The Jersey Devil Unchained (Tales from the Cryptids)

The Devil does not forget his own. In the depths of the Pine Barrens, something was born from a curse, a thing that was never meant to walk among men. It was given, not loved. It was cast out, not mourned. And yet, it endures, lurking at the edges of nightmares, a whisper in the wind, a shape glimpsed between the trees. The stories have tried to contain it, but they are nothing more than lies wrapped around a terrible truth.

This is not a myth. This is the voice of the thing itself, a mind that is not human, a hunger that is eternal, a force that has moved unseen through centuries of blood and fear. It has watched the world change, listened to the prayers of the weak, and laughed at the hunters who thought they could kill what was never meant to die. With every flickering lantern, every hushed tale, every tremor of doubt in a believer's heart, it has grown. And behind it all, the voice of its father calls to it, guiding it, shaping it, reminding it that it was never just a monster-it was always meant to be something far worse.

Fear is not enough. Horror is not enough. The Devil's child has a purpose, and the time is coming when it will step beyond the trees once more. The stories that kept it hidden have only made it stronger, the denials have made it only more certain of its purpose. The world is no longer safe in its disbelief, and the thing in the Barrens is waiting in the dark. Waiting for you.