PART 4: He Found Bigfoot Footage on His Trail Cam in Alaska 2026, Then Made the Mistake of Going Back
THE FOOTSTEPS BEHIND HIM — PART 4
THE MAN WHO WASN’T MISSING
“You’re late.”
Alex froze.
For several seconds, he couldn’t move.
The voice had come from directly behind him.
Not from the trees.
Not from somewhere in the distance.
Behind him.
Close enough that he could almost feel the breath against the back of his neck.
He turned.
Nothing.
Only snow.
Only trees.
Only the gray morning light filtering through the branches.
Alex stood completely still.
His heart hammered against his ribs.
“Who’s there?”
No answer.
He raised the dead phone in front of him like a weapon.
The screen was still glowing.
The message remained.
BRING DANIEL WITH YOU.
Alex looked at the forest.
“Daniel?”
Silence.
Then three clicks.
From somewhere ahead.
Alex took one step backward.
Three clicks answered from behind.
Then another three from his left.
Then another from his right.
He understood what they were doing.
They were surrounding him.
But something was different this time.
The clicking wasn’t random.
It sounded almost organized.
Like a conversation.
Alex looked down at the snow.
Marcus’s footprints were still there.
He followed them with his eyes.
The trail went straight into the trees.
But beside Marcus’s footprints were another set.
Human.
Bare feet.
Small.
Alex crouched.
The prints were fresh.
Very fresh.
They led in the same direction as Marcus.
Then stopped.
Alex stared at the final footprint.
There was no next step.
No turning mark.
Nothing.
It simply ended.
He stood.
“Marcus!”
His voice disappeared into the forest.
No response.
Alex tried again.
“Marcus!”
Something answered.
A man’s voice.
Very faint.
“Alex…”
Alex stopped breathing.
It was Marcus.
He was certain.
The voice came from somewhere beyond the trees.
“Alex… don’t…”
The sentence broke apart.
Then silence.
Alex immediately started walking.
Every instinct told him to stay at the cabin.
Every warning told him to run in the opposite direction.
But Marcus was alive.
Or at least Alex believed he was.
He pushed through the trees.
The forest became thicker.
The snow reached his knees.
Branches scratched his face.
He kept following the voice.
“Marcus!”
Nothing.
Then—
“Alex…”
Closer.
Alex stopped.
The voice had come from behind him.
He turned.
Nothing.
Then he realized what was happening.
The voice wasn’t moving.
The forest was.
Every time he heard Marcus, the sound seemed to come from a different direction.
Not because Marcus was moving.
Because something else was carrying his voice.
Alex whispered:
“They’re doing it again.”
A branch snapped.
Alex spun around.
Something enormous moved between the trees.
Too fast to see clearly.
He reached for his rifle.
It was gone.
He reached for the camera.
Gone.
His hand closed around the only thing he had left.
The memory card.
D.M.
He stared at it.
Then remembered Daniel’s message.
THEY WANT YOU TO.
Maybe the creatures didn’t want him to find Marcus.
Maybe that wasn’t the point.
Maybe Marcus was bait.
And Alex was the target.
He looked at the memory card again.
“Fine.”
He slipped it into his pocket.
“If you want me to find Daniel…”
He looked into the trees.
“…I’ll find him.”
Something clicked.
Three times.
Then the forest went silent.
THE SECOND TRAIL
Alex walked for nearly an hour.
He didn’t know where he was going.
There was no trail anymore.
No footprints.
No landmarks.
Only trees.
The forest had become unnaturally quiet.
No birds.
No wind.
No movement.
Even his own footsteps sounded wrong.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Then Alex noticed something.
The snow ahead was disturbed.
He approached carefully.
A narrow trail cut through the trees.
Human footprints.
Alex recognized them immediately.
Marcus.
He followed.
The footprints continued for nearly half a mile.
Then they split.
One trail went left.
Another went right.
Alex remembered the warning from the cabin.
NEVER FOLLOW THE SECOND TRAIL.
He stared at the two paths.
The left trail had deeper footprints.
The right trail was almost invisible.
He remembered the words.
The second trail.
Never follow it.
Alex looked toward the left.
Then toward the right.
“Which one is the second?”
He suddenly realized the warning didn’t mean what he thought.
The second trail wasn’t necessarily the right-hand path.
It could mean the second trail created by them.
The first trail was bait.
The second was where they actually went.
Alex crouched.
He studied the snow.
The left trail had footprints.
But they were too perfect.
Every step was exactly the same distance apart.
Almost mechanical.
The right trail looked chaotic.
Deep impressions.
Broken branches.
Something had dragged a heavy object.
Alex followed the right trail.
Immediately, the forest changed.
The temperature dropped.
His breath became visible.
Then he saw the first mark.
A symbol carved into a tree.
Three vertical lines crossed by a horizontal slash.
The same symbol from Camera 7.
Alex touched it.
The bark was warm.
He pulled his hand away.
“What the hell?”
Then he noticed something beneath the symbol.
A name.
Scratched into the bark.
MARCUS HALE
Alex’s stomach tightened.
He moved to the next tree.
Another symbol.
Another name.
DANIEL MERCER
Then another.
ALEX RYDER
Alex stepped backward.
His own name had been carved into the tree.
The letters looked old.
Years old.
He stared at them.
“No.”
He touched the carving.
The edges were weathered.
Some of the bark had grown over the letters.
This wasn’t recent.
Someone had carved his name here long before he had ever entered the forest.
Unless…
Alex slowly stepped away.
Unless someone had known he would come.
He found the cabin at 9:17 in the morning.
It wasn’t the same cabin.
At least he didn’t think it was.
This one was smaller.
Older.
Half buried beneath snow.
A chimney leaned sideways.
The windows had been boarded shut.
A faded metal sign hung above the door.
MERCER RESEARCH STATION
Alex stopped.
Daniel.
He approached the door.
It was unlocked.
Inside, the air smelled of dust and damp wood.
A desk sat in the center of the room.
On it were maps.
Photographs.
Old batteries.
Radio equipment.
And dozens of notebooks.
Alex picked up the first one.
The cover read:
DANIEL MERCER — FIELD NOTES
He opened it.
The first page contained a date.
October 14, 2019.
Below it:
Day 1.
Alex turned the page.
The next entry was longer.
Day 7.
Then:
Day 13.
Then:
Day 21.
The entries described strange sounds.
Footprints.
Missing equipment.
People appearing in places they had never visited.
But one sentence appeared again and again.
They are not animals.
Alex turned another page.
They understand time.
He stopped.
Read it again.
Then another line.
They don’t see the future. They remember it.
Alex slowly lowered the notebook.
“What does that mean?”
A sound came from behind him.
A chair scraping across the floor.
Alex turned.
The room was empty.
He raised the notebook.
Then he saw something on the wall.
A map.
The entire mountain range had been marked with red circles.
Camera 1.
Camera 2.
Camera 3.
Camera 4.
Camera 5.
Camera 6.
Camera 7.
But there was one additional marking.
A location far beyond Camera 7.
It was labeled:
CAMERA 0
Alex stared.
There was a note beneath it.
DO NOT INSTALL.
He looked at the photographs scattered across the desk.
Most were of the forest.
Some were of the creatures.
Then he found one photograph that made his blood run cold.
It showed Daniel standing outside the research station.
Beside him was Marcus.
Alex stared at the image.
The date was written underneath.
November 3, 2019.
Marcus looked exactly the same.
Same face.
Same jacket.
Same scar above his eyebrow.
Alex’s hands began trembling.
Marcus had been there.
Seven years ago.
But Marcus had always claimed he’d never heard of Daniel Mercer.
Alex looked closer.
Daniel was smiling.
Marcus wasn’t.
And behind them stood one of the creatures.
Watching the camera.
Alex turned the photograph over.
Four words were written on the back.
MARCUS WAS FIRST.
Alex dropped it.
A radio suddenly crackled.
Alex jumped.
The device on the desk had no visible power source.
Static filled the room.
Then a voice emerged.
“Alex.”
He grabbed the radio.
“Marcus?”
Static.
Then:
“Don’t trust him.”
Alex froze.
“Marcus?”
The voice repeated.
“Don’t trust him.”
Alex leaned closer.
“Where are you?”
A long pause.
Then:
“Camera Zero.”
The signal cut out.
Alex stared at the radio.
Camera Zero.
The forbidden location.
He looked at the map.
It was marked deep in the mountains.
Far beyond Camera 7.
Alex folded the map and put it in his jacket.
Then he heard something outside.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
THUD.
Alex looked toward the boarded window.
Another.
THUD.
Closer.
He stepped toward the door.
Then stopped.
A third sound.
THUD.
Right outside.
Alex didn’t breathe.
The doorknob began turning.
Slowly.
He stepped backward.
The door opened.
A man stood outside.
Alex recognized him immediately.
Marcus.
His clothes were covered in snow.
Blood ran down one side of his face.
His rifle was missing.
But he was alive.
“Alex.”
Alex stared.
“Marcus?”
Marcus stepped inside.
“Don’t.”
Alex stopped.
“Don’t what?”
Marcus looked toward the window.
“Don’t say my name again.”
Alex’s skin prickled.
“Why?”
Marcus looked at him.
His face was pale.
Terrified.
“Because it hears us.”
Alex looked behind him.
“Where have you been?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
“Where are the creatures?”
Again, silence.
Then Marcus whispered:
“They aren’t creatures.”
Alex felt the same cold sensation he’d felt when watching the video.
“What are they?”
Marcus looked directly into his eyes.
“They’re people.”
Alex shook his head.
“No.”
“I saw their faces.”
“What did you see?”
Marcus swallowed.
“People I knew.”
Alex stared.
“Who?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Instead, he walked toward the desk.
He picked up the photograph.
The one showing him with Daniel.
He stared at it.
“You found this.”
Alex nodded.
“How long have you known Daniel?”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
Marcus looked at him.
“I remember meeting him.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
“2019?”
Marcus shook his head.
“I wasn’t there.”
Alex held up the photograph.
“You’re standing right beside him.”
Marcus looked at the photograph.
His expression changed.
He looked confused.
Then frightened.
Then something else.
Recognition.
“That’s not me.”
Alex stared.
“It looks exactly like you.”
“I know.”
Marcus turned the photograph over.
His hand began shaking.
He read the words.
MARCUS WAS FIRST.
Then he whispered:
“That’s what they told me.”
Alex’s heart dropped.
“Who?”
Marcus looked toward the door.
“The people inside Camera Zero.”
THE MEMORY
Marcus sat down.
For several minutes, he said nothing.
Then he began speaking.
“I remember waking up.”
“Where?”
“In the snow.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
“Was Daniel there?”
Marcus nodded.
“He was younger.”
“How much younger?”
“Exactly the same.”
Alex stared.
Marcus continued.
“He told me I had been gone for three days.”
“Where had you been?”
“I asked him the same question.”
“And?”
“He said I had gone into the forest.”
Alex frowned.
“But you don’t remember.”
“No.”
“What happened next?”
Marcus looked down at his hands.
“He showed me something.”
“What?”
“A video.”
Alex’s stomach tightened.
“What video?”
“Me.”
“Doing what?”
“Walking through the forest.”
Marcus’s voice became quieter.
“I was following someone.”
“Who?”
Marcus looked at Alex.
“You.”
Alex couldn’t speak.
“I was following you,” Marcus continued. “But you weren’t the way you are now.”
“What did I look like?”
“You were older.”
Alex felt a chill.
“How much older?”
“Years.”
Marcus looked toward the window.
“And you were running.”
“From what?”
Marcus’s eyes filled with fear.
“From us.”
Silence filled the cabin.
Alex whispered:
“What did the video show?”
Marcus shook his head.
“I don’t want to remember.”
“You have to.”
“No.”
“Marcus.”
“I said no.”
Then the radio crackled.
Both men turned.
Static.
A voice emerged.
Daniel.
“Alex.”
Alex grabbed the radio.
“Daniel!”
Marcus stood.
“Don’t answer.”
The radio continued.
“Alex, if you’re hearing this…”
Static.
“…Marcus isn’t Marcus.”
Alex looked at Marcus.
Marcus’s face went white.
The radio crackled again.
“He’s already been replaced.”
Alex slowly stepped away from him.
Marcus raised both hands.
“Alex.”
“Don’t come closer.”
“Listen to me.”
The radio screamed with static.
Then Daniel’s voice returned.
“Don’t trust the man beside you.”
Marcus shouted:
“TURN IT OFF!”
Alex stared.
The radio continued.
“He’s not the first.”
Marcus lunged toward the desk.
Alex stepped backward.
The radio emitted one final message.
“He’s the second.”
Then silence.
Marcus stopped moving.
Alex stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
His eyes were fixed on something behind Alex.
Alex slowly turned.
The boarded window had been opened.
Beyond it stood a dark figure.
It wasn’t moving.
It was simply watching.
Then another figure appeared beside it.
Then another.
Three.
Marcus whispered:
“They found us.”
Alex looked at the door.
“How many?”
Marcus shook his head.
“That’s not the problem.”
“What is?”
Marcus pointed toward the floor.
Alex looked down.
Footprints were appearing inside the cabin.
One after another.
Fresh impressions formed in the wooden dust.
Moving toward them.
But there was no one making them.
Alex stepped backward.
The footprints stopped between him and Marcus.
Then another set appeared.
Behind Marcus.
Marcus turned.
His face changed.
Alex watched as Marcus’s expression slowly became blank.
Not frightened.
Not confused.
Blank.
“Marcus?”
Marcus didn’t respond.
His head tilted slightly.
Then he smiled.
Alex stepped backward.
“Marcus?”
The man in front of him raised his head.
When he spoke, the voice wasn’t Marcus’s.
It was Daniel’s.
“You’re finally here.”
Alex froze.
The figure outside the window moved closer.
The radio turned itself on.
Static filled the room.
Then another voice spoke.
This one sounded exactly like Alex.
“Don’t worry.”
Alex stared at Marcus.
The thing wearing Marcus’s face smiled wider.
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
Then every light in the cabin turned on at once.
And Alex saw the walls.
They weren’t covered with maps.
They were covered with photographs.
Hundreds of them.
Thousands.
Every photograph showed him.
Alex as a child.
Alex in school.
Alex at his first job.
Alex in his apartment.
Alex sleeping.
Alex walking.
Alex driving.
Alex entering the forest.
Some photographs were dated years before he was born.
Alex stepped backward in horror.
“No…”
Marcus stood perfectly still.
The thing inside him whispered:
“Now you understand.”
Alex looked at the oldest photograph.
It showed a woman standing beside a cabin.
She was holding a baby.
Behind her stood one of the creatures.
On the back was a date.
March 17, 1994.
And beneath it, four words.
ALEX WAS FIRST.
Alex’s hands went numb.
He looked at Marcus.
Then at the photographs.
Then toward the window.
The creatures outside were gone.
Only one figure remained.
Daniel Mercer.
Standing in the snow.
Watching him.
Daniel raised one hand.
He pointed toward the mountains.
Toward Camera Zero.
Then he mouthed two words through the glass.
COME ALONE.
The cabin door slammed shut.
Alex turned.
Marcus was gone.
Only the footprints remained.
They led toward the back wall.
And stopped.
Alex approached the wall.
There was a small metal door hidden behind the photographs.
He pulled it open.
A staircase descended into darkness.
Cold air rose from below.
And from somewhere deep underground came three familiar clicks.
Then three more.
Then three more.
Alex stared into the darkness.
His dead phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.
He pulled it out.
The screen displayed a new video.
The timestamp read:
2:13 A.M.
But today’s date was still August 10.
The video showed Alex standing at the bottom of the staircase.
Behind him stood Marcus.
Behind Marcus stood Daniel.
And behind Daniel stood four enormous figures.
Then the camera slowly moved closer.
Until Alex could see the person holding it.
It was him.
An older version of himself.
His face was covered in blood.
His eyes were exhausted.
He looked directly into the camera.
Then he whispered:
“Whatever you do…”
The older Alex looked over his shoulder.
Something moved behind him.
“…don’t let them show you the first video.”
The screen went black.
A final message appeared.
CAMERA ZERO IS NOT A CAMERA.
Alex stared at the words.
Then another message appeared.
IT IS A DOOR.
And beneath it:
YOU OPENED IT SEVEN YEARS AGO.
Alex dropped the phone.
He looked down the staircase.
For the first time, he understood why the creatures had never simply killed him.
Why they had watched.
Why they had followed.
Why they had known his name.
Why his photographs existed before he entered the forest.
They weren’t hunting him.
They were waiting for him to remember.
A sound came from the darkness below.
A human voice.
His own voice.
“Alex.”
He stepped toward the stairs.
“Alex…”
Another voice joined it.
Marcus.
Then Daniel.
Then dozens more.
All calling his name.
Alex reached for the railing.
And somewhere behind him, the cabin door slowly opened.
He turned.
A figure stood in the doorway.
It was Marcus.
Or something wearing his face.
But this time, Marcus wasn’t alone.
Behind him stood Daniel Mercer.
And behind Daniel stood the four creatures.
Daniel looked directly at Alex.
His expression was strangely calm.
Then he said:
“You finally remembered.”
Alex stared at him.
“Remembered what?”
Daniel smiled.
“Who you were before they made you forget.”
The lights went out.
And from the staircase below came the sound of thousands of footsteps.
All walking upward.
Toward him.
Alex backed away.
One step.
Then another.
The footsteps grew louder.
Closer.
Until he heard something that made his blood turn cold.
One of the voices below whispered:
“He’s coming back.”
Alex looked into the darkness.
And somewhere deep beneath Camera Zero, something enormous opened its eyes.
Then the first footstep reached the top of the stairs.
THUD.
Alex closed his eyes.
The second followed.
THUD.
Then the third.
THUD.
And then—
silence.
When Alex opened his eyes again…
the cabin was gone.
