Demigods

Behemoth

Disclaimer: The characters, location and events are completely fictitious and any correlating occurrences in reality are utterly coincidental.

I stared at the full moon looming over us as I fantasized about the life I was going to have after we crossed the border. The harsh Bemeth desert appeared a lot calmer on this cold quiet night. The wind struck me with a dry chill which made me adjust my blanket. I pulled my son closer into my embrace to protect him from the cold. I looked on into the black horizon and wondered what Fate had in store for us on this journey. The chittering of the cicadas and the howling wind added to the mystery of this peculiar night.

"Sofia Gutierrez."

I turned to the man standing on the back of the truck with a notepad and flashlight. He nodded for us to climb onto the truck. I took a glance at the people standing around, half-expecting one of them to take my place. When no one moved, I climbed onto the truck and carried my seven years old son with me.

The truck smelled of marijuana and stale urine. I leapt over a few parcels of marijuana and sat in a corner at the far end of the truck. We watched on as more people mounted the truck. I wondered if they were all running away from their pitiful lives with hopes of building a new life in the strange country we were all going to.

Some of us were running away from poverty, some were running away from trouble, others just wanted a fresh start but whatever reasons we had for fleeing the country, we were all here on this rusty old truck, trying to illegally get into a country that carried all sorts of possibilities in its bosom.

Soon, the truck was filled with several would-be illegal immigrants. Two smugglers armed with semi-automatic rifles joined us at the back of the truck with the last two drove in front. Our journey began with three quick thumps to the side of the truck. Even in the dark, I could see the excitement burning brightly through the eyes of the passengers.

Fear and silence hovered over us like a dusty old tarpaulin. The vigorous sense of adventure injected my bloodstream with adrenaline. I could hear my heart thumping loudly against my chest over the mad howling of the dry wind. I pulled my son closer in a way that felt reassuring that everything was going to be better.

The worst odds would be getting caught by the border or getting deported eventually but we had hope and that was all we needed to pull through. As black as the night was, the headlights remained off with only the full moon illuminating the road ahead.

Suddenly, we heard a dull thud at the front of the truck and the tires screeched to a halt. The silence that ensued afterwards carried a strong sense of dread like the putrid stench of a putrefying cadaver. The smuggler on the passenger's side of the truck go out and walked up to the front of the truck. The headlights came on and the beam was a mix of crimson and white light. Blood was smeared over a part of the hood of the car.

"I think we hit something." The smuggler announced.

"What is it?" The driver asked.

There was a click of a flashlight. "I can't see anything out here."

"Well, get in. We can't afford to be caught out here."

The smuggler got back into the truck and we were back on our way. I could feel the tension around the truck beginning to settle as the passengers returned back to their fantasies of the lives they hoped to live. I relaxed and slowly began to drift off into sleep when a sudden nerve-jangling boom ripped through the air. The truck rattled and shook before rolling to a stop.

"What the hell was that?" One of the smuggler at the back of the truck bellowed.

The smuggler in front got out again and marched to the front of the truck. "We've lost a tire."