Black Stump Ridge by John Manning; Forrest Hedrick Page B

Although the light was dim Perdis could still make out the distorted, goblin-like features in the creature’s full-moon face. Feral green eyes glittered beneath a mop of unruly black hair. A smile of sharp, stained, and broken teeth stretched from cheek to chubby cheek. It wore a wrinkled shirt so stained and dirt encrusted that Perdis couldn’t tell with certainty what the original color had been. Bare feet stuck out of the bottom of a pair of ragged, muddy blue jeans. The creature’s stink – the acrid stench of a long-unwashed body – assaulted Perdis’ nose like a physical blow. Hands slightly larger than a child’s reached toward Perdis from the squatting form. Perdis shivered. Only one child he ever saw had hands like those. Instead of rounded fingertips, these ended in elongated digits that sported sharp, talon-like claws.
    “Levi! Getcher ass outta my store! Does your mamma know yer out here after dark?”
    “Nope,” the boy giggled. It was an unnerving, hyena-like sound. “Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Mamma don’t know where I’m at. ’Sides, she knows th’ dark don’t bother me none.”
    “You know you ain’t s’posed t’ be down this far. Now, git outta my store. Git on home t’ your mamma’s.”
    “Whatcha gonna do iffen I don’t? Kin cain’t hurt kin, Coozin.” Levi giggled again.
    “Your momma shoulda drowned ya right after ya squirted out.” Perdis felt his disgust rising like bile in the back of his throat. “An’ quit callin’ me cousin. Only thing you’re cousin to’s one o’ them apes like ya see in th’ zoo. Yer just one tick this side of an animal. Git back t’ th’ woods where you belong. Don’t be comin’ down here an’ upsettin’ decent folk.”
    The creature’s green eyes narrowed; his nostrils flared. Then, just as quickly, the vacuous smile returned. “So I’m a ape. A animal. You decent folks is jus’ jealous ’cause I’m stronger an’ faster’n y’all.”
    “You ain’t faster or stronger than this,” Perdis lifted the shotgun but did not put it to his shoulder. “I ain’t gonna tell you again. Gitcher ass outta my store an’ back up th’ mountain where ya belong.”
    The creature looked at the shotgun, then back at Perdis. His lip curled contemptuously. “One o’ these days, old man, I’ll show you who’s a ape. Y’all know who m’daddy is. One o’ these days he’ll come down an’ show all o’ y’all what fer.”
    The creature dug into a pocket. He extended a grimy fist. The hand opened. A nickel and three pennies clattered to the counter. “Only reason I’s down here t’night is t’get somethin’ fer Ma. T’morra’s her birthday. She likes sweety things. ’Spesh’ly them choklitty things. So, how much o’ that there candy can I get with this?”
    Perdis put the shotgun away and relaxed. A twinge of guilt tugged at him for the way he treated the wretched creature. It wasn’t the boy’s fault he was the way he was. Beneath the filth and deformity he was, in the end, mostly human. Perdis pulled a gallon jar from a shelf behind him, opened the lid, and extended it towards the boy. “Tell ya what. Since it’s fer yer ma, take out three pieces ya think she might like. Keep yer money.”
    The boy looked at Perdis, and then extended one clawed hand. He deftly extracted three foil wrapped chocolate kisses, but made no move to pick up the coins. “Ain’t no beggar an’ I ain’t no thief. I pays fer m’stuff or I does without. Y’all thinks cuz I’s ugly I ain’t a man. Someday I’ll show y’all I’s as much a man as any o’ y’all. Mebbe more.”
     

 CHAPTER SEVEN
    Jake watched the Jeep’s taillights disappear and reappear as it followed the curves near the top of the ridge. Why were they here? Purdie said it was for some Turkey Day hunting. One was kin to Purdie and Lawyer. That might be so and then maybe it wasn’t. The others weren’t kin. Could they be something more? Could they be Treasury men? Agents