Chupar

Seis

Turning on her side, Catalina could only stare at the dark shape lying inches away from her on the rough floorboards. Although her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, nothing- aside from its resting outline- could be distinguished from the black figure.

How long had she been awake for? It must nearly be the midnight hour by now. Yet, sleep eluded her like a thunderstorm during the middle of summer. Billowing clouds would gather in the darkening sky, the sweet scent of the Earth would fill the air- even thunder would roar once or twice- but not a drop of rain would spill onto the ground. It was very much the same with sleep. It remained in the near distance, but never close enough to graze her eyelids.

The figure disappeared from sight once she closed her eyes, thinking she could will herself to sleep if she just shut them tight enough. 

"Can't sleep either, huh?" The figure shifted to the side- the rustling of his clothes telling her so.

The rustling of the figure's clothes could be heard as he shifted onto his side.

She sighed before blinking her eyes wide open. "You could tell?" 

His laugh bounced off the walls and through the empty house. "I could hear you tossing and turning."

Propping herself up on her elbow, Catalina glanced over towards the man. He was still in the same position as before, facing her. "I'm not used to sleeping somewhere besides my house. Especially next to a stranger."

"Yeah, I could see how that would be strange," he said, rolling over onto his back. 

Catalina looked up towards the stars peering down through the holes in the ceiling. Though they twinkled high above in the heavens, there was no moon to accompany their light, leaving them nothing but faint flickers in the inky sky. "You must be used to it though."

"That's not what's keeping me awake." His pants brushed against the ground as he sat upright. "It doesn't help that this damn floor is killing my back."

"Then what?" She quit her gaze from the stars and turned to him. 

The Viper stayed silent for a moment as if he were trying to find the right words. "Something doesn't feel right," he finally answered. "Something just hasn't been sitting well in my gut."

Now, this really grabbed Catalina's attention and she couldn't help but lean in closer towards him. "I'm not sure what you mean?"

"I'm not sure either." He sighed. "I don't know how to explain it myself. But ever since I saw those footprints, I just got a bad feeling. And it's just gotten stronger since we've come to this house."

"Is the Viper scared?" Although she knew he couldn't see her, that didn't stop her from breaking into a smirk. 

"Aren't you?" Catalina saw the outline of his head turn towards her. "Back in the town, you sure were."

"Well, I-I just don't know what we're looking for," she sputtered, thankful it was too dark for him to see the redness creeping up her cheeks. "If I knew, then maybe I wouldn't be-" 

The sudden cries from their horses shot through the room, drawing both Catalina and the Viper to their feet in an instant. 

"What's going on?" She whispered to the man beside her.

"I don't know." The sound of his gun clicking made her involuntarily flinch. "Stay here, I'm going to look."

Before he could pry the door open, Catalina's arm reached out through the dark and clutched his sleeve. "Let me go too." While she couldn't see his face, she could feel his eyes scowling down on her. 

"Stay behind me then." The door creaked as he pulled it back. 

Gripping her machete by its handle, Catalina followed close behind him as he stepped out onto the porch. She was greeted by a gentle breeze of the crisp, evening air that blew through her loose curls. As she moved the hair out of her face, her eyes went straight to the pair of horses tied to the beam of wood. Their whinnying had softened, but they still trotted back and forth restlessly.

"Grab the matches from my pocket," the Viper instructed, still holding his gun in the air.

Slowly reaching into the front pocket of his coat, Catalina pulled out a box of matches and lit one up with her trembling hand. No sooner had the bright flame ignited did a figure come into view below them, crouching in the dirt as if to hide. Before Catalina could even process what she was looking at, the figure broke from the shadows covering it and did something neither one of them expected.

It stood up on its two hind legs and charged at them.

A loud bang went off followed by a flash of sparks and smoke. Catalina clutched her ringing ears, dropping the match onto the sand. The flame went out instantly, leaving them engulfed in darkness. 

"Strike another one!" The Viper shouted, a nervous edge laced into his voice.

Another orange flame sparked to life in Catalina's fingers. Holding it out, she looked to the body crumpled on the ground and stifled a scream. 

"What in the hell..." The man trailed off, staring at what could only be described as a dog without any fur. Its body was so thin Catalina could see traces of its ribcage under the black skin. Even lying on its side, the unusually curved spine dipped down like an arch. 

But none of that was not what disturbed Catalina the most. It was its hideous face staring up at them with its rounded red eyes. If it wasn't for the gaping bullet hole in its skull, the girl would have thought it was preparing to attack them with its pair of fangs protruding out of its elongated snout.

"Yeah... this is the ugly son of a bitch..." The Viper kicked at its skinny legs, making Catalina jump. 

She swallowed the dry lump in her throat. "Do- Do you know what it is?" 

He shook his head. "Damned if I know. Looks like something straight from hell."

Catalina's eyes trailed down to the paws. Sure enough, it had three sharp nails on each foot. "We're going to leave it here, right?"

"I sure as hell don't want it." He glanced at her; his blue eyes no longer bright and vibrant. "Unless you want to hang its ugly head up on your wall." It was a joke, but his tone carried none of its usual mirth. 

"Let's just go inside." Catalina turned back towards the door, feeling as if she hadn't slept in years. They had killed the elusive creature, but there was no sense of relief like she had expected. No cause for celebration. Only exhaustion.

Her foot had just crossed the threshold when a low snarl from behind made her spin around, nearly bumping her head against the Viper's chest. Her match had gone out from the sudden movement, but there was no need to light another.

The pairs of eyes glowing in the distance could be seen clearly. 

"Run," the Viper whispered before giving her a hard shove towards the horses. Nearly tripping over herself, Catalina quickly regained her footing as she sprinted towards the frightened horses. She pulled the rope holding Cortez loose and clambered up, practically throwing herself over him.

"Vamos! Vamos!" She screamed before she had even swung her leg over the other side. Giving a high-pitched neigh, the stallion galloped away from the house with Catalina barely clinging onto his back. After finally setting herself upright, she dared to glance back over her shoulder and saw the Viper not too far behind. A look of pure terror was etched onto his face as he held his hat with one hand and Arizona's mane with the other. 

But it was the dark shapes nipping at Arizona's hooves that drew her stare. They were quickly surrounding the mare from all sides, growling and barking at her through their bared fangs. Just when it looked like one of them was going to pounce, another gunshot rang out through the night, sending the creatures scattering like cockroaches.

"Faster! Faster!" The Viper shouted as Arizona broke through the black mass around her, finally catching up to Cortez. With eyes widened in perpetual fear, the Viper turned to Catalina and said in a breathless voice, "Don't stop for nothing. No matter what happens, keep riding until you reach the ranch."

Catalina gave a short nod, barely hearing his words as she looked on at the dozens of red eyes glaring back at her from behind.