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    Cold Nights & Cryptids
    Cold Nights & Cryptids
    Cold Nights & Cryptids
    Ebook88 pages1 hour

    Cold Nights & Cryptids

    By Duckie Mack

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Jesse loves working as a receptionist, but often feels overlooked and ignored by coworkers. When an opportunity comes up to spend a week on a Bigfoot hunt as part of a team-building exercise, he jumps at it. He loves camping and the outdoors, so even if it's with people from work, it seems like the break he's been needing.

    Reed is the golden boy of the company. He's charming, handsome, and everyone likes him. Almost everyone. Reed is a total city boy with painted nails and perfectly coiffed hair. Camping is the last thing he wants to do.

    Jesse gets his hopes up for a quiet trip when he doesn't see anyone from work, until he spots Reed, the last person he would want to be stuck with. But when he sees how nervous and scared the golden boy is, he reluctantly feels protective of him.

    Off the grid and in the shadows of a legendary cryptid, how far will their team-building exercise go?

    Cold Nights and Cryptids is a stand-alone novella with coworkers to lovers, cuddling for warmth, and tall tales to take home.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDuckie Mack
    Release dateFeb 15, 2025
    ISBN9798230733478
    Cold Nights & Cryptids
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      Book preview

      Cold Nights & Cryptids - Duckie Mack

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      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

      Copyright © 2024 by Duckie Mack

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: authorduckiemack@outlook.com 

      Cover Design by Duckie Mack 

      Proofreading by Jenn Reads Books https://jennreadsmmbooks.com

      Content Warning

      Cold Nights & Cryptids contains brief mentions of an emotionally manipulative family member. This book also has characters dealing with feelings of inadequacy and feeling invisible.

      I tried to handle these topics with care, but wished to include a note for anyone that might find these topics triggering.

      Contents

      1.Chapter 1

      2.Chapter 2

      3.Chapter 3

      4.Chapter 4

      5.Chapter 5

      6.Chapter 6

      7.Chapter 7

      8.Chapter 8

      9.Chapter 9

      Epilogue

      About the Author

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      Giant pines lined the highway as I drove away from the city. The beautiful peak of Mount Hood was my compass, guiding my way. The closer I got, the more it loomed over me. It was easy to forget that this majestic wonder was within reach when I got caught up in the daily grind. On clear days, it could easily be seen in Portland. It was close, only a couple of hours away, but far enough to take for granted.

      I rolled my window down, breathing in the fresh scent of mountain air. It was instantly transportive. The green of the trees, the shadows they cast over the road, the quiet lack of traffic, and the clean, crisp air. It was refreshing. I felt like I was catching my breath for the first time in a while.

      The cityscape disappeared in the mirror behind me. For the next week, I wouldn’t have to answer any phone calls, get stuck in traffic, or deal with noisy neighbors and obnoxious customers. It would be me, the forest, an adventure, and maybe a handful of coworkers to bond with.

      It was as close to a paid vacation as we were going to get. When Printech announced they would be doing team-building exercises, there was a collective rolling of eyes from all of us minions. We spent every day together at work, so why was there such a need to do something outside of the office together?

      I worked as a receptionist, a job that was often overlooked by most there. They would walk past me with barely a nod. It didn’t matter that I was the welcome committee. The first face people saw when they came in, and the first voice they heard when they called. Before any of the callers got to their destination, I played triage, assessing the needs and urgency and filtering through the sob stories I heard to figure out who they needed to talk to.

      To the other departments, I might as well have been one of the plants that brightened up the lobby. Scenery that you got used to until you didn’t notice it anymore.

      It wasn’t that I didn’t like my job, I actually loved it, but spending a week outside of work with workpeople wasn’t my idea of a good time. At least it was a week away, though. In the mountains, in nature. I grew up camping, only now it had been years since I’d spent time off the grid. Bills, responsibilities, cost of living, adulting. They prevented me from taking time for myself and doing things I used to love.

      I inhaled deeply, letting the pure air cleanse my soul and bring me out of the office and out of the city. The turnoff I needed was coming up. I followed the signs and made my way down a single-lane road. If another driver was going the opposite way, one of us would have to pull to the side. Even still, I’d rather that kind of traffic jam than what I dealt with in the city.

      It was a bumpy ride along the pothole-riddled road that ended in a parking lot. Two buildings stood surrounded by the forest. The larger of the two had a crooked sign with a few letters missing. Mt. Ho d Bigfoo M seum. It was about the size of a roadside diner with a large, comical statue out front. The smaller building looked like a shed really, but painted faintly on the front of it was Restrooms.

      The place had definitely seen better days, but it brought a smile to my face, nonetheless. I wasn’t a ‘Squatcher’ by any means, but I found the whole Bigfoot thing endearing. As a Portlander, it was something we grew up with. Murals, tours, river cruises, and statues everywhere. We lived in the shadow of the behemoth. How could you not love the mysterious cryptid?

      A small group of people gathered in front of the museum with backpacks or duffel bags at their feet. In the parking lot, there was a large capacity van, the kind that sat fifteen people. Behind the van was a truck full of equipment. On the side of both were matching decals that featured a Bigfoot with a walking stick.

      I grabbed my bags, steel water bottle, ran through a mental checklist to make sure I had everything I needed, and locked my car. As I approached the group, I scanned faces to see if I recognized anyone from work. No one so far. An older man with a long, grizzly white beard, wearing the same logo that was on the vehicles, walked over to me.

      Hiya. You here for Bigfoot Adventure Camp?

      Yes, sir. I am. I’m Jesse.

      He grabbed my hand and shook it rapidly. Nice to meet you, Jesse. My name is Strike. I’ll be your camp guide for this adventure. We’re getting ready to load the truck with everyone’s bags. Then we’ll kick things off with a tour of the museum first before heading deep into Sasquatch territory.

      Sounds great, thank you.

      Strike left me to greet another newcomer. Glancing around again, I still wasn’t seeing anyone I knew. Maybe I lucked out and everyone picked different activities from the suggested list. Originally, management brought the idea forward with one big event for everyone, but there had been too much griping and complaining about the obstacle course they offered, so they’d created a list of five different activities to choose from. Maybe it wasn’t the

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