You got up from the bed and walked up to the machete, picking it up. Its sheath had a strap that could go across one's chest or around one's waist, choosing to go for the latter for some reason. When you grabbed the machete by the handle you felt a slight, odd warmth but you paid it no mind and simply rushed towards your grandparents' house.
If you were to go there by walking, it was probably between 25 and 30 minutes but if you ran you could probably shorten it to 15 minutes or less. In a way it was good that the neighborhood you lived in was some distance away from the city because a guy running with a sheathed machete could've given the police the wrong idea. In your defense, you were only going to use it in its capacity as a gardening tool and as your grandparents' house was basically right next to a forest, having a weapon was reasonable, there could be wolves, pumas/mountain lions or even bears.
In fact, that should've been another concern for you, your grandparents' house extended a decent amount into what was a pretty massive forest to the point that she even got permission to cultivate various trees and flowers brought from Mexico, turning the place into a small oasis of Mexican flora complete with cacao trees and various other fruits and flowers but also plants like the Mexican variants of oregano and vanilla.
There were some fences in place to contain this from the rest of the forest but it wasn't that much of a protection, anyone or anything determined enough could simply jump over those fences but as your grandpa prided himself in being a man of the jungle, he wasn't afraid of any wild beasts. Come to think of it, he had even used the very machete you had now to slay wild boars, and the man was already in his 60s. You hoped you could be half as strong when you got to that age.
The minutes flew by and even this kind of run was thankfully not such a heavy burden on your young, healthy body though you sweated some and got a reasonable amount of thirst. Thankfully you just arrived to your grandparents' home and you could get some nice, cold water to quench that thirst. You announced your arrival with a greeting in Spanish as you entered the house, hoping that your grandpa was inside the house but the lack of response confirmed that he must be already outside, possibly plucking weeds by hand if his own machete broke.
You walked to the fridge and pulled out a pitcher full of cold water, serving yourself a few glasses before refilling the pitcher and putting it back, after which you headed out the backdoor to go and find your grandpa.
"Grandpa? Granpa Clemente?" You called out to no avail. The "garden" behind your grandparents' house was quite extensive so you walked farther into the makeshift jungle, still hoping to find your grandpa and ask him to rest and let you do the gardening instead. But even as you reached the part with the various trees there was no sign of there being anyone other than yourself... that made no sense at all.
Then, there was a sound that startled you and gave you chills not just because it completely surprised you, but because such a sound was completely out of place right now: An owl's hooting.
'Wait, what?! An owl?! At this time of day?!' You froze in your tracks and at that very moment, you recalled something your grandpa said quite a few times:
"Cuando el tecolote canta, el indio muere" ["When the owl sings, the Indian (Mexican native) dies"]
You felt cold shivers running down your spine. There was a certain ominous air to this owl's hooting and it felt as if the soundwaves it made resonated across every bone in your body, instilling a deep fear, a sense of impending danger like you'd never felt before in your life.
At that moment, dense clouds covered the sun and what was once a nice, sunny summer day rapidly became dark and menacing. The clouds covered the sun in such a way that it was almost as dark as night time. Out of pure instinct, one of your hands went to the machete's handle, still sheathed and resting against your leg but ready to unsheathe it should anything or anyone suspicious appear.
You then heard it: An inhuman shriek, something that could only be described as the bellowing of a horrific abomination, the simultaneous cries of many people screaming as they died frightening deaths... and it was coming from behind you! By sheer reflex you side stepped right as a massive set of sickle-like bony claws slashed at you, cutting deeply into the trunk of the tree behind you. You sweated cold sweat when you looked at what attacked you: A Tzitzimimeh! Just like your grandpa had told you about.
His description was on point, it was a monstrous skeletal woman whose empty eye sockets stared at you with murderous rage beyond measure. Without giving you much more time to think about things, she lunged at you and swung its monstrous claws one more but you were able to dodge them while trying to get away from her.
'Shit, what do I do now?! Where can I even run away to? I don't think the doors in my grandparents' home are going to stop her' You thought, your heartbeat and breathing quickening as you desperately needed to enter flight mode, which you immediately used as the Tzitzimimeh charged at you once more. Following your instinct, you tried to evade her as if it were a wild beast, going in circles rather than in a straight line to confuse her and so far it worked.
But your stamina wasn't going to last forever, you could keep this up for a while, sure but it didn't seem like that thing was going to get tired anytime soon, slashing at you in blind rage, even cutting down a few trees along the way. That actually heated up your blood, to see the trees that your grandma loved so much, for which she cared for many years all destroyed on a whim by this ugly abomination that was apparently out for revenge.
'Wait a moment... did... did one of these things actually get grandpa Clemente?!' A new thought chilled your heart and you began to look frantically around while maintaining your distance from the murderous skeletal monster. You didn't want to think of it but you had to look, forcing yourself to try and find any signs of your grandpa, even blood stains but even as you went around most of your grandma's jungle-like garden there were no signs of the presence of any human other than yourself, although the angry Tzitzimimeh chasing you certainly didn't make any of this easy.
Several minutes later, your exhaustion grew and you were sure you had double checked everywhere in the garden, there were no signs of your grandpa which would mean he wasn't in danger or that the worst had already come to pass and that uncertainty was eating away at you. Plus, you weren't confident you could keep up with this charade against the monster, you'd get tired soon and the moment you weren't able to dodge her anymore you'd be as good as minced meat, your breathing got heavier as you sensed the chilling premonition of a horrifying death dawning upon you.
However, your left hand, the one that was clutching the machete's handle, began to itch, almost as if to signal you that you had a weapon and that you should use it to defend your own life but your fear and survival instincts proved stronger, holding the thought back.
"Do not fear, my child" A voice you had never heard before echoed inside your mind, with a motherly warmth like your own mother's and yet a hint of cheeky playfulness akin to, say, Lulu's.
"Do not fear that thing. Have you forgotten? The blood of mighty warriors flows through your veins! I didn't fight the 400 Star Demons and the Moon every night to see my warriors eaten by those monsters!" Another feminine voice spoke, this one sounded much rougher, befitting of a warrior from a very distant past.
"Fight! We shall guide your hand but you must toss aside the fear in your heart" The two voices spoke in unison.
At that moment, you noticed that the jade sun on the machete's handle glowed for a split second. You ran and hid behind a tree, taking a deep breath and trying to steady yourself, to steady your thoughts. Were you going mad? You were already being attacked by a supernatural skeleton, were you really gonna draw the line for insanity at voices speaking into your head? Your grandma always told you that at the most critical times, a Mexican would be able to hear the wisdom of the ancient gods to provide guidance... and right now it was the best you had, it was that or nothing.
You sensed that the Tzitzimimeh got close and ducked right as she horizontally sliced the tree you had been hiding behind of. You then heard another noise, the hissing and rattling of a viper and by reflex alone, you dodged the bite and switfly unsheathed your grandpa's machete, cutting the snake's head and upper body off while the unholy monster backed away and shrieked in pain.
Remembering that snakes could still bite even after having their head cut off, you stabbed the severed head with the machete's tip, causing it to rapidly burn into ashes just as the gold highlights in the machete glowed for a moment.
'The hell is this thing? Did my grandpa get his hands on some ancient god-slayer weapon or is this because grandma's blessing?' You wondered briefly.
The Tzitzimimeh took a moment to recover from the intense pain but you could see that the snake part emerging from her lower body was still bleeding. You then sensed its urgency, its thirst for blood became so intense that you could feel its malevolent intent radiating out and towards you. The skeletal monster attacked again but this time you fought back, blocking her claw with the machete, then doing a twisting downward motion that knocked it aside and let you take another swing at the monster, cutting off her right arm.
Somehow, it felt like something or someone else was guiding your hand. You knew quite a bit of sword fighting because you were fond of ancient and medieval history but you never thought you could put that into practice until right now. Plus, in a way you felt like a puppet, although not in a negative way. It was more like when your parents were behind you as you learned to ride a bike, holding you so you wouldn't fall. There was a sort of kind warmth to that ethereal touch you felt. Besides that, there was also an even weirder feeling, you could see words in your mind, words meant for you to recite, and you began speaking them out loud without even thinking about it:
"Hear me, Ometéotl, Lord high in the sky,
Lend me the power of lightning and thunder,
Shine with the light of divine justice,
O great turquoise serpent,
Strike with the wrath of the Sun, Xiuhcóatl!"
The Tzitzimimeh froze in abject terror as your eyes glowed, one green and one turquoise as you swung your machete at her but the blade shone and then it became electrified, becoming imbued with the power of a lightning bolt. When the blade made contact, all that power was unleashed at once, making for a blinding light and a booming roar, exactly like that of a thunderclap. The monster was immediately vaporized and nothing was left behind. But then, the wind howled ominously...