Gusts of wind and spray greeted her as she left the shelter of the forest. Turning right, she followed the heavily pebbled beach to the boating dock. Menacing dark waves rolled against the launch, sending a dozen aluminum canoes and wooden kayaks banging against one another as they fought their tethers.

Walking to the end of the pier, Tiani removed her unlaced boots and thick wool socks, rolled up her pant legs, then sat along the edge and plunged her throbbing ankles into the near-freezing waters.

Tiani yelped in protest, and it took several attempts and four full minutes before her skin finally numbed to the cold. Lying back, she gazed east across the Loch at an ominous outline of mountains and thunderheads, then closed her eyes, believing she was alone.

* * *

"Huh!" Tiani bolted upright, her heart pounding, her eyes wide as she searched her surroundings.

Something had startled her awake. What was it?

Raindrops pelted her, and she laughed at her foolishness. She pulled her legs from the water, but her feet were so numb she could no longer feel them. She massaged them until the circulation returned, her eyes never leaving Loch Ness's choppy surface.

Stop being stupid. Next, you'll be searching the woods for Big Foot.

Still nervous, she slipped her socks back over her feet, then gently tugged on her boots, keeping the laces loose. The swelling was down, and that was good, but now she just wanted to be back in her tent and out of the rain.

Tiani stood, then headed back down the pier, her unlaced shoes clopping on the weathered boards.

Leaving the boating area, she turned right and retraced her steps along the rocky shoreline until she came to the beginning of the wooded trail that led up to the campsite.

Tiani paused, inhaling the wind. An acrid scent lingered in the brisk air, the smell reminding her of a zoo cage that desperately needed hosing.

Whomp!

Tiani let out a half scream, startled by the sudden crash of metal somewhere up ahead. "Hello? Who's there? Joel?"

Gusts of wind whipped the rain-soaked pine needles against her arms, urging her to begin the climb.

Focusing her flashlight on the path, she started up the slope, the scent growing stronger.

She was perspiring by the time she arrived at the park bench—the halfway point to the campsite. Raindrops pelted the rusted steel trash barrel, which, strangely, was now lying on its side, garbage strewn everywhere.

The wind? Impossible. The can must weigh over two hundred pounds. She circled the small clearing with the beam of her flashlight. Nothing.

The climb had loosened her unlaced boots to the point they were slipping off her feet. Shuffling over to the picnic table, she lifted her right boot to the bench and began pulling the laces tighter.

She jumped again as a gunshot of thunder echoed across the heavens—and something huge floundered across the path leading up to the campsite.