Monster

by Frank E. Peretti



An unidentified man discovers a dead logger's body killed gruesomely by a deadly carnivore, he proceeds to cover it up by making it look like an accident.

Reed Shelton, policeman and his introverted wife Rebecca Shelton are about to begin their vacation (something which Rebecca opposes). More and more sightings of a hairy, upright monster occur and Rebecca hears a shrieking in the night. Suddenly she is kidnapped by a large beast, Reed seeing her taken away. Rebecca's captor proves to be a gentle giant however, a red colored female Bigfoot that lives in a small troop with her mate, an adult male, the male's other mate, and the other mate's offspring. Rebecca comes to call the male Jacob, the other female Leah, and the female who took her and seems especially maternal of her, Rachel. The bigfoot are powerful, but relatively peaceful animals skittish around humans and Rebecca comes to realize that rather than the source of the attacks or shrieks, they're actually running away from the true monster; a genetically engineered hybrid of a human and chimpanzee that had been driven insane by its condition. The reason Rachel abducted Rebecca was because the hybrid killed her offspring and the grieving mother mistook Rebecca for her baby based off their shared red color.

Eventually Rebecca manages to get away as the hybrid corners her after being wounded in a failed attack. It’s gunned down by its creator but the amoral scientist who tried to cover up his escaped monster's doings attempts to silence her by strangling her. Jacob saved Rebecca's life by killing the sociopath and Rebecca exchanges a goodbye with Rachel as the bigfoot depart.