109: Play it Again, Derrick – Pt. 1

“Wake up, Baby,” Derrick said, pressing his lips to Victoria’s as she rested on her back in bed. Moaning into his kiss, Victoria wrapped an arm around Derrick’s neck and drew him down into the bed with her. Releasing a surprised gasp, Derrick rolled with Victoria landing on top of him.

“Mmm, good morning, Handsome,” she giggled, sliding her hands down his torso. Moving slowly down his thigh, she gave his cock a firm squeeze and smiled at the growl it produced.

“Oh, don’t start something we can’t finish,” he groaned, thrusting upward into her hand as she stroked him again.

“And why can’t we finish?” she asked, looking down at him through hooded lids.

“Uh, Derrick? I think the bacon is burning,” Victoria heard her partner’s voice shout from downstairs.   

“That’s why. Get dressed. Mike’s here and breakfast is on fire,” he laughed as he pulled himself out from under her and rushed downstairs.

Tossing on a sweater and a pair of jeans, Victoria headed after him, finding Mike sitting in the kitchen while Derrick put the finishing touches on breakfast. “Good morning, Mikey. What are you doing here so early?”

“New case. And it’s a good one,” he said, waving a manila folder in front of her as she slid into the window booth.

“And what does your new wife think about you leaving the house before six in the morning for work?”

“She thinks it’s great. She’s been working more from home since the wedding and apparently, I’m kind of annoying,” Mike said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“What? Imagine that,” Victoria said with enough of a smirk to make Mike roll his eyes.

“Whatever. She needed a little breathing room and I figured I’d give her some.”

“Breathing room? A month after you’re married?” Mike shrugged and Victoria continued. “Ok. Have you two found a new place yet?”

“Still looking. But it’s been fun. Aria told me what she was looking for but I don’t think her dream home exists in Avondale.” 

“You could always build one.”

“Actually, I think that’s where we’re leaning. Anyway.” He slid the folder forward. “You’re gonna like this.”

“Oh?” she said, her eyebrows raising with interest. Victoria opened the folder and a small laugh left her lips. “Is this another project from your collection of ‘weird stuff?’”

“Yep!” Mike replied enthusiastically.

“And…Bigfoot?”

“What? Are you gonna tell me after all of the stuff we’ve seen and done there’s not a possibility he’s real?”

“Mike, do you really want to spend your free time hunting down some mythological beast in the woods of an abandoned summer camp?”

“Yes, yes, I do. Consider it a late wedding present.”

“But we gave you a wedding present, remember? The vintage bloom centerpiece vase? Handcrafted. Very beautiful. Very expensive.”

“Yeah, but that was more for Aria. You know I don’t like that kind of stuff.”

Victoria didn’t miss the amused look on Derrick’s face as he served up two plates of seasoned potatoes, fried eggs and bacon. “Well, it might be a good idea to fill your bellies before you two go traipsing off into the woods.”

“Two? You’re invited also! Especially if we’re looking for the legend of legendary creatures,” Victoria said with a smirk.

“Right. ‘Legend,’” Derrick grinned and filled two coffee cups. Victoria narrowed her eyes curiously at her lover.

“Is Bigfoot real, Derrick?” Victoria asked, watching as he skirted the subject.

“Uh…” he started, looking at the hopeful expression on Mike’s face. “I honestly, don’t know.”

“Right! And there’s only one way to find out,” Mike smiled, taking a bite of eggs. “OH MY GOD! WHAT DID I JUST PUT IN MY MOUTH!?” He exclaimed, taking a bigger bite of his eggs. “Mmm, these are amazing! So creamy, so…delicious.”

“The man is a world-class chef,” Victoria boasted.

“Holy cow. Vik, how have you not married this man yet? Do you eat like this every morning?”

“Well, I have to have something other than fish in my daily diet. If you think his eggs are good, you should join us for dinner sometime. I’m a wonderfully kept lady,” she winked at Derrick who smiled in return.

“My goodness, Derrick. Are you looking to adopt? If so, I know a well-mannered, fully housebroken Italian who does windows.”

“My, my. What would Aria say about you scheming to leave her high and dry?” Victoria teased.

“She’d probably ask if she’s invited too. She’s not the best cook; and that’s putting it generously. Seriously, these are incredible. What is that I’m tasting?”

“The recipe is simple. I use a bit of butter, salt and pepper, chives, rosemary, and crème fraiche for the texture,” Derrick replied with a prideful smirk. 

After breakfast, Derrick drove them to the old camp located near Avondale Lake. At one time in the town’s history, Camp Odyssey was a thriving getaway for families and community groups of all kinds. Situated on the water, it was a 20-acre all-inclusive camp experience. With tents, cabins, and areas for RVs. It offered hiking trails, kayaking, ziplines, archery, swimming, and arts and crafts.

However, in the summer of 2003, four campers were attacked by a large bear. Two of them were children. And although it was later discovered the group was hiking outside of designated camping trails, assigned hiking guides weren’t scheduled until later in the afternoon which caused an uproar in the community. The camp never recovered and was forced to shut down. It had been abandoned ever since.

“Wow, I knew it would be creepy out here but…”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed, picking up a crossbow from beside a target, Mike inspected the weapon, noticing it had been dropped fully loaded. “It looks like some of the campers just left in the middle of what they were doing.” As the last word left his mouth, the weapon triggered, launching the iron bolt straight toward Victoria.

Before anyone had time to react, the projectile embedded itself in her breastbone, piercing through her heart. “VICTORIA!” Derrick shouted, rushing toward her as she fell to the ground.

“No, no, no, no, no, oh my God, no!” Mike frantically cried as he hurried to his partner’s side. Retrieving his phone he quickly dialed the number for emergency and desperately explained the situation to the operator.

“There’s no time for that,” Derrick said, watching Victoria’s eyes drift closed. Snatching the arrow out of her chest, he bit into his wrist and placed his bleeding arm into her mouth. “Drink, baby, drink.” But her body was limp. “DRINK!” he shouted, shaking her.

“NO! Fuck, no…please, Derrick. Is she…”

“VICTORIA, DRINK!” Derrick repeated, again giving her a shake, but he could no longer feel her heart beating or hear breath pass through her lungs. “Mike…”

“No. Please, don’t say it. Please…” Mike cried.

“She’s dead.” 

“Wake up, Baby,” Derrick said, pressing his lips to Victoria’s as she rested on her back in bed.

“Mmm, good morning, Handsome,” she giggled, sliding her hands down his torso. Moving slowly down his thigh, she gave his cock a firm squeeze and smiled at the growl it produced.

“Oh, don’t start what we can’t finish,” he groaned, thrusting upward into her hand as she stroked him again.

“And why can’t we finish?” she asked, looking down at him through hooded lids. “What’s wrong?” Victoria asked, looking into Derrick’s worried expression.

“Um…I don’t know. It feels like we’ve done this before.”

“Ah. Well, that’s the trick of it right? Making you forget where one session ends and another begins. The hope is if I do it right, you’ll even forget your name.”

Derrick laughed and gave her side a squeeze. “Uh, Derrick? I think the bacon is burning,” Victoria heard her partner’s voice shout from downstairs.

“Mike’s here?”

“Yes, and breakfast is on fire,” he laughed as he pulled himself out from under her and rushed downstairs.

“Good morning, Mikey. What are you doing here so early?” Victoria smiled as she joined them in the kitchen.

“New case. And it’s a good one,” he said, waving a case file in front of her as she slid into the window booth.

Derrick paused, watching the interaction as he got a sudden sense of déjà vu. Had he dreamt of this? Mike’s case, Victoria’s accident—it was all too familiar. 

“Bigfoot?” Derrick heard Victoria ask with both humor and confusion and a feeling of dread rushed through him.

“At the old summer camp?” Derrick asked, eliciting Mike’s raised eyebrow of recognition.

“That’s right. You’ve heard about it?” Mike asked. “HA! See there, Vik. There might be something to this after all.”

“No, that’s not…” Derrick started.

“Well, I guess that means Derrick won’t mind tagging along!” she winked at him.

Derrick was again in the driver’s seat as they drove to the old camp. The entire way, Derrick continued running through the events trying to figure out how he’d had a premonition; he wasn’t prone to them. Could it have something to do with Victoria’s blood?

As they pulled up to the camp, he got out and surveyed the area. Everything was exactly as he had remembered.

“It looks like some of the campers just left in the middle of what they were doing,” Mike said, moving toward the archery area, causing Derrick to bristle at the familiar words.

“MIKE, DON’T!” Derrick shouted, moving in the blink of an eye as Mike reached down for the crossbow. Pulling Victoria into him, Derrick rolled away. The crossbow went off, hitting the back right passenger tire.

“Oh shit!” Mike shouted, rushing over to where Victoria and Derrick had landed. “Are you ok? I had no idea that thing would…I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Are you ok?”

“We’re fine, Mike. But that’s more than I can say for my car,” Victoria said, climbing to her feet. “Great save, Derrick.”

“Yes, thank you. That could have been really bad,” Mike added.

Derrick glanced between the two, unsure of what was actually happening. To him, that had gone bad…at least in his dream. “Are you ok, Derrick?” she asked seeing the bewildered look on his face.

“Yeah, I’m—I’m fine,” he said, shaking his head as he looked down again at the misfired weapon. “I’m just having a weird déjà vu moment is all. But I’m fine.”

“Ok. Well, the Eagles’ Nest trail leads into the woods and the Boulder Springs trail leads to the lake. I say we take the first and double around to the lake,” Mike instructed.

“Sounds good,” Victoria replied, grabbing her backpack from the trunk. “And if we do find an actual Bigfoot, we split the proceeds of the discovery 70/30.”

“Wait, who gets 30?” Mike asked. Victoria winked at him and he shook his head frenziedly. “This was my idea, how about an 80/20 split my way instead?”

“Uh…I think you two are forgetting about me,” Derrick said with a smile.

“Nope. You were voluntold to come. You can split the 20 with Vik,” Mike answered, making Derrick chuckle.

The group headed down the Eagles’ Nest. Rounding a corner, Victoria retrieved her camera and took a few quick shots of Derrick and Mike who were just ahead of her on the trail. “This place is actually pretty peaceful. It’s kinda sad they weren’t able to keep it open to the public.”

“Tragic, really. Camping was one of my favorite things as a kid.”

“You camped, Mike?” Victoria asked in surprise. “I never knew that.”

“Oh yeah. We would spend a week every summer with my Uncle Gino at his cabin in the woods. He’d let us set up a tent in the backyard closer to the forest. Benny and I would hike, fish and swim during the day then scare Georgia with ghost stories at night.”

“Shh,” Derrick said, coming to a quick stop. He turned an ear toward the woods and listened.

“You hear something?” Mike asked, looking in the direction that caught Derrick’s attention.

“Yeah. Something big.” Mike inhaled excitedly at his statement and waited.

Moments later, a large grizzly bear charged out of the woods. Lifting one paw, it swiped down onto Victoria’s side before she had a chance to move. She yelled as she tumbled to the ground. Instantly the forest floor was covered in blood.

“CHRIST!” Mike shouted as the beast reared back on its hind legs and let out a thunderous roar, preparing to come down on her again. Ripping his side arm from its holster, Mike aimed and fired off round after round leveled at the animal’s face and upper chest in an attempt to put it down.

The huge mammal fell as he emptied his clip and reloaded, ensuring it was dead before hurrying over. “Victoria!”

Derrick was already at her side, pulling her against him as she tried desperately to apply pressure to the gaping hole that was exposing her ribcage, but it was no use. Derrick prepared to feed her his blood but Victoria slipped into unconsciousness. “NO!” he shouted, feeling the last of her breath leave her.

“Mmm, good morning, Handsome,” Victoria giggled, sliding her hands down Derrick’s torso.

“Victoria?” Derrick said, leaning back as he looked into her eyes.

“Yes?”

“Are you feeling this too?”

“Well, I definitely feel something,” she giggled, swaying her hips in his lap as her hand slowly trailed down his thigh.

“No, that’s not what I mean,” he said, holding her arms to halt her actions.

“I think the bacon is burning!” Mike shouted.

“Dammit!” Derrick growled and rushed downstairs.

The trio reached the camp and began their investigation. Derrick led the way down the trail, keeping a close eye on the woods as if he was searching for something. Victoria laughed and nudged her partner before nodding her head in his direction.

“And here I thought I had a vested interest,” Mike said, watching Derrick’s keen attentiveness. “I promise we will split the credit evenly.”

“It’s not that,” Derrick said, turning to face the detective duo. “There are other dangers out here.”

“Yeah? You mean like snakes?” Victoria asked.

“No. Bears.”

“Oh. No, Derrick, I’m pretty sure that was a one-off. The preservation took care of the one that attacked the campers.”

“Bears may be solitary creatures but they do gather at times, Mike. Trust me, there are more.”

They walked until they finally reached the lake. Victoria sighed in awe as she took in the scenery. The backdrop of Aspen trees in mid-change was breathtaking. The mix of red, orange and vibrant gold encompassed the forest as their branches trembled in the breeze. “Wow. It really is gorgeous out here.”

Moving forward for a closer look, her foot slipped on a half-covered muddy rock just on the shore of the lake and she fell back with a yelp. “Victoria?” Mike called as she landed hard on her back in a cluster of large stones. She wasn’t moving and Derrick could already sense what was happening.

Hurrying to her side, he smelled the blood before he lifted her head into his lap. Her skull was cracked open and her eyes were shut. “No, no, no. Not again! I can’t keep doing this!” he shouted, tightening his grip on her as he pulled her into his chest. “What is going on?!”

“VICTORIA!” Derrick shouted, pushing into the bedroom door. She jumped up with a start, looking at him with wide eyes.

“Derrick! What?! What’s happened?” Instantly he dove onto the bed, scooping her into his arms nearly crushing the breath out of her. “What’s wrong?” she asked, seeing the fear on his face.

“You—you keep dying!”