Baker County Bigfoot Chronicle Read online

  “Dr Franklin’s office is at the end of the hall, on the left,” the guard said, pointing down the corridor.

  Sheriff Cochran extended his thanks and then led Marie and Tony down the hallway.

  “This is where he was,” Marie said, pausing next to a closed door on the right side.

  Cochran looked at it curiously and soon realized that it was indeed the room where Kurt had been the night before. He looked at Marie and could see the concern on her face. Without saying a word, he reached for the knob and opened the door. The two of them peered into the room and found only an empty bed, neatly made up with clean linens.

  “What the hell?” he muttered softly.

  Marie looked over at him and he could see her green eyes darkening.

  “I’m sure there’s a good explanation,” he said, trying to reassure her. “I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  Marie bit her lip and Tony patted her on the back.

  “They probably just moved him to another room,” he said, trying to do his part to keep her calm.

  Another thirty feet or so led them to an open door on the left side of the hallway. Cochran stepped through and sat down on the cushy leather chair directly in front of the large wooden desk where Dr. Franklin was seated.

  The doctor rose from where he was sitting and immediately offered a handshake to Marie. She reluctantly took it and then sat down beside Cochran. With no other seats available, Tony leaned against the door jamb and crossed his arms.

  “Now I’m sure you’re wondering where he is,” Franklin said quickly.

  “It crossed my mind, yeah,” Marie snapped at him. “Where is my brother, doctor?”

  “Well,” he said as he returned to his chair. “There’s been a…development.”

  Marie arched an eyebrow. “What sort of development?” she asked, trying desperately to keep her composure.

  Doctor Franklin took a deep breath and steepled his fingers in front of his face. “Well, let’s just say that your brother is undergoing some neurological changes that require more testing downstairs,” he said nonchalantly. “When he’s finished, we’ll bring him back to his room.”

  “Okay,” Marie replied coolly. “How long will the testing take?”

  Franklin’s gaze drifted away from her and down to his wristwatch. “Sure…umm, I’d say another six hours or so. He just went back.”

  “Six hours?” Cochran asked gruffly. “What the hell is going on with him? What sort of neurological changes are you talking about?”

  Doctor Franklin shifted uneasily in his chair, but his face remained stoic. “He’s undergoing some changes unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Just let us run these tests and I promise you that you can see him.”

  “I want to see him right now,” Marie said, glaring at him.

  Doctor Franklin held up his hands apologetically. “I know that, Marie,” he said softly. “And I want you to see him, but please understand he needs our help and—”

  “Right now,” Marie said abruptly.

  Sheriff Cochran looked over at her curiously, then slowly returned his gaze to Doctor Franklin. “You heard her,” he said. “She’s his sister and she wants to see him.”

  Franklin smiled and took a deep breath through his nose. “I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible,” he said. “I just can’t—”

  “Can’t? Or won’t?” Marie asked, narrowing her eyes sharply.

  The doctor’s warm expression suddenly changed to something much colder. “You won’t like what you see,” he said flatly. “Come back tomorrow and I’ll let you see him…that’s a promise.”

  Marie crossed her arms and shifted her weight in the chair. She looked over at Sheriff Cochran, her mouth a straight line. Cochran read what she was thinking and leaned forward onto the desk.

  “Doc, we want to see the kid right now,” he said.

  Doctor Franklin shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that—and there is no legal obligation for me to let you see him either.”

  Cochran was taken aback and made no attempt to hide it. “Are you kidding me?” he snarled. “I’m the damn law around here and I want to see him. This is his next of kin.”

  Franklin looked over at Marie. “Are you Kurt’s legal guardian?”

  “You’re damn right I am,” she snapped back.

  “Can you prove it?” the doctor asked.

  Marie’s mouth dropped opened slightly and she again looked to Sheriff Cochran.

  “Let me see the boy,” the sheriff said, rising from his chair.

  “Sheriff, you need to calm down and you need to sit down, right now,” Franklin said, looking up at him.

  “The only thing I’m doing right now,” Cochran growled, “is going to see Kurt Bledsoe. Now take me to him or I’ll find him myself.”

  Doctor Franklin pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t have time for this,” he whispered, and he then reached for the phone on his desk. “Yes, I need security in my office right now,” he said.

  Sheriff Cochran looked down at Marie and grabbed her arm, helping her up. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go find Kurt.”

  “Sheriff, I’m warning you to stop right there,” Franklin said, he himself now rising from his desk. “The security guards in this building are armed and will use whatever means necessary to keep what we do here protected.”

  Sheriff Cochran paused and glared at him. “And just what is it that you do here, doc?” he asked, turning his head slightly. “What the hell are you hiding in the basement?”

  “Sheriff, we need to go,” Tony said suddenly. He was looking down the hallway.

  Marie and Cochran stepped out just in time to see four armed guards charging toward them. One of them was the blonde man they’d met in the lobby.

  “Stop right there!” he called out.

  Sheriff Cochran glanced over at both Tony and Marie. “Follow me,” he said. “Stay close!”

  They disappeared around the corner at the end of the hall and the guards stopped momentarily at Doctor Franklin’s doorway.

  “What’s going on?” the blonde guard asked.

  “They’re asking too many questions,” Franklin replied with disgust. “They’re demanding to see the subject. They’ve taken it too far now and cannot leave this building.”

  The blonde guard looked at him quizzically. “But sir, he’s the sheriff of the county.”

  The doctor’s eyebrows raised slightly. “And law enforcement is a dangerous job,” he said. “The situation couldn’t be more perfect. The sister, the sheriff, and the only real witness of what happened last night are all in the building. We keep them contained here and our secrets stay here. Do not let them leave and use whatever means necessary to do so.”

  The guard blinked and nodded. “We’ll make sure, sir,” he said.

  “In the meantime,” Franklin continued, “the building is going on lockdown.”

  The doctor grabbed a key from his desk drawer and unlocked a panel on the wall next to a wooden bookshelf. Behind the panel there were a series of switches, similar to what one would find in a breaker box. Franklin began flipping the switches and a rumble began to echo throughout the building. In mere seconds, every window and every door to the outside world became closed off by a retractable steel shutter that slid down from an overhead slot.

  Chapter 7

  The fluorescent lighting flickered overhead and there was a rumble that seemed to be coming from all directions. It was so loud and ominous that the ground underneath their feet vibrated.

  “What the hell was that?” Marie asked as she chased after Sheriff Cochran.

  “I don’t know,” Cochran answered as he pulled his sidearm from its holster. “We’ll worry about that later…right now we need to find your brother.”

  They were running down another corridor that was much like the one they’d just left. Every several feet there was a wooden door…all of them closed. This time however, there was an elevator at the midway po
int that caught Cochran’s eye. He paused and slapped the button indicating that they wanted to go down.

  “Are you sure he’s down there?” Marie asked, glancing over her shoulder to see if they were being chased again.

  “The doc mentioned that he was downstairs,” Cochran answered, and he slapped the button again. “It’s not much but it’s all we have to go on right now. Come on dammit,” he grumbled at the steel doors.

  “Uh guys, we’ve got company,” Tony stammered.

  Cochran looked to his left and the four guards that were chasing them had just rounded the corner.

  “Stop right there, Sheriff!” the blonde guard shouted.

  Cochran noticed he was holding a gun and he felt his hand tighten around the grip of his own. “Come on,” he told Marie and Tony. “We gotta keep moving.”

  “They’ve got guns,” Tony said as he chased after the sheriff.

  “Yeah, and so do I…now keep up,” Cochran barked.

  The trio kept running and the echoing footsteps of their pursuers rang loudly in their ears. At the end of the hallway they suddenly had a choice to make…right or left.

  “Look!” Marie shouted suddenly, and she pointed at a sign on the wall to their left that indicated a nearby stairwell.

  Cochran said nothing but began running again. They’d only gone twenty feet when he found a metal door that was positioned back toward the interior of the building. It had a window and he could clearly see the stairwell beyond it. “This way,” he said, pushing the door open forcefully with his shoulder.

  They began racing down the steps and to their surprise the stairwell seemed to go down several levels—much farther than any of them would’ve guessed.

  “My god, where do we stop?” Marie asked with despair.

  Suddenly a gunshot rang out from above them. The sound was loud and thunderous to the point their ears were ringing. Cochran pushed Marie and Tony behind him and pointed his weapon upward.

  “Hold your fire!” he shouted. “I’m a law enforcement officer and I’m telling you right now to put that gun away!”

  “No one has to get hurt, Sheriff,” the blonde guard shouted down at him. “We just need you to surrender right now. Put that gun down and let’s talk about this.”

  “There is no scenario where I’m putting my gun down,” Cochran snapped back. “I’m the sheriff here—I’m the one with the authority here.”

  There was a chuckle and though Cochran couldn’t see him, he could tell it was the blonde guard. “Sheriff I don’t know how to tell you this, but this building is out of your jurisdiction. You have no power here. This is a federal facility and that badge on your chest don’t mean a damn thing.”

  Cochran bit his lip and snorted in disgust. He looked over his shoulder at the door closest to him. They’d only gone down three levels, but it seemed their chances were going to be a lot better if they got out of the stairwell.

  “Listen to me,” he whispered to Marie and Tony. “I want you to open that door but do it as quietly as you can. Open it and go through it. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Marie nodded and reached for the handle. She paused a moment and read the signage just below the window. It read: CONTAINMENT, LEVEL 3. She and Tony looked at each other and after a quick glance into the window they proceeded to open the door.

  Sheriff Cochran meanwhile kept his attention on the stairs above him.

  “Listen,” he said. “You’re trying to reason with me so I’m gonna try to reason with you now. I’ve got no intention of allowing myself, or my companions to be taken into your custody. Now, you can allow us to leave or I’m going to make you let us leave…it’s your choice.”

  There was more laughter from above, this time more maniacal. Cochran glanced over his shoulder to see that Tony was holding the door open for him. Slowly, the sheriff backed through the door and then lightly allowed the door to close. There was an empty desk across from the door they’d just passed through, and behind it an old wooden chair. Cochran quickly grabbed the chair and then wedged it tightly under the door handle to prevent—or at least hinder—the guards from continuing their pursuit.

  “Alright, let’s keep moving,” he said.

  It was at that moment he noticed Marie was holding a gun.

  “Where the hell did you get that?” he asked, pointing at the weapon.

  She smiled sheepishly. “I told you I was coming to get my brother out of here and I was going to do it no matter what,” she said.

  Sheriff Cochran looked up from the gun and met Marie’s eyes. Part of him wanted to scold her. Most of him wanted to thank her. “Come on,” he said, finally opting on saying nothing more on the matter.

  They found themselves in yet another hallway, but this one was flanked with glass windows, and beyond the windows there were people in white lab coats working.

  “Just be calm,” Cochran said as they casually walked by.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Marie could see some of the people looking at them…watching them. “They see us,” she whispered.

  “Makes no difference to me,” Cochran said. “Don’t be flashing that gun around and we have nothing to worry—”

  “Excuse me,” a man of Asian descent said suddenly. He’d stepped out of a doorway ahead of where they were going. “May I help you?”

  The man was Marie’s height and his black hair was combed neatly with a well-defined part. He was wearing safety glasses and latex gloves.

  “Yeah, uh, I’m looking for someone,” Cochran stammered. “A young kid…Kurt Bledsoe. Doctor Franklin told me we could find him down here?”

  The man eyed him suspiciously. “Franklin said you could find him on level three?”

  “He just told us we could find him downstairs,” Marie said suddenly. “He got tied up on a phone call, so we decided to head on down—we had no idea there were multiple levels.”

  The man opened his mouth slightly and nodded as if the explanation was beginning to make sense. “I see,” he said. “Well I know you mean well but I assure you that Doctor Franklin would not approve of you venturing down here without an escort.” He paused and looked them over more closely. “And where are your visitor badges?”

  Cochran pulled back his jacket revealing the gold star on his chest. “I guess Franklin figured this one would suffice,” he said with a wry smile.

  The man smiled at him but there was a nervousness—an uneasiness, that wasn’t there moments before. “Sheriff, I think you should return to the first floor. This level is not safe.”

  Cochran looked around him and chuckled. “Really? Why not? You hiding a monster around here or something?”

  The man didn’t smile back. Before he could say anything else there was a loud banging emanating from the door that Cochran had wedged shut with the chair.

  “Okay, I think Kurt Bledsoe, the young man you’re looking for is being held on level four. You don’t have access to that level without an escort. I’m going to have to ask you to please return to the first floor and await Doctor Franklin’s assistance.”

  The banging on the door continued, this time louder. The man looked past Sheriff Cochran toward the end of the hallway. The door could not be seen from where they were standing but clearly, he knew where the sound was coming from.

  “Please wait right here,” he said, moving around them.

  Sheriff Cochran waited until the man disappeared around the corner and then he again urged Marie and Tony to follow him. They were running again and didn’t stop until they reached the end of the hallway. There was a red door embedded in the wall, but otherwise it was a dead end.

  “What now?” Marie asked, looking around them. “We’re trapped.”

  “We go the only place we can go,” Cochran answered. “Through this door.”

  “Wait,” Tony said, sounding somewhat panicked. “There’s something really creepy about this place and I’ve got a bad feeling about this door.”

  Cochran grabbed the boy by the arm and jerked him cl
ose. “Yeah? Well I’ve got a bad feeling about the armed guards that are gonna appear on the other end of this hall any second. What’s your problem with this door?”

  Tony swallowed, and his eyes moved away from the sheriff and to the door. “It’s not like the other doors,” he said. “It’s metal, not wood. And it’s red…”

  Cochran looked to Marie who shrugged in response, then back to Tony. “So what?” he asked, dumbfounded.

  “Well, I—I just think that since this particular door is metal and painted red, then it could potentially mean there is something dangerous behind it,” he said.

  At that moment a thunderous boom echoed loudly from the other end of the hall followed by a spark and loud clang off the metal door, mere feet away from where the sheriff was standing. Cochran looked at the door and noticed a slight indentation where a bullet had struck, but failed to penetrate, it.

  “That was a warning shot,” the blonde guard called out. “Put down your weapon!”

  Without further hesitation, Cochran twisted the knob and pushed the door. He half expected it to be locked but was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t. He nearly fell as he entered the room. Marie and Tony ran into his back as he stopped suddenly.

  “Shut the door!” Cochran commanded.

  “Are you sure?” Tony asked.

  Marie kicked the door closed with her foot and immediately the three of them became enveloped in pitch black darkness. There was a click sound that originated from the door and Marie, knowing exactly what it meant, reached for the knob to get confirmation.

  “It’s locked,” she said. “We’re locked in here.”

  “I knew it,” Tony said. “I knew it, I knew it…”

  “Shut up,” Cochran growled. “I can’t see a damn thing…can either of you see anything?”

  Before anyone could answer, floodlights on the ceiling came on, washing them all suddenly in warm light. It became so bright, the three of them had to squint and give their eyes a moment to adjust.

  “Sheriff Cochran,” a familiar voice called out from somewhere above. It was Doctor Franklin and his voice seemed to be emanating from a speaker.

  “Yeah?” Cochran asked, looking up in all directions.