PART 3: He Found Bigfoot Footage on His Trail Cam in Alaska 2026, Then Made the Mistake of Going Back
THE FOOTSTEPS BEHIND HIM — PART 3
THE VIDEO FROM TOMORROW
The screen went black.
For three seconds, Alex heard nothing.
Then the video began.
A timestamp appeared in the corner.
2:13 A.M.
Tomorrow’s date.
Alex stared at the screen.
He knew what he was looking at.
He also knew it was impossible.
The footage showed the same forest where he and Marcus were standing.
The same trees.
The same snow.
The same narrow clearing.
But there was one difference.
The camera was positioned several yards behind them.
Alex could see himself.
He was standing beside Marcus.
Both men were facing the forest.
Both were completely still.
The footage continued.
A dark figure stepped between the trees.
Then another.
Then another.
Alex’s hand tightened around the phone.
The figures were moving toward them.
Slowly.
Almost casually.
Then one of them stopped.
It turned toward the camera.
Its face was impossible to see clearly.
But Alex knew where it was looking.
At him.
The recording suddenly changed.
The camera angle shifted.
Now Alex was lying in the snow.
Marcus was gone.
His rifle was several feet away.
Something enormous stood over him.
Alex couldn’t see its face.
Only its silhouette.
Then the screen went black.
A final message appeared.
DO NOT LET THEM TAKE THE CAMERA.
Alex stopped breathing.
The video ended.
He lowered the phone.
Marcus was staring at him.
“What did you see?”
Alex didn’t answer.
“Alex.”
“I saw us.”
Marcus’s expression changed.
“Doing what?”
“Standing here.”
Marcus looked around.
“And?”
“You’re gone.”
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Then Marcus looked toward the forest.
“How far ahead?”
“Tomorrow.”
Marcus’s eyes narrowed.
“Tomorrow?”
“2:13 in the morning.”
Marcus checked his watch.
It was 11:48 p.m.
They had just over two hours.
“What happens?”
Alex looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
Marcus stared at the phone.
“Play it again.”
Alex did.
They watched the video twice.
Then a third time.
Marcus focused on the background.
“Stop.”
Alex paused.
“What?”
“Go back.”
Alex rewound.
“Right there.”
He pointed at the trees.
There was a shadow.
Almost invisible.
Marcus zoomed in.
The shape was standing behind them.
Closer than the others.
It wasn’t watching Alex.
It was watching Marcus.
Marcus slowly sat down.
“That’s not possible.”
“What?”
“That’s me.”
Alex looked at the screen.
The silhouette had Marcus’s posture.
His jacket.
His rifle.
Alex stared.
“That’s you.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who is it?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Because he already knew.
They decided to leave.
Immediately.
There was no argument.
No investigation.
No curiosity.
They packed their equipment and started back toward the camp.
The forest seemed different now.
Every tree looked like a doorway.
Every shadow looked occupied.
Alex kept checking behind them.
Nothing.
Then he noticed the footprints.
Their own tracks led toward camp.
But beside them were the massive prints.
Again.
Following.
Marcus stopped.
“Don’t look.”
Alex looked anyway.
The footprints weren’t behind them.
They were ahead.
Alex’s stomach dropped.
“Marcus.”
“I know.”
The tracks continued in the direction they were traveling.
Whatever had been following them was now waiting ahead.
Marcus raised his rifle.
“We’re not going that way.”
They turned south.
Ten minutes later, they found another set of tracks.
North.
They turned east.
More tracks.
West.
More.
Every direction they tried had footprints.
Alex looked at Marcus.
“We’re being herded.”
Marcus nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Toward what?”
Marcus looked toward the mountains.
“I don’t know.”
Then they heard the clicking.
Three clicks.
From behind.
Three clicks.
From ahead.
Three clicks.
From the trees to their left.
Then three clicks from the right.
Marcus whispered:
“They’re communicating.”
Alex looked up.
“How many?”
Marcus scanned the darkness.
“I don’t know.”
Then something moved above them.
A branch shook.
Alex raised his flashlight.
Nothing.
Another branch moved.
Higher.
Then another.
Whatever was moving through the forest wasn’t staying on the ground.
Alex whispered:
“They can climb.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed upward.
“They’re not climbing.”
Alex looked.
A huge dark shape moved across the branches.
It wasn’t climbing.
It was moving between them.
Jumping.
The distance between the trees was enormous.
Alex watched in disbelief as the creature disappeared into darkness.
Then came a heavy impact.
Somewhere ahead.
THUD.
Another.
THUD.
Closer.
Marcus grabbed Alex.
“Run.”
This time, they ran.
They reached the camp twenty minutes later.
The fire had gone out.
Their equipment was scattered across the snow.
The tent had been opened.
Not torn.
Opened.
Marcus approached carefully.
“Someone was here.”
Alex looked at the ground.
There were no human footprints.
Only the massive impressions.
One set entered the camp.
One set left.
But there was something else.
A small pile of objects sat beside the fire.
Alex crouched.
His stomach turned.
They were personal belongings.
A watch.
A wallet.
A broken pair of glasses.
A photograph.
Marcus stared.
“Those aren’t ours.”
Alex picked up the photograph.
It showed a man standing beside a cabin.
Behind him was a large dark figure.
Alex turned the photograph over.
There was writing on the back.
DANIEL MERCER — 2019
Alex looked at Marcus.
“Daniel was here six years ago.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“Look at the date.”
Alex checked.
The photograph was dated September 2019.
But Daniel’s trail camera encounter had supposedly happened in 2026.
Alex felt a chill.
“This means he knew about them before the camera.”
Marcus looked at the photograph again.
Then he noticed something.
There was another person standing behind Daniel.
A woman.
Her face had been scratched out.
Marcus stared.
“Who’s that?”
Alex didn’t know.
Then he noticed something else.
The woman was holding a baby.
And behind her, written in black marker on the cabin wall, were three symbols.
The same symbols they had seen beneath Camera 7.
Alex’s hands began shaking.
“Marcus.”
“I see them.”
“The symbols aren’t new.”
“No.”
“They’ve been using them for years.”
Marcus looked toward the dark forest.
“And Daniel knew.”
At 1:34 a.m., they found the cabin.
It was nearly buried beneath snow.
The roof had collapsed on one side.
The windows were broken.
The door hung open.
Alex entered first.
Inside, everything was frozen.
An old table.
A rusted stove.
A bed frame.
Maps covered one wall.
Hundreds of handwritten notes covered another.
Alex approached.
Most of the writing was faded.
Some of it was in English.
Some wasn’t.
But one phrase appeared repeatedly.
THE WATCHERS.
Alex read another.
THEY DON’T HUNT US.
Another:
THEY STUDY US.
Then:
THEY LEARN OUR ROUTES.
And finally:
NEVER FOLLOW THE SECOND TRAIL.
Alex turned.
“What does that mean?”
Marcus was examining the floor.
“Alex.”
He pointed.
There were footprints inside the cabin.
Huge footprints.
Fresh.
Alex’s blood went cold.
“How fresh?”
Marcus crouched.
“Minutes.”
Something had been inside the cabin.
Recently.
Maybe still was.
They searched the rooms.
Nothing.
Then Alex found a metal box beneath the floorboards.
Inside were photographs.
Dozens of them.
Trail-camera photographs.
Not of Bigfoot.
Of people.
Hunters.
Campers.
Hikers.
Families.
Cabins.
Vehicles.
The photographs had dates.
Locations.
Notes.
Alex flipped through them.
One photograph showed Daniel.
Another showed Marcus.
Alex stopped.
“Marcus.”
Marcus turned.
Alex held up the photograph.
Marcus was standing beside his truck.
The date was three years earlier.
Marcus stared.
“I’ve never been here.”
Alex looked at the picture.
The location was written underneath.
CAMERA 7.
Marcus stepped backward.
“That’s impossible.”
Alex turned the next photograph.
It showed Alex.
His apartment building.
Taken from across the street.
The date was yesterday.
Alex’s hands went numb.
Marcus whispered:
“They’re not watching the forest.”
Alex stared at the photograph.
“They’re watching us.”
At 2:03 a.m., the first knock came.
Three slow knocks.
On the cabin door.
Nobody moved.
Three more.
Marcus raised his rifle.
Alex whispered:
“Could be a person.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Listen.”
The cabin fell silent.
Then something scratched the wooden door.
Slowly.
From top to bottom.
Alex heard the wood creak.
The scratch stopped.
Then came a voice.
“Daniel.”
Alex looked at Marcus.
The voice was human.
Male.
Older.
It came from outside.
“Daniel.”
Marcus whispered:
“Don’t answer.”
The voice came again.
“Daniel, open the door.”
Alex recognized it.
It was the voice from the video.
The voice that had called his name.
Marcus stared at him.
“It’s mimicking someone.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
The voice changed.
Now it sounded like a woman.
“Please.”
Then a child.
“Help me.”
Alex closed his eyes.
The voice continued.
Then it became Daniel.
“Alex.”
Alex opened his eyes.
The cabin door moved.
Slowly.
The hinges creaked.
Marcus stepped forward.
“Stay back.”
The door opened six inches.
Darkness filled the gap.
Nothing stood outside.
Marcus approached.
He looked through the opening.
Nothing.
He opened the door wider.
Snow.
Trees.
Empty forest.
Then he looked down.
A massive footprint sat directly in front of the threshold.
Marcus stepped backward.
The door slammed shut.
The entire cabin shook.
Then something struck the wall.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The wooden boards groaned.
Alex heard Marcus whisper:
“It’s testing the structure.”
The impact came again.
Harder.
The wall cracked.
Alex raised his rifle.
“Should we shoot?”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s exactly what it wants.”
Another impact.
The wall bowed inward.
Then stopped.
Silence.
Marcus waited.
One minute.
Two.
Nothing.
Then Alex’s phone vibrated.
A new video had appeared.
Timestamp:
2:13 A.M.
They looked at each other.
It was 2:12.
Alex pressed play.
The footage showed the cabin.
From outside.
The camera was positioned behind the trees.
The cabin door opened.
Alex watched himself walk out.
Then Marcus.
But the footage didn’t match reality.
In the video, Marcus walked toward the forest.
Alex followed.
Something enormous appeared behind him.
It reached forward.
The screen went black.
A second video appeared.
This one showed the cabin interior.
Alex and Marcus were standing inside.
But there was someone else.
A third person stood behind them.
Alex slowly turned around.
Nothing.
He looked back at the phone.
The figure in the video was still there.
It was standing directly behind him.
Alex whispered:
“Marcus…”
Marcus looked at the screen.
His face went pale.
“Don’t turn around.”
“I already did.”
“I know.”
The figure in the video raised one hand.
Then pointed toward the floor.
Alex looked down.
A new footprint appeared inside the cabin.
Right between them.
Then another.
And another.
They were moving toward the camera.
Toward Alex.
The video ended.
The cabin became completely silent.
Then came one enormous footstep behind them.
THUD.
Alex closed his eyes.
Marcus whispered:
“Whatever happens, don’t run.”
Another footstep.
THUD.
Closer.
Then a third.
THUD.
Alex could feel something breathing behind him.
Slow.
Heavy.
Warm.
He didn’t turn.
Marcus stared over Alex’s shoulder.
His rifle trembled in his hands.
Then Marcus whispered something Alex would remember for the rest of his life.
“Alex…”
“What?”
“There’s more than one behind you.”
Alex’s heart stopped.
“How many?”
Marcus swallowed.
“Four.”
The cabin door suddenly exploded open.
Snow rushed inside.
The fire went out.
And in the darkness, something screamed.
Not an animal.
Not a human.
A sound that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
Then the lights from Alex’s camera turned on.
For one fraction of a second, the entire cabin was illuminated.
Four enormous figures stood behind Alex.
And one of them was holding Daniel Mercer’s missing trail camera.
The creature raised it.
The infrared flash fired.
Alex saw its face.
And for the first time, he recognized it.
Not because he had seen it before.
Because it looked exactly like the creature from the very first trail-camera footage.
The same brow.
The same pale hands.
The same dark eyes.
But there was one difference.
It was smiling.
Then everything went black.
When Alex woke up, the cabin was empty.
Marcus was gone.
The creatures were gone.
The storm had stopped.
The fire had somehow been rebuilt.
Alex crawled toward the doorway.
Outside, the snow was untouched.
Except for one trail.
A line of enormous footprints led away from the cabin.
Beside them were human footprints.
Marcus’s.
Alex followed them with his eyes.
They disappeared into the trees.
He reached for his phone.
The battery was dead.
His camera was gone.
His rifle was gone.
Everything was gone.
Except the memory card.
The one marked:
D.M.
Alex picked it up.
A tiny piece of paper was wrapped around it.
Three words were written in Daniel’s handwriting.
THEY HAVE MARCUS.
Alex stared at the message.
Then another line appeared beneath it.
DON’T COME LOOKING.
Alex’s hands began shaking.
A final sentence had been written underneath.
THEY WANT YOU TO.
Alex looked toward the forest.
Somewhere beyond the trees, something clicked three times.
Then three clicks answered.
Then three more.
The sound traveled deeper into the wilderness.
Like a signal moving through the forest.
Alex stood alone in the snow.
And then his dead phone suddenly powered on.
The screen displayed a new message.
No sender.
No number.
Just four words.
BRING DANIEL WITH YOU.
Alex stared at the screen.
Because he knew something was wrong.
Daniel Mercer had never told anyone where he was.
And if the message was real…
then Daniel wasn’t missing.
He was waiting.
Somewhere beyond Camera 7.
Somewhere inside the forest.
And whatever had taken Marcus wanted Alex to find him.
Alex looked at the endless trees.
Then he heard a human voice.
Very faint.
Very far away.
“Alex…”
He recognized it.
Daniel.
But the voice came from three different directions at once.
Alex closed his eyes.
The forest clicked.
Three times.
And from somewhere directly behind him came a whisper.
“You’re late.”
Alex slowly turned.
And the story ended before he could see who was standing there.
