 César Irizarry is currently attending Full Sail University, working towards his BFA in Creative Writing for Entertainment. When he’s not writing, you can find him reading or singing. He prefers to write about fiction and fantasy but likes to explore other genres as well. CREATURE OF THE NIGHTAs soon as Josh’s flashlight hit its yellow eyes, the wolf-like creature arched its back and showed its bloody teeth. It only took a growl from that creature to make his body shiver, and a bark to freeze him on the spot.
“Do not move a muscle,” his father said. The old man stood three feet behind him with a riffle in hand. He began to raise the gun when the creature’s growl intensified. “When I tell you to dock, dock,” Mr. Damsels said. Josh was sweating cold. Shivers ran up and down his spine whenever the creature barked. When it did, it spilled blood and saliva from its mouth, making Josh’s stomach turn. “Dock,” he heard his father say. When Josh docked, Mr. Damsels fired his riffle. One of the bullets missed, but the other managed to hit it. Josh covered his ears when the creature whined, but watched it vanish into the darkness of the barn. Mr. Damsels wasted no time to reload and follow that thing into the barn. Josh, despite having nothing but a flashlight and a baseball bat, followed his father. The commotion of the horses inside of the barn was a sign that the animal, or creature, was still there. “Turn on the light,” his father said, and Josh obeyed. The barn lit up and they finally took a good look at the creature in the middle of the barn. It had pointy ears and a long snout. It was half the size of a horse with black fur and long front legs. It took a defensive stance, ready to attack any moment. Mr. Damsels wasted no time, he aimed and shot at the creature a couple of times. The animal moved fast, nearly dodging every shot fired. When Mr. Damsels’ riffle emptied, the creature ran further into the barn. A trail of blood led the way into its whereabouts. With only three bullets left in his pocket, Mr. Damsels ventured into the darkest part of the barn to end the life of that vile creature. From the barn’s doors, Josh watched his father vanish into the shadows and waited. There was nothing but silence and a stare off between the darkness at the other side of the barn and Josh. He readjusted his grip of the bat several times to fight off the urge to bite his nails. Instead, he chewed his lower lip as the wait grew longer. His shirt was damped in sweat, his body shivered in uncertainty, and the knot inside his throat make it hard to swallow. “Dad,” Josh said. A shot was fired. The cries and growls echoed through the barn. Another shot, another whine, and before Josh could say something else, the thing ran out of the shadows toward the doors. Josh tightened his grip on the bat, and when it came near enough, he took a swing and connected it to the side of the creature. The hit cracked the baseball bat, but it didn’t stop the creature from escaping the place. “Where did it go?” Mr. Damsels asked. He was lumping but determined. Josh pointed the direction and followed his father outside. They spotted it heading to the woods. “You are not going to get away,” Mr. Damsels said. With one bullet left in the chamber, the old man took a deep breath and held it in as he aimed. Once the riffle was steady, he took the shot. The creature fell to the ground, howling one last time. Josh released the air he didn’t know he had held. The blood circulated through his knuckles as he let the baseball bat hit the ground. It was finally over. “Go inside and call your mother, Josh. And tell her that we got another one.”
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