Midnight Guests by Amy Michelle Mosier, Amy Muniz (the reader ebook TXT) 📕

curious pinging sound. This evoked a growl and some grunting from the invisible air at which Para-ah-dee-ah-tran sighed and closed his eyes. He whispered some barely audible words up to Life Giver, pleading. If only to detach himself from the horrid creature and remove its physicality from his mind, he smeared soot on his fingers and drew the entirety of the creature upon the wall, drawing from the top its horns and round eyes down to its body, which was turkey-like in structure more than he previously realized, and finished it with claws.

It was another protracted hour as he reclined before he heard the creature's slow footsteps on loose gravel. He heard various sounds of movement, including the chirping of birds, which seemed so at odds with the situation. And then he was brought to his feet by a squeal and a terrific roar and there followed such a commotion, so rude to him, he half-believed that the mountain spirits were clashing with each other. Like last night, his heart raced. Did he dare look below? His knife felt advantageous so as he held it ready, he crept to the mouth. Slowly, he became stunned by the sight of a massive black bear standing on its hindquarters and swiping at the punctured creature.

Para-ah-dee-ah-tran had never seen such a fight as this, not even between two natural animals. The bear seemed to be the best enemy for this creature and his heart became hopeful that the bear would win. Both drew blood as they took turns alternatively swiping at and wrestling each other. But the bear was heavyset and lumbering and as it swiped and missed, the creature lunged with its head and impaled him with its horns. The bear wailed. The beast withdrew and its horns dribbled bright red in the morning sun while the bear lurched and fell to the edge of the waterhole. Woefully, Para-ah-dee-ah-tran watched the creature put a foot on the bear's shoulder and tear through his flesh with its teeth. It morseled on the bear as one morsels on berries. What a disappointment! If only the bear had won, he could have then handled the bear with ease. Entrails and organs were exposed and the creature ate its fill.

When it finished, he then saw the most amazing thing. The creature raised its head suddenly upwards to peer at him. The blood from its horns dripped terribly around the holes that he presumed were ears and its nose was stained with blood. Para-ah-dee-ah-tran's vitriol burned strong as it licked its chops emotionlessly and stared at him with the cruel insouciance akin to the animal kingdom. Quite suddenly, it turned away, making him flinch, and trotted off in the same direction from whence it'd come and all Para-ah-dee-ah-tran could do was watch in disbelief. The creature, good and fed, no longer held an interest in him. His fear melted away but just to make sure, he watched for a long time until the creature became but a speck on the horizon.

This was the moment of his escape and he swore a sacrifice of elk to Life Giver. His affects were scooped up and stuffed into the satchel. He made his way down to the canyon floor and stopped at the sight of the mangled carcass. The rite of passage weighed heavily upon his mind. Para-ah-dee-ah-tran approached the great bear, almost feeling a touch of pity for the wicked thing, before taking up his knife and sawing through ligaments and bones to remove a front paw. When it separated, he wrapped it in a blanket, thinking it unwise to declaw it there on the spot, and crammed the blanket into his satchel. With that, he took off running steadily in the direction of the canyon entrance which was so well hidden.

His strength abounded and he had a great expectation of seeing Nadah-neh-ii again and so his return trip passed quicker than the itinerary, as it always seems to happen that way. One more night was spent in isolation, which he passed half-way asleep. But the next day, he arrived at his village around noon, where he was cheered. A feast of white-tailed deer was prepared and Nadah-neh-ii promised with a beaming face to make a necklace with the bear claws. That evening, the whole camp was stirred as Para-ah-dee-ah-tran told them, with Itza-chu, Eskiminzin and the elders sitting closest, about the strange creature he'd encountered. His wound was proof. Believing in a pantheon of supernatural beings as they did, it was easy to explain and his story was retold generation after generation, even after they forgot his name.

Thousands of years later, white people came and settled the region. The mountain range was christened the Chiricahua Mts., part of which became a national park. Still, it was many years more until the canyon was discovered and aptly named Hidden Canyon, in which the white people first set eyes upon a petroglyph of a strange, bipedal monstrosity, hairy and awful, with claws and horns, and wondered at it. The Apaches were nonchalant about this discovery. Neither were they disturbed when an archaeological team went in to study the canyon overnight and returned with a story of ominous and inexplicable howls emanating throughout the night.

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Publication Date: 08-19-2013

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