It was a gloomy evening in a small, rural town in Tornado Alley. A large storm could be seen rolling in, although it was many miles away. The town’s name was Golden Oak, known for the extreme amounts of gold mining done to the nearby creek. However, there were no oaks in sight. They have been flattened from the tornados that ravaged the area for centuries. As the storm continued in, people began to hunker down, expecting the worst, except for one. A shadow crept around the convenience store, waiting for its moment. When a loud boom of thunder roared, the figure struck the window, shattering it. A woman was heard screaming above the howling winds.
Luckily, the scream alerted the neighbors, who then called the sheriff. He knew he needed to act fast. The sheriff’s name was Carlos Flores and he lived in the depressing town for sixty years and knew the signs of the storm. This one did not look good. As he ran over a dust storm began to swirl around them, only ceasing when the gentlemen stepped into the store. In the corner they spotted the old lady who ran the store, sobbing and shaking with fear.
“Mrs. Gonzalez, what happened?” he asked.
“I-I saw una Chupacabra!” she cried out. Sheriff Flores sighed. He knew Mrs. Gonzalez must have been seeing things, she was 82 after all.
“Ok, Mrs. Gonzalez, please describe what happened and what the creature looked like.”
“I-it was spiked and muy aterradora. It broke right through that window,” she said pointing.
“Alright, now we have a bigger problem, ma’am. I heard on the radio before I got here that an EF-4 tornado is on its way over here now.” Just as the sheriff said those words, the tornado sirens started blaring out their eerie, yet deafening wail. “Mrs. Gonzalez, do you have a shelter nearby?”
“I’m afraid I don’t, dear.”
“Follow me then.” Sheriff Flores grabbed the old woman’s frail hand as they hurried as fast as they could to the police station.
They opened the door to the shelter when they could hear a little girl scream. “Pablo? Pablo!” she yelled over the wind. Sheriff Flores urged Mrs. Gonzalez to stay in the shelter to no avail. They peered outside to see a girl, about nine-years-old, with blonde hair and a dust covered sundress.
“Little girl! Do you not see the tornado coming right towards us? Get over here now!”
“My name is Ines, not ‘little girl’ to you! And I’m looking for my dog named Pablo!”
The sheriff knew being out in the open with a tornado was very dangerous, but he reluctantly stepped out of the station to help her. Mrs. Gonzalez, who was destined to be blown away, stepped out, too. As a few minutes passed, the tornado got closer and closer, but Pablo was nowhere to be found.
All of a sudden Mrs. Gonzalez was heard screaming, again. “¡Ahí está el chupacabra!” Ines and Flores whipped their heads around to see a shadow slinking around a corner of a building.
Flores stared in disbelief. “My word. I could never have imagined that–”
“Pablo! ¡Mi cachorro!” Ines rushed over to find the Chupacabra. The “Chupacabra” was standing behind a sidewalk sign, tail between its legs. Flores now realized that there was no Chupacabra, only a large dog. The sheriff sighed with relief, only to remember their impending doom flying towards them.
“See Mrs. Gonzalez, it was only a dog. Now can we please get back into the tornado shelter because, I don’t know, THERE IS A MILE WIDE TORNADO COMING AFTER US!” The two others shook their heads and rushed towards the police station, followed by Pablo and the Sheriff. They made it just in time.
The tornado barely hit the corner of the town, leaving most of it unscathed. Everyone went back to their lives, happy for the most part.
Unbeknownst to them a figure with spikes on it back hid behind a lonesome bush, just outside of town.
