Based on a true story.<\/strong><\/p>\n~~~<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cMa\u2019am?\u201d he ventured. \u201cMa\u2019am, could you please put down the shotgun?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? Oh \u2015 oh, yeah. Ah\u2019m wavin\u2019 it ever\u2019where, ain\u2019t Ah? Ah\u2019m so sorry. Ah know better. Ah\u2026it scared me, ya see, and Ah didn\u2019\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She put the shotgun aside, just inside the doorway. It was then that Kirtchner noticed she was weeping.<\/p>\n
\u201cMa\u2019am\u2026 are you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNO! Ah\u2019m not okay! Ah\u2019m scared out of muh mind, officer! Why do ya think Ah called ya?\u201d she exclaimed in a thick rural accent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you crying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Cause Ah\u2019m just so glad you came! Somethin\u2019 attacked mah house, an\u2019 Ah thought Ah was gonna die!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh dunno. But it was big, an\u2019 it was fast. An\u2019 it stunk t\u2019 high heaven!\u201d Her voice, already pitched high from stress, cracked and became whiny halfway through this speech, and upon its completion, she began trembling. Kirtchner came to her, sat her on the steps, and worked on getting her calmed down.<\/p>\n
\u201cShh, it\u2019s okay. I\u2019m here now. I\u2019ve got my gun,\u201d he patted his holster, \u201cand you\u2019re safe. What\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElsie Moore,\u201d she sniffled, glancing about in apprehension, studying the foliage past his squad car in considerable trepidation. \u201cUh, Missuz. Ah\u2019m a widder-woman.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you prefer Mrs. Moore, or Miss Elsie?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh dunno as it matters. Don\u2019t nobody ever come out here nohow.\u201d She shrugged. \u201cCall me Elsie, Ah reckon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine, Elsie. So, someone attacked your mobile home?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNO! Weren\u2019t no some\u00a0one<\/em>! It were a something<\/em>!\u201d she blurted.<\/p>\n\u201cShh. It\u2019s okay. How long ago was this?\u201d<\/p>\n
She glanced at a battered old men\u2019s wristwatch, then muttered, \u201c\u2019Bout an hour, hour-fifteen, afore you showed up, Ah reckon. Ah called right aft\u2019r Ah shot at th\u2019 thang. It musta run off inta th\u2019 woods.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh be damned \u2018f Ah know,\u201d Elsie answered, running the last three words together. \u201cThere\u2019 uz this turr\u2019ble smell, wild animal smell ya know, like a skunk, onliest it \u2018uz worse\u2019n any skunk Ah ever heared tell of. Ah got plumb nauseous, an\u2019 lost mah dinner inna trash can. Then there \u2018uz a horrible ruckus right a\u2019most up unner me \u2015 unner th\u2019 trailer, that is. Metal skreechin\u2019 an\u2019 bendin\u2019 an\u2019 somethin\u2019 roarin\u2019 an\u2019 howlin\u2019 fit to kill. Ah looked out th\u2019 nearest winner, an\u2019 there \u2018uz a big ol\u2019\u2026 thing\u2026 clawin\u2019 at th\u2019 back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA thing? What did it look like?\u201d Kirtchner wondered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAh couldn\u2019 tell ya,\u201d Elsie tried to explain, \u201con \u2018counta it \u2018uz half up unner th\u2019 trailer. Ah could only see its hind end.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026Which looked like?\u201d Kirtchner prodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike a big ol\u2019 furry butt,\u201d Elsie retorted. \u201cLong shaggy brown, or maybe black, fur, with some green.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGreen?\u201d Kirtchner straightened up, raising an eyebrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreen,\u201d Elsie reiterated, a hint of defiance in her tone now. \u201cLike\u2026 you ever read \u2018bout them jungle critters, them whadda they call \u2018em\u2026 sloths?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh. Yeah, I think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh caught part of a show on th\u2019 tee-vee,\u201d she said. \u201cTh\u2019 sat\u2019lite dish ain\u2019t worth much, an\u2019 Ah didn\u2019 see all of it. But they showed \u2018em, an\u2019 th\u2019 fur \u2018uz kinda green, an\u2019 \u2018ey said it \u2018uz \u2018cause moss an\u2019 algae an\u2019 shit grew in it.\u201d She nodded sagely. \u201cIt \u2018uz like \u2018at.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOookay,\u201d Kirtchner remarked, pulling out his tablet and swiping across its pad, taking notes. \u201cDo you think you\u2019re settled enough now to show me where it was?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mrs. Moore drew a deep breath, then popped to her feet as if launched. She reached inside the door of the trailer and retrieved her shotgun. It was a Winchester model 1897, he noted absently; a 16-gauge, to judge by the barrel length, and anything but new. It looked to need cleaning, too. He restrained a frisson of anxiety with an effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d she averred, \u201cbut we ain\u2019t goin\u2019 nowheres until you git yer shotgun, too. Ah knows as yew po-lice types carry \u2018em, so yew jus\u2019 go gitchers right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need that. And I have my pistol.\u201d Kirtchner was less than thrilled with this development.\u00a0If she gets antsy and shoots that thing, no telling what will happen,\u00a0<\/em>he thought.\u00a0It doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019s been maintained in a couple of decades. I wonder when this husband of hers kicked it.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201c\u2019At little pop-gun? Agin the beast what attacked mah trailer?\u201d She gestured at his holster. \u201cAh don\u2019 think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a forty-five,\u201d Kirtchner pointed out. \u201cIt\u2019ll handle the situation. Please put down your weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh ain\u2019t puttin\u2019 it down, mister. Yew ain\u2019t seen \u2018at monster. Ah did. Now, yew git y\u2019r shotgun, or Ah ain\u2019t a-goin\u2019 nowheres \u2018ceptin\u2019 inta th\u2019 house, an\u2019 lockin\u2019 th\u2019 door behind me. Yew kin take yer chances.\u201d Elsie tilted her head up, setting her jaw, determined to stare him down.<\/p>\n
So to placate the woman, he got his Mossberg, set up for 12 gauge, out of the cruiser. He made sure the magazine was fully loaded with magnum shells, and followed Elsie around to the back of her trailer.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
The scene that greeted him when they got in the back yard looked like somebody had attacked the rear of her trailer using some kind of giant, multi-pronged steel fork. The heavy gauge aluminum siding was torn to hell and back, and it was peeled away in several places starting from the bottom of the trailer and curling up its side. There were great long gouges, some longer than 2 feet in length, which looked like nothing so much as giant claw marks torn into the aluminum siding of the trailer. Even the insulation had been pulled out in places. Some of the gouges had what was obviously fresh blood smeared along the edges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today’s Holiday Parade features an excerpt from a paranormal horror novel by Stephanie Osborn — perfect for Halloween! But of course, it would also make a great gift idea. \ud83d\ude42 Interlude: El Vengador, by Stephanie Osborn by Stephanie Osborn http:\/\/www.stephanie-osborn.com Deputy Sheriff Michael Kirtchner gets an “unknown disturbance” dispatch call to a remote house trailer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[559,69,558,557,556,560,561,126,443,331],"class_list":["post-4025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-interviews","tag-books-recommendations","tag-christine-amsden","tag-christmas-gift-ideas","tag-gift-suggestions","tag-holiday-parade","tag-horror","tag-indie-author-suggestions","tag-paranormal","tag-stephanie-osborn","tag-twilight-times-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christineamsden.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christineamsden.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christineamsden.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christineamsden.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christineamsden.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4025"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christineamsden.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4026,"href":"https:\/\/christineamsden.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4025\/revisions\/4026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christineamsden.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christineamsden.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christineamsden.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/71pAA9PbOrL._SL1000_.jpg\")
Deputy Sheriff Michael Kirtchner gets an “unknown disturbance” dispatch call to a remote house trailer in the swamp. There, he discovers an old woman and a dog, terrorized by a mysterious beast, which he takes to be a bear. But when he contacts Game Warden Jeff Stuart to come trap the animal, Stuart tells him to get out if he values his life – this is no ordinary animal. Is Kirtchner up against a Swamp Ape\u00a0\u2015\u00a0a Florida version of Bigfoot – or something more…sinister?<\/p>\n