24 Hours of Fear

Jake's knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he sped down the empty road, the fields of corn and cotton whipping by in a blur. His mind was consumed with regret as he tried to reach Jenn on the phone, but she never picked up.

He pounded on the steering wheel, angry at himself. He told himself he had panicked, nothing more and regardless of what he had said, he was eager to be a father. Jenn was the love of his life.

As he saw the lights of a small town in the distance, he checked his fuel. He cursed his luck and slowed down to look for a petrol station. He pumped gas and tried Jenn once more. Nothing. Once he filled up, he was back on the road and heading towards Arkansas to find Jenn. But the drive was long and eventually exhaustion gnawed at him, and his eyelids grew heavy. In a moment of weakness, he closed his eyes, and when he opened them, the car was careening off the road and into a remote farm.

The impact knocked him unconscious, and when he woke up, he found himself in a dusty barn with two farmers hovering over him. "You've had a nasty spill, son," one of them grunted, helping him sit up.

    “I am Marvin, this here is Darrell. Have you been drinking, son?”

    "No, uh, fell asleep. Where's my phone? My wallet?" Jake asked, panic rising in his chest. The two farmers exchanged a glance before Marvin replied, "We'll take care of that later. You need to rest first."

Suspicion pricking at him, Jake reluctantly allowed them to tend to his relatively minor injuries. But when he saw a tractor pulling his car out of the field, he could already hear his father screaming at him. As he pondered the various ways he could explain his situation, he noticed the tractor moving further away down a dirt road. Alarm bells rang in his head. "Where are you taking my car?" he demanded, scrambling to his feet.

"Don't worry about that, we will take care of it," Darrell, the other farmer, said with a forced smile. But Jake could see the tension in their eyes, the way they whispered to each other when they thought he wasn't looking. Jake tried to make sense of his situation. He looked at the fellow on the tractor talking on a mobile, hopefully calling the authorities.

"What’s going on folks? I apologize for any damaged property or trespassing, but I really need to get my car and get going.”

Before he could inquire further, two more men arrived in a van. They approached Jake with their hands extended.

“Apologies, friend..” one of them said with a smile. Before Jake could respond, Jake was knocked back to the ground. The two men were on him, easily restraining him. 

    “Wait, what the ….” Jake yelled out.

One held his arms as the other gagged him. Jake tried as best he could to pull away, to kick out. But the two fellas seemed to have done this before and had no trouble getting Jake shackled, gagged and blindfolded. Helpless, he was thrown into a van, the engine roaring to life as it sped off down the gravel road.

Jake bounced around the back of the van as the vehicle rumbled down the gravel road until Jake felt the drive become smoother. This indicated they were on the highway. After what seemed like ten minutes, the van made a sharp turn and back onto a gravel or dirt road. Suddenly, the van jerked to a stop, and Jake could hear one of the guys in the van get out and the van moved a bit, then the guy got back on. The engine sound echoed, as if they were in a tunnel.

Moments later, the smell and chill of limestone sent shivers down his spine. As his blindfold was removed, he found himself in a cavern, surrounded by well-dressed individuals enjoying drinks and murmuring amongst themselves. Jake tried to scream, but was still gagged. He tried to plead with his eyes for help, to no avail. He noticed a dark pit below them. Jake did not like this at all. 

Jake watched as one of his captors left him alone with the other guard. The guard cut through the crowd until he reached a man with a cane, talking to a group of suits. The man saw the guard approaching and stepped towards him. They spoke briefly and made their way to Jake. The important man approached.

“Get him in there, and get ready. You two know the drill. Let’s go”

“Yes, boss”

Jake watched the man walk away. The two guards unshackled and ungagged him and in one fell swoop tossed him into the large and deep pit. Jake landed hard onto the dusty floor. He quickly got up and looked up at the crowd of people looking down at him. Lights came on in the pit. His heart pounded in his chest as he looked around, frantically searching for a way out.

“Time for your wagers!” the boss’s voice cried out. Cheers and hollers filled the cavern, the sound of clinking glasses and the murmur of eager voices buzzing through the air.

Jake saw them turn on a digital clock. It showed five zeroes. The same voice from before called out, "No more bets!"

The crowd's excitement was palpable as they turned their attention to Jake, their eager anticipation hanging thick in the air. Suddenly, a fake wall slid to the side revealing a tunnel. A blood-curdling scream shattered the atmosphere, and Jake's gaze shot to the source.

A towering figure slowly emerged, a sasquatch. Jake felt his knees weaken as a fear unlike one he had ever felt gripped him. The sasquatch was easily 7 foot tall and though it looked malnourished and covered in old wounds, it was obviously a mortal threat. Jake's heart sank as the realization of what was about to unfold dawned on him.

The fake door closed as the sasquatch fixated on him with an unsettling intensity, causing waves of terror to crash over Jake. With a thunderous roar, it charged at him, and all he could do was run for his life.

The crowd's wild encouragement fueled the sasquatch's pursuit as Jake sprinted and dodged, his survival instincts kicking into overdrive. He frantically sought a means of escape, but the towering creature closed in on him with each passing second.

Jake felt his legs grow weak as panic took over. As a result, the sasquatch managed to grab part of his shirt and fling him to the ground. Jake recovered quickly and moved to keep his distance. 

As the countdown to the first minute began, someone in the crowd, infuriated by a lost wager, hurled an insult at Jake and the sasquatch. Jake looked up and yelled for help. All he heard was the noise of the crowd. The creature was not concerned with Jake’s pleas and charged at him. Jake did everything he could to stay away from the squatch. He dodged, ducked and twisted. After some time, the squatch seemed to lose interest and only followed Jake around the pit. The crowd grew displeased. One of them demanded action from the boss. Another flung a drink at the squatch. This agitated the creature, causing it to try to jump and climb out of the pit. The crowd cheered at this. 

“Do not interfere with the combatants” the boss shouted out.

The squatch growled and again attempted to get out but failed. More drinks were flung at the beast. The beast scratched and clawed at the walls frustrated. Jake stood on the other side of the pit, trying to catch his breath. Bolts of panic continued to surge through Jake's body, but he clung to hope, searching for any opportunity to stave off the imminent danger. Another disgruntled person took aim at the squatch with a beer bottle, catching Jake's attention.

In a daring move, Jake intercepted the bottle and spun around and hurled it back at the person who had thrown it. Jake’s aim was good, he left the man bleeding. The sasquatch responded with a gleeful grunt, and looked over at Jake as if showing appreciation. The two looked at each other and seemed to connect, if only for a few seconds. Jake started to trot, and flail his arms around as if he were truly mortified. The squatch seemed to understand the assignment and started to trot after Jake, also flailing his arms and growling now and then.

With each passing second and minute, the tension in the crowd grew. Arguments broke out over bets and people demanded their money back. An argument ensued between a guest and the boss. Jake slowed down to conserve energy, as had the beast. The crowd did not approve and erupted in anger. Bottles and cups were flung at the pit. The two guys from the van tried to contain the crowd. They reminded the crowd that bets would be forfeited if they did not stop their interference.

Some bettor pointed at the pit and pleaded for them to do something. Jake watched one of the guys run off. The sound of the van’s sliding door opening and closing was all that was heard as the crowd had stopped to take in the scene. The guard re-emerged, shotgun in hand. The sasquatch seemed to be familiar with this contraption and growled. The shot rang out and the sasquatch cried out in pain, clutching his arm. The beast grabbed some trash and flung it back up as it defiantly refused to pursue Jake. For his part, Jake mimicked the squatch, throwing trash back up and screaming obscenities. 

The crowd responded, hurling trash back at Jake and the squatch. One individual, fueled by rage, flung a chair at Jake, instigating a lethal game of survival. The squatch pounced on the chair, propped it up against the wall and used it to try and climb up out of the pit. The two guards rushed to that side of the pit and took a quick shot. The shot missed, hitting inches from the squatch’s hand. Some dirt and debris rained down, but did not stop the squatch from trying to get out.

One of the guards took aim, waiting for the squatch to get closer. Just as the squatch looked up and realized the danger it was in, a rock, flung from below, hit the guard in the face. The shotgun fell to the ground and the squatch scurried up the wall like a professional rock climber. Jake gasped as he watched the squatch make it to the top. 

Agitated growls emanated from the sasquatch as it confronted the mob, its unsettling presence sending shockwaves of fear through the gathered onlookers. The horrified onlookers began to scatter, fleeing down the tunnel.

Jake made for the chair and tried to follow the path set by the squatch. As he made it to the top, he witnessed the squatch begin to fling people around like dolls. As the squatch exacted his revenge, Jake made for the van. No keys were to be found. He searched the glove compartment and found his wallet and mobile. He took them and then went on the hunt for the guards who surely had the keys to the van.

He found the two, laying on the ground, bleeding. He checked for a heartbeat, they were still alive. He searched their pockets and found the keys. He ran back to the van. Before he got to the van, he saw the boss behind a counter, face down. Jake hesitated, but went over and checked on him. He rolled him over and knew right away he was gone. He was clutching a handgun and a velvet bag. Jake took the bag, opened it and saw what had to be tens of thousands of dollars.

Without hesitating, Jake grabbed the bag and the gun and made for the van. He felt relief as the engine fired up. Jake put it in gear and drove off down a dark tunnel. He came out of the tunnel into a field with many fancy cars. Some people were trying to get into their cars and escape. Jake thought of stopping them, but his priority was getting out of there. Jake looked back through the rear-view mirror. The imposing figure of the sasquatch could be seen flipping cars over and anyone it could grab. Jake could hear it roar as it flung one last person onto a vehicle. The squatch then ran off, eager to secure his freedom. 

As Jake drove wildly down the highway, he tried to understand what the heck had happened, but his mind could not focus on anything but escape. Eventually he reached a small town. Still unsure of his situation, he slowed down but was keen to keep his head down and keep moving. About an hour or so later, he made it to the interstate. He headed south, the warmth of safety slowly coming over him. He felt thirsty and hungry. He made a quick pit stop and then continued for a few hours. As the border of Arkansas loomed on the horizon, a sense of liberation surged through Jake, the enduring spirit of the sasquatch resonating within him, an unyielding symbol of fortitude.