“And what can I get you, this evening?”

She pours out two cups of coffee. Everyone gets coffee, whether they ask for it or not. She has an out-of-place Southern drawl and looks to be in her early sixties. She’s been at this job for most of her life. Once, when she was in her prime, she thought she was just passing through the tiny town. Before she knew it, she found a job and a place of her own hidden among the pines. That was over forty years ago.

“Scrambled eggs and a side of bacon, please.” Damon answered, looking up from his conversation.

“Same, please.” Rodeo replied.

It was quick, a barely noticeable glance down at their map. A slight drop of her eyes. She looked back up at them and smiled, almost knowingly.

“Two scrambled eggs and bacon. I think this ol’ girl can remember that. I’m Annette. If you two handsome gentlemen need anything, just holler.” She walked away leaving Damon and Rodeo in their booth.

Whatever the equivalent of a dive bar is for diners, this was it. The smell of cigarette smoke clung to every surface, an assortment of rusted junk was nailed to the walls, and the tile floors, once white, were stained yellow from years of wear and a dingy mop bucket. It was the sort of place patroned by regulars whose orders were memorized by the staff.

Damon and Rodeo went back to their conversation over a local map. Dive or no, they kept their voices low. The diner was filled with the sort of people who considered its decor fine art; the kind of people who don’t take kindly to most things around here. The kind who find strangers threatening.

The two young men were particularly interested in the woods around Carter’s Lake. They had no idea who Carter was, or how the lake came to be named after him, but they did know local legends hinted at a strange creature said to roam the woods near it.

Red ‘X’s marked the location of alleged sightings. The two were looking for a pattern, something indicating where best to conduct their search. Their social media views waned, and they felt it in their pockets. They needed to capture something more substantial than an object moved by a spirit. Even capturing video evidence of a cryptid would result in an army of keyboard warriors writing essays in the comment section that boiled down to “fake,” “AI,” or some similar accusation of deception. But, views were views, and views brought in revenue.

“Last sighting was back in March. Before that, there were three sightings, here,” Damon pointed at a cluster of red Xs, “in February.”

“Hmm. Last year, they had several sighting in the same area.” Rodeo said, sipping his coffee. He grimaced. The coffee was strong, bitter, and tasted like it could put hair on your chest, as his uncle would say.

“So, we start here?”

“I hope you boys aren’t planning to go traipsing about in the woods tonight. It prefers to be left alone.”

Two plates of scrambled eggs and bacon landed in front of each of them. Annette refilled their coffee.

“Ma’am? Do you know about—”

“Old Sam. Yes. It prefers to be left alone, and we give it a respectful distance.” Her eyes were set like a stern warning given from parent to child.

“Would you mind telling us about ‘Old Sam’?” Rodeo asked.

“No. We don’t talk about him either. It’s bad luck. I’ve seen too many young people chase after him, only to end up missing. I don’t know how many I’ve warned. Few of them make it back, and even then, they never come back the same.”

“If you could,” Damon started.

“I could not, and I will not. I’ve said my peace. It isn’t safe to mess around with Old Sam.” She turned and walked away from the table, leaving the check behind.

Waiting for her to be out of earshot Rodeo whispered, “You think her reaction means we stumbled onto something?”

Damon simply nodded. He looked something up on his phone and compared the dates of the most recent sightings. His eyes widened. “Umm, Rodeo?”

“Yeah?”

“All these dates fall on a full moon, and tonight is the full moon. If the pattern holds, tonight is our best option.”

“Holy sit, you’re right.”

The two finished their food. Annette returned with two generous slices of apple pie.

“On the house,” she said. “I apologize for being rude.”

“Not at all, ma’am.” Rodeo said. “We should have been more sensitive.”

“Still planning to head out there?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Damon said.

“Well, eat up. You’ll need the energy.” She smiled.

Damon handed her three twenty dollar bills.

“Oh, son, that is too much.”

“It’s okay. Keep the change. And, thank you.”

She nodded and walked off.

The two young men devoured their slices of pie. They never knew how delicious fresh apple pie could be.

“Man, I’m exhausted.” Rodeo yawned.

“Me, too, but we need to—” Damon stopped. Rodeo had fallen to sleep. “Hey, Rodeo. Rodeo?”

Damon started to shake his friend, but he was pulled back. The world around him spun, then collapsed into darkness.