Read Online An Occurrence in Crazy Bear Valley by Brian Keene - Free Book Online

playing tricks on the white men.”
    “No,” Crystal said. “The Indians left this area a year ago. They headed north.”
    “Well,” Parker replied, “they’re back now.”
    “Those weren’t men,” Gunderson said with conviction. “And it certainly wasn’t somebody wearing a costume.”
    Parker frowned. “How do you know for sure?”
    “Because of their smell. That musk. And because of the way their muscles moved. If it was someone wearing skins, you wouldn’t see the muscles working like that beneath the fur.”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Tell you what, Parker.” Gunderson pointed outside. “Why don’t you go out there and take a look at one of those corpses for yourself. Satisfy your curiosity. Then you come back and tell us what it is.”
    An eerie, warbling cry rose on the wind from somewhere within the pines. Stephens’ horse whinnied in fright and swished its tail back and forth. Crystal whimpered.
    “No thanks,” Parker said. “I reckon I’ll stay here with you, Gunderson. I don’t much care for the company outside—whatever they might be.”
    “There were giants in the Earth in those days,” Morgan muttered.
    The others turned to him.
    “What’s that, boss?” Stephens asked.
    “That is from the Good Book, Stephens.” Morgan smiled. “Specifically, the Book of Genesis, chapter six, verse four. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men who were of old.”
    “Amen,” Gunderson whispered.
    Despite the peril lurking outside, the rest of the group was slack-jawed, staring at their leader as if they’d never seen him before. In the forest, the howls and cries increased in both volume and intensity. After a moment, Johnson cleared his throat nervously.
    “Those are some real pretty words, boss. I don’t much know what they mean, though, or how they’ll help us now.”
    Morgan smiled. “A lot of folks say that the sons of God were fallen angels led by a fella’ the name of Shernihaza. Supposedly, Shernihaza got his fellow fallen angels to sleep with the human women, and got them pregnant. But instead of having little baby half-angels, they gave birth to a race of ferocious giants—wild, hairy, savage creatures, more like beasts than men. The giants ruled over mankind until the good Lord sent the Great Flood, and then remnants of the giants were cast into the wilderness.”
    “If that’s so,” Parker said, “then how did they survive the flood? I daresay, when I was sitting on my Grandmammy’s knee and learning about the Bible, I don’t remember talk of giants onboard Noah’s ark.”
    Morgan shrugged. “I don’t know. Only reason I know that much of the story is because my Daddy was a preacher. When he wasn’t taking the razor-strap to me or my little brother, he was drunk on whiskey and quoting bible verses. He used to quote other things, too. The Book of Enoch. The Book of Giants. Texts left out of the Bible when ol’ King James put it together, I reckon. But my Daddy knew them. He knew them… and other books.” A strange expression crossed Morgan’s face, and for a moment, he seemed lost in a memory. The others stared at each other, unsure of what to say.
    Clearing his throat, Johnson glanced at the window and then back to Morgan. “And you think them critters out there are these giants?”
    “Hell, no.” Morgan laughed as the cries drew closer, encircling the cabin once again. “It just occurred to me now, so I quoted it.”
    “Well, what are they, then?”
    “Does it matter, Johnson? I don’t care what those goddamn things are. Indians, animals, or goddamn crazy bears. What’s important is that they can bleed and die, just like we do. We’ve proven that already. Now look sharp. Judging by the smell and the sound, I’d hazard a guess that they’re going to have another go at us.”
    “Gunfire didn’t scare them off,”