Chapter 4
Francisco “Diablo” Caseres saw a light in the distance. He had been trudging through this freaking forest for what seemed to him like an eternity. He needed to feed. He chuckled to himself, thinking that this must be what a wolf felt like when he stalked his prey. He wasn't just hungry for food, he needed carnage. As he scrambled further into the dense woods, he saw that a farmhouse was up ahead of him in a clearing in the woods.
He had needed these other losers in order to escape, but now it just felt like they were slowing him down. He made a mental note to kill them when he had a chance and when he was sure they had gotten away. As he approached the farmhouse, he looked to see if there was a clothesline in the backyard. If he was going to get far, he would need to change out of his prison uniform. It was still an hour or so before sunrise, but he knew that people in the country usually got up early, so he would have to act fast. He hated rushing this thing. This should be savored, like a fine meal. His skin prickled with excitement as he imagined what he would do to this family. What he would see, what he would hear, what he would feel. He loved to be there when a person let out their last breath on earth and he heard their soul escape their body with a “death rattle,” as he had heard it called. Diablo liked to kneel over the body of his victims and inhale the victim’s last breath, so he could capture their soul. He felt that this gave him added strength and power. He worried that these other two guys would try to steal the victims’ souls for themselves. If he stole their souls, would he become crazy like them? That thought nearly made him laugh out loud. Imagine, if he was as crazy as them, but with the power he now had? They were standing next to him, looking desperate.
There were no clothes on the clothesline, but when Diablo went to the barn out back, he found a pair of coveralls. Obviously they were used for hunting, because they were printed with camouflage. Diablo stripped off his prison uniform and put on the coveralls. They were a little small on him, because he was a large man. He stood just over 6’4” tall, and weighed 300 pounds. He had used almost every waking moment in prison to exercise and stay strong. He had seen too many guys get fat in prison because of the high carbohydrate diet and lack of activity.
Diablo found a chicken coop behind the barn, and grabbed a big hen. Before the hen knew what had happened, he had wrung her neck. He grabbed some eggs that were also in the coop, and put them in some of the pockets in the coveralls. He looked over to see where the other two guys had gone, and saw them peeking into various windows in the house. What the — . . . No way was he going to let them steal these people’s souls from him. He knew that soon the police would be looking for them, so they had better get moving. If he didn't have time to savor killing these people, he would go to the next house he found.
The Guard: Campground Stories Page 6
