Chapter 15

~Thursday 23 July, 2026~

8:12 AM

Sheriff Daniel Harper had watched twenty-three minutes of trees and rocks. He had watched Madison Cole explain Deer Ridge and the story of the alleged monster. She and Tyler Norton hiked a trail they had been expressly forbidden from entering, investigated several completely ordinary noises, and speculated about an unidentified creature Harper had spent the last month insisting was an animal.

It had been especially infuriating to watch Tyler and Madison duck beneath the yellow tape, completely ignoring the two signs.

“AREA CLOSED – DO NOT ENTER”

“DANGER – ACTIVE INVESTIGATION”

Harper leaned back in his chair. “Idiots.”

The camera sat beside his keyboard, a smear of dirt across one corner. A deputy had found it a few hours previously. Tyler and Madison’s car had been located the previous night on a dirt pull-off not far from the Deer Ridge lot. Their families had been unable to reach them. A check of social media accounts revealed their web show After Midnight Investigations. Harper knew what they were looking for, and immediately ordered a search.

Tyler and Madison had not been found. What they had located was a dented camera, discarded clothing and backpacks, signs of a disturbance, and a lot of blood. If they were dead, that would be ten lives lost. Harper knew in his heart that they were dead, just like all the others. Harper felt like shit, and he said he’d review the footage alone.

Dan Harper skipped to another scene where Madison was explaining the known attacks and the various theories floating around on the internet. Tyler briefly turned the camera on himself, saying the Bigfoot theory had merit. Madison had yelled at him that the Deer Ridge Monster was something unique.

Skipping ahead again, Harper saw nothing but trees and rocks. He skipped again. Nothing. The file ended so Harper clicked open the next one. It was dark by then, so they had to record in low-light mode. The screen was black at first before the image appeared and stabilized. Madison was standing in the woods wearing nothing but a pink bra.

“Something to jerk off to after I dump you,” the woman said, flashing the camera.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Harper growled, reaching for the mouse.

Apparently having sex with a dangerous animal around wasn’t enough; they weren’t acting worried at all. Tyler was playing with the camera, filming Madison’s butt as she bent over to retrieve her underwear. The two then discussed editing for their show and decided they were ready to leave.

Click.

Harper froze. The sound had been faint, barely there. Madison and Tyler had apparently heard it as well. Tyler reasoned it was probably a branch, while Madison remembered it was the sound the animal supposedly made. Harper’s heart sped up; were they about to get the animal on video?

Click.

Harper moved the cursor, jumping forward slightly.

“RUN!” Tyler shouted.

Trees, rocks, dirt. The camera was moving to fast to make out more than the occasional detail. Tyler yelled for Madison to keep going, then she screamed his name in response. Madison briefly appeared on camera, still in her bra and panties as she took a step toward Tyler, the terror on her face obvious.

“GO! I LOVE YOU! GO!” Tyler screamed.

Then Tyler turned and raised the camera.

Something stood between two trees. The camera struggled to focus. The image blurred, sharpened, then blurred again. Finally; clear.

Harper pressed the space bar. He stared at the screen. The thing was tall. Tall and impossibly thin. Long arms reached almost to the ground, ending in long, branchlike claws. Skin like burnt bark stretched across a narrow chest. Its head was long and without a mouth, but it did have long, twisted antlers. Eyes that were completely white stared into the camera.

“No,” Harper whispered, completely in shock.

He hit the space bar and the recording resumed. Tyler dropped the camera, preventing anything else from being seen. However, Harper could hear. He could hear the screams. He was right; Tyler and Madison were dead. They were dead, and Chloe Whitaker had been right. It was a monster.

Moving the cursor, Dan Harper once again brought up the Deer Ridge Monster and paused the recording. Chloe and Mike had described it perfectly. Harper’s eyes traveled along the creature’s side. There was a dark, ugly wound. That must have been where Ryan shot it, where Mike kicked it, enabling his escape.

Harper sat without moving, the clock on the wall ticking behind him. A cruiser passed outside his window, a phone rang, and someone laughed somewhere down the hallway. Normal sounds on a normal morning. All while Harper stared at the frozen image as he questioned his entire life. Years in law enforcement where he saw bears, mountain lions, rabid animals, and people mutilated by other people. There was always an explanation.

Until now.

He closed the video and removed the memory card from his computer. The small piece of plastic rested in his palm. Evidence. He should log it, make copies and send them to the State Police and to DEC. Eventually someone would send it farther. People would see it, would talk. News vans would fill Deer Ridge. People would panic, would wonder what else was out there. This could change the world.

And not for the better.

Harper picked up his phone and made a call. It rang four times.

“Dan?” Ranger Mike Carter answered.

Sheriff Harper looked at his computer, then back to the memory card in his hand. “I need you to come to the station.”

“What’s going on?” Mike asked.

“Just come in,” Harper said.

“Dan-”

“Mike,” Harper said quietly. “Come alone.”

9:06 AM

Mike knew something was wrong before he entered Harper’s office. Dan opened the door before Mike could even knock, and the sheriff looked terrible. He had a strange expression on his face that Mike couldn’t read. Harper surprised Mike again by locking the door as soon as they were both inside.

“You planning on killing me?” Mike asked.

“Sit down.”

“That’s not a ‘no,’” he pointed out.

“Mike,” Harper grunted.

Sighing, Mike took a seat while Sheriff Harper walked around his desk and pulled out his own chair. Mike noticed the camera immediately. Black, dirty. It was scratched and slightly dented. Mike frowned as he looked at it before looking back up at Dan in confusion.

“Whose is that?”

Harper didn’t answer. Instead he opened the top drawer of his desk and took out a memory card.

“What happened?” Mike asked.

“Two people entered Deer Ridge last night,” Harper said slowly.

Mike straightened. “Who?”

“Tyler Norton, twenty-five. With his girlfriend Madison Cole, twenty-four,” the sheriff answered. “We found their car parked a quarter-mile from the Deer Ridge lot. They run some kind of web show for alleged supernatural occurrences.”

“Why wasn’t I called?” Mike frowned.

“Because you’re still off the overnight rotation.”

“Dan!” Mike growled. “I’m a DEC Park Ranger and I’ve been involved in this case from the start. I should have at least been notified.”

“So you could enter Deer Ridge while still injured? No.”

“I’m fine,” Mike insisted. “My bruises are gone and the doc cleared me.”

“We had Rangers on the scene,” Dan stated firmly.

Mike sighed but didn’t argue. “Are Tyler and Madison missing?”

“Yes.”

“The camera?” Mike questioned.

“It was recovered this morning,” Dan Harper explained. “There was a lot of blood.”