by Sahara Foley
“We must get Mark to the hospital, John. You as well. Both of you will require stitches, I am afraid. Can you help me load the cage? We cannot, we must not, leave the Tescara here. I will return tomorrow in the light of day for our remaining equipment, but now we must load the cage and proceed to the emergency room. Come, help me please.”
Pulling Sagano to his feet, Alvarez leaned him against Carter, who stumbled toward the Blazer as if drunk. When Sagano was safely secured in the rear seat, Carter turned around to find Alvarez carrying the three cameras.
“We dare not leave these, John. They, after all, are our only record of this event. Come help me with the cage, please.”
Loading the heavy cage into the back of the Blazer was easier said than done, and, in the end, they turned the Blazer around, backing up to the full cage. Even then, it took all their remaining strength to lift one end and pull it enough to place it on the lowered tailgate, then picking up the other end and pushing the heavy cage into the Blazer. The Tescara remained motionless through the loading and bouncing of the cage, which Carter was extremely grateful for. He doubted he would have touched the cage if the creature were still awake.
Alvarez turned on the headlights and began driving north away from the field, as Sagano moaned from the rear seat. Carter turned to ask him how he felt.
“Like shit, that's how. How do you expect me to feel, John? Jesus Christ. What the hell is that damn thing? It ran right up the tripod before I could even move. Is it dead?”
Alvarez replied, “I sincerely hope not. We have made history tonight, gentlemen. We have captured a species that science did not know existed. The Tescara can be beaten now, I am sure. The tranquilizer dart I fired knocked it out. After further study of the creature, I am confident we will learn how to eradicate them all.”
From far away, Carter heard his voice ask, “When did you shoot the Tescara, Pete?”
“At the pool. Right after the creature squatted. That is when it jumped up and ran to attack you. The Tescara must have sensed you were there, and assumed you had attacked it. It never knew I was there. The dart had enough tranquilizer to bring down a charging rhinoceros, but it kept going for a good minute before succumbing to the drug. Quite a powerful beast, I would say. Yes?”
Still in shock over the vicious attack on his fishing buddy and himself, Carter's brain was trying to formulate an answer when a roaring, inhuman scream resounded from the cargo space in the Blazer. The scream was instantly followed by a violent thrashing that shook the whole vehicle. A second later, there came a tearing, grating sound and breaking glass as the Tescara burst through the closed rear window into the night. Carter briefly caught a glimpse of it has it flew out the vehicle, traveling close to fifty miles per hour.
Alvarez stomped on the brakes and spun the Blazer into a power turn. The Blazer's headlights spotlighted a brown ball of fur bouncing along the highway, then stopping in the middle of the road.
The Tescara rose onto its hind legs and screamed. Turning, it took off running, with a pronounced limp, into the darkness. In less than five seconds, the wounded Tescara was gone.
Carter stared in disbelief as Alvarez whistled. Sagano was down on the floor of the rear seat, making noises that resembled sobs.
As Alvarez started to open his door, Sagano popped up, yelling at the back of his head, “Don't you dare touch that fucking door. Get us the hell out of here, right now.”
“But the cage, we must see –.”
Carter placed a restraining hand on Alvarez's arm. “No, Pete. Turn around and drive us to the nearest hospital. There's no way we're getting out of this truck with that thing running loose. Now, get moving.”
Ten minutes later, as they drove onto the 72nd Street bridge that ran over Interstate 680, Alvarez pulled to the side of the road. The area was lit like daylight, and he pleaded, “Please, John. I must look at the cage. The Tescara is far from here now. We are safe. Checking the cage will only take a minute.”
Carter reluctantly nodded, and over Sagano's loud protesting from the backseat, Alvarez climbed out and quickly walked to the rear door. The window had a few slivers of safety glass still hanging from the frame, so he brushed them aside and pulled on the handle to open the door.
The heavy stainless-steel cage was a shambles. The one-inch thick bars were bent like so much cooked spaghetti, and an opening in the rear indicated where the Tescara had bent the big bars and escaped, bursting through the rear window. The big cargo net was shredded pieces of woven line scattered on the floor of the cage.
Shuddering, Carter thought the Tescara could just as easily have emerged facing into the Blazer as out of it. They wouldn't have had a chance against the stronger creature.
“The Tescara bent the bars, jumped through the window, hit the road at fifty miles per hour, and got up and ran away. I think we are lucky it just wanted to escape, my friend.” Alvarez said softly, which made Carter shudder again, and Sagano moan.
As they drove down 72nd Street, to the nearest hospital, they worked out the details of explaining Sagano's injuries. They decided that while Sagano was setting nightlines, he had fallen onto a barbed-wire fence. Carter, of course, had been cut while trying to untangle his friend from the barbed-wire.
Considering the nature of Sagano's wounds, the emergency personnel didn't buy their story for a minute, so Carter and Alvarez had to resort to showing them their police ID badges before Sagano could receive treatment. After two hours of stitches, then tetanus shots, they were finally released. Whatever the hospital personnel thought about how they sustained their injuries, they kept their speculations to themselves.
Back in the Blazer, Alvarez said, “My apartment is close. Let us go look at the video footage.”
Alvarez's apartment was in a dingy, little building, on the second floor. Sagano barely managed to climb the stairs. He wouldn't have made the climb without the help of the other two men.
Stepping into Alvarez's apartment, the unsuspecting visitors were confronted by a full-sized, stuffed Tescara.
As Carter and Sagano recovered from their terrified shock at seeing the beast, Alvarez explained. “As you can see, I put together a model of what I remembered seeing as a child in my village in Mexico. From what we encountered tonight, I was very close. Yes?”
Heart still pounding, Carter nodded as he stared transfixed at the stuffed beast. The stuffed replica looked almost like the creature they had encountered, but the claws were missing. The real Tescara had had three-inch claws, whereas Alvarez's version, of paper-mache and wire, with a shaggy brown coat, had no claws or teeth in evidence.
Before Carter could remark, Alvarez continued, “Oh course, now that I have seen a live one up close, I shall have to make some additions to my model. How long would you say the claws and teeth were, John?”
“The claws were a good three inches long, and the teeth were about two. Sharp and pointed, each one of them. I know. I got a damned good close-up view of them. Too damn close.” Sagano said loudly as he sank onto the worn sofa.
“Yes,” Alvarez agreed. “John, while I set up my VCR, would you get us some beers from the kitchen, please? I think Mark could use one”
As Carter left the living room to look in the kitchen, Sagano retorted, “One, hell, bring me a dozen, John. And the next time you want to go camping or fishing, count me out.”
By the time Alvarez had rewound the tapes, and had one ready to view, Carter had finished one beer, while Sagano was on his third. The thin Sergeant sat on the sofa next to Sagano.
Fiddling with the remote control, he explained, “I have set up the infrared tape first, because it is the only one that also records sound. The images will be rather fuzzy, I am afraid, being the nature of infrared film. If we have some decent images on this film, then we will see them better on the other tapes. Are you ready?”
By the time they viewed the third tape, Sagano was past caring. He snored loudly into the arm of the sofa, mercifully drunk. The third camera had recorded th
e identical images as the other two cameras. Carter was glad Sagano had passed out, as they again watched the image of the charging Tescara as it climbed over Carter and ran up the tripod to leap onto Sagano. The silent footage did not minimize the remembered hair-raising scream from the beast.
Quietly, so as not to arouse their sleeping companion, Alvarez rose and removed the tape from the VCR. He turned to Carter, asking, “Well, what now? We have evidence of the creature's existence, but will that be enough do you think?”
Carter drank the last of his fourth beer and opened a new one before he spoke, “No. I don't think so. As much as I hate to say this, I think we need one, dead or alive, to show before we make this public. What do you think?”
Alvarez nodded and softly responded, “Well, I do not think we will get near this one again tonight. But at least we do know where another Tescara is located, do we not?”
Looking at Sagano, Carter said with resignation, “Yes, Pete, in that house on 18th Street, where all of this started for me. I guess I should call some friends and organize a search party.”
By the time Sagano awoke, stiff and sore, the other two men had been on and off the phone for hours. They called people that were asleep, but once Carter explained to them what he needed, sleep was the furthest thought on their minds. The only detail that remained was to set up the time. Alvarez was insistent they meet the next night, because of the full moon. They knew the Tescara moved when the moon was full, but no one had any idea what they did, if anything, when the moon wasn't full. But Carter was pretty sure they were still feeding even when there wasn't a moon.
The time was shortly after ten in the morning when they drove into a fast-food place for biscuits and coffee. The scant breakfast was all they wanted, and Sagano didn't even finish his one small biscuit.
“Mark, I think you should go on home, and leave the search for the Tescara to us.” Carter told him.
Sagano lifted his head to look at his brother-in-law. He had thirty-seven stitches throughout his face and neck. The rest of his face had a crisscross of small butterfly bandages. He looked like hell.
“My ass!” he exclaimed. “That creature attacked me, remember, buddy? You're not the one who has a head covered with catgut and tape. I'm involved in this until it's over. Ah, by the way, guys, how are we going to capture or kill the beast?”
Carter turned to face him as he spoke, “I called a few friends that already have some experience with the house on 18th Street. I can't bring somebody into this operation cold. They have to be the few people who at least know something about the Tescara, though they've never seen one yet. So far, I have Mickosky and Daniels, neither of them knows much, but they were in the house before Flynn disappeared, then there's Pepper Kaslowski. Her partner back then, is on vacation, and I couldn't contact him. That's three cops we'll have with us.
“Oh, and I called the landlord, a guy named Carl Santantovich. He'll only be there to give me the key, I don't want him involved. I told him we're doing a continuing investigation. He's still pissed from the last time. Since then, he can't even get the wetbacks to rent his place. The house has been empty for over a year now. And my old friend, Mike Reames, will meet us there too.”
Sagano asked, “The guy that was your Captain and recently retired? Why's he involved in this? He must be sixty-seven, or so, by now, isn't he?”
“Yeah, about that age I guess. He's a friend, and was also a good friend of Flynn's. He wants in, Mark, and he's got guts, experience, and a gun.”
The gun part seemed to convince Sagano. As they drove slowly south, he asked, “Speaking of guns, John, ah, what kind of weapon do I get to use tonight?”
Alvarez looked at Sagano in the rear-view mirror. “Tonight? There will be no tonight. We go today, in just an hour from now. Our search party will be there by eleven-thirty, at the latest. As for you, I can give you your choice. I have several weapons in my Blazer, and one of John's people is at the lake retrieving the rifles we left last night.”
Sagano looked back at Alvarez in the mirror and asked solemnly, “Yeah, okay, you got an eight-gauge automatic shotgun with you?”
Carter shook his head, “Afraid not, Mark, but Pepper will be bringing some twelve-gauge riot-guns. Will that do?”
“How the hell should I know? You guys are the experts on these damn things, not me! But from what I remember last night, if it's able to break out of a cage, hit the road traveling at fifty miles an hour and get up and run away, then I don't think we're going to bother it much with our guns. Is there somewhere I can get a machine gun, do you thing? What about some grenades?”
Alvarez snorted and replied, “Or maybe an atomic bomb for you? We stopped one last night, for however brief a time, but we did stop the creature with a tranquilizer. I think we can stop one again, and keep the Tescara sedated until we have it safely contained.”
Sagano threw his unfinished biscuit out the window as he replied in disgust, “And how the hell do you figure on keeping it safely contained, Pete? That cage of yours should have held the bastard, no bigger than it was, but your cage sure didn't. So where? You gonna take it to the damn zoo, or something?”
Alvarez smiled as he explained, “Not exactly, but I do think we can freeze one of them solid. That will keep the medical people doing the examinations on the Tescara out of harm's way, as well as us.”
Carter elaborated, “Mick and Daniels are bringing a big container of dry ice, and several fire extinguishers. We know they don't like the cold, so maybe freezing one will work. I sure hope so; it's the only plan we came up with that could work.”
“Dry ice? Fire extinguishers? Jeez, John, this isn't a martini we're trying to chill here. This bastard eats people, man. We have to stop it cold.”
“Exactly,” Carter said. “I've read where they use big chemical extinguishers to flash freeze snakes and other types of critters. We were hoping if we could sedate one, we would be able to blast away until it froze solid.”
Sagano didn't look very happy. “In that case, I hope you're getting a truckload of the damn things, cause I doubt just one extinguisher will do much, except piss it off.”
“Listen, Mark, you can go home, if you prefer,” Alvarez said. “Once the drug took effect, we know the Tescara from last night stayed unconscious for around twenty to thirty minutes. If we can stick the creature with just one dart, I can inject additional tranquilizer as needed, until we have it frozen solid and packed in the dry ice. And today, we will have several tranquilizer rifles with us, so it might be hit with multiple darts. This is our hope anyway.”
“Uh, where exactly do we look for this Tescara, John? Somewhere in that house on 18th Street, right?”
Again, Alvarez answered. “Yes, but in the basement. The basement has a dirt room where I am convinced the creature comes and goes. The creature probably has tunnels to travel by, and possibly even a den or cave where it lives. We must go in after it, I am afraid. The last time I advised against doing this, but now, I do not see we have any choice in the matter.”
The rest of the trip was made in silence, aside from the occasional sighs and groans from the backseat whenever Sagano moved his head.
When they turned off the Interstate onto Martha Street, Carter mentioned, “Doctor Cathy Lewis, from the Henry Doorly Zoo, will be there too, Mark. She's an old acquaintance of mine from the volunteer security staff meetings where I'm one of the advisors. Cathy is the resident expert on the sedation of large primates. She's the veterinarian the zoo officials call to anesthetize the gorillas when they require medical treatment. Cathy was kinda skeptical at first, but I finally convinced her. She guaranteed me she'd bring along enough tranquilizers to put half of Omaha to sleep, and to help keep the creature asleep for as long as we needed.”
Alvarez stopped at the 24th Street traffic light. “Officer Kaslowski is bringing some special equipment she is checking out from the weapons room, and some other equipment she thought we might need.”
The Blazer turned north on
18th Street, and from a block away, Carter could see the gathering of vehicles at the old house. Alvarez drove up into the yard, and along the north side of the house to the backyard, where several people stood waiting. One was the pretty Pepper Kaslowski, standing with an older woman that Carter recognized as Doctor Cathy Lewis. Behind them, sitting on the steps and some upside-down, five-gallon buckets were three men, each in civilian clothing, but wearing their police gun belts.
Introductions went around for those few that didn't know each other.
“John, I would like to see those videotapes you mentioned over the phone. I'm afraid I remain unconvinced as to the danger involved, and well, the actuality there could be a species out there that biologists are totally unaware of.” Doctor Lewis jumped right to the heart of the matter.
“Sure, I bet we'd all like to see the tapes before we go into the house and search for this thing,” Pepper instantly agreed with the doctor. “I have a camcorder with a built-in small TV screen, so we can watch them right now, if you don't mind.”
Carter glanced at Alvarez, then Sagano. “I guess that's alright, Pepper. But I was kinda of hoping not to show these videos, in case somebody wanted to back out.” With a heavy sigh, he shook his head. “But that wouldn't be fair, so I agree. Here. Let's go over in the shade, and look at the tapes. Oh, did the landlord ever show up?”
Officer Daniels held up a key. “Yeah. About ten minutes before you arrived. Weird guy. He couldn't get out of here fast enough. Anyone want a cold beer while we watch? Mick has a whole cooler full in the back of his pickup. He also brought the dry ice and extinguishers. He could only find four extinguishers, but they're pretty good-sized. Do you think they will be enough, Captain?”
“I wish the hell I knew, Paul,” Carter replied softly. “Look everybody, we're all off duty here, and volunteers, so don't call me, 'Captain.' John, or Carter, but not Captain. And listen to me, people. After you see this creature on the tapes, if any of you want out, please don't hesitate to say so. Believe me; we'll understand. This bastard is damn dangerous!”