The Madman of Black Bear Mountain Read Online Free PDF Page A

charred bone fragment from a human toe. From the way the bone had been chewed on, they could tell that its former owner had been hungrily devoured.”
    â€œIt was probably just scavengers getting an easy meal after the poor guy died in the wreck,” Frank said, trying to reassure us with the most logical explanation before Max got a chance to hit us with whatever awful punch line she had in store.
    â€œSure, that’s what they thought too,” she said. “Until they got it back to the lab and examined the tooth marks more closely. The victim had been eaten by a wild beast, all right. Only this wild beast had human teeth.”
    All six of us gasped at the same time.
    â€œLocals had always suspected there were still mountain people living in the remotest parts of the woods. Hikers had been disappearing for years, and there were rumors that they’d fallen prey to a feral beast of a man known as the Mad Hermit of Black Bear Mountain—campfire stories, as you quaintly called them,” Max said, turning to Jim. “But it wasn’t until they found that gruesome piece of gnarled human bone that people realized the legend of the Mad Hermit was real.”
    There was a sudden snap as an ember popped in the fire, nearly causing us to jump out of our seats.
    â€œThe reason they never found the victims from that plane crash thirty years ago?” Max continued as the sparks rose into the air. “The crazed mountain man who patrols the very mountaintop where we’re now camped roasted them over a fire just like this one, and then he ate them.”
    â€œOkay, uh, great story!” Jim cut Max off, trying to force his grimace into a strained smile. “Now, who’s up for singing some happy campfire songs?”
    Max ignored him, turning to us instead. “I promise you it’s not a story.”
    Jim cleared his throat conspicuously, cutting Max off again before she could say anything else. “Okay, thank you, Max. I think that’s enough for one night.”
    No one else had uttered a peep. Randall looked like he wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. Mandy and Melissa were gripping each other’s hands so hard, their knuckles had turned white. And even Frank, who’s usually the first one to chime in with a scientific myth-busting analysis of a tall tale, looked terrified. I think that’s what scared me more than anything. If my brother thought Max was telling the truth . . .
    â€œIt’s just a campfire tale, guys,” Jim said, trying to reassure us. “It’s a scary one, I’ll give Max that, but I can assure you it’s just an outrageous story.”
    â€œIs it really so outrageous?” Max challenged him, her tone as serious as ever. “Black Bear Mountain is one of the most remote wildernesses left in the lower forty-eight states. Aperson could spend their entire life living off the land up here without anyone else ever knowing. Someone who was a loner. Rejected by civilized society. Unstable, maybe even deranged.”
    â€œI don’t think—” Jim tried to interject, but Max didn’t give him a chance.
    â€œBut here’s the thing: live alone in the woods without any human contact for long enough and you start to go mad, even if you weren’t that way to begin with. And, well, if you live your entire life surviving on nothing but bush meat and berries, that kind of person might just get excited about a little variety in their diet. Especially something exotic. Like human fle—”
    â€œThat’s enough!” Jim stood up. “This is incredibly unprofessional of you, Dr. Kroopnik. You’re taking this too far, and I don’t find it funny at all.”
    â€œGood. You’re not supposed to,” Max replied, calmly getting up from the fire and brushing herself off. “There’s a reason people tend to go missing on Black Bear Mountain, and you’d all do well to