“Get him down!” Big Jim yells.
And there is a sudden burst of teamwork as I position myself in just the right way so that the next time Batty comes swooping down, he picks me up.
I scream. As loud as I can!
Then I kick, and fight, and he drops me.
I’m not going to lie, the fall is overkill. And it bruises my hip.
But the men are all riled up, yelling and screaming. And Mark has been freed, so several of them are running away, right back down the path towards the truck.
I just lie there on the ground until Russ Roth offers me his hand. “Are you OK?”
I accept his hand and let him pull me to my feet, then stutter out, “I-I th-think so,” with a fake, trembling voice.
“What the hell was that thing?” Big Jim barks.
“A Mothman,” I say. “I saw his wings. And his claws got my shoulders.” I pull my flannel down to reveal claw marks. There is even blood.
“Good Lord above,” Big Jim says, his eyes wide as he looks at me. “You’ve been poisoned.”
“No,” I say. “Just a scratch. But I think I’ve had enough for one night. Do you think the hunt is over?”
“Over?” Russ says. “Boy, we’re just getting started.”
I’m just about to sigh with weariness when Big Jim objects for me. “No. He’s right, Russ. I think we’ve had enough for tonight. The boys have all run off. Look.” He points his gun to… well. An empty space where the rest of our hunting party used to be.
“Bunch of pussies,” Russ yells. “You can go, but I’m staying. We’re close, I can feel it.”
“Now, come on, Russ,” Big Jim says, slightly irritated. “You do this every time.”
“Because every time we get this close”—Russ holds his thumb and forefinger quite close together—“and then the pussies puss out and we never make no progress! I’m not leaving tonight. I’m going after that thing. I know there are monsters up here.” Then he eyeballs me with a look of…
“W-w-why are you looking at me like that? I don’t know anything about monsters.”
“Don’t you?” Russ says, his tone very accusatory. “Don’t you, Tomas? You live up in these hills. Off-grid. Say you’ve been living here your whole life, but we’ve never seen you before. How’s that happen?”
“Russ,” Big Jim says, putting his formidable body between me and the sheriff. “Don’t be like that. This boy is…” He looks over his shoulder at me. I squint my eyes, waiting to hear him finish. “You know. He’s… like Madeline.”
Sheriff Russ Roth scoffs. “No, Jim. He’s nothing at all like Madeline.”
“Look at him.”
“What do you mean, ‘like Madeline?’” I ask.
“Slow,” Big Jim says. “She’s a simple girl. Not all there.” He taps his head. “Like you. He doesn’t live off-grid, Russ. He lives up at that sanitarium.”
“What’s a sanitarium?” I ask. But neither of them is paying attention to me.
“What are you talking about?” Russ barks. “This boy here, Tomas?” He sneers my name. Like maybe it’s not my name. “He’s part of that other place, Jim.” Then he points at me. “I remember you.”
I make big eyes. “Me?”
“Yeah, you.” Russ is getting mean. I can hear it in his voice. And his eyes are squinty. “You live up at that…” But he stops. Stutters a little. “Th-that… that…” He cannot get the words out. Probably because Pie put a powerful spell on him. Which also seems to be wearing off.
“All right,” Big Jim says. “We’re done for tonight. Let’s go.”
He doesn’t wait for Russ to agree or even look over his shoulder to make sure he’s following. He just goes back down the trail in the direction of the pussies.