El Chupa

The room was dark and filled with a mildew odor. The florescent lighting down the lanes flickered on and off and gave the feeling of emptiness beyond its length.

BANG.

The last round roared out of his custom revolver and he jammed a thumb down on the call button for more silhouette targets. A small red light strobed above his booth.

click clack dink plink plink clack dink chink dink

9 shells fell from the revolver to the tile floor amongst the countless others shells of various caliber and cigarette butts. If this range wasn't the cheapest and least discerning about what gun you used, he would never come to this hole. The place looked as if it had never once been cleaned.

A Stocky figure staggered in front of booth carrying a tray full of thin plastic sheets with familiar silhouettes printed on them. "How many more?" Grift said in his familiar deep intonation.

"10 more." Antonio said as he pulled the gleaming shells from a fresh box loading his piece again.

Grift set the sheets down on the ledge and picked up one of the unspent rounds. "I've never seen anybody use silver bullets, well at least not at this range. I've seen every manner of round used in this alley from explosives to tracers, but you my boy are the first to use silver." Grift eyed the bullet carefully before placing it back in the box. "It must be one hell of an interesting story behind why!" He said as he walked back to his office.

Antonio loaded the sheets into the dispenser each one popping up at various heights and ranges down the lane. And with a cool exhale took aim...

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The sun was already blazing away at its punishing zenith, and the earth below him seemed to intensify the heat, damn deserts always got so fucking hot around this time of day. Beads of sweat pierced his brow as he lay in wait. There was no cover, nothing to use to hide behind or on top of just open plains full of unforgiving forsaken land. Antonio had made a small camp a half click back but was in his position. About 5 min from now the convoy would pass directly in front of him and all his suffering would pay off. Well it would pay off when he got the money for the shot, but one thing at a time.

Antonio was employing an old trick, something used for hundreds if not thousands of years. He lay in a shallow hole with a large cloth draped over him with sand piled over the top. The only part barely extending out of his den was the barrel of his rifle. After taking the shot he would simply pull the gun next to his body and wait. It was so effective a practice it still hadn't gone out of style even with all the magic and technology that existed. The real problem was of course if the convoy decided to go looking for him he could simply be crushed under the weight in his makeshift grave.

A distant hum snapped Antonio's attention away from his revere, he focused back in on the first sign post barely visible through the heat waves and saw a large black form slowly take shape just behind the yellow triangle. When the shadow covered the yellow sign he began counting and quickly panned to the next sign.

"uno dos tres cuatro"

The second sign disappeared into the shadow, he panned to the last sign and asked his rifles AI "What do you think VIRA, 15' North?"
A soft feminine voice with a Spanish accent whispered in his augmented ear "Oh mi amor, I knew the heat would get to you, its only 13' North. Ill set it for you baby."
The windage dial slowly turned back a few notches and his sight shifted to the left ever so slightly.

He peered down the barrel across a desolate landscape, the first transport flashed past, then the second. He exhaled smoothly tightening his grasp....

BANG!

He didn't have to see the window shatter or hear the screech of the breaks before he was fully concealed. He simply lay his head on the sand "Thanks VIRA, your the best."
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It had taken several hours for the convoy to finally call off the search, more then once Antonio heard vehicles pass by too close for comfort and even thought he had heard people walk past him several times. He stalked back to camp and dug up some of his supplies, he didn't dare make a fire in the early evening, he instead started to drink water and eat supplement bars.

Suddenly a rustling noise not far away sent a shock down his spine. He grabbed his rifle and with a careful gait strode forward. Just before reached the edge of the small ridge a shadow flashed past him at blinding speed and he winced in pain as his right arm was pulled up and out. Reeling from the attack he spun as he fell and grasped his bicep. The wound wasn't terribly deep but his hand was already covered in blood. He got to his knees and spun about looking for his target but all he could see was empty desert and darkness beyond.

He scooted down past the small ridge and placed his back against the warm rock. He sighted in on a sand dune a hundred feet away and all the sudden the figure popped up and ran for another position he took aim and let loose a pair of shots.

Bang. Bang.

The first clearly missed from the spray of sand, the second seemed to hit but whatever it was didn't even seem to loose pace. His target dove behind a second small sand dune, Antonio had never seen anything move so fast. He crouched and slowly moved along the stone to see if he could get a better shot. Again the beast appeared, this time charging directly for him. Antonio saw two dark red eyes wide with anger staring at him as it ran, yet it seemed to vanish briefly and reappear just as suddenly as it did.

Determined not to let it get to him he pulled the rifle close and fanned the trigger as fast as he could. A few rounds seemed to hit the black shadow and he saw tufts of fur explode off in every direction when it disappeared once. The last round landed dead center but it was upon him already clawing and ripping at his forearms and legs.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!

Antonio let loose a scream of pain as it bit down on the meat of left thigh, he reeled quickly and dropped the rifle to his side trying to pry the creatures jaws from his flesh. It seemed a lifetime later he finally loosened the jaws of the four legged beast and jumped back. The shadow in front of him crouched low like a tiger waiting to pounce upon its prey a long mangy tail arcing high above its body.

He snatched his rifle up and took a step back pulling the trigger he heard only a soft click no thunderous clap of a round being fired or the familiar jolt in his shoulder. He didn't need VIRA to tell him he was out of rounds. The shadow sprang forward and this time only succeeded to knock Antonio down. Although it was only as big as a medium sized dog the power and ferocity it displayed was terrifying. It stood on top of his chest snapping with fangs at his face, Antonio was holding it back with the rifle. Suddenly his adrenaline kicked in and he rolled the beast onto its back he stood over it and clubbed it over and over with the stock of his rifle. He heard it yelp again and again as he pummeled it with blows only relenting when he slipped backwards from the pool of blood that had collected at his feet.

Dazed from his fall and woozy from the blood he lost he looked back to see his defeated prey, yet it wasn't there. The ground seemed to spin as he swiveled his head looking for his adversary suddenly he saw it laying with an outstretch paw toward a hole in the ridge where he was crouching. Antonio shambled towards the body ready to bludgeon it again with the little strength he had left but saw those red eyes where staring off distantly.

Antonio slumped down attempting to collect himself and figure out what had happened, as he sat there for several long moments he became aware of more red eyes leering at him from the hole. The eyes watched him intently for what seemed an eternity and slowly two small black forms crept from the hole to the pelt sprawled out before them. They were no larger then rabbits, but were miniature versions of the larger beast. They had large deep red eyes and powerful looking bodies with a nearly black fur coating their bodies, the underside of the chests and lower legs seemed to have some scaling on them ending in treacherously sharp claws. The two pups huddled near their mother nosing at her lifeless body and whimpering.

When he left camp later that night to get some real medical aid for his wounds and inform his contact the job was complete, he heard the two pups hellish howls. Their lament upon the wind ringing in his ears, the blood curtling howl of El Chupacabra.