Darkest Night

by James Cherry

  “You didn’t ask,” replied Marty and he shrugged in emphasis.

  The doctor turned away and took a series of deep breaths as he forced himself to calm down. After a few moments, he bent down and started to reach inside his backpack but paused and looked up at Marty.

  “I don’t suppose you have my ruler in your damn pocket?” he asked.

  Marty grinned. He shook his head and replied, “No, I don’t have your ruler, Doc.”

  The doctor resumed searching his backpack and after a few moments produced a ruler, pen, and notebook. He quickly moved to the track and carefully placed the ruler beside the strange footprint. After snapping several pictures he measured the depth and span of the print, jotting down the information in the notebook.

  Once he was satisfied with his measurements, he retrieved a small plastic bag of white powder from his pack and poured water from his canteen into the bag. He vigorously shook the plastic bag for a few moments and then poured the thin mixture into the footprint. With any luck, after about thirty minutes, he would have a perfect cast of the creature's foot.

  He did a few calculations on his notepad and did a quick estimation of the creature's weight. He scratched his head in puzzlement.

  "I believe the creature weighed between sixty and seventy pounds,” the doctor stated.

  Bo looked from the cow, to the track, and back again. He asked, "How can you tell the weight from this track?” He waved one hand at the footprint. “It appears to have been stomped into the soft sand as the creature slipped off the dead cow. Wouldn't that make it impossible to judge weight based upon the depth of the track?"

  "Yes, it would make it difficult if you went by the depth alone. If you take the span of the track, the wingspan and body length, which I gathered from the thermal image, we can come up with an estimate of the weight of the animal. The depth of the track is irrelevant. This of course is done with a formula used on common, modern day raptors, such as hawks and eagles."

  Bo nodded with understanding and Doctor Burch continued, "With three toes forward and one back, it’s a classic form of a raptor print. The print looks as if an eagle or hawk had made it, only much, much bigger. A large Bald Eagle would leave a track about six inches in length, from the tip of the back toe to the tip of the longest front toe. This track is over twenty inches long. It's obvious this is no normal bird."

  The doctor studied the track with interest as the plaster dried. The shape was slightly distorted due to the soft sand. Had the creature slid into the soft sand as it stepped off the cow, it was highly possible the print would have become elongated, exaggerating the size. He had no idea what kind of bird he had seen on the thermal image, but knew there had to be a rational explanation for what was going on.

  “Doc, just what kind of bird do you think left this track?” Marty asked.

  “I believe it was a chupacabra,” replied the doctor.

  Marty shook his head in disbelief. “First of all, I thought people claimed that the mythical chupacabra was a four legged dog like creature that ran along the ground, not a flying creature. Second of all, there is no such thing as a chupacabra anyway.”

  “No one knows…knew for sure what the chupacabra really looked like. In some accounts it was a hairless four legged doglike creature, other accounts it was a flying serpent. Who could really tell for sure in the dark?” the doctor explained.

  “All I know is that it’s a nocturnal animal that sucks blood from mammals. Chupacabra is as good a name as any for now,” the doctor finished.

  Marty scowled and said, “Fine, call it a chupacabra if you want. I still think all of this has a rational explanation.”

  “Fair enough. All I know is that I have never seen or heard of anything with a body configuration similar to what we saw on the film. It had four legs with a wingspan of twelve feet. So if not a chupacabra, what do you think it is?" the doctor asked.

  “Well, it is possible the distorted thermal image we saw were actually two birds. Two birds together would give the illusion of a ten to twelve foot wingspan and four legs,” Marty replied and pointed at the carcass. “I believe that cow right there was sick and dying. Look,” He pointed at the ribs. “She was in pretty poor condition, ribs showing and all. More tests would have to be done to determine her ailment.”

  He kicked the cow and asked, “You do realize that all the corpses we have examined so far have been sickly?”

  The doctor nodded in agreement and Marty continued, “It is conceivable that all of the corpses we examined could have been already dead or dying when the creatures attacked."

  "Bah, I don't think they were dead already. We saw the footage of the attack; the cow was obviously alive. As far as being sickly, yes. Most predators seek out the weak. You should know that," Doctor Burch countered.

  Marty ignored the doctor's comment. "Two starved Ciconiiformes cathartidae landed on the dying cow and started feeding. The track was obviously stretched when one of the Ciconiiformes cathartidae stepped off the carcass and slipped."

  “What about the tooth?” asked the doctor.

  Marty paused as he searched for an answer. He continued thoughtfully, “As for the tooth, I have no idea. It may be the tooth was lodged inside the neck from a previous injury. Who knows how it got there, and what animal it came from. I personally think it looks like a tooth from a small raptor dinosaur.”

  “So, you think Black Vultures are the birds we saw on the tape? That vultures are the ones attacking and killing the cattle?" the doctor asked as he raised one quizzical eyebrow. "Sounds like you are grasping at straws, Marty, my boy."

  “No, vultures are not killing the cattle,” answered Marty. “Someone is killing them. Did you go out into the field and check for dead cattle before we set up for the night at our observation post?"

  The doctor fumed, "I already told you, the cattle were not dead before the attacks. Ayako is a veterinarian and she placed the time of death at just a few hours before we examined the corpses. Don't you . . ."

  Marty interrupted, "It may be that the cattle were already wounded and lying out there dying. They may have been sickly because of gunshot or arrow wounds. The vultures were attracted to the blood on the neck wounds and started feeding on the neck area.”

  Marty paused in thought before continuing, “I think we should check with the local villagers. Some of them are still using bows as hunting tools.”

  Doctor Burch opened his mouth as if to speak and Marty shrugged and continued, “Hell, who knows, maybe a mean ass kid is shooting the cattle for fun? Maybe they are tired of the cattle encroaching on their land and are trying to scare the cattle farmers away?”

  “But…” the doctor started.

  Marty cut him off again, “There is a more mundane answer to this riddle than assuming a chupacabra attacked here. That's very unscientific of you, Doc. You are the one grasping at straws here. We really need more evidence before we proceed.”

  The doctor reluctantly agreed, “Well, Marty, you are right about needing more evidence.”

  “Of course I am right,” Marty replied.

  “Then why don’t you go out to the local village tomorrow and find out if anyone is shooting cattle with arrows made from raptor teeth," the doctor chided. "Answer this one question though. Have you ever heard of a vulture feeding at night?" The doctor hoped this question would stump Marty and force a change of mind.

  “Well, no. It has been well documented that due to various factors such as human or natural alteration of the geography, topography, climate change, or lack of food, that some species have actually changed their feeding, mating, and nesting patterns to adapt. It may be that these birds were forced to change their habits due to some unforeseen reason. It may be the birds have some kind of sickness altering their behavior, making them aggressive,” said Marty.

  The doctor suddenly remembered a valuable piece of data that he had collected earlier. "So you say a bird attacked the cattle. How come the thermal imaging showed a cold-blooded creat
ure?” he asked. “Modern birds are warm-blooded, you said so yourself."

  "The feathers were probably interfering with the heat signature and gave us a false reading," retorted Marty.

  Doctor Burch chuckled and shook his head in resignation. “Marty, it’s obvious you have an answer for everything. You go work on your theory, I will work on mine, and we will see who is right in the end.”

  “Don’t worry, Doc. I plan on making an ass out of you,” said Marty. He paused in thought before continuing, “Since we are on the subject, how long you think the chupacabra have been around? Why have they just popped up recently?”

  The doctor pressed a finger gently into the top of the plaster mold to check if it was ready. Unsatisfied, he sat back on his heels and turned to face the young man.

  “Well, the chupacabra have been around for a long time. There are ancient stories that go back to the beginning of human history, which speak of huge flying creatures. Stories from the Native Americans speak of the Thunderbird, which was a huge bird that was said to have caught whales for food. There are stories of the Roc from the Middle East, which was also a huge bird that would catch elephants and eat them. In almost all accounts, attacks happened at night. " The doctor paused to let the information sink in. "Have you ever heard of vampires?”

  Marty smiled and nodded. “Who hasn’t? What the hell does Count Dracula have to do with anything?”

  The doctor, expecting this remark, continued, “Well, it is possible a chupacabra gave rise to the vampire legend. A bloodsucker which only comes out at night? Think about it for a moment. Vampires are portrayed as demonic figures, capable of transforming into bat-like creatures and flying away and they have an immense aversion to daylight. Now, we both know that most myths have some basis in truth. It is possible that encounters with chupacabras caused the indigenous people in early Europe to tell horror tales of this flying creature. After centuries of storytelling, the story evolved into what we know about them today. We all know how the human imagination works, if we don’t like a certain part of a story, we change it to suit us. If we can't explain it, we embellish. Cultural factors influence stories as well.”

  Marty replied, “But it is well-known that Bram Stoker started the legend. In his book he modeled Dracula after Vlad the Impaler.”

  The doctor explained slowly, emphasizing each word, “Bram Stoker did not start the legend, he just wrote about it.”

  Checking the plaster cast, the doctor noted that it was almost dry. He continued, “Bram Stoker associated vampires with Vlad the Impaler, who was a real life Romanian Prince in the mid fourteen hundreds. I am talking about vampires in general. The legend of the vampire goes back a lot farther than Bram Stoker’s book, which was written in 1897. Dracul means devil in Romanian. Dracul also means dragon. My theory is that early humans had encounters with these bloodsuckers. Not knowing any other way to explain them, they called them dragons, vampires, succubae, or a host of other names."

  Marty laughed and folded his arms across his chest. “You mean to tell me we are vampire hunting?" He continued to laugh as tears rolled down his face. He shouted, "Get out the wooden stakes, pull out the garlic, douse your body with holy water, we are vampire hunting!"

  “Marty, just listen,” pleaded the doctor. He waited a moment for Marty to quiet down before he continued, “You asked for my theory, and I am telling it to you. Vampire legends exist in every culture. Blood sucking creatures in Africa are called asasabonsam. Lamias are half-snake, half-human bloodsuckers of ancient Greece. Ch’Iang shih is the word for Chinese vampires. The Indians have two different myths. One is the rakshasa, a half-man, half-animal bloodsucker. The other is a myth of a half-man, half-bat called the baital." The doctor put a finger in Marty’s face, wagged it from side to side, and continued, “These creatures did exist, and still do exist. Maybe not in the way the myths portrayed them, but they are real nonetheless. They are not magical creatures, undead, or possessed spirits. They are real mundane creatures made of flesh and blood and classifiable as either reptile or bird. I personally think they may be the evolutionary link between birds and dinosaurs. These creatures are simply just an undiscovered species.”

  “Okay, let’s say you are on to something, and everything you say is true. Vampires do exist and are really a new nocturnal species of bloodsucking bird, which gave rise to the myth of the vampire. Why is it that no one has ever captured one before or found a dead body? What about fossilized evidence?” Marty challenged.

  The doctor explained, “As far as fossil evidence is concerned, bird fossils are rarely found due to the fragility of the bones. A far as finding a dead one goes, it's entirely possible the creature flies off to die in remote places, maybe high up on mountaintops. Most animals do go off to die alone and their carcasses are never found. It’s also possible people have discovered remains but didn’t report it simply because they were unaware of exactly what they found. Also, this creature may be so rare that the bodies are not just lying everywhere to be picked up by just anyone. Maybe other chupacabras eat their dead or perhaps they may even bury their dead. I know that is a bit far-fetched, but who knows? We know very little about this creature other than what we have learned in the last couple of days and what we know from myth and legend."

  The doctor thought for a moment as he searched for a real life example. "Rumors abounded about the giant squid for years before an actual carcass was finally turned in to someone within the scientific community. Sailors had spotted krakens or tentacled sea monsters at sea for hundreds of years. Modern day scientists dismissed the stories as myth or legend. Now we know giant squids do in fact exist. Once scientists learned more about them, they have found hundreds of corpses. They have dissected, studied, and captured them by the dozens in nets. And only in the last few years has a scientist been able to capture one live on tape within their natural environment. We knew they existed, so why did it take so long to prove their existence?"

  The doctor paused to let his point sink in and continued, "And we know it is hard to capture on film a nocturnal flying creature which we know nothing about. Yet we have done just that. Once we learn the creature’s pattern, we can better prepare to capture one in the flesh to study it in more detail.”

  The doctor tapped on the plaster. Satisfied it had cured he slowly pried it out of the track.

  Chapter 5

  Ayako and Ron waited impatiently for Doctor Burch and the others to arrive. It was getting late and the rest of the team was long overdue. Anxiety had begun to set in as the sun dipped over the horizon.

  She began to pace worriedly about within the interior of the protective razor wire enclosure. Stopping to eye the waning light in the orange tinted sky, she frowned. After the events of the night before, she was more than a bit apprehensive about their safety.

  Ayako heard Ron walk up behind her and he placed a reassuring hand upon her shoulder. In a gentle voice he said, “Don’t you fret, they will be here.”

  She turned to Ron and nodded in agreement. She said, “I am just worried something happened to them out in the field. They could have wrecked the truck or ran out of gas. It’s just not like the Doc to be so tardy." She looked away and continued, “I really don’t enjoy the prospect of them being trapped out there at night, or for that matter, us staying out here without Bo and his gun for protection.”

  Ron said, “I understand.”

  The faint sound of a distant vehicle moving down the gravel road brought Ayako out of her trepidation. It wasn’t long before the three men emerged from the brush and walked rapidly towards the observation post. She rushed out to the men who were talking excitedly amongst themselves.

  “What took you so long?" Ayako demanded. She turned to look at Bo, who was carrying a terminal clutched tightly against his chest, and pointed an accusing finger at him.

  “Bo, you jumped on Marty yesterday for being late and now you pull the same stunt today? I thought you knew better. You are supposed to be protecting David in order to mak
e sure he isn't in danger,” she scolded.

  Bo smiled and replied, “I apologize, I do know better. It won’t happen again.”

  The doctor stepped between Bo and Ayako and said, “It’s not his fault. He was rushing me to leave, but I just had too much to do." He put an arm around Ayako and led her away from Marty and Bo.

  “You have to see what we discovered in the last field,” the doctor said. “Take a look at this." With a dramatic flair, he pulled out the bag containing the tooth.

  “What's that?” asked Ayako.

  “It’s a tooth.”

  “From what?”

  “One of the flying creatures that attacked the cattle. I pulled it out of the neck wound of a deceased cow." The doctor struggled to contain his excitement and he took a deep breath. He added, "Interestingly enough, the cow that I pulled this tooth from was also in poor health. The nature of the wound is exactly the same as the other bovid remains we had examined.”

  Ayako gingerly accepted the bag from Doctor Burch and examined the contents through the transparent plastic. Her mouth dropped open in awe. “I honestly cannot say what kind of animal this comes from." She looked up at him and continued, “Did you get a thermal picture of the creature?”

  The doctor grinned and said, “Yep.”

  “Let me see it,” exclaimed Ayako in excitement.

  The doctor removed his backpack and fished out the laptop from the main compartment. Dropping his backpack, he placed the laptop upon the ground, flipped up the monitor, and pressed the power button. It took an agonizing few moments for the computer to boot up. As soon as the computer was ready, the doctor clicked on the icon to start the digitized footage.

  Ron moved in order to get a better look. He leaned over Doctor Burch and said, “What is it?”

  “Watch,” replied the doctor.

  Ayako and Ron watched in fascination as the scene played itself out on the monitor.