(STBSS) Chupacabra!

1.

I still can't believe I'm going to die. For Christ's sake, I'm only twenty-eight! I'm too young to be preparing myself for death, yet it is inevitable. My leg is gone below the knee and I am slowly bleeding to death. I am trapped in the bottom of a cave with no way to climb out. The only person who knew where I was going is already dead. The only satisfying thought I have is that I killed the son of a bitch who did it. When someone finally finds my body, they'll have their proof. The chupacabra does exist, or at least did exist. They'll find the skeleton of one beside my corpse.

I should probably start from the beginning. My name is Tyler Hunter and I am a hunting guide by trade. I was successful and had a nice life. Then Mr. Jonathon Pembroke walked into my office.

"Hello Mr. Hunter. My name is Jonathon Pembroke. I am here because I need your help," spoke a well dressed man, who had been waiting outside my office when I arrived.

I made a mental assessment of him that was pretty much on target. I judged him to be a man of money, who was more comfortable in an office than in the field. He was impeccably groomed. "Nice to meet you Mr. Pembroke. How might I be of service to you?"

"Well Mr. Hunter, your expertise in the field of tracking is world reknowned. I have received word from my sources that a chupacabra is killing not just animals, but people as well. around a village in Costa Rica. I would like to capture it and settle the debate once and for all. You of course will be well paid for your time" said Pembroke.

"A chupacabra, huh?" I scoffed at him, but hey, it's his money. "I'll help you, but I feel you're wasting your money."

"Your opinion is duly noted and I am glad to have you aboard. I will be sending instructions to you once all arrangements have been made."

"One more question," I said as he made to leave. "Why the chupacabra?"

"Consider it a fancy of mine. I have always been interested in these beasts that science attempts to discredit. Of course there is also a certain amount of fame and wealth to be attained by the discovery. Please be ready to leave within a few days time."

With that said, he turned and left. I made my arrangements and come Friday I was on a plane headed for Costa Rica.

Our arrival was uneventful. I checked into my hotel room and unpacked. I headed downstairs to the lounge for a drink. While I was sitting at the bar, Pembroke arrived and deposited himself on a stool next to me.

"Enjoy today, because tomorrow we will be hiking into the jungle. We'll be leaving at seven a.m. sharp. Meet me in the lobby." Pembroke rose and shuffled off.

I had several more drinks and decided to take a short walk around before I retired for the evening. Even though it was nine o'clock, it was still so muggy outside that your breath stuck in your throat. I cut my walk shorter than expected and went back to my room for the night.

2.

I woke at six and packed a few things up and headed down for some breakfast and to meet Pembroke. I strolled into the lobby at ten minutes before seven and found him already waiting there.

"Must be awful excited to get started," I thought to myself.

"Mr. Hunter, good to see you. I trust you slept well?" Pembroke went on without waiting for a response from me. "We will be hiking in ten miles to our base camp. I have the maps of sightings there for you to look at. I have the area the creature is living in down to roughly twenty square miles. By judging the terrain, I think we can cut that area in half. If there's nothing else, let's get moving."

So off we went into the jungle. Me with unease gnawing at my belly. The going wasn't difficult as there was a reasonably well worn path cut through the growth. The bugs however were ferocious. I applied bug spray every half hour and it did little good. We hiked on until we reached our camp with little being said. It most definitly was a base camp. He had generators and tents already set up.

"Follow me," Pembroke said and went into the largest tent. He had maps spread out over a large table. "These are the most recent sightings in red and the older ones are in blue."

The red sightings were clustered around an area that we were roughly in the middle of. The blue ones were all clustered more south of us.

"I believe that his den is south of us. He started there and has gradually worked his way north," Pembroke stated. "We'll be concentrating our search there. We'll have some lunch and head south."

Sure enough after some sandwiches and filling up our canteens we headed south. The first two days revealed nothing. The third day was another story.

3.

Tyler was walking a little bit ahead of me as we came upon a stream. I started crossing when suddenly Pembroke shouted. "Tyler, come here!"

I made my way down the stream bank to where he was bent over. I looked down where he was and saw tracks unlike any I had ever seen before.

"Chupacabra," was all he said. I didn't much care for the look in his eyes.

I looked around a little more carefully and saw the beginnings of a small trail across the stream. I pointed it out and we made our way across. We followed the trail for roughly a mile and came to a small clearing at the entrance to a small cave. Pembroke headed for the entrance. I held back.

"Well come on," Pembroke cried out. He was practically rabid with the thought of his elusive prey. "What are you waiting for?"

"Don't you think we ought to go get more people and equipment if we plan on catching this thing live? We have no weapons or way of transporting it out of here," I pointed out.

"You're right, but I want to go in and make sure we're on the right path."

Pembroke set his pack down and dug out a flashlight. I did the same.

"In and out," I said without much conviction. I had a very bad feeling.

4.

We crawled in. The ceiling was only three feet off the ground and there was little room to turn around. The tunnel proceeded downward gradually. The farther we went, the more putrid the smell became. After crawling for what felt like hours, but was probably only twenty minutes, we came to a large room with several tunnels branching off of it. Pembroke was in the lead, when he suddenly stopped. Then I heard it. A low guttaral growling.

"I think we need to leave, and fast," I exclaimed.

Pembroke had already turned and was heading for the entrance. Then I saw it! Red eyes peering out of the darkness. Pembroke never had a chance. It attacked him from behind. My escape was blocked off! I didn't stick around to help. I took off as fast as I could crawl down a side tunnel, hoping for an escape route. I had dropped my flashlight back by Pembroke so I crawled blind. I felt the tunnel widening around me and then I felt space. I fell. As I fell, I could still here Pembroke's screams. Fortunately it wasn't a far fall, maybe fifteen feet. Although maybe that would have been better for me, if I had died in the fall. I wouldn't be hear now, dying slowly. I did lose consciousness though.

I woke to agony! It felt like my leg was being chewed apart. Come to find out, it was! I screamed out and apparently the chupacabra thought I was dead because it jumped back. I took the opportunity to gather myself up and make a quick inventory of what I had, which wasn't much. My knife! I dug in my pocket and grabbed my little pocket knife and pulled it out. The blade felt puny in my hand. The chupacabra moved back in and I grabbed it with my left hand and drove down with my right. It shrieked in agony and started biting and clawing me. I didn't let go. I kept bringing the knife down, again and again, until it quit struggling. I lost consciousness again.

I woke later not knowing how long I had been out. I dug in my pockets again, mindless of the pain I felt. I emptied them on the cave floor. I found my penlight and clicked it on. Some change, a pack of gum, some Tylenol and that was about it. I didn't even have my canteen and I was so thirsty. I looked at my watch, ten-thirty. Morning or night, I didn't know. I chewed up the Tylenol, wincing at the bitterness and chewed a piece of gum to alleviate some of the taste. I looked for a means of escape and saw one. It was slim. I would have to be able to climb about fifteen feet, from ledge to ledge. It was obviously the way the creature had come down. How would I do that with my leg? I decided to rest for the moment.

I took a moment to look at my kill. "God that creature is hideous! I wonder how many more of them there are? So vicious. Razor sharp teeth and claws, a perfect hunter. And those eyes. I will never forget those eyes. Not as long as a live, even if it's more than a few more days." My only hope is that Pembroke made it out alive. Not really a hope at all, more of a dream. I decided to climb. I climbed to each ledge, which were only two to three feet apart and rested. I finally made it to the top and collapsed with relief. I still had to make it back to camp, which was miles away. But my pack! I had supplies in there, medical, food, and water!

I crawled forward. Finally I was back in the large chamber and saw what was left of Pembroke. If I could of, I would have vomited. It was mainly bones and blood. I crawled on. I could smell the night as I came to entrance. Blessed sweet air! I crawled to my pack and grabbed my canteen. I took several long swallows and searched for some food. After eating I bandaged myself up as well as I could. I emptied out both packs around me and was deciding what to take as I tried to crawl back to camp, when I heard it. That low guttaral growl. I looked around wildly and saw three pair of red eyes!

I screamed, "No, not after all I've been through. No, no, no...."

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What do you think? Let me know how I did.

Wow! That was good. I could almost feel the joy as you made it to your canteen and the despair as you saw those eyes.

lets get a real tracker, tom brown, or one of his top students since he is old now, and head down there searching. only.. we would use Mp-5s and m4a1s/saw off shotgun. the shotgun is an excellent weapon because it has over 200 different types of ammo. did u know there is a flamethrower ammo which shoots flame 400 feet and napalms whatever the shards hit? can be shot out of any gun. also, theres net shells which shoot out nets from the shotgun at the same speed as a bullet and wrap around whatever they hit. u can pump out 3 a second and hold 12 in a single gun, sling it on your back and carry water pistol camo etc