David and Goliath

Dave Langtry appreciated his new job with the US Border Patrol. Two officers dropped him off before dawn and set him up the path to his lookout point. He’d sat at his post on the rock outcrop watching the valley below for illegal immigrants all day. He’d only observed the cactus.

The sun would set soon. His companions said they’d honk their car horn when they returned to pick him up. They were late.

Time to stretch his muscles with some more pitching. He found a baseball sized rock and threw a curve ball into the spot on his boulder target. A string of bullseyes was chipping out a bowl, proving his skill.

A scream came from the valley below. A voice yelled, “A chupecabra! Run!” Men kept screaming and struggling up the valley.

Dave smiled. The hazing had begun. Could he pretend to be the Mexican legendary monster? The drawings he’d seen depicted the chupecabra as ‘The Creature from the Black Lagoon’. Yeah, he would scare those clowns.

From the valley came a roar. fake screams turned into terror. Dave saw an animal leap onto the back of someone and clamp its jaws on the man’s shoulder. The officer cried in anguish. He spotted two rocks and pitched them at the monster. The creature released its victim and growled at Dave. Dave found more rocks and pitched them. It roared again and ran on two legs toward him. Dave missed on his last throw when a gunshot knocked the beast onto its side.

The next morning, when Dave entered the Border Patrol Office, They gave Dave a standing ovation. The commanding officer shook his hand and said, “Dave Langtry, they are going to write a book about you; the man who fought chupecabra like David fought Goliath.”