What was this animal? Not an ape, not a bear. Not a human. That woman from the campground – Sylvie – popped into her head, scolding, ‘I warned you. It’s the Bog Man.’ The Bog Man? Ridiculous. There was no such thing. Even so, Harper had no idea what else it could be. And it was coming closer. She had to stop gawking and do something. She squared her shoulders, inhaled deeply, and commanded, ‘Stop.’ It didn’t stop. It moved steadily out of the shadows, coming closer. Finally, her training kicked in. Even as she doubted what she was seeing, she reacted reflexively, automatically, as she would with an insurgent. She reached for the Winchester, positioned herself, and aimed, prepared to shoot if she had to. Except – wait – what was she doing? This creature hadn’t attacked her. And if it was the Bog Man, which it couldn’t be, but if it were, then it was a rare, unknown life form, like those elusive Yeti, Big Foot, Sasquatch things – it needed to be protected and studied, not shot.
