Sangre De Toro (Old Draft - Now Published!)

Chapter 43 - Done With All The Bullsh*t

'No attempts for two hours! It's landing. Fuck. Fuck.'

With the plane rapidly losing ground, Rita kicked and punched the door in frustration.

Pepelito thumped his tail on the ground, grunting in discomfort as the pressure in his ears increased. He lay with his head between his hooves and his nose on the ground. Chicero, who was in less physical discomfort, having experienced long journeys before, reached through the bars and licked his back. It took away most of Pepelito's tension, but not the pain in his ears, the hunger and thirst rising inside him.

He watched Rita with his eyes half closed and wedged his front legs under the bars. In one hand, she clutched the metal pole in front of her. Even understanding the differences between humans, knowing she wasn't a threat, just after food, water or a way out, her stance made him wary. Chicero made to get up, and Pepelito lifted his head to nuzzle him through the bars, warning him off. Rita and Chicero were scared of each other. The thought of them fighting worried him.

Pepelito wanted to convince Chicero that Rita was more like a small cow who walked on two legs. What happened with the pole had upset him. It hadn't helped. But it had to be an accident, or because she was scared; far smaller than they were, she had no horns and could not defend herself.

'He can't get away with this. The police will be waiting on the ground. Won't they?' Rita gulped as she pulled herself underneath the barrier and crawled close to him. Her hand was that bit too tense and hard as it rested against his back; he sat up on his front feet, wishing for once he could lie on his own. She really was frightened. The ride became bumpier; the air felt hotter. The wheels slammed into the runway. She tripped and fell forwards, scraping her hands on the plastic wall. On the other side of the bars, Chicero's feet squeaked against the mat, thudding against the barrier as the plane came to a sudden stop. Worried and sad, Pepelito glanced at him, and back to Rita.

He was now the dominant bull in this 'herd', the one they both turned to for support and protection. He'd never been at the bottom but he'd never been anywhere near the top.

But there he was.

It was a strange feeling.

'Fuck you, Henry,' Rita spat, giving the camera the finger. He couldn't see, hear or smell anyone. Who was she talking to? The container jerked up and the plastic wall slid away, revealing a tunnel lined with cats' eye LEDs and a dim light at the bottom, illuminating a space he couldn't really see.

Chicero took a frightened glance at Rita through the bars, before bounding down the tunnel, his feet skittering on the metal ramp. Pepelito told him to hesitate, but his friend just wanted out of these cramped, wet, miserable surroundings. The rope tying the bull to the wall soon hung by a thread, before snapping where Rita had attempted to cut it. Pepelito tensed up, feeling ill, hungry and thirsty, as slamming metal doors muffled the sound of Chicero running. The soapy taste of the water in the bucket lingered on his tongue.

Pepelito took a few halting steps down the metal ramp after his friend. Divided by more metal bars, the ramp was too narrow for Rita to walk alongside him. She stood in the entrance to the plane. The passage was too narrow for him to turn around; he edged forward one or two paces with his head down, anxious. He made a low noise in his throat. No reply came from Chicero; he scraped the ground hard, kicking up non-existent soil to scare predators he couldn't see.

Bad things happened here.

Rita took a step forward, clutching the metal pole, and the door to the aircraft slammed shut behind her. She jumped; the vibration reverberated around the tunnel. Disorientated by the sudden noise, Pepelito bolted to the bottom of the ramp, his feet tearing the thin carpet at the end of the tunnel. He winced in shock as his horns collided with the wall, ripping a hole and exposing the cavity insulation inside. Looking back, he saw Rita no longer had the pole in her hands. Pieces of plaster settled in his nose and ears. He sneezed, turning away to follow Chicero's scent. He couldn't see Rita when he looked back, but he could hear her behind him.