20 - THE HUNT

 

20 - THE HUNT

Zechariah and his two companions had been riding most of the day. A jaguar was attacking the herd, and they thought it best to look for clues that would lead to the animal. But they weren't being successful. The animal seemed to have a pact with the demo! No matter how much they searched for clues, they couldn't find any sign of the animal's passage. Well, at least she was only attacking the cattle… yes, the damage was great for the farm… they had already lost about five heads… but no one had been attacked… yet. It is true that the jaguar avoided confronting the man, because he knew he would be at a disadvantage... after all, men carried in their hands the thunder that hurt, and the big cat did not like the idea of facing that strange fire...

Night was falling and they decided to stop for their mounts to rest a little… and so did they… as soon as they dismounted Juca was already picking up the pots that were hanging from his saddle. He took some ground coffee, the dried meat that was in the saddlebag and some flour to accompany the frugal meal they would have that night. They did not intend to return to their homes that night. No. They had to find the jaguar, not so much because of the cattle, but because of the danger of attacking any unsuspecting person who crossed their path.

They had stopped near a lake, as they knew that the animal would have to look for water during the night, that it was its time to hunt… they just had to be patient. Soon the strong smell of coffee spread across the plain and the three friends attacked their meal. They ate, drank their coffee, Tonhão started to roll a cigarette, when Juca asked him not to, as he might scare away game. Zechariah disagreed. After all, if the boy's cigarette scared off the jaguar, what about his food? And the coffee? The smell of those two was much stronger than the roll of tobacco that Tonhão was chopping up to take a few puffs. After thinking a little, Juca saw that his friend was right, and let his partner smoke in peace. They decided to take turns resting, since the three of them staying awake wouldn't do anything... the first shift fell to Tonhão... he was sure they decided to punish him for deciding to smoke at that hour, but after thinking a bit, he came to the conclusion that yours was the best watch shift. After all, if the animal didn't show up, after they surrendered him he could sleep peacefully...

The hours passed slowly, the moon seemed not to move in the sky. But they were patient and would lie in wait all night… About midnight Zechariah came to replace the boy. Tonhão thanked him and tried to pull his skin over him, to dive into the world of dreams. And Zacarias stayed there, rifle in hand, ready to fire as soon as he saw the beast. Even he felt sorry for the animal, because he knew that the animal only hunted to satisfy its hunger, but did it have to catch just the cattle that were under its guard? Unfortunately for him, he wouldn't get another chance to attack the St. Helena cattle again. No… both Zacarias and his companions were ready to put an end to the hunting of that animal…

It wasn't the first time Zacarias had to hunt and kill a predator of the night. He felt sorry for the animal, but what could he do? If only the animal was content to hunt the animals that lived in the forest... but, no! As soon as they located a herd, they began to attack it. Of course, the losses at the beginning were insignificant… one head of cattle a week. The animal only came back to get another after it had completely devoured the carcass of the first one it had captured. The time Zacarias most felt the need to finish off a jaguar was when he hit a female that had given birth a short time before… the hunt was to satisfy the hunger of her cubs. He felt sorry, but that didn't stop him from killing the whole family. Both the adult jaguar and her cubs ended up visiting the green fields of Paradise much earlier than agreed. After all, he had to ensure the safety of his master's cattle...

Yes, being a guardian of a herd required certain actions and his heart didn't always agree with them, but reason spoke louder. We can say that Zechariah spent well over a month with his guilty conscience for the act he had committed. He loved nature and was in favor of letting animals live in peace. But if they started to harm the boss... well it was his neck or the animals... and of course he chose to stay strong and healthy... did he regret the act he had committed? Yes, of course he did... he couldn't help but regret having exterminated an entire family of felines like he had to do from time to time. But life moved on and his regrets were passing, along with the time that erases everything...

It must have been an hour since Zacarias had been lying in wait… a little more, a little less… when he noticed a movement among the foliage. He immediately became alert, as it could be the jaguar that was approaching. He picked up the rifle, put it in firing position, sights on the crosshairs, finger on the trigger, ready to fire... so...

Zacarias was prepared for almost anything, but not for this. About a hundred meters from where he was, a strange being, really strange, appeared sniffing the air. Zacarias tried to identify what kind of animal it was, but it didn't look like anything he knew. He was standing like a man. But it sure wasn't one. The hairy body, the face similar to that of a large bat, thin and long arms and nails that looked like claws... it was really something hard to believe that it existed. Very careful not to make any noise, Zacarias tried to wake his partners. When they saw the strange being, they almost cursed. But Zacarias's serious face made them understand that “it” hadn't found them yet. And everyone stayed in firing position, ready to send fire to the strange being as soon as their leader ordered.

After some time sniffing the air, the strange creature began to walk towards the place where the cattle slept. That's when Zacarias understood... it wasn't a jaguar they were after... their hunt was that being out of some nightmare...