing over the origin of this stench I peered down into something even more obscure. It was ripped torn layers of flesh, pig flesh it looked to be. This isn't standard pig meat; no not the kind you would find at the grocery store at all. This meat looked like it was freshly killed no more than a day ago.

The mangled bits of meat in the bag weren't alone; the unidentifiable massacre also contained intestines and internal organs. Looking as if they were intentionally degutted, the blood pooled out from the bag just as the scent did.

I looked now to Katie, hoping to cover the sight from her young eyes. However she was already keeping an intent gaze on the scene. I called her over. After we talked she and I decided we were going to take on the task of a real mystery, and get to the bottom of Mr. Gunderson's trash.

Katie and I split up, investigating several areas of the woods. I climbed trees, jumped streams, and even dug through the dirt to find clues. However I fell short and had little success finding anything.

I was walking near the river when I tripped and fell into some sort of pothole. I had hit my head somewhat hard, but I brushed it off and got back up. As my sight changed to my feet, I noticed an odd outline to this pothole. Its imprint wasn't standard; it was a peculiar shape that deviated from normal potholes. I continued walking and then there it was another pothole. It was the exact same shape and size.

I squinted looking a little closer. I soon interpreted the pothole realizing it was no pothole. This triangular shape I peered down into on the ground was a foot print. The foot print that lay before me was shaped like a long isosceles triangle and stretched at least three feet in length. I was unable to reject chills as they ran down my spine. I started my walkie-talkie, "Katie you there? Over and out". I waited for a while, yet I got no response, "Katie are you there? Answer me please." once again no response at all.

I began to worry, but my curiosity soon overshadowed it. I wondered what could possibly have produced these footprints; I knew it couldn't have been human whatever it was. My walkie-talkie went off, and I picked it up with haste. "Katie where have you been?" I asked aggressively. "I was talking to Mr. Becker, you know the farmer? Apparently one of his pigs went missing yesterday, he’s been looking ever since."

This seemed like a viable piece of evidence; I left my footprints as irrelevant and headed off to meet with Katie. When I saw her, her eyes were lit with joy, I was curious to hear what she had to share. She spoke in excitement, "Gunderson" she had to catch her breath, "Gunderson, he is, he is, and he’s a suspect for murder!” I exclaimed "What!?" in response. "Yeah, apparently his daughter died years ago, he was the main suspect but they could find no proof of the killing."

I told Katie this was going too far and that we should just go back home and forget any of it happened. Yet she responded, "Are you kidding me? Come on, this is the dream, this is what cops do, don't you want to be one!?" I stopped and thought for a bit. My obligation to follow through soon outweighed my desire to leave as I joined her.

We split up again as she sped off into the woods. I instead sluggishly walked in the other direction. I hadn't seen much again. Yet something surprised me as I peered down at the garbage bag we had earlier inspected. The remains and entrails of the pig were gone. There was barely a single remark of it left. I continued to move looking for more evidence.

Throughout my entire walk I didn't see much, but I heard quite a lot. There was the resounding noise of something walking through the bushes and shrubs. The ground slightly shook on each step, and the noises of it gained more and more decibels. I could tell whatever it was, it was getting closer.

I was in a small sense of panic though I was sure the thing could have meant no harm. Things were getting darker and I couldn't see my surroundings well, but I could have sworn I saw a large black figure in the distance no shorter than twenty feet. My sightseeing was quickly cut short by a call from Katie.

She as usual seemed oblivious. She asked me "Um How do I get home again?". I told her to come find me, and asked her about her surroundings. She spoke "A tall lofty reddish tree and I can see an orange sign." I replied directing her "Turn to your right and walk until you see a deer hunting stand." While I was waiting I could hear the loud rumbling footsteps of the large creature in the distance. "Okay I'm there, what do I do now?" I instructed her, "See the bridge? Cross it and keep going that direction until you get to the field."

Once again as I waited for her response the footsteps sped up in pace and sounded louder and louder as the ground beneath me began to shake. "Tell me where to go now" she asked, I worried now, as these footsteps were coming from her direction, I was hoping she would be okay. I spoke "Be careful, but walk to the end of the field and you'll see a tent when you get there turn right and walk to the campfire pit." Now the steps were louder than ever pounding into the ground I felt my entire body shake, the rumbling was immense as I struggled to stand.

I picked up my walkie-talkie and spoke into it "Hey Katie are you al-" I stopped. I could hear my voice echo from another point. I turned in direction knowing the other walkie must have been close. I couldn't see in the direction even though I knew it had originated from there. I pulled my flashlight from my pocket and flipped on the switch.

The lights glared, and revealed what before lay masked in darkness. My eyes gaped and my mouth stretched. I peered at the creature now closer than ever before standing high and tall, in its hand was the walkie-talkie. The thing shrieked and looked filled with rage. Like a coward I ran from it.

I made it, Katie didn't. I never saw her again, and I will never let up the blame on my coward self. However this is irrelevant at the moment.

The next day, there was a search team looking for her. They didn't believe my story nobody did. The search did however find one thing. They found my sister only you couldn't tell it was her. She lay in a garbage bag looking the same as the pig from the previous day. Her face was ripped to shreds, her entrails were scattered about over the bloody jumble of her flesh. All she was now was that creature's meal for the day, just as Mr. Gunderson's daughter once was, Mr. Becker's pig, and now her. There is only one thing that gets me to this day, I don't understand how the creature had done such a well impersonation of her, and it eerily sounded, breathed, and talked just like her. Sometimes it will yell in her voice at night trying to attract me to it. You can never trust a voice you hear over the phone.