Beyond the Legends Series

A Jersey Devil Origin Story (Pt. 2)

Olivia Leeds

Three hundred years. Centuries I was never supposed to live. That demon gave me immortality, a wicked reminder of my sacrifice. And I created that devil in these woods and as long as he lives so do I all because of my desperation. What I thought was a selfless sacrifice was my greatest sin, creating that wretched creature.

The Jersey Devil.

A thing too powerful even for me. My name now singing witch.

If the creature weren’t after me, it would find another. Consuming, chasing, and preying after some poor soul that crossed its path. Death consumed my home, and the count would bare on my own soul.

Heaven knows I prayed for an answer…every night since that first until I heard nothing but silence. Any way to lift my soul from this hell, to find some sort of redemption. But after no answer…I assumed God wanted nothing to do with me. I had to face my demons alone.

I had to fend the beast off, I didn’t want more people to be killed. I found my courage in small glimmers of hope. I would kill my own demon.

Then…the beast reminded me of what it truly was. A poor innocent soul with eyes just as desperate as mine. My son. The babe that I cursed.

My soul shattered in that moment…I couldn’t. The courage I finally gained, it was diminished in a single moment. My burden, my mistake…my child.

Night after night this lingered on. Finding ways to hide and to fight all alone. I wasn’t sure if that man would return, but my skin crawled at the idea of him coming for me.

I didn’t realize how many years had passed. How many nights I sat contemplating a way out. How long I fend to kill or feed this beast I created.

Now…my faith was long gone. God had abandoned me.

If I killed the beast, I’d be sacrificing my own child. If I died, that demon would come back for me.

Then the night came when a man came to my doorstep. He looked out of time and I had no way out.

***

Adam Weiss

I’ll never forget that night. That beautiful sunset that peaked through the trees that bared so little of the colorful leaves. Autumn was here and winter was coming so quickly. The chill was becoming almost biting. I was driving down the road bundled for the season as I cranked up the heat in my car.

My eyes glanced at the gas gauge and stared at my battered-up GPS on the dash. I had no idea where I was going.

I needed time away. I don’t know why there was an urge to do so today but my soul craved for that isolation. That solitude to quiet my chaotic mind. Maybe it was the date. The lingering in my soul that knew what it meant.

I found myself running off the interstate that led me onto this unused road. I didn’t see a car for miles. That was my first mistake. What turned out to be a scenic detour turned into a horrific nightmare.

“Maps disconnected rerouting,” the navigation voice announced.

I rolled my eyes at the thing, trying to see if it would reset but it was already too late. The thing wouldn’t move. The gas gauge flashed. Damn near empty. If I didn’t find the public road soon, I’d be stuck out in the wilderness. Worse…it’ll be dark and the temperature was surely going to drop to freezing. I don’t think AAA will find a way out here. Not out this far, or this late. That’s when I found the old paved road turn more like dirt. Maybe I had to turn around?

I glanced back up to the road looking for a place to u-turn when I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“The hell?!” I yelled.

A massive silhouette of a creature jumped out in front of the road. I was heading straight for it. With all my willpower, I swerved the car out of the way. Or at least I thought I did.

Then there was a pop and the car started getting out of control.

The tires slid, my foot landing on the brake but it was too late. I was heading into a nearby tree. I gripped on so tight to that wheel and was relieved that I stopped just in time but the bumper hit harder than I would’ve liked.

I sat there for a few moments, my breathing quickened by the sudden rush of adrenaline.

I regained my composure, turning off the car as I pushed open the driver’s side door. As I looked around at my now beat up machine, the tire was long gone. I looked back at the street. Wasn’t sure what I ran over, but turning around would seem impossible now.

I cursed as I rolled my eyes in frustration, popping open the trunk of the car. Maybe if I was lucky there’d be a spare. No spare tire…great…the luck that I’m having…no streetlights, flat tire and no one around for miles that I’ve seen.

I could take a risk for AAA. I flipped open my phone, scrolling through the contacts until I found the towing number. I called.

My eyes scouted my surroundings. Then the busy signal rang in my ears. I hung up dialing again. Same answer. On the third try my phone beeped at me. The battery was dying and flashing no signal. Well…there’s no getting out.

With no other option, I had to walk.

It was getting dark and this didn’t seem to be a public road. But…there had to be someone here, right? My mind was spinning as I strode back to the car.

I opened the passenger side door, digging through the glove compartment. Anything to bring is better than nothing. The door unhinged and things fell out from the shifted items from the crash. I stumbled to re-assemble everything as I stopped.

On the floor an old tattered Bible stared at me with a rosary wrapped around it. I haven’t touched the thing in months, and the evidence shown rather significantly with the dust accumulating around it.

The thing had seen better days, traveled everywhere with me. But my faith…well that was less of a priority lately. Especially on this day. Not since Emily. Besides I doubt that God would be much help right now given the circumstances. No matter how much I prayed.

Unless he could have a tow truck just appear out in the middle of nowhere.

I pocketed the rosary nonetheless after several attempts of putting it back. I didn’t want to leave it in the car. It was a gift from my ex-wife. It was hard to let it go.

I shut the door of the car, finally facing the woods around me. It was getting darker by the minute and I needed to start moving. The temperature was already dropping leaving a biting chill in the air. I wrapped my coat around me, pulling on my gloves.

I started up the road.

Then…I got the sinking feeling that I was being watched. I heard a rumble echo through the woods and it made the hair on my arms stand on end.

Maybe it was that bear I almost hit? I couldn’t figure out what else could’ve been that large. After a few minutes of walking, I noticed a light further down the road. A porch light.

Had some luck after all.

I rushed down the road, an old ranch house tucked away in the woods. The closer I approached it, the more I wondered if anyone still lived there. I didn’t see any signs of it being abandoned, but looks can be deceiving. That’s when I felt my hair stand again. Abandoned or not, anything to save me from this wretched place until morning.

I trotted up the porch.

Be polite, you don’t know how people would react to you wandering in the woods at night. Especially out here.

I knocked on the door.

“Hello? Anyone there?” I called out. I couldn’t hide the desperation in my voice. I knocked again, but I froze at an unfamiliar sound. The sound of large footsteps breaking branches and cracking in the fallen leaves. It was coming closer with an unnatural rumbling.

The bear, it must’ve had my scent. Did it follow me here? I could feel it’s lingering presence on me, the breathing coming closer.

I leaned up against the door, pounding it to get anyone’s attention.

“Hello?!” I repeated, my voice almost cracking.

That’s when everything happened in a flash. Within seconds I was on the ground, a weight so heavy on me, claws resting on my chest. The growl sent shivers down my spine. My adrenaline spiking from everything happening around me.

The creature was massive and I couldn’t get a good look as my world was spinning. It was on top of me and tearing at my flesh.

I screamed in agony as I became paralyzed, my vision fading from the pain. Blood there was so much blood and burning pain.

But then…I heard my daughter Emily calling out to me, her tiny hand reaching out into the darkness.

I was screaming out to her but no sound came out. I was going to die.

“Get back!” an unfamiliar voice demanded. There was a sound, a thunderstrike? Something so abnormal I couldn’t place it. Whatever it was it rumbled on the porch and the creature’s weight was lifted away from me.

I could breathe again. But the ache in my body was growing as the scene replayed in my mind over and over again.

That’s when I looked up. An angel…saved me.

She grabbed my wrist and I felt myself being dragged into the house. Despite my pain, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. Perhaps I was going to die.

The door behind us closed, locked as the blurred silhouette of my savior knelt over me. Darkness was consuming me.

“I don’t know who was the lucky one,” she whispered breathless. “You or me.”

I don’t know how much time had passed. I damn well had no idea what horrors awaited me that night. It would affect me for the rest of my life. All because of a damn flat tire and a detour I should’ve avoided.

***

Olivia Leeds

The damn thing near killed him but I clearly hit it. My magic worked for the time being to fend it off and this time I dared to walk out towards my fate.

All I could hear were the leaves crunching underneath me. It felt like an echo in my mind. Alone out here for so long. I was shocked to see the man on my doorstep.

I made sure the man was safe before I ventured forward. That’s when I saw him.

The beast was injured, possibly an advantage. I gripped that ax in my hand as my only means of survival. I finally felt like I had the upper hand. But when I finally reached him, I prayed I didn’t venture towards it.

The skeletal frame of the child was sobbing. It’s blood dark from the impact, dripping from his leg. As I approached, the child’s eyes reached mine.

He stared at me, first with longing which made my heart break. The babe I had tormented after its first breath, even in its inhuman state…I could see John.

“Mommy?” the boy’s voice rang. Then the eyes saw me, roaming down to notice the ax in my hand that I held tightly in my grip. Those same innocent eyes turned dark eyes and seethed in anger. Dark shadows surrounded him, his voice turning into a demonic inhuman tone. The babe was turning into that hideous beast.

“Leave me!” it demanded, about to leap towards me.

I ran, with tears in my eyes. I sprinted to the house, kicking every bit of my soul. My only hope…was to save the man from out of time.

***

Adam Weiss

What…what happened? My head was throbbing as my eyes struggled to open. When they finally focused, the place looked like a crypt without its keeper.

My eyes roamed as I realized that I was in some sort of basement. My mind flashed at the memory of being dragged into the house. But how did I get down here?

The floor was lined with dirt as I leaned up from this metal cot of a bed. There were boxes everywhere covered in sheets, old jars and tools that surrounded a workbench of some sort. One lone light illuminated this cold, isolating space. I felt like I was in a long forgotten museum. It didn’t feel like I was even in my own time.

A clang of metal made me jump out of my skin. I looked over seeing a woman standing near me, a metal tray of cups and a tea kettle in her hand.

“Jesus Christ,” I cursed but she smiled hesitantly at me, shushing me.

“Shhh, it’s all right Adam. You’re safe now,” she whispered. How…how did she know who I was?

I sat up rather quickly, my head spinning as I kept my eyes on her.

She was watching me as if not to spook a scared deer. But she…looked out of place. Almost as if she was born in a different century. She looked young maybe no older than thirty. But her clothes were of a farmer’s wife, her dirty blonde brown hair tucked into a long braid that was fraying in places. Despite her bright gray eyes, I could see and feel some sort of suffering written all around her.

I swallowed as she approached me.

“Where am I?” I whispered. “Who the hell are you?”

She grabbed the tea kettle, pouring something dark into the cup.

“You need to drink this. The creature really got to you,” she insisted gently, pushing the tea in front of me. “You were bleeding a lot…please.”

God the smell tore through my nose as my stomach churned from the scent. She gave a look of pity as she placed it in front of me. I watched her as she put it in my hands, a flash of motherly instinct showing in her features. There was a warmth about her I couldn’t place.

“Now you stay here, and I’ll get you something to eat,” she insisted as she grabbed everything with her leaving the tea with me.

She started her way up the steep creaking stairs of the basement. I put down the cup.

“Wait-” I objected. She turned on the stairs, her eyes pleading at me.

“Just stay here, okay? Don’t leave this room,” she begged gently.

“What?”

There was fear in her eyes as she left me alone in the basement. I know she saw that thing too. Perhaps she was scared of it coming back.

As I strained to move, I could feel bandages shifting and stretching along my skin under my shirt I groaned at the sight but that’s when it hit me.

My wallet, my keys, my phone, everything I brought with me was gone!

I was about to turn the basement upside down when I noticed a lone chair beside the bed. Everything was there.

I rushed over to my wallet. I checked. The picture of my salvation was still there. My daughter Emily.

I stared at it for a moment, when a sinking feeling of dread washed over me. I tucked the picture back in its place. I threw on my jacket that was stripped off of me before putting everything back in my pockets for safe keeping. I needed to find my way out of here.

I looked up. Those stairs were my only option. I made my way up those steep steps to the lone door that hovered over the room.

There was a splintered crack in the door, revealing a long hallway. I could see an old phone. It was an antique but it had to work, right? The house was lit up by old electric lamps. Of course it was possible the thing would’ve worked. It was my only chance.

Gathering my courage, my hand gripped onto the knob and pushed the door ever so slightly. The creak echoed through the house…but no one reacted.

I waited another moment, but there was only silence.

Until there was three steady slow knocks at the front door. I ducked into the door as the woman’s footsteps came from another room of the house.

She approached the front door as I pulled the door back just enough allowing myself to peek through the crack.

The front door’s hinges swung open, the frame whining from use.

“Well…well, well…look who’s here after all this time,” a smooth voice greeted the woman at the door. The woman stiffened.

“You…” she whispered horrified. That’s when I got a good look at him as she backed away just enough to give herself space.

The man…he made my skin crawl. His eyes were piercing, almost inhuman. Something deep in my soul told me to stay away from him, far away from him. He stood there, wearing a three piece suit hidden in a trench-coat and even he looked out of place.

He felt wrong.

“Get out!” the woman whispered threateningly. But the man just laughed. Something about his voice shifted from human to…not.

“Now Olivia,” he coaxed. “Is that any way to treat an old friend?”

Olivia…a name. My mind was racing from this strange man who apparently knew my savior.

“I am not your friend demon,” she replied, her voice harsh. “Now get out!”

He sighed, as if amused by her whole demeanor. He was not impressed.

“It’s been three hundred years and you haven’t changed a bit,” the man countered. Three hundred years? What does that mean? I swallowed as the woman growled at him.

“Speak for yourself,” Olivia chimed as she attempted to slam the door shut. But a cane stopped the door mid swing. That’s when I saw it.

A glowing red mist engulfed the door before splintering it into pieces. The blast was loud like a crack of lightning and had such force that Olivia was sent to the floor while I hid behind the basement door for cover.

“I think I’ll just let myself in,” the man announced casually as he walked himself in slowly step by step.

“I don’t let demons into my home,” Olivia growled.

“And yet, you made a deal with me,” the man’s voice turned.

“I said get out!” Olivia argued. The man sighed, smirking.

“Olivia where are your manners?” he sang.

“Bite me,” she growled as she attempted to stand.

“I rather your monster do it for me,” the man grinned. “Which is why I’m here. You did a little damage.”

His eyes…I couldn’t shake, then…they landed on me. I froze as his head tilted in curiosity.

“What’s this now?” he asked his full attention on the crack in the door. “Are you having company?”

Olivia glanced, her eyes wide in horror.

“No don’t!”

My feet were frozen. I couldn’t move from the stairs. There was a sudden flash of red mist coiling around the man’s wrist but from Olivia’s finger but she was struggling. His teeth grinned sharp and white. Inhumane. What am I doing here?!

“You never learn do you?!” the stranger growled in a demonic tone. The stranger grabbed onto that red mist as if it was something tangible, it dancing between his fingers like a rope and crushing it within one motion.

His hand then immediately went to her throat where she gasped for breath under his grip.

“I’m the one who made you,” he spat at her. “Now be a good girl and introduce me to your guest.”

“No one is here,” she lied, struggling to breathe. Then his eyes grew angrier, red and loathing.

“Don’t you DARE lie to me!” he growled, his voice no longer human. “I’m more than capable of letting you suffer and die a thousand times before you beg for mercy-”

“Let her go!” I found my voice yelling amongst them. I couldn’t stop myself. That’s when his eyes rested on me and my body stiffened.

He grinned.

“Found one with some guts this time, did you?”

“I saved him,” she breathed, trying to get herself out of his grip. That’s when he dropped her, then charged himself towards me.

Without thinking, my body started backing away, and it immediately fell down those stairs…one by one. Everything slowed down as my body hit every step. I finally hit the ground and the pain rushed through every inch of me. I had to get out of here.

My head rose, only to see Olivia landing next to me and that demon of a man came down slowly.

His laugh…I hated every waking second of it as he made his way down those stairs. Olivia sat herself up, breathing heavily.

“Well, aren’t you just a matched pair,” the man teased. “Now why don’t you just sit still…and listen carefully. I’m here for my payment.”

“You already have your payment,” Olivia objected, her voice stern. “That damn creature you left me with.”

“Olivia…that was only part of my payment,” the man corrected.

“I gave you my child! What more do you want?!” she asked desperately. That thing…that thing was her child?

“Your soul and your death,” the man explained as if it was some casual business transaction. “I really want to get you to die.”

Olivia sat up, red mist pouring out of her fingertips only for the man to grab onto her wrist and snuff it out in an instant. I leapt at him, only to feel my body be hit by his free hand. And it wasn’t just a hit. It was a full force of something I couldn’t explain and I went flying to the wall. A rush of pain and adrenaline hit me like a truck.

“You just won’t quit, will you?” the man asked unamused as I gathered my breath. He grabbed onto Olivia harder.

“Stop it!” I demanded.

“Oh, shut up,” the man replied.

“STOP!”

That’s when I was silenced by another round of energy, knocking the wind out of me. The man’s eyes rested back on Olivia with such distain.

“Three hundred years, you ungrateful…” he growled at her before taking a long inhale. “After all these sacrifices I made for you. That desperate, hungry woman I found. That’s how long you’ve been testing my patience. You have a way of doing that…and I’m done waiting.”

“I won’t let you,” she protested.

“Really?” he asked amused. “You think the toll was nothing more than your child? Not your soul? You thought it was a few unlucky bodies on your conscience now and then what, hm? And every time you escaped that creature, someone was sacrificed. And for what? A child?”

“I didn’t…”

“You made your sacrifices Mrs. Leeds…fed your beast and enabled it from the very beginning when I stepped into your broken home,” the man insisted. “It started with your pathetic family.”

Her eyes were wide, tears were forming.

“Everyone is dead thanks to you,” the man continued. “So why not finally fulfill your end of the bargain or long live your Jersey Devil.”

“Not on my life,” she protested.

She’s three hundred years old?

What is all of this? How is any of this possible? I swear I walked into something of a dimension I don’t understand. They stared at each other for a long moment, and Olivia’s eyes…they looked of someone with pure hatred.

“You have until dawn,” the man remarked. Her eyes widened.
“What?” she asked.

“You have one more night to kill your monster,” the man explained. “I’m giving you that. But why suffer one more night when you know it won’t stop until you’re dead? You can spare him by coming with me.”

“Not on my life,” she growled back.

“All I want is for you to die,” the man growled back. “Your soul is mine. Either kill your own creation, kill your own child-”

A snap of his fingers and something appeared in his hand. An ax, throwing it down in front of her feet.

“Or I make it strike you both down,” he grinned, looking at me. “You both die. It’s your choice. Although, I’ll drag you to hell with me either way. Till dawn Mrs. Leeds.”

And within a flash he was gone. Leaving us alone in the basement in the dark. My mind was racing as I tried to piece together everything. I must’ve driven into another realm. Who are these people? And what do they want with me?

The man was not human, and Olivia….God knows what she was. That’s when the sound of thunder and rain came rolling in. It was going to be a long night.

***

She was pacing for what seemed like an eternity. She kept glancing at that ax. I couldn’t tell why she seemed scared to look at it. I winced, feeling pain linger to remind me of the nightmare that I had just been a part of.

Her eyes then darted to me, making my skin crawl.

“Please let me,” she whispered, walking up to me.

“No, I-” I began to protest but she gave me a serious look.

“If I wanted you dead I would’ve left you out there with that creature…now wouldn’t I?” she asked as if reading my insecurities. That’s when I reluctantly nodded. What more could this place do to me?

That’s when her hands rested on my wounds, a glow coming out of her palm. Then suddenly the blood, the skin, everything felt warm. I felt my body relax as she glanced at me.

“You’re not the first one to be here,” she whispered as she tended to the wound.

“I’m not?” I asked. Couldn’t imagine more people stumbling upon this place. Not after tonight.

“Unfortunately, no. Unlucky…but not the first,” she stated, shaking her head. I swallowed as she worked on removing the bandages.

“That thing, what was it?”

“A monster to many. The death that awaits me,” she replied, her eyes glazed over as she worked.

Her hand glowed more, the warmth overwhelming when I looked down. Nothing. There was nothing of the wounds from before as if it was just a dream.

I felt energy and no more pain. I looked at her in awe. This woman felt out of this world.

“Who are you?” I dared to ask. She shook her head scoffing as if amused. But it sounded bitter.

“A mere ghost in your world,” she replied simply. That’s when she left, grabbing my wallet that fell onto the ground and handing it to me as a torn aged picture fell from it.

A little girl of nine…my daughter Emily. Beautiful and vibrant ray of sunshine. My heart sank as I could hear the machines beeping in my mind…the ones she was attached for so long. Now she was long gone.

I felt my mind snap back into reality seeing Olivia just staring at me. It was like she knew the pain I was feeling in that moment.

“She’s pretty…reminds me of my oldest,” she remarked with a sad smile. There was a long moment as she turned her head away, staring at the ax. “I will not allow you to suffer, not when you have your own children. No one deserves that fate.”

“Thank you…but she’s long gone I’m afraid,” I felt my heart tighten at that. The daisies she’d give me, the joy that left when she did. To this day I’m not sure how I am still standing without her. Olivia shook her head looking down at the ground.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “Mine never got a chance to live, because of my own foolish mistake. And that was centuries ago. And now one of them is a monster…”

You took my child what more do you want. Is that beast that I’ve seen a child? I stared at her with uncertainty. I dared to ask.

“Does that thing know you’re his mother?”

“Unfortunately,” she replied, sorrow hitting her features. “And he remains in that form as long as I live, chasing after me.”

“There has to be a way to end all of this,” I remarked. That’s when she looked at the ax and for a long moment remained silent. I looked over, seeing it with J.L. burned into the wood.

“Yes…yes there is,” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. That’s when she moved, grabbing it without a second thought.

“Wait here,” she demanded and started up the stairs. My body jolted to life realizing I was being left alone.

“No! Please we can figure something out!”

That’s when thunder hit…and a growling was heard above us. The claws and rhythmic pounding shook the house above us.

“It’s here,” she whispered, fear lacing her voice. There was more snarling from upstairs circling the house. My body was shaking to fight. I looked at her, we had to survive.

“How do we stop it?”

“We don’t,” she protested.

“You can’t be serious,” my voice growled back. She snapped.

“You run, fight or you die, those are the options you have Adam Weiss,” she growled. That’s when the claws passed the poor through the splintered door. It was inside.

“You’re insane,” I breathed.

“You have one chance,” she whispered keeping our voices down from the beast above us. I could hear the claws raking into the split wooden floor. I watched Olivia as she readied her ax in hand. It looked obnoxious compared to the beast I witnessed earlier. Like fighting a dragon with a damn stick.

Then I saw it through the door. Those glowing red eyes, its head shaped like a demonic horse with horns, staring at us in the dark growling.

“Back up,” she whispered.

That’s when the talons were ripping at the basement door. My lungs seized as I watched the creature work its way through. Was I going to witness seeing this woman battle a monster? But then again…she didn’t seem human either.

“Back up!” she demanded again.

It happened so quickly. Her hand was outstretched, the magic now blasting into the beast, sending it backwards from the door with such force. Her ax still gripped into her other hand as it roared as it reared back.

“RUN!” she demanded as we finally burst through the door. We evaded the beast as we finally ran out into the stormy night. We knew it was only a matter of time before the beast would catch up. She only blinded him for a mere moment to make our escape.

Then I heard the hellish roar of the beast behind us as we ran further and further from the house and into the darkened woods.

That’s when I recognized a familiar sight. My car. My beautiful battered up car.

She readied her ax as I raced into the driver’s seat. Damn it the tire. I forgot about the tire!

“You need to leave! Now!” she ordered.

“The tire’s flat! We’re stuck!” my voice becoming desperate as I stood outside the driver’s side.

That’s when the monsters face slowly appeared from the wood line. It’s predatory gaze on us and ready to strike. There was no way I would survive this.

“I’ll take care of it just get in,” Olivia reassured desperately.

“It won’t move!” I protested. She looked at me sternly.

“Just get in!” she pushed.

I found myself back in the driver’s seat as she kept her eyes on the beast, her other hand reached out to the flattened tire. The magic flew out, repairing it within moments.

Free. We were free. I started the engine immediately. She looked at me.

“RUN!” she ordered. That’s when it happened. The monster lunged, and landed on her smacking the side of the car on the way down. I witnessed in horror as she kept the beast occupied.

“Adam you need to go now!” she cried desperately as she gripped and slashed her ax at the creature who snarled and bit at her. Strike after strike, they were hitting and missing in a matter of seconds. Then…he came back. That demon.

He was laughing and clapping as his voice mocked their fights of survival. Like an audience clapping in a lion’s den.

“Come on boy, bite her! Haha watch out Olivia, you might lose your head!” he mocked from the sides. “Get her!”

I watched in horror until I felt a rage burst through me. I had to do something.

I threw the car into gear and floored it until I felt a satisfying crunch of the creature at the front of my bumper. Now the car was toast…the impact was too much as I flung myself out of the car.

“You can’t stop this…idiot,” the demon mocked, his eyes turning black. That’s when I saw her. Olivia was running towards the fallen beast and ready to strike. Again and again, she struck, the magic surrounding the ax in her hands. The beast yelled in agony each time, trying to dodge every blow but no avail. Then…something happened. Something felt wrong as the beast laid on the ground.

“You can’t escape this Mrs. Leeds,” the demon grinned.

***

Olivia Leeds

This was it…this was my death. Everything I tried was failing. The beast kept rising as if nothing happened. Every piercing blow, everything I had was doing nothing. I was on the ground, catching my breath as I felt the mud underneath me. I was tired and it wasn’t just my body. It was deeper.

But I was not going to be bested by this thing. That’s when he approached us.

“You are mine,” he claimed. “And you will suffer your fate. You ungrateful little wretch!”

He was charging towards me as the beast jumped and I barely moved out of the way. That’s when I saw Adam.

“Hey!” he yelled, his voice filled with grit. The demon rolled his eyes, irritation just spewing from him.

“Maybe your death could way while I rip this man’s throat out,” the demon growled, his dark black eyes glaring at Adam.

“No!” I gasped as he lunged towards him.

***

Adam Weiss

The man lunged at me within seconds. My mind was racing. The creature wasn’t the devil, it was that man. This beast felt as if it were only its pet. And I knew I was in trouble.

The man’s eyes turned dark and blackened as his grinned widely. But that’s when I saw her. Olivia was sprinting towards me, ax in hand as she ran to save me. But the man grabbed her, gripping her by the neck and throwing her body in front of the beast.

“She can’t save you,” the man smirked. “You’re not getting out of this alive.”

Bastard.

“Adam!” she cried out as she crawled away from the beast.

“I’m a demon, you think she’s the victim here?” the man growled. “She’s the one who sold her own child! So who’s the real devil here?”

I tried to find anything. I didn’t have an ax like Olivia did. I need some sort of weapon. That’s when I looked down. The rosary…it had fallen by the car. I forgot I had it in my pocket. I rushed over, grabbing the rosary and diving for the tattered bible in my car. If it’s a demon, it’ll hate this. As I grabbed it, I could hear him laughing at me in the background.

“Sure…sure, take a moment and pray to God,” the man grinned. “Don’t be surprised if you die in the middle.”

That’s when the beast’s eyes glared at me. I grabbed the rosary in my hand, throwing it over to Olivia as it sat by her feet.

***

Olivia Leeds

My eyes rested on the rosary that landed in front of me. Holy. It was something holy. I snatched it from the ground, wrapping it all down my arm. The beast snarled at Adam, glaring at me. I then lunged at it, hugging it tightly before it could make its charge.

“No!” I demanded, my grip so tight around its neck.

“Stupid girl,” I heard the demon mock as I gripped onto that beast with all my might. I would not let this thing kill another. I refused to let another person die. That’s when I hugged the beast so tightly as I glanced, seeing Adam’s hands on the Bible. The devil may damn me…but maybe God could forgive the child. I couldn’t let Him abandon my son.

Adam threw another cross necklace towards me and I held onto it so tight with my other hand. The demon watched us and his expression changed. Confusion.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“God might not help me, but it will certainly help her,” Adam’s voice rang. I heard the prayers within moments. The creature growled and tried to fling out of my grip. I tried to imagine the little boy I saw before.

“Shhhh little one mommy is here…” I whispered as my body shook. “And I need you to stop…”

The rumbling of the beast went through me with every breath it took. Then after a few lines from Adam’s prayers…the beast stopped fussing. I swallowed as I looked into the eyes of the beast. That’s when tears formed in my eyes. They weren’t some ghastly thing…they were John’s eyes.

“Mommy?” it asked, its voice becoming childish. I only hugged it tighter.

“Shhh yes little one,” I reassured. “I’m so sorry I did this to you.”

I felt tears running down my face as I gripped harder. Then in a moment, there was a flash, and I was torn from the beast.

The magic that hit me burned into my skin.

“That’s enough!” the demon growled at us. “It’s almost dawn and your time is running out! This time I’ll make sure your monster won’t stop until you are dead!”

His eyes glared fire.

“Starting with this one!” he growled as he then charged at Adam with such speed. I’m done with this game. I tossed the cross around my neck and grabbed my ax on the ground ready to fight. But then the demon snapped.

“Kill him! Kill him!” he demanded, his fingers snapping at each order for the beast. Nothing. Nothing was happening. I looked over, the beast now standing beside me as Adam looked between us and the demon.

The creature stared at the demon with hate in its eyes. Did…did he finally see me as his mother?

The demon snapped his fingers profusely.

“I. Gave. You. An. ORDER!” it growled his eyes filled with hatred. That’s when I lifted my hand as the creature almost smiled at me. Magic splayed from my fingers in a chain like form, wrapping around the demon and slamming him into the ground. Adam looked at me with such horror in his features.

“Adam…run,” I demanded. Then it happened.

The demon was turning into a horrendous beast. Something far more sinister than the child before me in its monstrous form. I looked sternly at Adam.

“Run! And don’t look back!” I growled as he got to his feet. He hesitated at first but then sprinted down the street as this monster formed in front of us. I was relieved as he ran further and further into the woods. Far away from here.

“You will pay for this,” the demon growled at us. Such spite and hatred came from his inhumane tone. I snarled at him.

“You can’t control us anymore,” I threatened.

“You made a contract, your soul is mine,” the demon repeated, his teeth showing. That’s when the beast got in front of me.

“Mommy? I want you to run,” the beasts childish voice said as it glared the demon down. And for that moment…he was no longer a beast…but my son. For a moment.

“Don’t look back,” its inhumane beastly voice commanded.

“Get him,” I growled. The creature lunged for the monstrous form of the demon. That thing I ran from all these years was ripping this thing into pieces like a rabid dog. All to save me. He was wounded but despite all that, the beast grabbed him and dragged him further into the woods towards the old well. He jumped, and the demon screamed as they sank to the bottom. I ran so fast and far from that place as I heard the screams of monstrous battle behind me.

Three hundred years. And I was finally free. I watched as the creature shut the well closed behind them. It felt like a rush of that fateful night all over again. Running from that creature and refusing to look back. But now it was different.

That creature was now doing my bidding. Slaying that evil being for me. If he would die…I wasn’t sure. Something in my gut told me this wouldn’t be the last time.

I ran for miles, eventually finding a safe haven to a small town still buried in the woods from all those years ago. I was a woman out of time. And when I looked back at the pines and I knew it had its own monster roaming and protecting those woods.

I might be safe now…but God help anyone who gets in the way of the Jersey Devil.

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Beyond the Legends is a fictionalized series based on folklore with a combo radio drama series I’m hoping to relaunch. Thank you so much for being here!

Inspired by The Jersey Devil, a NJ Folklore story.