Sentinel

Chapter 1: Moving Day

Out of all the creatures I've faced over the last three months, the Jersey Devil was by far the stupidest. Even its anatomy was a joke.

It had the head of a goat with horns that could only be described as decorative and utterly useless. They were about three inches long but, because they curled, only about a half inch actually pointed frontward.

Out of its four legs, only two had a purpose. It had hooves to walk on and two tyrannosaurus rex arms big enough to hold a twig.

Its body was covered in grey matted fur and was framed by leathery bat wings that were the only things that actually made it mobile.

The thing you had to watch out for was it tail, which was like a rat's except for the three spikes at the end. Each one had venom that could knock you out with just a prick and have you waking up in a ditch the next day. I knew from experience. I didn't know what a full-on sting would do but I was sure it wouldn't be good.

The Jersey Devil seemed to be trying to scare me off by screeching and batting its wings at me. Devils didn't like to fight head on. They prefer a guerrilla warfare tactic, charging an unsuspecting victim, stinging them and then retreating until the venom took effect. But I wasn't about to let this thing go. I pulled my saber from its sheath and readied for battle.

Now you may be wondering: what's a Jersey Devil doing in a Washington State forest? Shouldn't it be in New Jersey?

To that I have to say, things are never that simple. No creature can seem to stay in the same area it was first spotted by a human. But how I wish they would.

Even in the moonlight, I could see the gold shine on the hilt of my sword as I firmed my grip. The Devil finally realized that I wouldn't back down and made a dive at me that I easily evaded. It doubled back for another attack.

This time I sided stepped and brought the blade down on its neck, separating its head from the rest of its body. It flopped on the ground and squirmed for a bit before turning into a pile of dust.

That was always convenient. No corpse cleanup. Throughout the three months I had been hunting these monsters I still hadn't figured out how or why they deteriorate so fast. And I wasn't worried about finding out tonight.

I looked down at my sweats and t-shirt and sighed in relief. They were safe from stains. Last night's t-shirt hadn't been so lucky and it was one of my favorites too. I bought it at a music festival I went to with my high school friends the summer after senior year.

Now it was torn, covered in blood, and hidden at the bottom of the garbage can behind the garage of my parents' house. That shirt was just one in a long list of clothing casualties since this whole mess began.

I checked my phone for the time. It was already four in the morning. I'd needed to get back home if I wanted to get some sleep before moving day.

***

"Sky, honey, it's time to get up," My mom called gently from my door.

I groaned and rolled over to look at her with blurry eyes. It was Saturday and she was still in her pajamas, her auburn hair in a messy bun on the top of her head.

She smiled like she knew I had stayed up too late and was in no condition to start moving boxes. I was naturally a night owl but my mom had no sympathy for my early morning troubles.

I glanced at the clock on my nightstand or at least the spot where the clock used to be but it was now packed in one of the cardboard boxes scattered across my floor.

"What time is it?" I asked my voice thick with sleep.

"Almost nine thirty. We need to leave here by eleven if we want to make it to the apartment at the same time as Hana." Hana was my friend and college roommate for the last two years, soon to be three.