Chapter 1.1

Sara Walker pulled into a parking lot at the Lost River State Forest and parked. She was grinning from ear to ear as she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, barely able to contain her excitement about finally being in one of the few places in Minnesota that she had not yet explored.

Sara picked up her phone and called her husband to let him know that she had made it safely to the forest. She also wanted to make sure he did not worry if he was unable to reach her, and that she would stay in contact with him as best she could. She dialed her husband Kevin’s number, fidgeting as she waited for him to answer. She wanted to get started, but she would not begin her expedition until she spoke to Kevin. 

Kevin answered his phone, “Hello, my love. Does this mean you have made it to the forest safely?”

“Yes, it does,” Sara giggled. “And it’s gorgeous! The sun is shining, and the weather is perfect. I just wish you could have come with me.”

“Believe me, I wish I was there with you too,” Kevin answered.

“Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

“Yeah, it’s not. The main office knew something was going on here for a while, especially after the manager's sudden departure. It looks like there might be serious issues, including embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. I hate to say it, but I might be here a lot longer than I thought,” Kevin explained.

“Oh, that’s horrible,” Sara said, pouting a little. “I hope you get it figured out quickly and are home before I am. We are still newlyweds after all, and this trip in the forest was supposed to be like a second honeymoon for us.”

“I can’t promise that I will be home before you are. What I can promise is that I will make it up to you,” Kevin told her. “Anyway, I know you need a break and some alone time, even from me. Enjoy yourself, and relax. Please call me or text me as you can. So that I know you’re still alive.”

Sara let out a laugh and said, “Of course I will. If I know I’m going into an area where I will probably lose signal, I will let you know how long I will be out of touch.”

“Thank you. That’s all I ask.”

“Oh, I stopped in Roseau as a final stop in civilization before getting here. When I did, I checked the weather forecast, and it looks like some rain will be moving into the area starting late tonight or early in the morning. That could throw off the cell signal in the area. It might also mean I cancel this adventure excursion early and head home if there are storms that get really bad or look like they are going to last for more than a day or two,” Sara told him. “As much as I love backcountry hiking and camping, I don’t enjoy it for days at a time in the pouring rain. I’ve done that, and it was miserable.”

“I remember you dragging yourself inside the house, caked in mud, soaked to the skin, and shivering after that,” Kevin said. “If the weather gets bad, please go home where you’re safe. Then, later on, we can do the trip together as we had originally planned.”

“Do you want me to wait to hike the Lost River Forest?” Sara asked.

“No,” Kevin assured her. “I want you to go explore and enjoy yourself. Make sure you mark all of the amazing stuff you find on a map so you can show it to me later. If you go now, it will be like I have a private guide when we go back together.”

Sara laughed, “I feel like that’s cheating somehow.”

“It is not cheating,” Kevin said. “It is smart on my part. Go! Have fun, be careful, de-stress, relax, and remember I love you.”

“I love you too, and I will do all of that. That’s why I came out here.”

“Good. Sorry, Babe, I’ve got to go. Call me tonight after you set up camp if you have cell signal. Bye,” Kevin told her.

“I will, bye,” she said. 

Sara hung up her phone and sat looking out her car windshield when movement caught her eye at the edge of the tree line. She focused on the area where she thought something moved. After a moment, Sara saw a massive white-tail buck slowly making his way through the trees. It was watching her car, and she felt as if he was watching her.

Sara mumbled to herself, “Not even out of my car yet, and I already have wildlife. This is going to be a good trip. Oh, Kev, you’re going to miss out on so much.”

Sara got out of her car and jogged to the back to begin the final check on her pack and gear before she headed out into the wilderness for the next twelve days. While she did this, she could hear the deer still walking in the trees and felt its eyes on her even when she could not see it. She scanned the tree line as she picked up her pack and hefted it onto her back. She located the buck, standing still among the trees, staring at her. She had her eyes locked on it as she slammed the back of her vehicle closed, expecting the giant deer to bolt at the sound. To her astonishment, the deer only flicked his ear and continued to watch her.

“Oh yeah,” Sara said sarcastically. “Nothing weird about that at all.” Her mind jumped to what Steve had told her at the store the evening before about the wendigo sightings a century ago. “Well, if you are the wendigo, I can promise you that the granola bars I have with me will taste a lot better than I will. I’ll share them with you if you’re hungry. Then again, if I get caught in the rain for a week, I might appreciate you eating me.”

The deer twitched his ear again as he continued to stare at Sara. Sara shook her head as she fastened the belts and buckles to secure her backpack and get started. She began to walk toward the trail with the deer’s gaze continuing to follow her. Sara was anxious to get started, and she knew her first stop would be a clearing Steve had told her would be full of flowers. She glanced toward the deer one final time and wondered why he was behaving the way he was. She did not think about it long as she began her trek into the forest and her first stop.

Sara was hiking at a leisurely pace, and within twenty minutes, she had made it to the glade Steve had told her about. She let out an audible gasp when she first laid eyes on it. The rainbow field of wildflowers before her took her breath away. Sara began taking pictures of the meadow and flowers, and of the birds and butterflies flitting about. Sara’s heart nearly stopped when she swept her camera lens across the field and saw the buck was standing on the opposite side of the clearing, watching her intently. 

“What the…,” she muttered. “How did you get over there so fast?”

Sara felt a shiver run down her spine as the massive deer stared at her from its spot at the edge of the trees. As Sara looked at it, she raised her camera, zoomed in on the buck, and began taking pictures. The deer stood motionless except for a few ear flicks as it gazed at her. When she was done, she turned off the camera and strapped it back to her pack.

Sara said to the deer, “At least now, if you murder me, I have pictures so they can identify you.

Sara started laughing at the silliness of what she said. She knew it probably was not even the same white-tail deer that she had seen earlier. She was hiking in a state forest, so there were bound to be dozens if not hundreds of them in the area. The story Steve had told her about the wendigo had to have gotten to her far more than she had realized. It did not help that she had been reading up on the wendigo the night before after she had been told about the legend in the area surrounding Roseau.

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