DISCLAIMER: I do not own any BPRD original character. I own just the plot and the OCs. I do not think I own Ruddy either, he has a kind of life on his own.
This chapter has no Ruddy in it but the guys from BPRD make their appearance. No warnings also, just some irony.
As for the challenge, there are some clues here. Not much really, just a kind of rough description of Ruddy's aspect, but it can help.
Enjoy!
20/10/2008: minor edits, mostly formatting.
Sheriff Jones was baffled by Jeremy Sherman's account of how he lost a cow, fell from his horse and got knocked by a red dog with ridiculous ears.
"He pissed on my hat!" yelled the cowboy, face flushed with anger.
"The bastard did it on purpose!" He waved along his soiled hat, which in fact smelled strongly of coyote piss.
"Are you certain of what happened?" the sheriff asked patiently.
Jeremy gave him a suspicious look.
"Were you drunk last night, Jeremy?" Though a good lad, Jeremy was quite fond of whiskey.
The sheriff had already had to frame him for driving under influence twice.
The cowboy bristled visibly. "I was perfectly sober! And I know what I saw. The damned beast charged my horse and did something weird to me and knocked me out. It was not a coyote, I swear." he repeated for the umpteenth time that morning.
"If you will not help me, I'll organize a search on my own and discharge a whole magazine of bullets between his blasted ears." the cowboy said with finality.
"You won't do anything at all, lad. Think about it. It may be a rabid animal or something like that. - the sheriff cut short his boastings and Jeremy paled – Let me call that Animal Contention number the guys from Washington left us."
The sheriff typed quickly a report, including even Jeremy's wildest ramblings about the beast and faxed it to a Washington D.C. number.
"And now?" Jeremy whimpered, frustrated, his vengeance ruined.
"And now we wait." the sheriff replied, seating himself again and putting his boots on the desk.
The fax started beeping and buzzing on Manning's desk.
It was the number the BPRD had given to the police offices in the guise of a special Animal Contention squad.
So far they had had a few calls, mostly for real animals on the loose: some bears, a tiger that had run away from a circus, aggressive stray dogs and an alligator, but no monsters.
Manning was actually regretting the whole idea of the Monster Hotline, as Red had dubbed it.
He picked up the sheet and read it quickly.
After reaching the end of the document, he read it again, not believing himself.
The guys from Texas must be joking.
He got up from his desk and left his office,heading for the library, to vent his frustration at the operative staff.
They were all in there, chatting and laughing so loud it could be noticed from behind the closed door.
He opened it and the laughter readily ceased.
"Hey, Manning, what's up?" Red asked, cheerfully.
"You look greatly distressed." said professor Krauss, with his thick German accent.
"Some sheriff from Texas sent this to us." Manning replied, thrusting the paper into Hellboy's hands.
Hellboy read it and started laughing out loud. "It is a joke, is it?"
He handed the sheet to Liz, who was looking at him with interest.
After reading it, she had a reaction akin to that of his boyfriend, but much quieter.
She giggled, hiding behind a hand, and passed it on to professor Krauss.
The ectoplasmic man started reading it out loud.
Yesterday night, around nine, Mr. Jeremy Sherman noticed the loss of one of his Angus cows.
Subsequently he mounted on his horse and tried to locate it.
He noticed some tracks and followed them for some time.
He thinks that the place where he found its remains was roughly ten miles apart from his campsite.
Noticing a rather large pack of coyotes he shot once with his rifle and rode right onto them.
Most fled but a beast remained and tried to attack his horse.
He described it as slightly larger than a coyote and having a reddish fur, long ears and a forked tail.
He is sure it is not any animal commonly seen in the region.
He reports having shot it, then seeing a flash of white light and blacking out.
He claims also that the creature has peed on his hat."
Professor Krauss made a strange muffled sound, which was probably a laughter.
Only Abe didn't seem amused.
He floated listlessly in his tank, looking pensive and interested.
"Has anyone noticed that Texas is one of the last places where chupacabras have been sighted?" he said.
"Chupa-what?" Hellboy asked, baffled.
"Chupacabras. – repeated Abe – A still unknown species of mammal which preys preferentially on cattle."
"Oh, well... - Red looked interested – Are they dangerous?"
"Red! Why do you still seem excited only by the perspective of danger? You have two kids to care after, now!" Liz scolded him.
Hellboy looked sheepishly at his girlfriend.
She sighed, fatherhood had not changed him: he still was the same irresponsible daredevil.
"All reports agree that chupacabras are not aggressive towards humans. They are shy, nocturne creatures." Abe continued.
Hellboy looked rather downcast.
"This is strange. - Krauss commented – The report here states that the creature directly attacked the cowboy."
Abe dismissed the objection with a shrug. "It was attacked first."
Krauss insisted "Have any witness ever reported that chupacabras moved around in packs with coyotes? I doubt it very much."
"No, they had never. In fact, chupacabras are believed to be solitary creatures, but there is no abundance of data, really."
The German professor still was skeptical. "And I do not recall they ever being described as red. I do not think this sighting relates to chupacabras."
Abe still went on, defending his thesis. "Most specimens were examined some time after death. Skin colour may change with postmortem events. It might be a chupacabras or something else completely different and unknown. But as you surely know, most times the correct guess is the most simple."
"Ockham's razor. Yes, yes, I know." Krauss acknowledged.
The discussion went on for some time.
It was pretty much an academic discussion, almost pointless and with both contenders holding fast to their positions and many quotations from renown authors.
Abe stated that it was not logical to postulate another unknown creature in the same area where chupacabras were repeatedly sighted, and Krauss replied that the differences between the other sightings and the current one were too many to be dismissed as casual.
They were polite, very polite indeed, but it was a kind of politeness that is often see in academical meetings where the most prominent professors think each other quite an oaf.
It was a very awkward situation for the bystanders, who didn't understand why the two of them were arguing after all, and didn't catch half the references they made.
"I'm starting to feel stupid..." Manning said.
Hellboy and Liz did not reply, but their silence and the look they gave him spoke volumes.
"It is quite unnerving, indeed." Liz added.
Hellboy nodded.
He stepped between the two contenders and interrupted them.
"Hey, guys, there is no need to argue, right? - he said, confidently – There is a dog-thing on the loose in Texas. it doesn't matter what it is and what it isn't. I say, let's get there and catch it. Am I right, boss?"
Manning nodded wearily.
Surprisingly, both Abe and professor Krauss agreed enthusiastically.
Liz however sighed and shook her head.
"And what are we going to do with the kids, Red? Surely we can't bring them on a mission."
Hellboy mused on the topic for a while.
"We can leave them to miss Honeydew, the nurse. She had a good time with them when we visited your relatives two months ago." he sounded pleading.
Liz shook her head again.
Hellboy looked like a kid with a new toy.
It was some time since the last they had gone on a mission and he clearly missed some action.
"Ok, ok. - she conceded, smiling softly – We will leave the kids with miss Honeydew."
"Hooray! - Hellboy exclaimed – Texas, we're coming!"
Any ideas now on Ruddy's identity?
Please review and make some guess. It does not matter if it is wrong.
Next chapter will contain more clues and definitely more of Ruddy and the gang.
