​Slick NIck

His breathing became heavier as he trudged uphill. The snow was piling higher by the minute and the wind swept the cold flakes across his face. His cheeks were numb, his beard was caked with ice, and each blast of wind stung his eyes, causing them to water and freeze on his cheeks. Another gust of wind hit him hard, he stiffened his body and hunched over, trying not to fall backwards from the powerful blast. He angled his toes into the snow, looking for purchase in the crust below the powder. When the wind subsided he straightened his back and continued to plod through the growing drifts.

Nick knew every inch of this mountain like the back of his hand. He was intimately familiar with every rock and tree, every cliff and slope. But the snow piled high, he could barely tell where he was. He knew the shelter was just ahead, but every few minutes a fleeting worry would cross his mind that he had become confused in the storm and was lost. Even for someone as experienced as him, weathering this storm for much longer would mean certain death. Nick pushed the worries from his mind and pushed forward. Either he would find his shelter over the crest of the next drift, or he would die tonight in the snow.

Another gust of wind caught his body and he buckled, then doubled over, pain suddenly shooting through his abdomen. He gritted his teeth and gripped his ribs, feeling the warm wetness oozing through the thick jacket. Even if he found his shelter, he wasn’t sure survival was an option. A vicious howl sounded behind him. Something otherworldly that could only belong to the beast itself, still searching the storm to finish what he started. Nick pressed on, inching closer to salvation…or the end.

As he crested the drift he saw his cabin just ahead. It was mostly buried in snow, hardly visible, but he could make out the shape of it in the dim moonlight that shone through the storm clouds above. As excitement welled up inside of him, he straightened his back and pressed forward, but his wounds left him weak and he stumbled, tumbling down the snow drift, leaving a bloody trail in the white snow. Nick crawled his way to the front of the shelter and started digging down to the front door. The snow was deep but the house wasn’t buried; he could get in. He had picked this location purposefully, one that was mostly sheltered from these storms as the westward wind broke around the mountainside that rose behind his cabin. This storm, however, was special.

When Nick finally reached the door he twisted the knob and tumbled inside, dragging a pile of snow with him. The fire had gone cold in the hearth and the room was dark and icy. He quickly stood and pushed the door shut, clearing as much snow as he could, then locked the 5 deadbolts and collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.

“AROOOOOOOOO” The beast’s sickening howl sounded in the distance. The fact that Nick could hear it through the wind terrified him. The beast was either very close or very loud, but he was betting it was close. He crawled to his desk and started rummaging through it, looking for his emergency kits. As his adrenaline waned, his brain was starting to become fuzzy. He couldn’t remember where he kept the supplies. Finally, in the top drawer, he pulled the familiar leather pouch out and began to untie the binding. The bottles of medicine clinked softly inside. Nick grunted with exertion as he propped himself up against his desk and uncorked one of the vials with his teeth, downing the liquid quickly.

A fire would be a beacon to the beast now, since it was looking for him, but he needed warmth. With much effort, Nick crawled to the fireplace and pulled a heavy blanket from his only chair, covering himself with it on the floor. As he started to shiver and succumb to the pain in his ribs, the world faded to black.

—

5 years earlier

“You can’t tell me” Jeff said, panting as he navigated around a clump of rocks, “that you truly believe this thing exists. It’s fun to think about, that there’s a whole species of Bigfoot…big-feet? What would the plural be? Oh, who cares. The point is, you can’t tell me that something of that size has survived this long undiscovered. Even if he was alone, somehow, it’s ridiculous, but in order for a species to survive as long as this myth it would have to have a whole society. A society that, in order to stay secret, would have to be incredibly sophisticated. It’s just ridiculous!”

Nick listened as he hiked, trying to steady his breathing and pace himself.

“And furthermore, even if they did turn out to be real, which they’re not, what are the odds that they would actually be friendly? Say you do find one, which you won’t because they don’t exist, it’s going to see that it’s 3 times your size and just throw you off the side of the mountain and keep its secret safe.”

Nick agreed with everything his friend said except for one point, the point of existence. He had seen these creatures himself. Several of them. Different enough to be different individuals but similar enough to definitely be a species. He was sure of it, but he knew that convincing anyone was impossible. Even he questioned the story sometimes and he had seen it with his own eyes.

“And what, we have satellites scanning the earth, we have LIDAR detecting ancient ruins that have been overgrown for centuries, but these ‘magical apes’ just know where to hide? It’s a joke!”

“Jeff,” Nick paused, taking a deep breath, “I know it’s impossible to believe. You know me, I don’t take things lightly, I don’t believe blindly…” Nick paused for a moment. Religion was another taboo topic between them, but in the opposite direction. Despite all of his analysis and his fact-checking when it came to things of science, Jeff was a true believer when it came to his religion, and he always faulted Nick for failing to see the light in his world. “I have seen them, with my own eyes. All of your points are true. It’s impossible, but I know what I saw. So either I’m actually insane, or they’re out there, somewhere.”

“Oh, you’re definitely insane” Jeff sighed, taking a long drink from his water bottle. “Mary won’t let me commit you. Says it’s not fair to leave her alone with the kids.” He winked at Nick, proud of his joke. “Look, we all know you saw something. You don’t make up stories. But it had to be something else, some trick or hallucination or…”

“I’m telling you, it was real. I know it sounds crazy, but it was real.”

The conversation died as the two men resumed their hike. This was something they did every weekend; it was the same conversation every time. They both enjoyed it to an extent and dreaded it at the same time. This discussion was becoming a slowly growing divide, a rift in their friendship that neither of them could ignore.

As they reached the base of a cliff they were faced with the decision to climb or take the long road around. The woods grew suddenly quiet. They both froze in their tracks, sensing the odd calm. Something felt wrong, very wrong. Almost as quickly as it had come, the calm dissipated into wild confusion. A white-hot light illuminated the woods around them and a loud roar filled their ears. Their heads swam and the earth shook. When they woke, they were both laying on the ground, ears ringing. The trees around them were splayed outwards as if a great explosion had tried to knock them over, but nothing was broken, or burned. There was no fire, no smoke, no sign of any blast.

“What was that?!” Jeff yelled, trying to hear himself through his ringing ears. Both men took in the scene. The trees were all leaning eastward, meaning something had happened west of them, causing them to fall over. Without another thought, Nick started walking west. Slowly at first, then faster. “What are you doing?!” Protested Jeff. “Don’t walk towards it!”

As Nick crossed a small mound of dirt and debris, Jeff hot on his heels, he saw in front of him a massive crater carved in the mountainside. The trees here lay mangled and ruined, but none burned. In the center sat a single, metal capsule, about the size of a car. It looked cool, and didn’t smoke as one would expect.

“The impossible happens every day.” Nick said, staring Jeff in the eyes, then turned and started walking down the hill towards the object.

—

The cabin slowly came into focus as Nick’s head began to pound.

“Well then, I was beginning to think you might never wake up.” A soothing voice said from across the room. Nick tried to open his eyes, but the light caused searing pain to shoot through his skull and down his spine. “Now, now, rest child. You’ll be fine.” The voice continued, suddenly closer.

“Who are you?” Nick croaked, his throat dry. A cup was pressed to his lips and he sipped warm liquid that tasted like black licorice. His dry throat refused to open at first and he coughed and sputtered, but strong hands held the cup and his head in place as the warm liquid found its way to his stomach. All at once, his head began to swim. “What did you do to me?” The voice didn’t answer, but simply let go of his head and Nick drifted back to sleep.

This time, when he woke, his head was clear and he jumped to his feet instantly, filled with energy. He scanned the room quickly, looking for the intruder who nursed him back to health. Despite the obvious positive effects, he was wary of anyone being in his home. The room seemed empty, a fire crackled in the hearth, and its warmth allowed Nick to relax momentarily. He settled down in his chair by the fire and allowed his mind to be at ease for a moment, listening to the crackle of the fire and for anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

The fire continued to crackle, the wind cooed outside his windows, and the storm had died down. The house was dead silent other than his own breathing and the logs in the fire.

“How are you feeling, Nicholas?” The soothing voice was right behind him. He wasn’t sure if he was more startled by the proximity of the voice or the fact that he hadn’t heard anyone moving. H spun on his heels and brought his hands up, ready to defend himself, but the man behind him made no move to attack. He didn’t even flinch. Nick stared at him for a few moments, breathing heavily, poised for attack. The man was tall, much taller than anyone he’d ever seen before. Based on how close his head was to the ceiling, he had to be close to eight feet tall. His face was long and narrow, with hooded eyes and a small, straight nose. His hair was long and straight. It was white but had an eerie shine to it, almost like it was glowing or giving off light. The man, if it was in fact a man, wore a simple tunic, light blue with a brown belt about his waist. Despite the flowy and oversized nature of the garment he wore, Nick could see a large, muscular frame underneath. His fingernails were neat and trim, but his hands looked strong and rough, as if they had been worked hard for many years. The man leaned forward slightly, he didn’t say anything but stared into Nick’s eyes, piercing his soul, searching for the answer to his original question.

“I…feel much better. What did you do to me?”

The Man relaxed slightly. “If you mean, what did I make you drink, it was an elixir of my own making. Not something that would make any sense to you. I’m glad it worked. Humans are always so…unpredictable.” He spat the last word as if it were a curse. “What I did to you was protect myself.” Nick’s head reeled as he tried to understand the comment. He scanned the room, looking for anything out of place, any clue as to who this man, this intruder, might be. A large jacket hanging on his hook by the door caught his eye. It was covered in brown fur, frosted with white on the tips. It was massive, easily large enough to cover this man’s large frame from head to toe. Nick squinted at the jacket, trying to clear his head. He should have seen it already; he was usually more perceptive than this. “Don’t worry, Nick, you haven’t lost your edge. At least, not in this regard. I hid the jacket when you first woke so as not to startle you.” With a snap of the large man’s fingers, the jacket shimmered and disappeared. With another snap, the jacket came back into focus on the wall, as if by magic. “Sit, we have much to discuss.”

Ignoring the large man, Nick strode across the room towards the door and the jacket hanging there. He expected the man to try to stop him but he stood silently by the desk, doing nothing. When he reached the door, he paused, unsure of what he should do next. After a moment’s hesitation, he ran his hands through the fur in the jacket. He moved the arms, the hood, and then gasped, stumbling backwards as he revealed the massive claws, stained red with his blood, and the gruesome face of the beast he had hunted in these mountains for so many years.

“Nicholas, I must insist that you sit. Your condition is still…”

“What are you?” Nick said, turning to face the creature, his voice filled with rage.

“I must insist…”

“What. Are. You?”

The large man’s shoulders drooped slightly, as if in defeat. He simply motioned to the desk chair as he walked around it and towards the fire, giving Nick his space. Nick stood his ground for a moment, then, seeing no other real option other than to fight this man, he slowly walked across the room and sat.

“I must apologize for the hardships you have been put through on my account. I never intended for you to…how do you humans put it…hunt me. I was merely trying to observe and, well, survive.” Nick sat still as stone, stunned at the words he was hearing. “I know you sacrificed much for this meeting. Much that could have been avoided had I granted it to you sooner. I admit, I had no intention of granting it to you even now, but your condition was critical, and you would never have believed your miraculous recovery. I felt my intervention necessitated a meeting. And so here we are.” The large man spread his arms out wide and gave a warm smile. “I am Gabriel. I hope I am everything you hoped, or feared.”