Devil Hunters by R. Gualtieri

Author:R. Gualtieri [Gualtieri, R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: bigfoot, cryptid, cryptozoology, sasquatch, Urban Fantasy, yeti
Publisher: Freewill Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 26

“Before coming here, we did our due diligence on the legend of the Jersey Devil.”

“I know a thing or two about it,” Julia replied. “Mother Leeds and her thirteen children.”

“The last one was born a devil and flew up through the chimney,” Arthur said. Then, when he saw Derek staring at him, added, “I’m pretty sure anyone who lives here can tell you that much.”

Derek nodded. “Not surprising. Stuff like this brings a bit of historical flavor to an area, but in a fun way. Still, it’s nothing we didn’t know. What we found interesting, and which led us to originally conclude there wasn’t anything of note here, was the changing aspect of the creature.”

“How so?”

“If you read about most cryptids, like sasquatch for instance, there’s always going to be some variation depending on who’s telling the story, but ultimately the vast majority of them add up to a giant hairy humanoid in the woods. They have that in common. Same with the Mokele Mbembe.”

“The what?”

“A legend from the Congo,” Mitchell clarified.

Derek nodded to him. “There’s some difference in descriptions of skin texture and size, but almost all the eyewitness reports can be summed up as a sauropod dinosaur.”

“That’s pretty crazy,” Julia said, leaning back in her chair.

Derek shrugged. “Regardless, there’s a certain symmetry to the stories that gives them at least some potential for credibility. But that doesn’t exist with the Jersey Devil. The reports of its appearance all vary wildly. Sometimes it has wings, sometimes hooves, sometimes a horse’s head, sometimes it hops like a kangaroo, et cetera. When you read a history like that, it’s easy to conclude that you’re dealing with nothing more than a local tall tale.”

“Or witnesses who are drunk enough to see pink elephants,” Mitchell added.

“Also a factor in these things.”

Julia folded her arms across her chest. “So what does this have to do with a hundred-year-old exorcism and the bastard who kidnapped my sister?”

“I’m getting to that. What if everything we assumed to be nothing more than a fabrication is actually fact? More importantly, what if it’s all the same family?”

Julia looked confused, but Mitchell said, “I think I see where you’re going with this. Same family, same fucked-up genetics, but different devils.”

“Exactly.” Derek slapped the table in front of him. “Ow! Need to not do that for a while. But essentially, yes. Say you have this family living out in the marshes, mostly isolated from the rest of society.”

“New Jersey Hillbillies?” Arthur offered, his eyes wide as he apparently tried to process this.

“Yeah,” Mitchell said. “But let’s say the problem here is twofold. First off, maybe they’re inbreeding, keeping it all in the family.”

Derek nodded. “Not unheard of for close-knit clans like this. Stories of inbreeding in the Pine Barrens aren’t exactly new, so that seems a fair assumption.”

“What’s the second problem?” Julia asked.

“Part of the reason we were called in: toxic waste.”

“Hey!” Eric cried.

Derek turned toward the security director. “Oops. Did I say that out loud?”

“You’re playing with fire, Jenner.

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