Infestation: A Small Town Nightmare Read Online Free PDF Page A

care of by her dad, Amy said: "I'm going by Sandy's
house for a while; okay?"
    "Okay, sure," Dave told
her.
    Marie sat down wearily in Amy's spot
as the teenager retrieved her headphones from the mantle and headed
out the door.
    "Amy told me about the murders." Dave
sat close by. "I can't believe it."
    Marie was visibly
heart-broken.
    "In the past ten years, there's been…
what… two murders?" Dave continued. "And both, to my recollection,
were self-defense cases."
    Marie quietly nodded.
    "It's really happening; isn't it? Just
like you saw?"
    "Yeah," Marie responded almost in a
whisper.
    Dave could feel the anxiety building.
This is one of the times when he desperately wished that somehow
Marie got it all wrong—that her dream was nothing more than
negative entertainment while she slept. However, he knew he wasn't
getting his wish. The signs were matching up.
    "The body of the young woman they
pulled out of waters at the dock wasn't a normal suicide either,"
Marie stated.
    "Normal suicide?" Dave
grimaced.
    "She didn't plan to end her life that
night. Amy and I had just left her aunt's house when we came across
the dreadful scene."
    "You visited the girl's aunt?" Dave
was surprised.
    "I felt I had to." Marie started
rubbing her eyes. "I know this is out of character for me, Dave,
but I couldn't let her family believe that she had killed herself
when I knew she didn't—not after I saw the vision."
    "A vision?"
    "This morning after you left for your
run."
    Just then, the phone rang and Dave got
up to answer it. Seconds later, he handed the receiver to her. "For
you… it's Steven," he said quietly.
    "Steven?" Marie frowned. She
reluctantly took the phone. "Hello…"
    Dave sat down and listened. It wasn't
a regular occurrence for any of Marie's relatives to call the
house. Recently, Steven had been reaching out more and
more.
    "Uh…huh," Dave heard Marie say. "I
don't know about that, Steve." She added,
moments later.
    Marie soon hung up from the call and
looked at her husband with great uncertainty on her face. "He wants
me to come over for a get-together they're having this weekend,"
she said. "He was initially thinking of having it at his house, but
he and Betty are renovating."
    "What's this get-together for?" Dave
was curious.
    "He said it isn't anything
special—just a dinner mainly and that he wanted to do it because we
haven't all been in the same room since Dad died. I know what he
means though. He means that I haven't been in the same room with them since Dad
died," Marie surmised.
    "Are you going?"
    "I don't want to, Dave. I really
don't, but Steven…"
    "Then go for him, if not for anyone
else, since he's reaching out to you like this. Before you know it,
the time will have passed quickly and the visit will be history
until… whenever."
    To Marie, it made sense; Dave always
made sense.
    She sighed heavily. "Okay. I guess
I'll go then."
    Dave reached for her hand and smiled.
"It'll be okay, honey. Trust me."
    Their attention drifted toward the
television when they heard the one o'clock news announced. The
video of the Austin Lane killings was the highlight. Black body
bags were shown leaving the residence on stretchers.
    Marie gasped. "That's one of the boys
in there." Her voice lowered.
    "How can anyone do something so
horrendous?" Dave charged. "They're innocent, for God's sake!" He
slammed his fist on the arm of the chair.
    Marie rested her hand on Dave's. She
didn't know anyone in the world that loved children more than he
did and was sorry that she was never able to give him more of his
own.
    "I don't know why I did
it!" They saw the accused killer declare
his guilt with apparent remorse or what one might think was a
future insanity defense.
    Marie shook her head sadly. "He really
didn't know why he did it," she said.
    The look in Dave's eyes was piercing.
"What do you mean he didn't know why he did it? He's a human being,
dammit! When we do things, we know why we're doing
them!"
    "You still don't