Coyote (Created: Part 1)

4

It had been another dull day of work, but thankfully, I was nearly done. Only one more, and I would have paid off the money I was given.

You see, I was planning to go on a trip to Haiti with other members of my church, and needed to earn enough money to go. Grandpa had been kind enough to pay a large chunk of what I needed in order to go.

In return, he asked that I spend a week working for him in order to pay off the money. I was happy to oblige. One more day, and I would have worked off the debt entirely.

After putting away my tools, I happily returned to the house, proud of my work. I was almost done, after all. Just one more day to go. The usual routine resumed again.

Dinner. TV with lovable old Kenzie. I even treated myself to a little bit of time on my uncle's PS4. Not that there was a rule against it, I just didn't usually play any of the games he did.

All the while, I kept seeing something in the corner of my eye. Something tall shifting in the darkness just beyond the windows.

Sometimes I would glance at them to see, but of course, I never saw anything. It bothered me, though. I had a good feeling of what it was, and after Daniel spotted an intruder, I knew that it was only a matter of time before it showed up.

I paused the round of Battlefront II that I had been playing and set down the controller. I had tried before, but this time, I was going to catch the creature. I was sure of it. It wouldn't escape me.

No, I had learned its little tricks. I knew what I had to do.

I pulled on my socks and shoes, then my black hoodie. I grabbed a flashlight too, though I would try to avoid using it. Once I was appropriately dressed, I slowly opened the door to the house and slipped outside.

Listening carefully for anything that might give away the location of the creature, I walked across the yard and toward the old, abandoned chicken coop.

I recalled that, the week that the animals began vanishing, one of the chickens that was kept in the coop had been stolen. There were never any signs of a forced break-in, almost as though the thief had opened the latch like an ordinary human.

I was about to hide in the corner of the coop when I was struck by a better idea. Turning to the back pasture, I observed the old watchtower.

A smile slowly spread across my face. It was perfect. I could see the entire back pasture from there, and still had a good view of the house.

The very front of the house was facing away and was thus obscured, but that wasn't an issue. The creature would have to come from somewhere, and I would be able to see it when it did. Unless it could vanish and apparate at will, which I doubted.

I climbed over the pasture fence, tiptoed through the knee-high grass, and stepped onto the wooden foundation of the old building. I grabbed the cool metal rungs of the ladder and climbed into the room above.

As I stood up and walked about, the entire building seemed to creak, and even tilt ever so slightly. I guess its safety had fallen over the years.

That didn't matter though. I had a creature to spot. I knew that it would show up. It was getting bold. It would stop by the house to leave another "gift" sooner or later. I stared at the house from the window of the room. It would show up. It would. I knew it would.

But it didn't. I glanced at my watch and saw that I had been watching the house for nearly three hours. The time was 12:17 AM. I gave a sigh, but continued to watch. I'd wait all night if I had to.

I didn't take any pillows or comfort items, for fear that such luxuries would cause me to become lazy and fall asleep. It worked, too. The lack of any sort of physical comfort kept me from sleeping, or from ever even dozing off.

Two more hours dragged past, but nothing showed up. But it wasn't dawn. There were still plenty of hours left to go. I knew that I was strong. I knew that I could spot it if I waited long enough.

But at last, my confidence began to dwindle. I rested my hands on the uncomfortable windosill, and then placed my head on my hands. It was terribly uncomfortable, but I was gradually becoming drowsy.

When the time came when my eyelids grew heavy, I had long since lost the will to stay awake. With a sigh, I allowed them to close as everything went dark.

It was about 3:15 when I awoke. Though I mentally kicked myself for letting my guard down, I realized that it was still dark out. I still had a chance to catch the creature.

As I slowly made my way up from my slumped position, a strange noise resounded. A creaking noise from somewhere within the tower. I couldn't tell if it was from the floor I was on, or from the landing below, but it was there.

It was a slow creak, as though something was moving carefully, so as not to be detected. Whatever it was, it had made a mistake though. Even slow, careful movements would cause creaking in the watchtower, and I could hear it clearly.

I finally made my way to my feet and looked around, trying to spot whatever it was in the darkness. That was when a strangely familiar smell hit me full-blast.

I knew it, but it was a hundred times worse than anything I had ever smelled before. It was the repulsive smell of rot.