The rattling Jeep swerved from side to side, bouncing as it drove around the potholes that pockmarked the dirt road.
"Sons of bitches!" Morazan muttered to himself and slapped the wheel.
The village of Santa Clarita was tucked in the forest of Los Tigres mountains- a four-hour drive from the city. It would take him longer to get there, however, given the conditions of the road. Morazan considered himself a good driver, but dodging potholes in the middle of the night on a precarious mountain road wasn't his idea of a good time.
As he drove along cursing his luck, he saw a rider up ahead, mounted on a white horse. Probably one of the local farmers on his way home.
He slowed down and steered clear of him to avoid spooking the horse. After passing him, he checked the rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of the rider.
A shadow jumped in the middle of the road and Morazan slammed his breaks. The car skidded along the road and came to a stop in a cloud of dust.
"Shit!" He peered through the windshield and found himself staring at a pair of burning-red eyes illuminated by the headlights. Oddly enough, he couldn't see any other part of the creature, only its eyes. So black the creature was, it seemed to absorve the light.
He beeped at it, but the eyes remained fixed on him with a menacing look. Morazan was surprised to suddenly see the pair of eyes dance up and down, side to side, and blink out in the darkness. He reached into the glove compartment and fumbled for his gun. But when he looked up, the creature was nowere to be seen.
He opened the door and with one foot on the ground, he stood there peering in the darkness. He turned to see if the rider was coming up the road, but both man and horse had also disappeared. Where had he gone? There was nothing but jungle on either side of the road. Maybe he had turned back after hearing the commotion.
He got back in the car and sat for a moment staring ahead as the dust settled on the road. Perhaps the creature had been a cow or a deer, he thought. Maybe even a monkey, like a howler. They lived in these parts, and that could explain the strange dance of its eyes before it disappeared. Dancing monkeys, yea, that sounded right. Ha! He shook his head and gripped the wheel. It was going to be a long night.
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