Chapter One
"He’s creepy."
"He’s more than creepy. He’s down right evil."
"Come on, guys. Allan Moore pushed his school lunch away. "Gerald Hurd is, well, he’s just a guy, like us."
"Bullshit, Allan. Stanley Bentz eyes narrowed and focused on Allan.
Allan looked away. New Mexico’s Lincoln Forest lay adjacent to the school grounds, and Allan always found comfort in the woods. "He’s just…different, that’s all."
"Yeah, and I know why he’s ‘different’-as you say. Antonio Rodriguez slurped the last of his soda.
"You’re full of it. Nobody knows that, Allan said.
"I do. My mama was there when Hurd was born, and she told me. Antonio squeezed the soda can and waited until Stanley’s and Allan’s attentions focused on him. "Julie Hurd-that’s Gerald’s mother-she said her husband gave her some mixture he called Miquor. It was suppose to be some kind of a liquor that don’t give you a hangover."
"Hey, that sounds good. Give me some, Stanley said.
Allan laughed.
"No, man, you don’t want that shit. It killed Hurd’s father and Mrs. Hurd, when she drank it, she didn’t know she was pregnant. She swore up and down that there was something wrong with her unborn child, but when Hurd was born, he was like normal. Antonio leaned forward. He looked around, as though making sure nobody else could hear him. "Except that he wasn’t. I mean, he looked normal, but even then, as a brand new baby, there was something strange about him. Antonio once again looked around, and wet his lips. "My mama, she works at the hospital, you know. She’s delivered many babies, and she loves them all. She always says that there’s nothing purer than a newborn baby."
Antonio rubbed his arms, as though dispelling a chill. "When Hurd was born, my mama reached out to hold him. That’s when she noticed it. She said it was as if she had touched evil itself."
"Come on, Antonio. You don’t expect us to believe that, do you? Allan asked.
"Believe what you want. All I know is that guy gives me the creeps."
"You and everyone else, Stanley said.
The bell rang and Antonio and Stanley headed for class.
Allan remained sitting on the bench, staring at the woods, wondering if Hurd was really as evil as everyone seemed to make him.
End of Chapter One
