My encounter with the ChupacabraWhen I saw the Chupacabras
Traveling along Route #3 in the eastern part of Puerto Rico, I could notice there was something in the air that was not normal. It was Fall break, and having spend almost an entire October week in Puerto Rico while visiting high schools was definitely better than staying in New Jersey working on my junior paper.
As I neared the familiar Ford facilities in Canóvanas I decided to take the route through Loiza and stop at a kiosko in Piñones to get an alcapurria. I had half an hour more to make it to my appointment. When I stop and asked for the alcapurria I noticed a sign. Ants were crawling all over the counter, floor and walls. The owner started complaining that even though she had been spraying with "flea" (as she described it) since the morning the ants kept on coming from everywhere. I remembered the stories I'd heard from viejitos about these kind of things, I commented that it was a sign of stormy weather coming.
She interrumpted me and said:
-"Mijo, where have you been! Of course it is a sign of bad weather, and it signals a good season for avocados too. We are just coming out of the worst hurricane season we've had since Hugo".
I remembered. How stupid of me to say that. By trying to sound knowledgeable about these things I had just made an ass of myself. But there was something about this day I could not get a grip on. There was a strange smell coming from everywhere. The sky had an unusual brightness that day. It was my cue to leave.
-"Wait a minute nene!", the owner called.
-"What's wrong doñita?" I replied.
-"Be carefull. I think that what is out there
is something we have not encountered before".
Not knowing what she meant I got into the car and drove away.
That night as I watched the news I saw the doñita. They were interviewing a lady who was complaining to the authorities that her chickens and goats had been found dead and without blood inside. The doñita was there behind her, and in the background I noticed the Kiosko were I had been that morning. The next day the Chupacabras was all over the news: it had sucked blood form many animals in the east coast. That's when Chemo, Canóvana's major, decided to start the hunt for this, this..., this thing! "Chorro de locos", I said as I packed my stuff to return to Jersey. "Santeros, that's what it is... Santeros!," said mami, complaining about ignorance among everyone.
I went back to the island Christmas Day and the Chupacabras was still in the news. Chemo was still in the hunt, but this time he said something that everyone suspected, but no one dared to say. "I have proof that it is an alien", he whispered to the governor during the official welcome to the new year. That was it! I had to get to the bottom of it. I decided to sove this thing by myself.
I planned a trip to El Yunque by myself. If the Chupacabras was an alien, then its spaceship must have been abandoned in the Rainforest. Everyone knew that the place had been a landing spot for aliens since God knows when. Before I decided to stop at friend's house in Luquillo. He lived near what he described as "las tres puntitas", referring to the height of the peaks near there. I knew that if anyone had seen something it had to be him.
Omar came out as my car approached and asked about the purpose of my visit. I told him and as I did he shouted a "Callate, and come over here!" that left my on my nerves. Once we were inside he said "If they heard you we are in trouble".
-"Who?"
-"Shhh!...They are around"
-"Acho, come on tell me what's going on."
-"These,...these,... these things are everywhere , mano!"
-"You mean is not just one"
-"Vamos, how do you think they can be in San Isidro of Canóvanas and six
hours later in Patillas, and then again in Las Marías".
-"But...whoa... Ok, so what we are dealing here with is a group of what?
-"I can't explain it to you man".
-"Tell me are they aliens, are they humans, monkeys... what!?
There were no answers only a "Be careful".
That night Snoopy, my perrito, started barking like he never barked before. Maybe I was thinking too much about all this Chupacabras stuff. I should have gone to sleep. But I had to see what was he barking at.
At the neighbor's chickens den I saw something move suddenly and all the chickens fell silent. It was similar to the kind of silence you hear at cocktails parties when one of the guests falls to the floor by a sudden stroke.
It was there. Like they had described it. Thank God I was looking from a window. It stared at me. I could not move. It was like one of those nightmares where you want to scream, and at the moment when you open your mouth nothing comes out. And at that exact moment it ran away.
When the neighbor found his four dead hens the next day he knew that the Chupacabras had been there. I could not tell anyone that I saw the whole thing. No one would believe me. They would think I was crazy and dreamt it all. They would start asking questions: "What was it?", "What was it like"?, "Why didn't you yell something?". Nope, I wouldn't be the one people make fun of when they watch the news. I was not going to answer questions to scientists, doctors, police officers. Nope, I was not planning to become a character in an X-File episode.
It did not fall into any of the descriptions that had been told before. I could still smell it. I still remember that unusually lighted night. And I can still see it flee into the montes... into the night... into...
by Marcos Vigil 97Notice: For those of you oblivious of the words irony and fiction, what you have just read is a work of fantasy. A meditation, if you will, on the possibility of an other-worldly encounter.
