Fic: The Tall Tale (3/5)
Title: The Tall Tale (3/5)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters (this chapter): John-Boy (Narrator), Ep Bridges, John/Olivia (John does not appear in this chapter), Zeb/Esther, Abner Sheffield
Fandom: The Waltons
Genres: Drama, Holiday, Suspense
Rating (this chapter): G
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
General Summary: What is stalking the shadows up on the Mountain?
Chapter Summary: John-Boy works on the mysterious creature story.
Date Of Completion: May 22, 2021
Date Of Posting: November 6, 2021
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, Lorimar Productions does, more’s the pity.
Word Count (this chapter): 1709
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Note: All chapters can be found here.
III
SETTIN’ BY THE MOON
By the light
Of the silvery moon,
Comes the howl
Of Nature’s tune.
Salvatore Riccardi
“Appalachian Poems”
1886 C.E.
Ep Bridges is deceptive.
Yes, he is. His persona is deceptively simple. He comes across as a good ol’ country boy sheriff, slow and sometimes even a little bumbling, but he’s sharp as a tack, and there’s no one else I’d want as sheriff.
He’s also a good friend, and he was happy to see me. We settled comfortably in chairs in Ep’s office.
“So, what brings you to my humble office?”
“A monster.”
Ep laughed. “You talked to Maudie Cleghorn.”
“That’s right.”
“Not much to tell for your newspaper.”
“You found nothing?”
“Some hair that could’ve gotten shot from the creature.”
“I found some, too.”
“Never saw anything like that before.”
“Me, either. I showed it to Grandpa. He couldn’t identify it.”
“Well, these woods can sure hold secrets.” Ep rubbed his chin.
“Guess you’re right, but eight feet tall? No bear’s that tall around here. That’s grizzly height, and we don’t have grizzlies around here.”
Ep ran a hand through his hair. “Woman alone at night could exaggerate things.”
“You really think Maudie Cleghorn is a hysteric?”
“No, but I don’t believe in eight-foot, shaggy-haired monsters, either.”
I grinned. “Yeah.”
“Keep your ear to the ground, willya, John-Boy?”
“Sure thing, Ep.”
I left his office. Weird stuff, but Ep obviously wasn’t buying a fantastical creature.
& & & & & &
As crazy as the monster story was, it kind of faded away for me as I was busy with classes at Boatwright University and putting out the Chronicle. My family always had something going on, so things were always happenin’.
My attention was pretty much on the presidential election. Would FDR win a second term? He had a good shot, even with Grandma complaining about New Deal boondoggles. I was trying to gauge the political sentiment of the people of Jefferson County.
I was working on the paper late one night. I was trying to figure out how to write a fresh angle supporting FDR. I’d already written several editorials on this subject.
It was quiet out there, an occasional owl hooting and crickets chirping. The sound of my pen scratching on paper was loud in the shed.
I heard a snuffling noise. Probably some nocturnal animal searching for grubs. Hopefully it wasn’t a skunk!
Something was moving through the underbrush. A shiver went down my spine.
Oh, c’mon, the stories are getting to you. Quit being so jumpy.
I went back to dithering over my editorial. Damn it, why couldn’t I come up with something?
A low growl startled me. I put down my pen and listened hard. A shuffling sound came next.
This was getting hairy (pun intended)! I stood up and went over to the door. Opening it carefully, I peered out into the darkness.
The moon was behind some clouds so it was difficult to see anything. I kept listening but it was quiet. Too quiet.
A patch of bushes surrounding the garden shook. There was no wind.
“Anyone out there?” Silence. “Ben, is that you? Jim-Bob?” Still nothing. Maybe I was imagining things. I took one last look and closed the door.
The nights around here were getting stranger, that’s for sure.
I finally got an idea for my editorial, dashed it out, and decided to quit for the night. I locked the shed and went to the house. Everyone was asleep so I tried to be extra quiet as I went upstairs.
An owl hooted, very loud. Shaking my head, I went into my room. I got ready for bed and glanced out the window.
Movement caught my eye over in the garden. Had a deer gotten inside and was nibbling on the vegetables? I leaned on the windowsill for a better look.
Shadows always moved at night, maybe from wind, or the moon coming in and out from behind the clouds, and so on. Could be nothing was out there at all.
Raindrops began to spatter the window. Whatever was out there would seek shelter in the woods. I went to bed and fell asleep to the sound of the rain.
& & & & & &
The morning dawned nice and bright, the wet grass sparkling the sunlight. Everything was still saturated, and the ground was muddy.
“Quite a rainfall we had last night,” said Grandpa as he enjoyed a cup of coffee on the porch.
“Yeah, but always pretty the next day,” I said.
”Yes, indeedy. Look, a rainbow!”
“Sure is a pretty sight.”
“Oh, that’s lovely,” said Momma as she came onto to the porch.
“Keeps the monsters away,” I joked.
Grandpa’s eyes twinkled as Momma shook her head. “Go on or you’ll be late to school,” she said.
I drove off and spent the day in classes, my mind half on the next issue of my newspaper, the other half on my studies. A typical day, really, so I was kind of lulled into the ordinary events of the day by the time I drove home.
Grandpa was sitting on the porch when I got home. “Hi, Grandpa.”
“Hello, John-Boy. How was your day?”
“Just filled with classes.”
“I was down at Ike’s today. Abner Sheffield told quite a tale.”
“Yeah?” I stepped up onto the porch.
“Yep. He and his brother Caleb were out huntin’ a few nights ago. Sounds like they were havin’ no luck but heard something, a strange noise they’d never heard before.”
I felt a little anxious. “What kind of noise?”
“A howl, Abner said.”
“Interesting.”
“Very.”
“What else did he say?”
“Why don’t we go up and talk to ‘em?”
“Right now?”
“Sure. Supper won’t be for a coupla hours.”
“Okay.”
We told Momma and Daddy where we were going, and Grandma shook her head, which amused Grandpa.
We drove up the Mountain to the Sheffield place. It was one of those saggy and forlorn cabins like Yancy Tucker’s, but at least they kept their animals in the barn and not the cabin like Yancy did.
A tall, rangy man came out of the barn wearing overalls and smoking a cigarette.
“Hey, Abner,” Grandpa said as he got out of the car.
“Hi, Zeb.” He threw down the cigarette and ground it out with his work boot heel. “What brings you and John-Boy up this way?”
“My grandson wants to talk to you about what you saw in the woods.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yep.”
“Where’s your brother, Abner?” I asked.
“Oh, Caleb’s around. Hey, Caleb! We got company!” Caleb didn’t appear.
“He busy?” Grandpa asked.
Abner shrugged. “Got a jug. Let’s set out here and I’ll tell my story.”
“Sounds good.”
Grandpa and I sat in rickety chairs while Abner sat on a log serving as a post. He offered Grandpa a brown-and-white jug.
“Ain’t the Recipe but it’s pretty good moon.”
Grandpa took a swig. “Sure is.” He handed me the jug.
My throat burned. I was no expert like Grandpa, but it sure was quality. I coughed and Abner laughed.
“So what’s your story?” I rasped.
“Well, Caleb and me were out huntin’. We wasn’t havin’ much luck, but we started feelin’ like we was bein’ watched.”
“Watched?” I had my pen and paper out.
“Yeah.” Abner squinted. “Too dark to see anything, and Gus was growlin’.”
Gus was the Sheffields’ hound dog.
“Dogs always know,” Grandpa said.
“Yeah, they do,” Abner agreed. “Anyhow, he was actin’ squirrely and that’s when we heard a howl.”
“Ever hear one like it before?” Grandpa took another swig.
Abner shook his head. “Nope. It sounded off in the distance at first, then it got closer the next screech. Smelled like swamp water.”
Grandpa offered me the jug again. “No, thanks, I gotta drive.” I looked at Abner. “What happened next?”
“Heard somethin’ thrashin’ around in the underbrush. Branches and twigs crackled and broke. Gotta admit, I was feelin’ a little squirrely myself.”
“Can’t say as I blame ya,” said Grandpa.
“Yeah, that howl set the hackles up on me. Weird, twisty kind of noise.”
“Did you see anything?” I asked.
Abner took the jug from Grandpa and took a long swig. He looked at me with shrewd brown eyes. “I seen somethin’.”
Grandpa and I leaned forward, anxiously waiting. Abner stared down at the jug he still held. “Somethin’ big, off in the woods. Couldn’t make out anything clear, but it looked tall, maybe eight foot, and we got a rock thrown at us.”
“Mercy,” said Grandpa.
“Yeah, missed Gus by inches. He barked his head off but didn’t move. Smart dog.”
I had to agree. “What did you and Caleb do?”
“We had thought about goin’ after it, but the rock changed our minds.”
“Smart boys,” said Grandpa.
Abner laughed. “We high-tailed it outta there, and heard nothin’ else.”
“Nothing since that night?” I asked.
“Nope.”
“Keep your eyes peeled.” urged Grandpa.
“Believe me, Zeb, I do.”
“Caleb, too?”
“Oh, his eyes are peeled, too.”
“Did you fire your guns at him?” I asked.
“Abner shook his head. “Never had the chance.”
“Maybe it’s gone now.”
“Could be, never heard nothin' like that before, so maybe it was passin’ through.”
“You might be right.” Grandpa accepted the jug again. “This particular creature doesn’t stick around, but pops up now and again. The Blue Ridge might be a vacation resort for it.”
Abner cackled. “Good one, Zeb!” He slapped his knee.
Grandpa grinned. “Well, keep a sharp eye.”
“I will.”
We left as Abner waved his goodbye.
“What did you think, Grandpa?”
“Hmm, their story fits the tales. The sound, the height, even rock-throwing. Other people have described these things.”
“You mean down through the generations?”
“That’s right. The creature is pretty consistent.” He looked at me. “Unless you think it’s people’s imaginations.”
“Could be. The woods can conjure up strange things.”
Grandpa chuckled. “Stubborn, huh?”
“Could be.”
As I drove home, I had a lot to think about.
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