PART 2: He Found Bigfoot Footage on His Trail Cam in Alaska 2026, Then Made the Mistake of Going Back
THE FOOTSTEPS BEHIND HIM — PART 2
THE CAMERA THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE EXISTED
Alex didn’t sleep that night.
Not because he was afraid of the message.
Not because of the footsteps outside his apartment.
And not even because of what he’d seen on the trail-camera footage.
He couldn’t sleep because of one question.
Where had the second video come from?
The footage showing the six figures had never been mentioned in Daniel Mercer’s original post.
Alex had assumed Daniel had uploaded everything he had.
He hadn’t.
Someone had been keeping something back.
And now, apparently, someone wanted Alex to stop looking.
At 4:17 in the morning, Alex finally made a decision.
He opened his laptop again.
The message was still there.
Stop looking for them.
They already know where you are.
Alex stared at the words.
Then he typed:
Who are you?
He waited.
Nothing.
He typed again.
What happened to Daniel Mercer?
The typing indicator appeared.
Then disappeared.
Appeared again.
Then vanished.
Alex leaned closer to the screen.
Finally, a response arrived.
Daniel isn’t missing.
Alex frowned.
Then where is he?
Three dots appeared.
This time they remained there for almost a minute.
Then:
Ask him.
Alex stared at the message.
His heart began beating faster.
How?
The answer arrived immediately.
Go to Camera 7.
Alex sat back.
He hadn’t mentioned Camera 7 to anyone.
Not online.
Not in the video.
Not in his previous messages.
He hadn’t even known there was a Camera 7 until that moment.
His hands became cold.
He typed:
Where is Camera 7?
No answer came.
Then another message appeared.
This one contained coordinates.
Alex copied them into a map.
The location was in interior Alaska.
Deep in the wilderness.
Miles from the nearest town.
And according to the satellite image, there was nothing there.
No road.
No cabin.
No marked trail.
Just forest.
Alex zoomed in.
Then he noticed something.
The coordinates were not pointing to Daniel’s property.
They were pointing nearly twelve miles beyond it.
Alex whispered to himself.
“What did you find out there?”
By sunrise, Alex had made another discovery.
He searched the original Reddit post.
The account was gone.
Deleted.
The comments remained for a while, but the original video had disappeared.
Alex had downloaded a copy before that happened.
He was glad he had.
He examined the metadata.
The footage had been recorded on January 18, 2026.
But the camera had been installed much earlier.
November 2.
That meant the camera had been sitting in the forest for more than two months.
Alex wondered why Daniel hadn’t mentioned that.
Then he checked the files.
The camera had recorded hundreds of clips.
Most were ordinary.
Animals.
Snow.
Wind.
Nothing unusual.
But there were gaps.
Large gaps.
Sometimes three or four days passed without a single recording.
That didn’t make sense.
The camera had enough battery power.
The memory card wasn’t full.
The temperature wasn’t low enough to shut it down.
Something else was happening.
Alex sorted the files chronologically.
Then he found the first strange recording.
December 9.
2:41 a.m.
The forest.
Empty.
At first.
Then something walked past the camera.
Not in front.
Behind it.
The camera detected movement and automatically adjusted.
The image flickered.
For less than a second, Alex saw a dark shape at the edge of the frame.
He slowed it down.
There.
A shoulder.
A hand.
Then nothing.
He opened the next file.
December 10.
2:43 a.m.
The same thing.
A shadow.
Closer.
December 11.
2:45 a.m.
Closer again.
Alex felt a chill move across his back.
Whatever it was, it had been approaching the camera.
Slowly.
Over several nights.
Then came December 14.
The camera recorded nothing.
December 15.
Nothing.
December 16.
Nothing.
December 17.
Nothing.
December 18.
The camera recorded a single frame.
Alex zoomed in.
The forest was empty.
But in the center of the image, someone had placed a branch upright in the snow.
It was shaped like an X.
Alex stared at it.
He searched online.
Nothing.
Then he noticed another detail.
The branch wasn’t random.
It was standing directly beneath the camera.
As if whoever placed it had known exactly where the lens was pointed.
Alex opened December 19.
The branch was gone.
December 20.
A different branch.
This one formed a triangle.
December 21.
Another symbol.
December 22.
Another.
For almost two weeks, something had been leaving marks beneath the camera.
Alex felt his stomach tighten.
The creature wasn’t merely aware of the camera.
It had been communicating with whoever might eventually watch the footage.
At 9:32 that morning, Alex received another message.
You found the symbols.
He froze.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Who are you?
The reply:
Someone who made the same mistake.
Alex stared at the screen.
What mistake?
The answer came after nearly a minute.
Following the tracks.
Alex looked back at the coordinates.
Then he understood.
The person messaging him had followed them too.
Are you Daniel?
No response.
Alex waited.
Finally:
No.
Another message followed.
But I know him.
Alex’s heart jumped.
Where is he?
This time there was no delay.
Alive.
Then:
For now.
Alex pushed his chair back.
“Who are you?”
The response came almost instantly.
You shouldn’t go to Camera 7.
Alex stared at the screen.
Then why did you give me the coordinates?
No response.
He typed again.
Why?
Nothing.
Then the final message appeared.
Because you won’t listen anyway.
The account disappeared.
Alex spent the next six hours preparing.
He contacted an old friend named Marcus Hale, a former wildlife photographer who had spent years working in Alaska.
Marcus listened to the entire story without interrupting.
When Alex finished, there was silence.
Then Marcus asked one question.
“How certain are you that the footage is genuine?”
Alex answered honestly.
“I’m not.”
Marcus nodded.
“Good.”
“Good?”
“If you’re certain, you’re dangerous.”
Alex looked at him.
Marcus continued.
“You don’t go into the wilderness convinced you’ve found a monster. You go into the wilderness knowing you might be wrong.”
Alex nodded.
Marcus stared at the coordinates.
“Where did you get these?”
“Someone sent them.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Marcus looked up.
“Then we have a bigger problem.”
“What?”
“Because these coordinates aren’t random.”
He zoomed in.
Alex watched.
Marcus opened a topographic map.
The coordinates sat near a narrow valley surrounded by steep ridges.
“There used to be a mining access road here,” Marcus said.
“Used to?”
“Long time ago.”
“What happened?”
Marcus zoomed further.
“The road disappeared from modern maps.”
“Why?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Because the company abandoned the operation.”
“Why?”
Marcus looked at Alex.
“People started disappearing.”
Alex felt his throat tighten.
“How many?”
Marcus didn’t answer immediately.
“Seven.”
They flew two days later.
The journey took hours.
Then they drove.
Then they hiked.
The farther they traveled, the quieter everything became.
There were no houses.
No cell service.
No power lines.
No people.
Only snow and trees.
Marcus carried a camera bag.
Alex carried his equipment.
Neither spoke much.
At sunset, they established camp.
Marcus built the fire.
Alex checked the GPS.
They were still three miles from Camera 7.
That night, something walked around their camp.
They heard it at approximately 1:20 a.m.
Crunch.
Pause.
Crunch.
Pause.
Marcus sat upright.
Alex reached for his flashlight.
“Don’t.”
Marcus’s voice was barely a whisper.
Alex froze.
“Why?”
“Because if it’s what I think it is, you don’t want to announce where we’re sitting.”
They listened.
Another step.
Closer.
Crunch.
Then silence.
Marcus slowly looked toward the tree line.
Nothing.
Alex whispered:
“Bear?”
Marcus shook his head.
“Too deliberate.”
They waited.
Nothing happened.
Eventually, Marcus whispered:
“Go back to sleep.”
Alex didn’t.
He stared into the darkness until sunrise.
They reached Camera 7 at 11:06 the next morning.
The first thing Alex noticed was the tree.
The camera was gone.
The straps remained.
The metal bracket remained.
But the camera itself had been removed.
Not broken.
Removed.
Carefully.
Marcus examined the tree.
“Someone took it.”
Alex looked around.
“Human?”
Marcus pointed down.
“No.”
The snow beneath the tree contained footprints.
Huge ones.
Fresh.
Alex crouched.
The tracks were deeper than the others.
Something had stood here recently.
Marcus followed them.
They went north.
Alex hesitated.
“Should we?”
Marcus looked back.
“No.”
Then he kept walking.
Alex followed.
They moved through the forest for nearly twenty minutes.
The tracks suddenly stopped.
Not faded.
Stopped.
Marcus looked around.
“There should be another print.”
Alex pointed ahead.
“Maybe it jumped.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not that far.”
Then they heard a noise.
A low clicking sound.
Three clicks.
Pause.
Three clicks.
Pause.
Alex looked at Marcus.
“What is that?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
The sound came again.
Three clicks.
Then from somewhere farther away came the same response.
Three clicks.
Marcus’s face changed.
“That’s communication.”
Alex whispered:
“Between what?”
Marcus raised a finger.
“Listen.”
Three clicks came from the left.
Three clicks from behind them.
Then three clicks from the right.
Alex slowly turned.
They were surrounded.
Marcus grabbed Alex’s arm.
“Don’t run.”
They stood motionless.
The forest seemed empty.
Then a tree cracked.
Twenty yards away.
A massive branch fell into the snow.
Alex saw something behind it.
A dark shape.
It was enormous.
It stood between the trees for perhaps two seconds.
Then vanished.
Alex barely had time to lift his camera.
“Did you see it?”
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Another shape appeared.
Farther away.
Then another.
Alex’s hands began shaking.
There were at least three.
Maybe more.
They weren’t approaching.
They were watching.
Then something happened that neither man expected.
A fourth figure stepped into view.
This one was smaller.
Its hair appeared lighter.
It stood upright.
And in one hand, it held something.
Marcus stared.
“That’s the camera.”
Alex’s heart dropped.
The creature was holding Daniel’s trail camera.
It raised the device.
Turned it toward them.
And pointed it directly at Alex.
The infrared light flashed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The creature was recording them.
Then it dropped the camera into the snow.
It turned.
And walked away.
Alex took one step forward.
Marcus grabbed him.
“No.”
“But—”
“No.”
They watched the creature disappear.
For several minutes, nothing happened.
Then they heard something behind them.
A footstep.
Alex slowly turned.
Nothing.
Another.
Closer.
Marcus whispered:
“Don’t move.”
Alex looked down.
A massive footprint had appeared in the snow beside his boot.
He hadn’t heard anyone approach.
Then another footprint appeared.
One step closer.
Then another.
The creature was invisible.
But it was there.
Alex’s breathing became shallow.
Marcus whispered:
“Back away.”
They began retreating.
Slowly.
The footsteps stopped.
For several seconds, there was nothing.
Then Alex noticed something in the snow.
A small object.
Half buried.
He crouched and picked it up.
It was a memory card.
Marcus stared at it.
“Don’t put that in your camera.”
Alex looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because we don’t know what’s on it.”
Alex held the card between two fingers.
Then he noticed writing scratched into the plastic.
Three letters.
D.M.
Daniel Mercer.
Alex’s heart pounded.
“Marcus.”
“I see it.”
They stared at each other.
Daniel had been here.
Maybe recently.
Maybe days ago.
Maybe hours ago.
Then Alex heard something from deeper in the woods.
A human voice.
Faint.
Almost impossible to hear.
“Help…”
Alex froze.
Marcus raised his head.
The voice came again.
“Help…”
Alex looked toward the trees.
“Daniel?”
Silence.
Then:
“Alex.”
His blood turned to ice.
The voice had said his name.
Marcus grabbed his shoulder.
“How does it know your name?”
Alex couldn’t answer.
The voice came again.
Closer.
“Alex…”
Then another voice whispered from behind them.
“Don’t follow it.”
Both men turned.
Nothing.
Marcus looked terrified.
“That wasn’t Daniel.”
Alex stared into the forest.
“How do you know?”
Marcus swallowed.
“Because Daniel never knew your name.”
Silence.
Then the clicking began again.
Three clicks.
From the left.
Three clicks.
From the right.
Three clicks.
From directly behind them.
Alex looked at the memory card in his hand.
Then at the dark forest ahead.
Somewhere out there, something had learned his name.
Something had Daniel’s camera.
And something had been waiting for them to arrive.
Marcus slowly raised his rifle.
“Alex.”
“What?”
“Don’t look behind me.”
Alex’s heart stopped.
“Why?”
Marcus’s eyes were fixed on something over Alex’s shoulder.
“Because there’s something standing there.”
Alex didn’t move.
“How far?”
Marcus whispered:
“Maybe ten feet.”
Alex could hear Marcus breathing.
Then came a sound.
Not a roar.
Not a growl.
A single slow exhale.
Right behind Alex.
Warm air touched the back of his neck despite the freezing temperature.
Marcus whispered:
“Whatever you do…”
The creature behind Alex took one step.
“…don’t turn around.”
And then, from somewhere deep in the forest, another enormous footstep answered.
Then another.
And another.
Not one creature.
Several.
Moving toward them.
But the strangest thing was not the footsteps.
It was the sound coming from the memory card in Alex’s hand.
His phone suddenly turned on by itself.
The screen displayed a new video file.
Timestamp:
TOMORROW — 2:13 A.M.
Alex stared at it.
The file was already there.
And beneath the timestamp was a single word:
WATCH.
The creature behind him took another step.
Marcus whispered:
“Alex…”
Alex finally looked at the screen.
And pressed play.
