Demon Seed

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Village of Capo Tepoca

Miguel entered his village just at twilight and headed to his home to see his wife and get supper.  After the long autobus ride and then two hour drive from Hermosillo, Miguel was slightly grumpy from hunger and his back hurting.  “I am definitely not as young as I used to be”!  He thought as he pulled into his driveway.  Getting out of his car and standing on shaking legs, he bends forward and sideways to loosen his back.  He sees his wife through the front windows of his hacienda and closes the car door to move ahead.  When he grabs the door knob to open it, he finds it locked, just as he has told his wife and daughters to always do when he is gone.  His pride in this simple rule being followed is quickly evaporated when he hears someone running up behind him.  A chill runs down his spine as he turns.

“Miguel, Miguel, you must come quickly!  Something bad has happened over at the dorms”!  A young boy named Henry shouts as he is running towards Miguel.  “I was sent from the Priest to get you as soon as you were back in town!  He wants you to come to the dorms immediately.  The Policia estatal have been called and will be here within the hour!  You must hurry”!  Miguel contemplates the boys urgent message just as his wife, Mercedes, opens the door.  “Miguel, your home!  I heard shouting but didn’t know you were standing outside the door.  Come in and have supper”.  Miguel looks at her and back to Henry and tells her, “I must go to the dorms.  The priest says for me to come quickly because there has been a problem at the dorms.  I will eat in a bit when I come back”.  He gives her a chaste kiss and heads to the dorms, followed by the boy and a fleeting sense of dread.

When Miguel arrives at the dorms, he finds utter chaos.  The Priest is standing at the back door of the dorms, holding a handkerchief over his nose and flinging holy water towards the building and mumbling prayers.  He also notices a couple of blanket draped bodies near a table and being pulled from under a large rock.  The rock was the size of a car and being lifted by a backhoe.  Miguel could see the lights were on in the building and could make out what looked like blood or paint splashed across the windows in several places.  As he drew nearer to the doorway, the smell was becoming prominent and the sound of buzzing flies more pronounced.

“Where have you been Senor Avalos”? The Priest asked accusingly.  “We have had a tragedy here and you are running off to see God knows what and leaving us to pick up the pieces of our young men!  What was so important that you had to be gone for three days”?  Miguel stood staring at the priest and the others and just shook his head and said, “I went to Hermosillo to take samples to my good friend Doctor Ricardo Rodriguez to see if he could find out what happened to the cattle from the other day.  Then we had to travel to the Universidad La Salle Chihuahua in order to use his equipment in the Horticulture Department to determine what happened and research samples I took there.  I had no idea this was occurring while I was gone.  Do not be angry with me”. 

The Priest just shrugged his shoulders and pointed towards the dorm building, looked pointedly at Miguel and said, “What about this Senor Miguel?  What punishment has our Lord God sent to us?  With the earthquakes, aftershocks and now this, we are a damned village!  Can you solve this mystery Senor?  Maybe you can before anyone else is killed or any other animals are mangled before you can solve this”!  Then the Priest turned on his hills and stormed off towards the church, yelling prayers and rubbing his rosary, leaving Miguel and the other villagers staring in his wake.

Miguel moved forward towards the dorm door and had to catch his breath at the smell coming through the door at him.  He took out his handkerchief to cover his nose and headed inside the building and into what he suspected to be carnage beyond his imagination.

So, there are the next five chapters I got written today.  sorry for not updating sooner but I've been under the weather.  I will try to get more done and on here by middle next week.  thanks for reading and voting!!!  Peace!!