...
Chorizo and Edwardo slept within the huge pile of hay in the back of the wagon till morning came. The owner of the wagon, a toad, rode all the way across the flat desert land and around the rocky terrains to where his home was, which was an old house at the edge of a town. He first came by the town to drop off the load at the general store. He went from town to town selling hay, and his last stop was always the town near his home.
"Buenos Dias, senor Roberto. How are you?" asked the store owner in Spanish. The owner of the wagon shrugged as he slowed the wagon to a stop and jumped out. The store owner laughed a small laugh. "Must have been a pretty long night fer ya, huh?" he asked. The owner shrugged again and grunted as he went around to the back and grabbed a self made rake strapped to the wagon. He laid an open blanket down for the hay to fall into and began to rake the hay out.
Chorizo and Edwardo were dead asleep, that they didnt realize what was going on till it was too late. Edwardo was the first to wake up from the rusty metal claws of the rake running its cold metal across his arm. He jolted and got to his feet. "Que?!" he said in a startled voice, but lost his balance and fell off the wagon. Chorizo went up from Edwardo's sudden shout, and fell on top of him. The owner of the wagon jumped back in surprise.
"Ay!" he yelled and raised his rake up. Edwardo and Chorizo blinked their eyes and winced from the morning light. They looked up when they noticed a very furious man with a rake raised high over his head. They quickly got to their feet and ran off down the small town while the toad yelled horrible words to them in Spanish.
Finally after a while, they realized that he wasn't chasing them, and decided to slow down and walk. As they walked through the town early in the morning, they looked around at all the pale white buildings made of mud, sticks, and stones.
The town's name was Taza de Polvo.
It was a small town, somewhat in the middle of nowhere, except for the mountains and the forest a good distance away. There were strange wind chimes hanging nearly everywhere above the doorways and strange symbols on the doors, which were just blankets and long fabrics, and windows...in red. The town looked old and weary even from the morning light that stretched along the cold dirt ground to the glinting windows.
Chorizo's stomach growled. Edwardo looked down and nodded his head to him. "You hungry?" he asked. Chorizo nodded. Edwardo looked away and began to scan the the town for a place to eat. He eyes found a small general store with candies in round glass gars in front of the window. He smiled a small smile and motioned his hand. "Come on. Let's eat breakfast," he said.
They entered into the cold general store. The owner was an old brown owl, sleeping at the counter made of stone. Chorizo looked around and realized that everything was made of either stone or dirt. There was no wood. When the bell was hit by the long fabric that was the door, the owl woke up suddenly and swivelled his head right and left. "huh? I'm up, I'm up!" he said and then noticed the Carnicero brothers. He stared at them with his huge amber colored eyes and blinked.
"Oh. Buenas dias, senors. How may I help you?" he asked. Edwardo came up to the counter and began to fumble in his pockets. "Si. Me an' my hermano were wondering how much this," he said as he fished out an expensive gold watch and slapped it down on the stone counter, making the owl jump. "Would let us have in the store," he finished.
The owl stared down at the gold watch in amazement and picked it up. He examined it for a minute before looking up at Edwardo. "Is this real?" he asked. Edwardo nodded his head. "Yep, as real as you and me," he answered. Chorizo narrowed his eyes a bit and looked away. He couldnt stand seeing his hypocrite of a brother use Elfonzo's valuables from his house and use it to buy food. It was as bad as outlaws. They did exactly the same thing.
The owner of the general store stared at Edwardo for a minute before pocketing the item. "You may choose whatever you like in this store," he said. Edwardo smirked and turned to Chorizo. Chorizo looked away and pretended to examine the jars of peaches near him.
After Edwardo packed his arms full of apples, loaves of bread, fudge, canteens of water, and a bag of chorizos for Chorizo, and walked out of the general store. Edwardo used his teeth to bite off a chunk of fudge sticking out of the bag and chewed it. Then he turned to Chorizo and threw his head out to the town.
"Come on. Let's go find a place to stay," he said. Chorizo silently followed.
They found a small building that was a small hotel out of an old drink cooler. The owner handed them the keys and pointed to upstairs. "Last room at the end...and be careful on the stairs," he said. The stairs were made of dirt, and seemed to be crumbling away. Edwardo and Chorizo walked up the stairs without any difficulty.
The room was small. It had an old mattress and a couple blankets on the cold stone floor. On one side there was an empty fireplace, that looked like it had never been lit in ages. Edwardo placed the bags of food next to the matress and stretched his arms out. Chorizo walked over to the window that faced the street, sat down on the dirt packed section that acted as a seat, and stared down below.
Finally, Edwardo sat down on the bed and fished out an apple and began to eat it. The two didnt say anything to each other the rest of the day, except for when Edwardo left to find the bathroom, then came back and sat down on the matress. Chorizo stayed near the window, staring down at the townspeople as they began to come out and go about their daily lives...
...
A week and a half passed and Chorizo turned fourteen. Edwardo let him choose a birthday gift at the old general store the next morning. "Pick out something that catches your eye," said Edwardo as he passed by him and went to the dirt shelves of jars filled with cherries in the corner.
Chorizo looked around in the small aisle of toys and jars of olives on the small shelves. He touched his slingshot when he saw another one similar to his but the leather pouch for the rocks was red, and it was made of plastic. Then, he spotted a plastic guitar and stared at it. He instantly felt guilty. It reminded him of Rinzo. Even though he was an outlaw, he was a great friend, and a great father if he ever stayed around long enough for him to teach Chorizo the things he never got to teach his sons...Chorizo wished he could have stayed...
Edwardo stopped and noticed Chorizo staring at the guitar. He sighed and came up to him. "Do you want me to buy that for you?" he asked. Chorizo didnt say anything. Edwardo sighed a bit louder this time. "Rinzo and his men are outlaws. Not the kind you would want to have for a family," Edwardo said. Chorizo sighed softly. "Rinzo was a better padre then Beto," he muttered. Edwardo narrowed his eyes a bit, but didnt try to fight him on that one. Beto was a real ass.
"...Even so, He would raise you to be an outlaw just like them. They would teach you to shoot innocent citizens, and the sheriffs from every town would be after you, and you would be running from town to town. Unable to stay, unable to sleep, unable to settle down and live a normal life. Always on the run...till they find you, and hang you for your crimes..." Edwardo said darkly.
Chorizo's shoulders sagged a bit as he continued to stare at the guitar. Finally, he turned away from it. "Do you want me to buy the guitar?" Edwardo asked, but Chorizo didnt sayanything. He walked away from his brother.
Finally, after a half an hour of searching, Chorizo decided not to get anything. Edwardo gave his brother a concerned look. "Are you sure you don't want anything? I can get you anything in this store," he said. Chorizo looked down at Edwardo's pocket which had a diamond necklace hanging out from it and narrowed his red eyes. He silently shook his head. Edwardo stared at him for a minute before shrugging.
"Suit yourself. It's your cumpleanos," he said as he grabbed the bags of food on the counter. "Can you grab the rest of the bags for me, Cho?" he asked as he began to walk past him. Chorizo stared at the remaining bags on the counter and sighed. He grabbed them and walked after his brother.
The two shrews carried the bags full of food of every sort from apples, potatoes, water, loaves of bread jars of jam, fudge, caramel, chocolates, tomatoes, and a couple chorizos. Chorizo and Edwardo walked out with arms of brown bags and sat down on the dirt ground outside of the general store and began to eat.
"Not a bad breakfast huh, Chorizo?" Edwardo said smiling as he dumped a glob of jam onto his chunk of bread and took a huge bite. Chorizo didnt say anything as he just sat there, staring down at the brown bags. Edwardo stuffed some fuge in his mouth and took a swig of water out of a filled canteen before realizing that his younger brother wasn't eating.
"Chorizo?" he asked. Chorizo didnt say anything as he just stared down at the ground. Edwardo sighed. "Come on, Chorizo. What's wr-" "You are as bad as an outlaw, Edwardo," Chorizo spat angrily. Edwardo blinked in surprise. "Que?" he asked. Chorizo's eyes flashed red. "You know 'what.' Using Elfonzo's valuables you stole in order to buy food. That's what an outlaw does," he said.
Edwardo narrowed his eyes a bit. "Elfonzo was the biggest asshole in Mexico. He didnt deserve all those nice things!" he shouted angrily. Chorizo bared his teeth a bit. "Doesn't matter who. You stole something, and that's wrong...you told me that yourself. You didnt want Rinzo to turn me into an outlaw and to not fall into doing what outlaws do, and yet here you are, with valuables that never belonged to you, and using them to buy us this!" he shouted. Edwardo stood up and loomed over his brother.
"Oh, so you want us to starve and live out in the cold?!" he shouted even louder. Chorizo got up and glared up at his older and taller brother. "No! But I expected us to find work and earn money the right way!" he shouted back. "Isnt that what we were supposed to be doing? Living like good, normal hombres?!"
Edwardo gripped Chorizo's shoulder and glared down at Chorizo. Chorizo tore his hand away from him and took a couple steps away. Edwardo stood there, enraged. Then he began to pick up the brown bags. "Fine! Do you want me to return all this shit?!" he asked through clenched teeth. Chorizo didnt say anything. Edwardo huffed and took a couple minutes to calm down.
"There are some exceptions to the rule. We are trying to live in a crazy place with banditos everywhere. It's not considered stealing if Elfonzo was paying for this stuff with illegal wagers and keeping a secret fighting ring on his ranch," he pointed out. Chorizo still wouldnt say anything as he stared down at the ground angrily.
...
At night, Chorizo laid in the worn mattress that resembled his bed, but couldnt sleep. His stomach was churning nonstop. Guilt, pain, and fear all rolled into one. Ever since he left his family, he felt that it was the most stupid thing he ever did. Everything else was still insane...but it all wouldnt have happened without him. His journey had been one crazy one...and it didnt seem like that it was going to end yet...
Chorizo rubbed where Edwardo grabbed his shoulder. It hurt so much when Edwardo dug his nails into it, but he didnt want to show that he was a crybaby and tried to take it like a man, but the look he saw in Edwardo's eyes, it scared him.
"Chorizo?" Edwardo asked as he came in. Chorizo quickly closed his watery eyes shut and pretended that he was asleep. Edwardo didnt seem to believe it as he sat down on the mattress next to him and began to talk. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you ...you were right about stealing. It's not right. I did it out of hate, I just wanted to get even with Elfonzo and show how much of an ass he was...and I'm sorry I took you away from Rinzo...I was just scared, that's all...I had a terrible experience with outlaws...and I didnt want them to hurt you..." he said. Chorizo opened one eye as he listened to Edwardo talk behind him. Edwardo continued.
"I was afraid that Rinzo was trying to trick you, and then kill you once you let your guard down...I also feared you wanted to become like one of them, Chorizo," he said. Chorizo opened his other eye and turned over to face his brother. Edwardo stared down at Chorizo and continued. "Being an outlaw isnt all that its cracked up to be...its a terrible life to get into, Chorizo...I don't want you to live that life," Edwardo said.
Chorizo sat upright and stared down at his hands for a minute before looking up at Edwardo. Edwardo's shoulders sagged a bit. "I wont use the stuff I stole from Elfonzo's place. Tomorrow, I plan to ask around in for a job," he said. Chorizo nodded his head, then he wrapped his arms around Edwardo. Edwardo stiffened a bit, then relaxed and wrapped his arms around his brother.
Chorizo felt tears come down his face, but he ignored them as he hugged his brother. Then he pulled away and looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry too," he said. Edwardo blinked. "For what?" he asked. Chorizo took a deep breath and sighed. "For calling you an outlaw," he said. Edwardo waved it off. "It's ok, Cho. I know I can be a bit of an ass at times...and I've been called worse things anyway," he said, then ruffled Chorizo's hair. Chorizo looked up at his brother and smiled a small smile.
Edwardo smiled back and yawned. "Well, I guess its a good time to get some shut eye," he said. Edwardo got up and walked over to the ground near the window. He laid down and adjusted himself before pulling the covers over his head. "Buenas noches, Chorizo," he said in Spanish. Chorizo stared at his brother before laying back down and pulling the covers back up to his ears. "Buenas noches, Edwardo," he said.
...
The hot days and freezing cold nights passed in Taza de Polvo. Edwardo found a job at the saloon, but instantly got kicked out the same day when he began to bad mouth the customers. He nearly got into a huge brawl with the owner, but he decided not to and left the saloon as fast as he could run. He tried asking around, but no one seemed to want or need a young man to help them with anything.
The bags of food began to get smaller and smaller. They were down to their last two apples and canteen of water. Edwardo sliced up the apples and placed them into portions so it would last longer. Chorizo decided not to eat one day when he saw the slices and tried finding ways to earn money. He washed windows and helped women carry items from the general store.
The long, hot days passed, then it suddenly rained. Edwardo laid on the matress, staring up at the slow moving fan made of dried old leaves above his head. Outside, the rain came down against the windowpane. Edwardo had started to grow a beard and his hair was long, as well as his untrimmed nails. He sighed and sat upright as Chorizo tested his slingshot out at a bare wall full of cracks. He placed a dirt clod he found outside a couple days ago and placed it into the leather pocket and took aim.
Smack!
The dirt clod errupted against the wall, leaving a dirt mark on the pale colored wall. Edwardo frowned a bit and stared at his brother. "Is there anything better you could do besides making the place look more shitty than it already is?" he asked. Chorizo lowered his slingshot. "Don't you have a job to get to?" he asked back with the same tone. Edwardo muttered something insulting in Spanish and looked out the window.
When night came, the rain had finally stopped, and the clouds parted. Edwardo rubbed his hands together furiously as he bundled up in the worn blankets. "Damn town...having a damn fireplace but no wood to burn. Shit," he muttered angrily as he pulled the blankets tightly around him. Chorizo shivered where he sat on the cold matress. Edwardo was right. There was no wood anywhere to burn to make the place warm up during the cold nights. It was weird. Why was there no wood in the town?
Suddenly, the two shrews stopped shivering when they heard something strange outside. They walked over to the window and looked out. The townspeople came out and began to light their lanterns. Chorizo and Edwardo watched from their room as the townspeople walked out to the entrance of the town, wearing strange brown robes. They stood at the edge of town, looking out to the dark forest that seemed to glow in the moonlight.
Edwardo and Chorizo watched the townspeople as they began to say something and threw a bunch of white things toward the forest and a couple held crosses made of old sticks. Edwardo blinked in disbelief and exchanged glances with Chorizo. Chorizo continued to stare. Gradually, the townspeople began to turn around and walk back to their homes.
"What was that all about?" asked Edwardo. Chorizo shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we could ask someone tomorrow," he said. Edwardo nodded and with that, they both moved away from the window and went to sleep where they slept. "Edwardo?" asked Chorizo. "Hm?" he asked from the little bundle of blankets. "Um..do you want to sleep in the bed tonight?" he asked. Edwardo shrugged. "Doesnt matter to me," he said. Chorizo looked over to the bed. "Oh...well, I don't mind taking turns with the matress."
Edwardo shrugged. "I don't care. You can take the bed, I'm fine where I am," he said. Chorizo nodded. "Ok," he said as he jumped into the matress. "Buenas noches, Edwardo," asked Chorizo. Edwardo laid down in his blanket. "Buenas noches, Cho," he said and fell asleep.
...
The next morning, the Carnicero brothers came by the saloon and looked around for Roberto. Roberto was the old toad who owned the wagon full of hay who brought them to the town without knowing. They told him their side of the story, and Roberto seemed to change his mood toward the Carnicero brothers and allowed them to come by his house anytime if they needed anything to help them.
"Senor Roberto?" asked Edwardo as he searched the saloon. The saloon had only three to four customers in the morning. The saloon owner narrowed his eyes a bit at Edwardo. "Don't you dare take another step in my place, nino. I banned you from comin' in here," he said as he cleaned the top of the alcohol stained counter. Edwardo narrowed his eyes back.
"I'm just looking for Senor Roberto. Is he here?" he asked. The saloon owner shook his head. "No. I didnt see him. He might be still at his house," he said as he looked out to the dirty yellow tinted window that looked out to Roberto's house.
-Roberto's house was the only thing made of wood and sat alone from the town. It was an original house that belonged to his great great grandfather, who lived on a farm growing tomatoes. Unfortunately, the farm didnt do so well, and the crops withered to nothing. A river flowed on the other side where the town started to take shape. Roberto had grown up in the house, and was the last mamber of his family, so he decided to stay in the house and live out his life till he "kicked the bucket."-
"Ok, gracias," Edwardo said. With that, the two shrews left the saloon toward the old house. When they got out of the town, and made it to Roberto's front door step, they noticed that Roberto's door had a bunch of dried up plants hanging around it. Edwardo hesitated before knocking. A couple minutes of dead silence passed before the two shrews heard the sounds of shuffling feet and the jingling of keys.
The door unlocked and opened. Roberto stared down at the Carniceros with reddish tinted eyes and fowl breath. He wore a long white nightgown and light brown wool socks. He yawned and scratched his side. "Si?" he asked in a gruff voice. Edwardo spoke up. "Sorry to wake you senor Roberto. If you want us to come back-" "No, no. It's ok, I needed to wake up anyway, come on in," he said as he turned around and walked back into his small house, leaving the door open for them.
The shrews hesitated before walking in and looking around the small place. It was warm inside, and had a strange musty smell. There were a bunch of collected human objects, consisting of a horseshoe, bits of paper, socks, and a couple rusty coins. In the living room, there was a worn leather sofa, a cracked coffee table, and a small piano stuffed in the corner. On the walls were dozens of pictures of Roberto's family and the forest.
Chorizo stared at one black and white framed picture that looked like a young version of Roberto's great great grandfather, standing right at the entrance of the forest near his farmland. He was smiling and holding an axe that rested on his shoulder. Roberto walked into the small kitchen and placed the kettle on the lit stove.
"Sit down, make yourselves comfortable," he said. Edwardo plopped himself down on the sofa and looked around at the place. "Nice place you got, Senor Roberto," he said, then his eyes stopped at an opened book lying on the table that had dozens of little photos and drawings of the forest. "Gracias. It was my great great grandfathers. He owned this house before I did," he answered from the kitchen. Chorizo looked away from the picture and toward the kitchen.
"Is this him in this picture then? Near the forest?" he asked. "Si, my dad told me how my great grandfather's dad would go into the forest to cut down the trees for firewood during the cold winters. Said he was a very brave man, and loved the outdoors," he said from the kitchen. There was a long pause before he continued.
"Unfortunately, he died in that same forest. No one knows what happened to him. He just went to go get more wood for the fireplace...but then he just disappeared, and never came back..." he said as he came out from the kitchen with a tray holding three mugs full of coffee. He came by to Chorizo and offered him one. Chorizo accepted a mug and held it in his hands.
Edwardo sat up from the couch and picked up the book on the table and began to page through it. "That is the reason why we came, senor Roberto. We want to know why the whole town seems to act so strange to the forest," he said, just as Roberto came to him and grabbed a mug from the tray. Roberto froze and stared at Edwardo before straightening up a bit.
"You guys havent been here long enough, huh?" he asked, but didnt wait for an answer. He sighed as he placed the tray down and grabbed the last mug of coffee and took a sip. Chorizo came over to where the two adults were and sat down next to his brother on the couch.
"The forest is very big, and has been here since my great great grandfather was a young man, and was the only one who ever entered into it," he said. Chorizo and Edwardo stared at the old toad. Senor Roberto took a sip from his coffee before continuing.
"Ever since he died, little stories have started up about a wild beast living in the forest. Since then, no one has even bothered to go in and cut the wood down...I bet you guys noticed on the first day that there is no wood, si?" he asked. Edwardo and Chorizo exchanged glances before turning to Roberto and nodding. Roberto nodded back and continued.
"Well, that's why. The town is afraid of the possible beast that lurks in the wilderness. They say its' the devil, which is why you saw them holding up those crosses made of old sticks, si?" he asked again. Edwardo and Chorizo nodded again. Roberto took another sip from his mug and placed it back down on the tray.
"They say the beast is something from hell, something that was more wild than anything, and cannot be killed," Edwardo's eyebrow went up in disbelief. "Has anyone ever seen this creature?" he asked. Roberto hesitated before looking down at his lap. "I did...when I was a young nino," he admitted.
Chorizo blinked in surprise. "But I thought you said no one ever went into the forest," he pointed out. Roberto nodded. "From the town. I'm not considered one of the townspeople. Everyone consideres me a crazy old hermit, but I dont care. I'll be the one laughing in their faces when that damn river on the other side decides to overflow and destroy their little dirt homes," he said with a smirk.
But then his smile disappeared when he turned his head and looked out the window toward the forest. "I can still remember what I saw fifty years ago...as clear as day...A huge figure...as black as night...with eyes as red as fire..." he looked away and stared down at the ground for a minute. Then he picked up the tray and looked down at the two shrews.
"I'm going to make myself some more coffee. Do you guys need any refills?" he asked, changing the subject. Chorizo looked over to Edwardo, who shook his head. "No, we are good. Gracias," he answered. Roberto nodded, then disappeared into the small kitchen.
Right when the old toad was gone, Edwardo turned his upper torso to Chorizo. "What do you think about the beast in the forest?" he asked with a sly grin on his face. Chorizo hesitated to answer as he turned his head to the forest. "I...I dont know...I mean...it sounds like it really does exist-" Edwardo snorted.
"Oh don't tell me you are scared, Cho. You cant be serious that you are buying all this. A beast in a forest?" he snorted with laughter again. "Come on. This is what Romero would be into. He would be buying every amulet and charm in the gypsy wagons just for this," he said as he gestured to the forest outside the window.
Chorizo stared at his brother with confusion. "What makes you believe that there is no beast?" he asked. Edwardo gestured to the missing section of his tail. "When we found out El Chupacabra was nothin' more than a human girl covered in shit," he said. Chorizo trembled at the thought of the girl. It didnt matter that the girl wasnt the real Chupacabra everyone in Mexico knew about; she was still as creepy and bloodthirsty as the stories that were told about the Chupacabra.
"But, even so, I actually see an opportunity," Edwardo said. Chorizo blinked. "What kind of opportunity?" he asked. Edwardo grinned, revealing his sharp, messed up teeth. Just then, Roberto came back in and sat down on the couch.
"So, what's goin' on, ninos? Do you have any more questions for me?" he asked. Edwardo got up from where he sat and grinned down at Roberto. "Actually, si. I do. Do you have your grandfather's wood cutting supplies?" he asked. Roberto blinked. "Um...I have his back up supplies...why?" he asked.
Edwardo grinned. "I plan to take over the job of wood-cutting. Since no one seems to want it...I'll take it...and I'll even hunt down that beast in the forest," he added. Chorizo dropped his mug, causing it to shatter against the dirt ground. Roberto's mouth dropped open. "Q-que?!" they both asked in usion. Edwardo smirked at their shocked faces.
...