Point Pleasant Read Online Free PDF

huge .
    When the Mothman had first risen up in a clearing and interrupted Ben and Nicholas’ journey to the old TNT factory, its arms and legs dangled from its long, awkward body as its wings beat the air and sent up clouds of dust and dirt. Its upper torso was nauseatingly thin with the sharp indications of a ribcage visible through its skin. Its gut was swollen as if it had just eaten a large meal. In the back of Ben’s mind, he wondered if that was because it had enjoyed a one-course meal in the form of little Grant Harper.
    The Mothman had opened its wide mouth and uttered the most frightening noise Ben had ever heard; it was shrill, sharp, and sounded like a school bus full of screaming children taking a nosedive into a ravine.
    As it flew at them, Ben caught a fleeting glimpse of its eyes before he and Nicholas turned and ran for their lives. The wide orbs were a sickening, unnatural scarlet not unlike the shade of Nicholas’ bicycle.
    Unadulterated relief rushed through Ben when he finally saw the red of that same bicycle through the thicket. Without speaking a word, Ben met Nicholas’ gaze. They nodded to each other and broke into a sprint.
    Nicholas pulled his Schwinn out with little effort, hopped onto the saddle, and shoved off toward the road. Ben tugged at his blue Huffy, but it caught on the foliage. Goosebumps rocketed across every inch of his skin when he heard it again; the Mothman let out its wretched wail as it reappeared several feet away from Ben, who still struggled to liberate his bike.
    “Ben!” Nicholas yelled, his voice thick with terror.
    Ben yanked with a strength that should not have been possible for a twelve-year-old boy, and his Huffy came free of the tangled mess of vegetation that anchored it. He lost his footing, sprawled backwards, and cried out when he landed on a large rock that jutted out from the dirt beneath him. The bike fell on top of him with a painful thud and an awkward jab of the handlebar.
    “Ben!!” Nicholas repeated, but Ben could not see his best friend; he could only see the thing as it lumbered toward him, slow and stalking, with its wings drawn tight behind its back.
    It jumped, and one of its wings unfurled to bat something away from its head. Rocks , Ben realized. Nicholas had leapt from his bike and was throwing rocks at the Mothman’s head.
    Ben scrambled to his feet and dragged his bike along with him as he rushed past the creature, who was still occupied with defending itself against Nicholas’ well-aimed assault. Ben jumped on his bike just as Nicholas threw one final rock and then climbed back onto his Schwinn.
    “Go!” Nicholas bellowed, and Ben needed no further encouragement.
    They set off down River Bend Road. Ben pedaled as fast as his legs would work. Adrenaline fueled his every movement. He gripped the handlebars of his bike and pushed himself harder.
    Nicholas cried out a curse, but Ben barely heard the colorful word over the thumping timbre of blood in his ears. He spared a look over his shoulder and saw that the Mothman had recovered from Nicholas’ attack and had taken flight once more.
    In the morning light, Ben marveled over its considerable wingspan as the Mothman flew over the open road. He forced his legs to move faster, and his thoughts wandered to Mrs. Calloway; it had chased her car like a cat chases a mouse.
    Ben and Nicholas were now the mice.
    S omething cold and solidbrushed against the nape of Ben’s neck; it was a wing. The Mothman had caught up with them. Ben had known their bikes were no match for its speed, but he had hoped they would have gotten further down the stretch of River Bend Road.
    Ben screamed a curse of his own when the sudden crack of a shotgun filled the morning air with a sharp, distinctive KAPOW!
    The creature hovering above Ben’s head let out another bloodcurdling scream and flew upwards, but Ben did not stop to see where it had gone.
    “It’s Mr. Tucker!” Nicholas shouted, and Ben turned his focus to