Chupacabra
Authors: Roland Smith
FOR LITTLE NIK
cryp·to·zo·ol·o·gy
(krip-ta-z
-ä-l-j
) noun The study of animals, such as the Sasquatch, the Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster, the Chupacabra, kraken, and others, whose existence has not yet been proven scientifically. There are thought to be more than two hundred
cryptids
in existence today.
–
cryp·to·zo·o·log·i·cal
(-z-a-´lä-ji-kal) adj.
–
cryp·to·zo·ol·o·gist
(-´ä-la-jist)
noun
THE CRYPTID HUNTERS
Marty O’Hara:
Wolfe’s nephew. Grace’s cousin (formerly thought to be her twin). Thirteen years old. Brown hair, gray eyes, a foot taller than Grace. Talented artist. Master chef. Scuba diver. Mountain climber. Skydiver. He has spent most of his life at the Omega Opportunity Preparatory School (OOPS) in Switzerland. His parents, Timothy and Sylvia (the most famous photographer/journalist team in the world), are missing after a terrible helicopter crash in the Amazon rain forest.
Grace Wolfe:
Wolfe’s only daughter (although for most of her life she thought she was Timothy and Sylvia O’Hara’s daughter and Marty’s twin sister). Black hair, blue eyes the color of robin’s eggs like her mother Rose’s. Born at Lake Télé in the Congo. Thirteen years old. Small for her age, but a foot
smarter
than Marty. The best student to ever “grace” the halls of OOPS. Fluent in several languages. Habitual journal-writer (uses a Montblanc fountain pen and Moleskine notebooks). Lock-picker. Genius.
Luther Percival Smyth, IV:
Marty’s best friend and former roommate at OOPS in Switzerland, where they managed to get into a tremendous amount of trouble. Coauthor/illustrator of Marty’s graphic novels. Sleeps like a vampire. Eats like a wolf. Gangly, with wild orange hair. His father (Luther Percival Smyth, III) and mother are billionaires and often forget they even have a son. Expert computer hacker and video gamer.
Dr. Travis Wolfe:
Cryptozoologist. Veterinarian. Oceanographer. Cofounder and owner of eWolfe with Ted Bronson. Called Wolfe by his friends — and foes. Grace’s father. Marty’s uncle. Sylvia O’Hara’s older brother. Widower. Former son-in-law of Noah Blackwood. A giant of a man — just under seven feet tall. Unruly black hair, bushy black beard, brown eyes. Wears size-fifteen shoes. His right leg was bitten off by a Mokélé-mbembé as he tried to save his wife, Rose Blackwood, in the Congo. He now wears a high-tech prosthesis invented by Ted Bronson.
Dr. Ted Bronson (a.k.a. Theo Sonborn):
Wolfe’s closest friend and partner at eWolfe. Eccentric genius. Inventor. Recluse. Rumored to have not left the Quonset hut on Cryptos Island (where he develops his marvelous gadgets) in more than three years.
Theo Sonborn (a.k.a. Dr. Ted Bronson):
Has been with Wolfe since the beginning. Surly. Pugnacious. Obnoxious. Jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
Dr. Noah Blackwood:
Wealthy. Powerful. Owner of several animal theme parks around the world, all called Noah’s Ark. Environmental television superstar — but he is not what he appears to be. He hunts and breeds endangered animals and cryptids, and displays them at his parks. In their
prime he kills the animals, has them stuffed, and displays them in his private diorama. Father of Wolfe’s deceased wife, Rose. Grace’s grandfather.
Butch McCall:
Noah Blackwood’s henchman. Dangerous. Tattooed. Tough. Expert field biologist. More comfortable in the woods than he is under a roof. Sworn enemy of Travis Wolfe, whom he despises for “stealing” Rose Blackwood away from him.
Yvonne Zloblinavech:
Freelance marine mammal trainer aboard the
Coelacanth
. Spy for Noah Blackwood. Ambitious, desperate to work her way to the top in Noah Blackwood’s organization.
Dr. Laurel Lee:
Wolfe’s cultural anthropologist. Birdlike. Athletic. Former circus aerialist. Taught Grace to walk on a high wire to help her focus and overcome her many fears. Laurel and Wolfe are sweet on each other.
Mr. and Mrs. Hickock:
Caretakers on Cryptos. Wild “Bill” Hickock remains on the island; Melanie Hickock (Ph.D. in Egyptology) is currently staying in a condo on Lake Washington with their son, Dylan, while she curates an Egyptian exhibit at the University of Washington.
Dylan Hickock:
Sixteen years old. Caretakers’ son. Just got his driver’s license. He’s new to the Cryptos Island crew, but not new to cryptids.
Dr. Strand:
Noah Blackwood’s chief genetic scientist. As pale as an eggshell, with a prominent nose and thick black-framed glasses.
Henrico:
Noah Blackwood’s personal taxidermist. Lives beneath the central Seattle Ark, has not seen the light of day in many years, and has no complaints about it.
Mitch Merton (a.k.a Mitch the Snitch):
Former head maintenance chief on Cryptos; was Noah Blackwood’s spy on the island. Current assistant to Henrico the taxidermist — a job for which he is ill-suited.
Bo:
Female bonobo chimpanzee; orphaned and adopted by Wolfe years ago in the Congo when Wolfe and Rose were searching for Mokélé- mbembé. Especially fond of Luther’s orange hair.
PD:
Short for Pocket Dog; black-haired teacup poodle. Best friends with Bo. Jumps into a pocket upon hearing the word
snake
.
Congo:
African gray parrot who belonged to Rose, Grace’s mother, when she was in central Africa. Grace brought him back to Cryptos Island after their adventure with Mokélé-mbembé; he also accompanied her aboard the
Coelacanth
on the quest to capture a giant squid in the South Pacific.
CHUPACABRA
Chupacabra
is a Spanish name meaning “goat sucker.” A beast of legend, its actual existence has yet to be verified, although sightings have been reported in the West Indies, South and Central America, and the southern parts of North America. The chupacabra’s size is estimated at four to five feet in length. Its fur has been described as brown to black in color, and its head large, with huge fiery-orange eyes that appear to “glow” in the dark. Sharp fangs are said to protrude from its powerful jaws. Spikes, or hard knobby ridges, run from its head to the end of its spine. Accounts of a tail are inconsistent.
The chupacabra’s hind legs are powerfully muscled. The front legs are thinner in comparison, and tipped with three-clawed toes, sometimes reported to be red in color.
An opportunistic predator by all accounts, the chupacabra hunts primarily at night, feeding on anything it can catch and kill. As its name indicates, it has a particular taste for goats. Its victims generally exhibit two or three puncture wounds in the neck, made by either the fangs or the claws, and from which the chupacabra can drain the blood on which it feeds.
