The Glow
Julie Lein
“You don’t believe in monsters, do you?” Cameron asked on a late spring afternoon, scratching his thick and curly mop of red hair.
“Have you read this book?” Michael asked his best friend. He held up the book he’d been reading entitled Bigfoot Sightings in North America.
“This thing is all over the place. It’s been spotted in the Midwest, in Canada where it’s called Sasquatch, and there have even been sightings right here in the state of Washington!” He said, pushing his glasses up on his nose and brushing his blonde bangs out of his face.
“Big deal,” Cameron said.
Michael shook his head, frustrated that Cameron didn’t seem to care about something so important to him.
“It is a big deal, we could have a creature like this one,” he pointed to the book cover that showed a big hairy beast walking, “Right in our own backyard,” he said.
“Right in those woods,” Michael said, standing up and approaching the sliding glass doors, looking into Cameron’s backyard. Maybe Bigfoot was out there somewhere, he thought.
“There aren’t any monsters out there,” Cameron said, standing next to Michael.
Michael observed their reflections in the glass, Cameron’s tall and lean athletic build was the opposite of Michael’s short, stocky frame.
“We would’ve seen something by now. We’ve both been living here for ten years, since we were two. If it were out there, it would have shown up,” Cameron said.
“Maybe it has been here and maybe we just haven’t seen it,” Michael argued.
“The book says that Bigfoot is nocturnal, it’s probably been wandering the forest at night, unseen.”
Cameron sighed, not wanting to argue with him.
“I don’t know,” Cameron said, shaking his head, “I want to believe in this thing, like you do, but there has to be proof for me to believe.”
“I know,” Michael said, “I’ll find proof, someday I’ll find proof.”
“What are you girls talking about?” Cameron’s older brother, John said, walking into the living room and interrupting their conversation.
Michael and Cameron faced him, taking in his very tall and lanky frame. His crew cut added another inch to his six foot six stature, he played center on the high school basketball team.
“Nothing,” Cameron said.
“What’s this?” John said, grabbing Michael’s book from him.
“Hey! Give that back!” Michael yelled.
John held the book above his head, far out of reach of Michael’s extended arms even though Michael was jumping up for the book.
“Hey, back off!” John said, shoving Michael away, causing him to fall backwards onto the floor. Pain shot through Michael’s spine, tears formed in his eyes.
John lowered his arms, reading the book title.
“Is this a joke? Tell me, do you two little freaks believe in monsters?”
John flipped through the book, a look of disgust on his face.
Cameron eyes shifted to Michael. He was still on the floor, glaring at John. He lowered his head and shrugged his shoulders.
Cameron’s reaction to John’s question angered Michael, he stood up fast, trying to grab the book, but John lifted it above his head again.
“What do you care?” Michael asked, emotion in his voice.
“I don’t, here, crybaby,” he said, tossing the book at Michael and walking out.
Michael held the book to his chest, wiping tears from his eyes. He shot Cameron an angry look and stormed out of the house without another word.
That had been months ago and although Cameron and Michael remained best friends, they never discussed Bigfoot again, that is, until one scary night in September, a night that would change Michael forever.
He was aroused from sleep by a tapping sound outside his window. Still in the grips of sleep, he slid across the bed, yawned, and pulled open the curtain. Raising his head off the pillow, he gazed out the window, but saw nothing. Thunder rumbled in the distance and bright lightning flashed, blinding him for several seconds. Raindrops plopped on his window sill. The wind roared and the tapping noise returned. Michael flinched and looked up, not knowing what he’d see. It was a small tree branch. The strong breeze was blowing it against the window pane. That must have been what woke him. He let out a sigh of relief, laid back down, and noticed the red digital display on his clock read 12:30 a.m. Shutting his eyes, he was soon asleep.
Minutes later, loud banging outside his open window shattered his slumber. He sat up in bed, unsure what had happened. He thought it came from the other side of the house, not where he’d heard the tapping, but by the window above his nightstand. Michael rubbed the sleep from his eyes and scooted out of bed. Without turning on a light, he felt around on his nightstand for his flashlight. It was probably a raccoon knocking over the garbage can that was right underneath his first floor window.
He grasped the flashlight and he turned it on. The sheer curtains reflected the light. He reached for the curtains and parted them. Michael directed his light and his eyes on the ground outside his window, in search of the raccoon.
That’s when he saw the hairy leg. Was that a bear? Michael’s nose crinkled, a reaction to the foul stench drifting through his window. Was that the garbage or this animal that reeked of rotten eggs?
He slowly raised his head and his flashlight, fearing what he might see. He moved his light to the top of the window and still couldn’t see it all. It was too tall. Whatever it was, it was still foraging in the trashcan, its furry brown back to him.
He had to find out what this thing was! He had to get its attention! Rapping on the glass, he startled the creature. It turned toward him, resting its hairy arm on top of the window. It leaned down and its eyes glowed in the light of his flashlight. It bared a large set of teeth and growled at him. Its face was ape-like and without fur. Fear gripped Michael, his knees weakened, and he fell backwards in terror, the flashlight flying out of his hand.
“Oh, my God, what is that thing?” He whispered.
He didn’t want to wake his parents, but he was so scared. Horror surged through him, taking his breath away and accelerating his heart rate.
He crawled around in his dark room and found the flashlight then sat on his floor, not sure what to do. He was terrified. He’d never seen anything that big and that scary and it was so close. Lightning created a shadow through the curtains and he could see its shape. It was still there alright and it was a big sucker!
His body trembled and shivered in fright. But, in spite of his increasing panic, he was curious. He wanted to see this thing, and not just through the window. He staggered to his feet, opened his door and raced to the backyard.
Lightning flooded the living room as he slid open the sliding glass doors. Thunder boomed as he closed the doors behind him. He tiptoed to the corner of the house and leaned up against the wall. Rain fell as he heard it still rattling the garbage can. After several seconds, he gathered up the courage to look around the corner. That’s when the noise stopped. Silence filled the night.
Then he saw movement to his left. It was the beast, it must have gotten tired of digging in the garbage and decided to circle back to the woods, walking around the far side of the garage. Lightning shot across the sky, illuminating the clearing behind his house. Michael’s eyes widened in horror as he saw the creature run across the backyard. He wanted to give chase, but his feet were glued to the ground. Fear froze him in place. The beast moved fast, picking up speed as it neared the forest. Another lightning bolt lit up the night and he saw the sleek, dark pelt of fur covering it from head to toe and it was big. It had to be at least seven feet tall. Within seconds, it disappeared into the woods and was gone.
He moved his feet then, stepping forward, they felt like lead weights. Realizing what he was doing, he backed up against the house again. He didn’t want to follow that thing anywhere, especially not at night! After all, he thought, that was Bigfoot!
He would look for it when there was light, that is, if he didn’t lose his nerve. The thought of seeing that monster again was just too much to think about standing here alone on a dark and rainy night. He’d have to tell Cameron, he would know what to do. But, first he had to tell his parents. He turned and walked back across the paved deck to the sliding glass doors. He opened the doors, entered the house, and locked the doors behind him.
He tiptoed to his parent’s room and opened their door. He edged up to his parent’s bed and shook his dad.
“Dad, wake up!” He whispered into his father’s ear, trying to contain his excitement.
“What,” his father said, sleep thickening his voice, “What is it, Michael?”
“Dad, I saw something outside my window!” Michael said.
“Dad, it looked like a monster, it was big with fur and big teeth, and it ran into the woods and ...”
“It was probably just a bear,” his father said, interrupting him, “Go back to sleep.”
“Shut your window if the noise bothers you,” he said and turned his head away from his son.
“Go on, go back to bed before you wake your mother.”
Michael looked across the bed to his mom, who hadn’t moved an inch since he’d entered the room. He could only stare at his father in the dark room. He was dismissed, his father didn’t believe him. He sighed, dejected. With his head down and his flashlight still in hand, he shut his parent’s bedroom door and walked down the hallway to his own room. He shut the door, placed the flashlight back on the nightstand and crawled into bed. Reaching up, he shut the window. A quick look between the curtains revealed more lightning, but no Bigfoot, just an empty yard.
Michael laid down and shut his eyes, but couldn’t sleep. His fright returned even though he was now safe in his bed. He pulled the covers up to his chin and pushed his head back into his pillow, waiting for the night to end. That creature was worse than any nightmare he could dream of. He wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, not while that thing roamed free.
In the morning after his mom made him finish breakfast, he called Cameron and told him what happened. Cameron raced over a few minutes later to help him look for evidence of the creature. They started at the trash can, the scene of last night’s confrontation.
“Look at that footprint!” Michael said, pointing to the huge imprint left in the mud.
“Hey, it didn’t even knock over the can and it even put the lid back,” Cameron said, “This Bigfoot must be smart!”
“It’s got to be at least 16 inches long!” Michael said, referring to the footprint.
“It’s twice as big as mine!” He said.
“Shouldn’t we show this to your parents?” Cameron asked.
Michael looked at him. In his head he visualized last night in his parent’s bedroom when his father turned his head away, not believing him, not even trying to believe what he told him. His heart sank and despair coursed through him, his parents, especially his father, could care less if he’d found the mysterious Bigfoot.
“No,” he paused, “They’ll just think it’s a bear print or something,” he said, sarcasm in his voice.
“That’s OK,” Cameron said, “We don’t need them,” he said, gripping Michael’s shoulder.
“We can find this thing without their help,” Cameron said.
“You think so?” Michael asked.
“Of course,” he said, the confidence in Cameron’s voice almost convinced him.
“But, aren’t you scared? I’m scared just thinking about seeing it again,” Michael said.
“Of course I’m scared, but I’m also curious, very curious,” Cameron said.
Michael shook his head, he was still torn inside.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be together,” he said, “We’ll camp out in the woods back there,” he said, pointing past Michael’s grassy backyard and into the forest beyond.
“We’ll stay up and watch for it, it’s bound to come back and I’ll have my video camera. I’ll ask my brother if I can borrow his,” Cameron said, “What do you say?”
Michael looked at him. He couldn’t tell Cameron how terrified he was, how frightened he felt, how he’d rather be safe in his bed tonight instead of camping out in the woods. He couldn’t tell Cameron that, he didn’t want Cameron to think he was a chicken, to think he was afraid. Besides, he was as curious as Cameron was. He wanted to find out if Bigfoot was real.
“OK,” Michael said, “Meet me here a half hour before sunset and we’ll set up my tent,” he said.
“Are you scared?” Cameron asked as he and Michael laid in their sleeping bags that night, looking up at the inside of the tent. They heard nothing but crickets.
“Hell, yes!” Michael said. In spite of their growing trepidation in this creepy and unreal situation, Michael’s answer made them both burst out laughing. The giggling eased the tension a little, but Michael was still petrified and he knew Cameron was, too.
They were silent then, hearing nothing.
Hours went by. Cameron checked his digital watch, the time was 1:00 AM. He was getting tired.
He turned his head in the dark tent, trying to see if Michael was still awake.
“Michael?” He whispered. No response and then he heard Michael’s deep breathing. Cameron smiled then rolled over and was also soon asleep.
Michael awoke later that night, checking his watch, it read 3:00 AM. He rolled over and was almost asleep again when he heard rustling coming from outside the tent. No, it wasn’t rustling, it sounded more like footsteps and they were getting closer.
“Cameron, wake up,” Michael said, nudging him. Cameron moaned but didn’t move. Michael shoved him again.
“Cameron, wake up, now!”
“OK, OK, what is it?” Cameron asked.
“Get your camera, I hear something,” he paused, “and it’s coming toward us,” Michael said. His heart pounded and chills crept up his spine.
“OK, just a sec,” Cameron said, crawling out of his sleeping bag, searching for the video camera.
“We have to get out of here,” Michael said.
Now that Bigfoot was so close again, Michael discovered he really didn’t want to see it a second time, he just wanted to get out of here! Panic filled him. He grabbed his flashlight and jumped out of his sleeping bag. Reaching the tent opening, he unzipped it and fled into the night, calling to Cameron as he departed.
“Let’s go!” He said.
“Wait,” Cameron said, still hunting for the camera. With his flashlight, he panned the tent.
“There it is!” He said. He grabbed it and followed Michael.
He saw him a few yards away as he exited the tent.
His eyes widened. Cameron couldn’t believe what he was seeing in the light of Michael’s flashlight. He saw a huge creature, hairy from head to toe. Although it was difficult to see since Michael had yet to raise his flashlight.
Michael tried to lift his flashlight up to its face to get a better look, but his arm was glued to his side. The light shined on its furry legs.
Cameron’s shaking hands lifted the camera to his face, attempting to record the moment. But, the beast was too fast and it took off running.
Michael’s fear overwhelmed him, he couldn’t move. The horror of coming face to face with such a scary monster again was too much. He gasped for breath, fright tore through him, pulsing through his heart and mind.
“Let’s move!” Cameron said, grabbing Michael’s arm from behind.
“We’ve got to get this on film!”
Still in shock, Michael let himself be dragged toward the creature. Soon he was running with Cameron, chasing the beast towards his own house. They saw it run between his and a neighbor’s house. Cameron was still running, camera in hand with Michael right behind him. Bigfoot crossed the abandoned street, darting towards Cameron’s house, before it stopped, just feet from Cameron’s front door.
They both stopped, Cameron was still filming. They shined their flashlights on the monster, but from a safe distance, not sure what to do.
Then, it turned toward them. They stood and stared at it for several seconds in silence, too terrified to speak.
“Are you scared?” It asked them. Then it started laughing. It pulled off its mask and revealed Cameron’s brother, John. Shock and confusion consumed Michael before he realized the awful truth. His heart sank, it had all been a lie, there was no Bigfoot, it had been John, it had been him all along.
Cameron turned the camera off, dropping it from his face.
“Why did you do that?” Cameron asked.
Michael heard anger and frustration in Cameron’s voice while he was too disappointed to speak.
“Why?” John asked, still laughing.
“Yes, why?” Cameron asked again.
“Because someone had to show you that there’s no such thing as Bigfoot. Give up on this monster kick you have. Bigfoot doesn’t exist, never has. It’s been me the whole time,” he looked at Michael, “I’m the one who tapped on your window last night.”
“No, it was a tree branch,” Michael said.
“No, smart guy, it was me,” John said, “You two girls are wasting your time. The only monster around here is me!” John said, shouting the last sentence at them, daring them to challenge him. He glared at them and they were both silent.
Without another word, he turned to walk up his front steps.
Then a thought occurred to Michael.
“Hey, John,” Michael said, “How did you get your eyes to glow like that?” He asked.
John gave Michael an odd look.
“What are you talking about?” John said in an accusatory tone, eyeing Michael.
Michael dropped his gaze, his curiosity shattered by John’s tone of voice.
“Nothing,” Michael said, his voice losing volume. He must have imagined the glowing eyes, but it all seemed so real.
“I didn’t think so,” John said.
Michael watched John enter his house and he trudged toward his own house and up his steps, feeling beaten and defeated. Michael gazed back at Cameron, but Cameron said nothing, just watched him go, not able to think of anything to say. Michael knew at that moment that their friendship would never be the same after this night. Cameron didn’t believe in Bigfoot anymore and Michael was now alone in his search.
Throughout that fall and winter, Michael continued looking for Bigfoot. He was so desperate for clues, he even hunted for Bigfoot at night in fear for his life every second he spent in those dark woods. He wanted to believe that it existed, that it was real. But, he found nothing, no proof at all. As winter came to an end, so did his hope of finding Bigfoot. Michael found out that his father was being transferred to Chicago and they would be moving away.
Chicago wasn’t known for any Bigfoot sightings. Maybe that was just as well, Michael thought as he packed, he was tired of looking anyway. They would be gone in a matter of days and soon Bigfoot would be a distant memory to him.
On moving day, Michael waited in the car as his parents finished locking up the house. Staring out the window from the backseat, he couldn’t believe how foolish he’d been. How could he believe in Bigfoot? All the pictures in that book were either blurry or fake. He shouldn’t have wasted his time and blown the whole last year looking for something that didn’t ever exist.
His parents would never understand his frustration, they didn’t believe in Bigfoot either, just like Cameron and his brother. A single tear rolled down his cheek as his parents got in the car and his dad started the engine.
It was a gloomy Saturday night at twilight as their SUV rolled down the long drive, headed for Chicago. Michael shifted his gaze to the trees that lined one side of their house. His eyes widened in surprise. He saw movement and what looked like an animal of some kind. Could it be, he thought?
Michael’s heart jumped and blood rushed to his face, his nerves tingled. He had to find out for sure. He reached into the pouch behind the front passenger seat and his hand locked on the flashlight, there for emergencies. I think this would qualify, he thought. His parents were unaware, caught up in conversation in the front seat as he shined the flashlight toward the woods and toward the animal. He could see its tall and hairy frame. Adrenaline energized him and stimulated his senses. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it would explode. Bigfoot was real! He knew it! He was looking right at it! Its eyes glowed, just as they did that night at the garbage can.
For lack of anything else to do, Michael rolled down the window, stuck his arm out and waved. It stood there motionless as they drove by it and continued down their driveway. Then, it raised its arm to him, he could see the bare palm in the air and then it turned and vanished into the dense woods.
Michael sat down in the backseat and rolled up the window. The whole scene had happened so fast, his parents hadn’t even noticed. He was smiling as they pulled out onto the main street.
He knew it, he thought, at some level he knew all along even though he never had any real proof. That is, no proof until now. It didn’t matter that his parents or his best friend didn’t believe. He believed and his proof was in the eyes, in its eyes. It was the glow.
