Rugarou in the Bayou

Mama always told us if the Rugarou come at night, we gonna run through the woods to Auntie Marie's. She live by the grave yard and she got the brick dust sprinkled round her house. No Rugarou will come there. No sir, not never. I remember the first time we ran from the Rugarou. I was six, Jefry was a baby and Bobby was fifteen. When we heard the howling and the Rugarou crashing through the bushes, Mama yelled, "Bobby, grab Annie and run to Auntie Marie's. Hurry, now! I'll meet you there." Mama grabbed baby Jefry and she run. Bobby grabbed my hand and he run dragging me. I fell and skinned my knees so Bobby grabbed me up and carried me. We run down the path through the swamp and made it to Auntie Marie's. I was so scared I peed all down the front of Bobby's shirt. He paid no never mind though. I was too scared to be shamed.

Bobby ran hard and I hung onto his neck with my eyes closed real tight. We had to be careful not to mess up the brick dust. You gotta jump over it so it can keep the Rugarou out. Bobby's long legs leaped clean over without never touching a thing. He handed me off to Auntie Marie and he turned and drew a pistol. I had one eye squeezed open so I could see a little bit but I wasn't sure I wanted to see anything at all. I buried my face in Auntie Marie's hair and she carried me into the house. "You stay put chile. I got work to do." She grabbed up a poppet doll from the table. One of Papa's old shirts was all cut up and Auntie Marie had used it to make a shirt for her poppet doll.

I watched through the screen door as Auntie Marie walked up beside Bobby. She was twisting on that poppet doll and saying strange things. She shrieked like she was set on fire. It scared me but I kept telling myself everything gonna be fine. But I didn't know if it was or not.

Bobby was holding his arms straight out with the pistol turning all around. He seemed like he was shivering but it weren't cold. Mama came leaping over the brick dust carrying baby Jefry. She opened the door and put him in with me. Then she wrapped her sweater around herself real tight and she went out with Auntie Marie and Bobby.

And then we heard it. It was awful. Sounded like a man screaming and raging like he being torn apart. That ole Rugarou howled and growled and tore at the bushes. Mama and Auntie Marie and Bobby stayed out in the dark night minding the brick dust circle. Didn't want no wind to blow it open or no critter to break it. Just when we thought the Rugarou was gone, he come running at the circle. Bobby shot the pistol and that Rugarou howled awful. He flopped on the ground for a minute and then he got up and run off screaming into the night.

I kept wishing Papa was there so he could make the Rugarou go away. But maybe since Bobby shot him he won't never be back.

For three days Mama would leave and go tend chickens and then hurry back. Us kids stayed at Auntie Marie's. On the third day, Mama come back with Papa. He had his arm in a sling where he hurt his shoulder. He waited at the gate while Mama come in and got baby Jefry, Bobby and me. Auntie Marie kissed me. "Chile, you keep this with you, it will keep you safe." She pressed a charm in my hand. It was bits of my hair braided and some herbs, other bits and bobs in a tiny pouch she gave me. I put it in my pocket. My Auntie is Marie Laveu and she known all abouts for her powerful gris-gris. I felt extra safe. "Thank you, Auntie Marie." Sometimes I wish I could stay with Auntie Marie forever.

Papa was gone for longer and longer times. The Rugarou always came when Papa was gone. But Mama always got us out and off to Auntie Marie's. Mama would end up fighting with Papa about the Rugarou and how it upset us kids and that he needed to make it stop. One night Bobby and Papa got in a really big fight over it. Bobby said Papa should stop the Rugarou and if he don't Bobby was gonna make him. Papa said Bobby wasn't man enough. Bobby told Papa he'd show him. It was a really bad fight. Papa got mad and left and said he weren't never coming back. Bobby went off in the world somewhere too after that night. Mama would never say where he went or when he coming back. She would just look all sad.

Seem like when Papa left the Rugarou was gone too. Life got peaceful. Mama had another baby a few months after Papa and Bobby left. Little Izzy. That was over three years ago.

With Bobby gone and me almost thirteen now, I helped Mama with Jefry who's almost eight and Izzy just turned three. We go down the swamp path to Auntie Marie's all the time. I have to be brave for the little ones, but even though the Rugarou ain't been around, the swamp still isn't something I like to be near. The fog rolling off it on fall nights is real eerie. I always pick up my pace and do that crazy run-walk thing where I look like I'm leaning into a hurricane trying to get on down the path.

Hearing a gator flop into the water sets my heart pounding. The thought of snakes slithering round don't do my heart no good either. But the thing I'm most feared of is whether that damn Rugarou is out there watching with his sly eyes waiting to grab me up and do with me whatever the Rugarou do. When I asked Auntie Marie one time what he do, she say, "Any damn thang he want to chile. Any damn thang he want to. But he hurt my kin, I deal wit him. I deal wit him real good." I knew she would too.

As I slipped in the back door, I heard Mama crying. "What's wrong, Mama?"

Mama looked at me with eyes swollen red, "He back, Annie. The Rugarou is back."

I went cold all over. "Mama, no. Please no..."

Standing, Mama, put her arm around me, "Annie, you be strong. When he come, you get Jefry and get on to Auntie Marie's, hear me girl? I'll take Izzy with me and meet you there." She shook me to make sure what she say was going in my ears and to my brain.

"Yes, yes, Mama." It had been so long.

He come just like Mama thought he would. I don't know what he throwed up against the house but it sounded like thunder. And he started yowling Mama's name. "Esbeth! Esbeeethhh!" It reminded me of Papa a little bit. "Annie, go! Now!"

I turned to grab up Jefry and he was no where in the house. I took off running through the night. I heard a bush rattling just over to the left. I froze. Was that glowing eyes? Papa use to say when he saw the Rugarou one time, it's eyes glowed red! And it had a dog head on it. I jumped and screamed as something come running out the bush, "Annie wait, don't leave me out here. I don't want the Rugarou to get me!" My eight year old brother came tearing through the brush to get to me.

"Jefry, boy, you dun scared me to hell and back thrashing in the dark like that. I thought you was the Rugarou hisself. Whooo, I'm tremblin' in my knees. Boy, I cudda shot you dead acting like that!"

"You ain't got no gun, Annie. You can't shoot me. Ha!" Jefry sounded like he was being brave but I knew he was scared still 'cause he slipped his hand in mine so he could keep up with me.

"Annie, how come the Rugarou come after kids?" Jefry's little legs was pumping hard to keep up with my lanky legged strides.

"Cause they bad. You done something bad little man?"

"No ma'am. I ain't done nothing bad." Jefry squeezed my hand and I saw him swivel his little head all around in the dark watching. I didn't blame him much since I had heat prickles and the hair on the back of my neck felt electric.

"Why you out here then?" It had me concerned.

I heard a sniffle. "Cause Papa come home today and he been drinking. He said Rugarou gonna come get me. So I ran to hide but then I kept hearing Rugarou howling ever where and running through the brush."

"You saw Papa today for real?"

"I did. Papa grabbed Izzy and looked at her real good. He asked Mama if Izzy was his chile. Whose chile she be if she not Papa's."

"Papa was just playing. He probably say that cause she so pretty and Papa is a ugly man." I tried to laugh but it worried me. Papa use to come home and scare me and Bobby when we was little like Jefry. He'd howl and shake the bushes like he was the Rugarou. He made me pee my pants several times. Bobby would tell me it was just Papa and we needed to just let him work his drink off. Bobby said there weren't no Rugarou but that can't be true because he used to run from it too. And I saw Bobby shoot the Rugarou that night at Auntie Marie's before Izzy was born.

Still Bobby said it was just a story to scare bad children and Catholics that didn't do lent. We always did lent though. Mama made sure of that. So, if us kids was good and we did lent and went to Church and was good Catholics, I don't know why the Rugarou would come after us. Now Bobby was long gone. Hadn't seen or heard from him in near three years since the night of that big fight between him and Papa. Mama don't never talk about that night. But I remember it like it was yesterday. I sure wish Bobby was here tonight. He'd be a grown man now and he could deal with that Rugarou. Maybe even kill it this time.

I listened hard for the Rugarou as I sped up my run-walking trying to get to Auntie Marie's. "Jefry, hurry up ya, hear?"

"Annie, I'm trying. Don't leave me, please don't leave me."

"I ain't gonna leave you Jefry. We just got to hurry." It was puzzling. Where has Papa been and why he show up today. And if Papa was in his drink and he was being hateful, that meant he was probably in the powder too. And Bobby always said Papa and powder is scary business. Papa gets real mean when he on the powder. Bobby talk like Papa could be as mean as the Rugarou hisself.

"Come on Jefry. We need to get to Auntie Marie's before the Rugarou finds us. Then everything gonna be alright." After all these years, Auntie Marie still keeps a circle of red brick dust around her house even though the Rugarou hadn't been around in a long time. Even Papa wouldn't never cross over no brick dust when he was around.

I hear foot steps running down the path behind us. Jefry starts squealing and crying. I grab him up and try to run carrying him but at eight years old he is getting big. Thank the lord it was Mama carrying Izzy. "Run, Annie, run fast. The Rugarou behind me and he mad. He real mad."

Mama ran past me. I shifted Jefry to my back and had him hang on like piggy back and I started sprinting. I heard thrashing in the brush. "Esbeth! Esbeeeth! You tell me woman, is she mine? Is she, gawd damn it?"

"Mama?" That weren't no Rugarou, that was Papa...."

"Run, Annie. Just keep running."

We got to Auntie Marie's. She was ready for us. As Mama run past her, she say, "I heard, Esbeth. It stops tonight." Mama froze. Auntie Marie pushed past Mama grabbing shotgun propped by the door and she shoved her way through the screen door.

I looked at Mama. She just sat down in a chair and held Izzy and cried. Jefry went and hugged Mama's neck. Then I heard the raging outside. It was howling, growling, and calling Mama's name. I saw his shadowy shape walking the brick dust.

"You come out here Esbeth. Right now. I'll cross this brick dust. I will." It was sure enough Papa.

Mama jumped up and ran to the screen door. "Lonzo, you get. You hear? I don't want you no more! Not after what you did!"

Auntie Marie leveled her shotgun and I heard the click. "Lonzo, don't you cross that dust or I will cross you over from this world, you hear?"

"I ain't scared of you Marie. I ain't scared of your hoodoo or none of that shit." Papa was angrier than I ever remember seeing him except the night he beat up Bobby.

"You shouldn't be here Lonzo, after what you did. Ain't no love in this world for you here. Get!" Auntie Marie sounded real cold.

"Marie, let me go out and talk to him." Mama was shaking.

"Esbeth, you ain't going out there. He killed Bobby. He will kill you too."

My heart skipped a beat. "What? Bobby is dead? Papa killed Bobby?" I heard myself wailing and screaming.

"I didn't kill Bobby. The Rugarou did it." Papa yelled at me.

"You lying son of a bitch. YOU ARE THE RUGAROU. You are the DEVIL! You killed our SON!" Mama fell to her knees and falling forward on her hands she cried and screamed like it came from the depths of her soul.

Papa started making a growling noise and he took off running at us and leaped the brick dust. I heard a blast and Papa flew backwards and landed with a thud straddling the brick dust line. His legs thrashed for a moment and I heard him gurgle. Then he lay real still.

Auntie Marie dropped the shotgun to her side. Turning to me, she wiped a tear on my cheek. "I told you girl if that Rugarou mess with my kin, I would deal wit him. That Rugarou ain't gonna bother nobody no more."

* * * * * *

For more info on the Rugarou

__________________________________________

I always try to share a different photo of me at the end of my stories so that if you read my stuff often (fingers crossed) you'll get to see the many different facets of me.

If you're wondering just who exactly wrote this piece, you can find more about me here. If you're intrigued to see what else I've written, more stories by me can be found here.

On the off chance you appreciated this piece, a heart would be appreciated. It is inspiration to keep moving forward on this writing journey. There is also a tipping option for those who may want to part ways with their hard earned money and for some odd reason impart it to me.

Other stories by me: