The Jersey Devil by Hunter Shea Read Free Book Online

said, “Just the basics. It was supposed to be the thirteenth child of old Momma Leeds back in the 1700s. When she finally pushed it out, it wasn’t human at all. It ate the family, flew off and has been terrorizing people ever since.”
    Norm bobbed his head. “Not b-bad. You’re just missing a few points. You see, when Leeds was in the worst of her l-l-labor with the child, she cursed it to God or the devil. The story goes either way. So does the b-birth. Some say the baby boy came out normal, then transformed into a creature that was part g-goat, bat and dragon. Others, like you, say it came out tainted by her curse, a living d-demon. It burst through the lone window in the Leeds home and plagued the f-family for many years. It feeds on livestock, stray animals, and takes delight in scaring people half to death, like a true devil.”
    â€œYou don’t believe it’s alive, do you? It would be over two hundred years old.”
    â€œIt could be a flesh-and-blood a-animal, one that had interbred with others, passing down its genetics. Or the whole thing could have been a c-c-c-over story concocted by the L-Leedses, who may have seen their child was deformed, killed it quickly and needed to explain why kid number thirteen wasn’t a-around. Or, maybe the kid did survive, someone with such unsightly physical traits that he’s lived a feral kind of life, maybe snatching a stray woman here and there to spread his seed. Either of those e-e-explanations seem more likely to me than a cursed child that transforms into a b-beast that seemingly never dies.”
    Terry sat back in his seat and looked up at the passing clouds. “You ever in your wildest imaginings thought you’d make a living off this kind of stuff?”
    Norm chuckled. “As a kid, I hoped, but figured I was doomed to work like my father and all the f-fathers around me. Trust me, I don’t take this for granted. Plus, there’s always the chance I’ll not only get to debunk a myth, but discover a new species. That wouldn’t be too sh-shabby.”
    â€œWell, better you than me on this little foray. Those forests are not for the faint of heart.”
    Norm sipped at his beer. “You’re just a city boy.”
    Terry waved him off. “That wasn’t it. I’ve been to a lot of places in my life, some of them remote and weird, but the Pine Barrens take the cake. If anyplace is going to have a strange creature living in it, that’s the joint. You’ll see. Fucking Spooky City.”
    His agent looked truly uneasy. That gave Norm a good laugh. “I’ll remember to b-bring my flashlight.”
    Terry waved for the check. “Do yourself a favor. Remember to bring your gun. If the Jersey Devil doesn’t get you, something, or someone, else will.”
    * * *
    When Wyatt pulled his father’s handgun from his pocket, Jackson and Alex took a step back, eyes glued to the steel death dealer.
    â€œWhoa,” Alex said. “Where did you get that?”
    â€œI know the combination to my father’s gun safe,” Wyatt replied, somehow feeling older than his twelve years holding the gun.
    â€œHe’s gonna kill you,” Jackson said, reaching out to touch it. Wyatt swept it away, stowing it back in his pocket.
    â€œOnly if he finds out,” he said. “And the only way he’ll find out is if you blab to your fat mother.”
    â€œI’m not saying anything,” Jackson said. He’d long since given up defending his mother. She was kind of heavy. She’d even started using those scooter carts at the supermarket this past year. She was also the town gossip, oblivious to the fact that most of the gossip floating around centered on her growing girth and how she was probably an unfit mother.
    Her son was, after all, in his friend’s yard wondering what to do with a pilfered gun.
    â€œHey, I can go through the recycling bin outside my house