How Chupacabra Broke the Heart of God
by Frankie Saxx
1 And God said, Let us create a being in our image, after our likeness, for God was alone in the universe.
2 And so He reached deep into the firmament and drew forth the essence of creation and formed it in His own image. He shaped smooth flesh with a sheen that surpassed the brilliance of the fish that swam in the seas. He created for his likeness powerful legs, a leaping counterpoint to the creeping creatures that crawled across the face of the earth. He breathed life into his effigy and gave it his own voice, so that it eclipsed the singing creatures of the air.
3 And God looked upon His creation, and He was dissatisfied.
4 And God said, Our image is beautiful, but We are in aspect terrible also.
5 And so God reached through the dry land, through the seas, deep into the earth and drew forth the void, and from the void he formed quills and fangs and claws and bound them to his effigy so that in aspect it would be as terrible as Himself.
6 And God saw what He had created, and He was pleased.
7 And God said unto His creation, I will name thee Chupacabra, and so God released the Chupacabra into the world of His creation.
8 And Chupacabra went forth into the world and swam with fishes of the seas, but they were envious of his beautiful scales and they sank to the depths. And Chupacabra sang with the birds of the skies but they were envious of his beautiful voice and fell silent. And Chupacabra frolicked with the creatures of the land, but they were envious of his grace and fell still.
9 And Chupacabra became angry and said unto the creatures of the earth, If thou shalt fall into stillness and silence and hide in the depths at my approach, I shall give reason to that fear, and Chupacabra embraced the terribleness of his aspect and laid waste to the world that God had created.
10 No creature of the earth nor bird of the sky nor fish of the sea that came within Chupacabra's reach was left unspoiled. Chupacabra harpooned the flesh of the fish with his terrible quills; he tore the throats of the birds with his terrible claws: he punctured the creatures of the land with his terrible fangs.
11 This he did until the world of God ran with blood.
12 And when God saw what Chupacabra had done, He desired to unmake Chupacabra, but Chupacabra said, Oh Lord, I am as You have created me, beautiful and terrible, in Your own likeness.
13 And God knew what Chupacabra said to be true and that to unmake Chupacabra was to unmake himself, and so God banished Chupacabra to the dark places of earth, to the deep forests and the lonesome tundra and the searing deserts.
14 And in these places Chupacabra came to know the heart of God.
2 And so He reached deep into the firmament and drew forth the essence of creation and formed it in His own image. He shaped smooth flesh with a sheen that surpassed the brilliance of the fish that swam in the seas. He created for his likeness powerful legs, a leaping counterpoint to the creeping creatures that crawled across the face of the earth. He breathed life into his effigy and gave it his own voice, so that it eclipsed the singing creatures of the air.
3 And God looked upon His creation, and He was dissatisfied.
4 And God said, Our image is beautiful, but We are in aspect terrible also.
5 And so God reached through the dry land, through the seas, deep into the earth and drew forth the void, and from the void he formed quills and fangs and claws and bound them to his effigy so that in aspect it would be as terrible as Himself.
6 And God saw what He had created, and He was pleased.
7 And God said unto His creation, I will name thee Chupacabra, and so God released the Chupacabra into the world of His creation.
8 And Chupacabra went forth into the world and swam with fishes of the seas, but they were envious of his beautiful scales and they sank to the depths. And Chupacabra sang with the birds of the skies but they were envious of his beautiful voice and fell silent. And Chupacabra frolicked with the creatures of the land, but they were envious of his grace and fell still.
9 And Chupacabra became angry and said unto the creatures of the earth, If thou shalt fall into stillness and silence and hide in the depths at my approach, I shall give reason to that fear, and Chupacabra embraced the terribleness of his aspect and laid waste to the world that God had created.
10 No creature of the earth nor bird of the sky nor fish of the sea that came within Chupacabra's reach was left unspoiled. Chupacabra harpooned the flesh of the fish with his terrible quills; he tore the throats of the birds with his terrible claws: he punctured the creatures of the land with his terrible fangs.
11 This he did until the world of God ran with blood.
12 And when God saw what Chupacabra had done, He desired to unmake Chupacabra, but Chupacabra said, Oh Lord, I am as You have created me, beautiful and terrible, in Your own likeness.
13 And God knew what Chupacabra said to be true and that to unmake Chupacabra was to unmake himself, and so God banished Chupacabra to the dark places of earth, to the deep forests and the lonesome tundra and the searing deserts.
14 And in these places Chupacabra came to know the heart of God.
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Author's Note
After I read Tyson Bley’s "If My Boss were an Amusement Park" I wanted to write a story about the Chupacabra that broke God’s heart.
All the God stuff, I blame Glenn Haybittle and his King James Oracle for crawling inside my head that day. Well, that, and I love me a good creation myth.
And my deepest apologies to the actual, poor, beleaguered King James, which furnished my jumping off point.
(I originally posted this on my blog, but I've made some minor revisions since then.)
Other stories by Frankie Saxx
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I think you got this right.
"5 And so God reached through the dry land, through the seas, deep into the earth and drew forth the void, and from the void he formed quills and fangs and claws and bound them to his effigy so that in aspect it would be as terrible as Himself."
Well, yes. What a piece. Big like.
His time is come
"14 And in these places, Chupacabra came to know the heart of God."
Fave. :)
You are just begging to be one of the Left-Behinds. . . Well done. *
The last line really pulls it together for me.
Thanks guys, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Enjoyed this in all its terrible beauty. Oh, and irony, of course.*
"And God looked upon His creation, and He was dissatisfied." And we've all lived unhappily ever after. This is a wonderful creation story! *
Thanks JP & Beate. :)
Whoa.... I LOVE this. Poor Chupacabra... This is the perfect monster story in Jamsian English... I guess that's what you'd call this biblical style. I'm sending this to a Fictionaut regular who should appreciate it.
Steven Gowin told me about this. I love this. Also. I'm pissed that I didn't write it.
Lordy, I come to this piece after reading Black Friday and Chupacabra Blues and I am near mortification. Fortunately I hail from the Land of Insouciance and thus this a no unpleasant discovery. *
Steven, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Misti--I think that is the highest compliment one writer can pay another. Thank you. I read Neglect in Frigg. Powerful.
Mathew--your insouciant disregard for chronology is part of your charm.
This was a really good read--very interesting, throughout.
Thanks, Kevaughn.
Beautiful, ironic, and Love that last line. Faved.
Thank you, Kyle.
I liked it there I like it here. It's Aztec and I like that, too.
holy wow. Absolute fave. That was so rad.
I've seen a lot of writing that tries unsuccessfully to riff this basic story.
But "How Chupacabra" goes into the heart with harpoon hooks and pulls it up out of the water.
Excuse me pls for mixing me metaphors.
Thanks, Marcus and Bud and Janice.
cool. as ever.
but I want the book
Woe be on to those without the vision to view the richness of their creations.
"And when God saw what Chupacabra had done, He desired to unmake Chupacabra, but Chupacabra said, Oh Lord, I am as You have created me, beautiful and terrible, in Your own likeness."
>>Sigh<< I guess Gods are only human after all. :)
Excellent!
"Chupacabra harpooned the flesh of the fish"
Vivid, brutal, rhythmic. Kudos!
Great myth-making! You stay consistent to the form throughout, and weave a wonderful story. *
This is so cool
I really love how you captured the 'biblical' way of writing, without it coming across as corny or stilted. So good, entertaining, and a really interesting idea.
those are the big questions, aren't they? the terrible nature of god....
Always breaking each other's hearts. *
Just discovered this, and I'm glad i did. The dynamic is fabulously intricate and authentic.*
Please write a book. Now. Please. Thank you.