From the dark cover of the jungle, it watched the small village. The time was almost right to begin making the trek down the mountain to feed. It clutched the mouse in anticipation. =Lucky mouse, bigger prey here.= As the sky darkened, large eyes adjusted, taking in every detail. From the valley below, smoke rose softly into the air, signaling that the villagers had turned in for the night. It felt a pang of hunger and knew that it would have to be careful. =No getting surprised tonight.= It remembered as it slinked its way through the jungle how badly the last attempt to feed had gone. It had gone out to a place it had been many times. There was none of its usual quarry in the particular pasture it had visited that night, so it had had to settle for a small sheep in a pen beside a nearby farm. It has lunged for the sheep, but missed the first time and struck the gate. It had only just closed its mouth around the lamb's neck when the lights of the farmhouse lit up, and it was partially revealed in the darkness. It turned and peered into the light, half blinded, to see a man holding something. It didn't like what the man was holding because it made loud cracking sounds. Those hurt its ears and scared food away. It had fled that night, and was now hungrier than usual. Two goats or sheep would have to be taken tonight, but carefully. =Yes, very careful, must not wake the people of the village.= Faster down the trail it went. =Nobody uses this trail; it is secret, out of the way. Yes, very safe.= No one would see it coming. There would be blood to quench its thirst tonight?
The night air had gotten slightly cooler by the time it reached the village. It carefully peered through the trees into the homes. =Good, lights out, like outside, nobody to raise an alarm. Very good, no-one to interrupt feeding this time, but must be careful, can't enter the village now, wait until all the lights are out, mustn't be seen now, not now when hunger is at stake.= Moving along the tree line, it came to the edge of a pen. Sniff? pig, from the smell of it. Not what it was after, but hunger comes first. =Quiet, make it fast.= It tackled the pig and clamped its mouth around the pig's throat before it had time to squeal. =Warm! Oh how pleasing, how satisfying the taste!= Hunger welled up within it, spines quivering with excitement. Good, good, one meal down. As it was about to continue its meal, a terrible sound echoed through the village, and the lights went on in the nearby house, and someone came out. =Run, hide, must not be seen! What had brought this person out of their home? What could it be? The pig, it must have made some kind of noise. No, too careful, didn't give it time to squeal. What? No, there are more pigs in this pen! No, too careless, too hungry to see the others.= Its vision had been tunneled on that single pig; it had not seen the several others in the pen. =Run, quick, back to the jungle!= Running, fast as its legs would carry it, arms stretched out, one wing beating in panic to carry it faster. With a howl it broke the tree line and disappeared into the darkness of the jungle.
=Still hungry, should be careful, mustn't stay hungry for too long.= It looked at the mouse it had folded in its wing. It considered eating it, but held off. It might need the food later if things did not go well. How had it failed to notice the other pigs? It had been to this village before, and never were animals kept in one place. No, it would be easier for it to get them all, said the villagers. That word, that word that followed it around. Chupacabra. Whenever it was seen eating, chupacabra. Whenever the cracking started and it had to flee into the jungle, chupacabra. It continued down the trail, still hungry and still nervous from the previous events of this night. =No more pens, too easy to get trapped in one, much too easy to be seen. Be best to find an open pasture.= Moving swiftly along the path, eyes attuned to every movement and ears to every sound, it scanned the valleys below for villages and open fields. =There, big open field. Sniff?cow. Not cow, not weak like this, too big. Find a herd of grazing goats.= It had never been to this valley before, not until the problems started and it had to look for new places to consider as a feeding ground. People had found dead animals too often, had heard it and seen it. People there knew it and were always watching for it. This new place held unknown risks, but hungry as it was, these were far more favorable than what it would face back in the neighboring valleys. It had selected this area as a potential food source because of its good cover and large pastures that had not felt its bite. New scents and images bombarded its senses. =Something is missing, out of place. What is it? Sniff? fear, that's it. No fear here. Why should there be, haven't been here before. No death here, unsuspecting. No one will think to look to the pastures.= Its confidence grew as it left the trail, traversing the thick vegetation, leaves and branches brushing against its leathery hide.
It came to the edge of another trail and stopped dead in its tracks. =What's this? Many scents, many tracks, well-worn path, used much. Must be careful here, careful not to be seen?noise! Someone approaching!= It ducked low in the trees and ferns, trying to blend in. The darkness became a cocoon, helping it to disappear. The source of the noise, a villager carrying a flashlight and leading a flock of goats back to town, passed in front of its hiding place. The boy apparently didn't fear it, this Chupacabra, since he was out at night with his herd. To be out at night with a flock seemed odd, but then, the boy was muttering about dozing off and being scolded. It also seemed that he had lost a goat in the jungle. It tried to conceal its breathing so as not to alert the boy to its proximity. It waited for the herd to pass, when suddenly, a thought of desperation entered its mind. =Grab one. Quickly, kill it before it has time to bleat or struggle. The boy will never know, too dark to see, too dark. Feed, yes, but not the whole herd, too risky. Take one and follow the rest down into the fields, then take the rest. Yes, but be fast and quiet.= It moved closer to the herd. Quietly, so quietly, it parted a small section of the shrubs. It could smell the goats, could hear the blood pulsing in their veins. It gazed into the darkness, picking its target, all the while keeping an eye on the position of the flashlight. =Hand-light, not good, must move quietly or be seen.= Closer to the goats, ever closer. It hardly moved, it was so careful, until finally, it was within striking range. Arms poised, leg muscles energized for the quick pounce and withdrawal. This was it. The moment had come. It made one last adjustment to leap out and?SNAP! The boy wheeled around and shined the flashlight into the jungle, and at the same time, it drew close to the ground and became absolutely motionless. The flashlight's beam cut across the brush line with slow, steady motions. It realized that it was partially on the trail. Spines quivered. =He will see?he will see. Stuck, stuck on something.= It slowly turned to look at its foot and saw that it was caught on a tree root. The root had split, but not snapped in half. It could not free itself without the man knowing. What if the boy had a thing that cracked? After a moment, it noticed that the boy was only looking at the jungle, the flashlight at chest level. He suddenly turned the flashlight in its direction, and a glimmer of light reflected off of its eyes. In a moment of quick thinking, it shut them so the reflection would not catch the boy's eye. It lay there amidst the ferns and dirt of the trail for what seemed like hours, the beam of the flashlight sweeping back and forth. =Don't point it down, move on.= The boy swept the trees one last time and shrugged. It heard something about birds as the boy turned and continued down the trail, the herd of goats in tow. It waited until he was far enough down the path before getting up and freeing its foot from the root. Close, so close. It wondered as it followed the herd along the trail if it could have taken the boy as well as the goats. =No=, it decided, =not worth finding new territory over, too young to take on the others from other valleys. Not experienced enough, either.= It recalled slamming into the gate and fouling its previous hunt, and now failing to pay attention to its surroundings. It even broke its own rule to stay away from high traffic trails. It hadn't taken the boy due simply to the fact that it had never seen this event occur, so man probably wasn't worth attacking, maybe. It followed the herd, carefully this time, down to the valley. The mouse was starting to look better and better.
=Inexperienced, foolish, too many risks tonight, almost caught twice.= It continued down the trail, pondering the events of nights past. It had only come into its own a month ago, leaving the trees and their sweet sap to hunt other prey. It was accustomed to an occasional bird or monkey until then, when a change occurred. A sudden thirst hit it, such a terrible, deep thirst that would not go away. It feverishly went through birds and lizards, driven by the maddening urge to drink, but nothing helped. It left the trees, driven by thirst, to find something, anything, that could quench its burning thirst. It went down to the stream near its home-grove and drank deeply, but this had not helped. The thirst seemed to come from its stomach, not its throat. It always carried a small number of lizards and mice with it as it traveled to keep the thirst in check. It began to watch others, from a safe distance, of course. No youngling took on a Greater Thirst with a full stomach. It sometimes watched these from nearby trees to see how kills were made; the process of a quiet kill, herd stalking and avoiding detection, how to make the killing strike and other small tricks. It had watched one in particular that had attacked a large bull. The night was particularly well moonlit, the field quite large and hilly. It had taken up position in a large tree, high in the branches where it would not be seen. Overlooking the field, it had a good view of the grazing herd. This pasture was a frequent hunting ground for its kind until it has been taken by an exceptionally cunning one. The creature suddenly appeared just behind a small grassy rise, of course hidden from its quarry, but not the watchful Youngling. The approach was flawless, the older creature slowly stalking through the waist-high grass of the rise, keeping to all fours and staying close to the ground. In the moonlight, its deep red eyes glowed with anticipation, dorsal spines pressed flat against its back, winged arms moving carefully so as not to disturb the grass enough to alert the herd. There was a brief moment of absolute stillness, and it was in that lull that the creature picked its target. The older creature leapt for cover, spines erect, wing-arms carrying it through the air and onto the back of the target cow. This caused the whole herd to panic, scattering off in every direction. The older creature hung over the cow's neck and sank its fangs into its throat. The cow made a vain struggle before collapsing to the ground. As the creature fed, a deep sound reverberated through the air. The creature looked up from its meal, and from its vantage point in the trees, the youngling could see a large bull stamping the dirt with an angry hoof. The elder stood and assumed the classic threat display; wing-arms outstretched, dorsal spines erect and quivering, mouth open in a fang-bearing howl. The bull charged, riled into frenzied rage by the creature's actions. The older creature stood its ground, eyes locked onto the charging hulk. At the last possible moment, it leapt to the side and grabbed onto a passing horn, yanking the bull off its balance for a split second, and in that moment the creature had swung itself over the bulls head and landed on its back, clawed hands digging in to keep from being tossed off. As soon as it had gotten a firm hold it started to repeatedly sink its fangs into the bull's neck, sapping its energy with fast jabbing bites. The bull raged across the field, bucking in an attempt to dislodge the attacker from its back. The struggling beasts disappeared behind a rise in the field, their fight plainly audible over the large clearing. After several minutes, the struggling stopped and the field became silent again. It shifted position in the tree, trying to see over the rise. Had the elder won, or was the bull the victor and now resting from its struggle? After several minutes, a dark form topped the hill and stepped into view. It was the older creature, bloodstained jaws gleaming in the moonlight, its eyes glowing, charged from its successful hunt. Some day, it had thought, some day it too would be a great stalker, just like?=Snap out of it! Keep focused on the trail!= It jerked itself back into the real world. Preoccupied with other thoughts, it had ventured dangerously close to the herd, no more than fifteen feet away from the nearest goat, which had undoubtedly picked up its scent and was now bleating like a banshee. The boy turned on his heels, alerted by the sound. At the same time, it leaped into the jungle, but not before a man, drawn from the house that it had also failed to see, had a fleeting glimpse of something that terrified him. It looked back for a moment to see if it had eluded the men. CRACK! BOOM! A branch blew off of a nearby sapling. =It's the cracking thing! Curse the foul thing!= More shots rang out as it hurried through the jungle. It looked back to see the man, who had ventured into the jungle a little, scanning with the flashlight trying to find what he had seen. After a moment, the man seemed to grow more fearful and let out a scream, after which he turned and fled, followed by the boy. =What scared them off? Was it us?= It looked around and spotted something nearby in a tree. It was the elder, the one from that night long before that had killed the bull! =It saved us.= Its thoughts quickly turned to fear. What if the elder was simply hunting it? That didn't improve its current position any, but then the elder simply climbed down from the tree and turned to move on. After a few steps, it turned and looked at the youngling, as if to say, "Well, move on, you." It stood where it was for a bit longer and then turned back towards the jungle and moved on. The youngling promptly collapsed to the ground. =This is another one's territory. Too risky to stay, but?the elder had not attacked .Did it see us all that time ago? Does it remember us?=
Despite its better judgment, it decided to follow the elder.
By the time it was able to pick up the elders trail again, the moon had reached the middle of the sky. Its stomach growled. =Must find food, need something to eat, must eat!= Its thoughts turned to the mouse it was still holding in its wing when a lizard suddenly scampered across the trail. =Bad move!= It took off through the jungle after the lizard, eyes focused solely on the retreating morsel. Its mouth began to water, its heart raced. Food, finally! The lizard picked up speed, but it matched accordingly. Almost there, so close it could taste the snack. The lizard darted into a patch of tall grass. The youngling leaped into the grass, arms outstretched?and hurtled out into space. =Bad move!= It attempted to regain control of the situation, but its arms got tangled in the tall grass and it couldn't unfold its wings. With a dull thump, it hit the slope and rolled down towards the field below. Dust roiled up around it as it fell, its body striking rocks and roots on the way down. For a brief second its foot snagged a root and pain shot through its ankle. It howled and gazed down at the ground. It had not fallen that far after all. Suddenly, from yards away, another howl sounded through the air. It turned to find the source, only to loosen the root, sending it falling the three remaining feet to the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of it, and it groggily attempted to stand, its ankle swelling with pain. Again the howls split the night air. It looks out across the field to see the elder locked in combat with another younger creature. Not as young as it was, but still not a true elder. There was something familiar about the field. The smell?it looked out across the field and spotted a tall tree on a hill. =That tree!= It all came flooding back; the hunt, the bull, the elders glowing eyes. A feeling of security welled up inside it, and it ran towards the two combatants, chirping wildly. The elder looked in alarm at the new arrival at the same time that the intruder did. Only then did the youngling notice the dead cow that lay behind them. =Oh, must be a food squabble. Bad move, shouldn't have gotten involved with these older ones!= Everything froze then, the three creatures stuck in time. The next move was the intruder's. It angrily leapt at the youngling, who shrieked in fright. This was its last lesson: inexperience kills. The intruder grabbed it and held it to the ground, forcing its head to one side. In the very next instant, the intruders' fangs shot towards the younglings' throat. The youngling reacted before thinking, raising an arm and stretching the wing out to shield itself. A splash of blood sprayed across its face. It waited for the pain, but none came. It looked up at the intruder, confused. Blood clearly dripped from its mouth, but?wait, there was something lodged in its mouth. The youngling looked again. The mouse! The mouse it had tucked in its wing had been in the wrong, and right, place. The intruder turned and shook its head, trying to dislodge the plump rodent. The youngling saw a chance to escape and leapt to its feet. Pain shot through its ankle again and it fell. The intruder in the meantime had devoured the mouse and turned its sights back to the youngling. The youngling tried to run, but its ankle slowed it down. The intruder was bearing down on it now, jaws open in a murderous rage. The youngling turned and fell on its bad foot, but at that moment, an old memory came flooding back to it: the elder and the bull. Its arms shot out and grabbed the intruders' neck and in a flash it swung itself up onto the creatures back. The intruder yelped in anger and surprise and tried to shake the young creature off. It held on and made jabs at the creature's neck. The fighting carried the two creatures toward a hill, and during a leap to rid itself of the nuisance on its back, the intruder stumbled and fell over the brink, taking the youngling with it. The elder, meanwhile, had been watching the whole event unfold, dumbfounded. It shook its head, regaining clarity, and slowly crept towards the hill, which had grown silent. It looked over the grass when a dark form burst out a few feet away. The elder turned in alarm to see?the youngling. It limped off for a few feet and collapsed as its ankle gave out. A small wheeze escaped its mouth and it lay silent.
A short time later, the youngling opened its eyes and weakly raised its head. Looking around, it saw the elder sitting a short distance away, staring intently at it. An inviting smell met its nostrils and it turned in the direction of the scent. There lay the cow that the elder had taken earlier. The hunger took over it again, and it quivered. It gave a quizzical glance in the elders' direction. The elder tilted its head slightly, its eyes making a motion towards the cow. The youngling turned and hungrily sunk its fangs into the cow, letting the blood flow over its gums and down its throat. Calming warmth overcame it as its strength returned. The elder watched it feed until it was content before moving in to feed from the kill. The youngling moved off a short distance, curled up, and slept.
It had wandered in the jungle for two whole days, but the goat finally found the trail of its hear and returned to the farm, where night had fallen again. It took a breath of night air and detected the slightest trace of something. Dry and leafy.The goat was caught off guard. The elder leapt from the cover of the jungle and went straight for its target. The goat fled towards the safety of the barn. What it had not counted on was the youngling leaping out of the darkness inside and clamping its mouth down around its throat. The goat collapsed with a gurgle and in the next moment the two creatures began to feed on their hard earned kill. The youngling looked up from the kill and gazed into the darkness outside the barn door. It saw a different world now. =Still dangerous out there, still risky, but no more inexperience, for though we are still young, we are not alone?=
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