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

was
fruitless. She couldn't believe she was there again and wasn't sure
what she was walking into. They were all standing at the door,
feeling somewhat out of place.
    "Come on in," Dave said to them.
"Everyone's here already."
    "It seems awfully quiet," Marie
noted.
    "Yeah." Steven grinned.
    Sylvia Stokes—Marie's mother—was
sitting in her favorite chair. That old thing was around for the
better part of Marie's forty years of existence. Jan, the eldest of
the siblings, was on the couch speaking with their mother.
Vera—second in line to Jan, was in the kitchen busying about. The
kitchen was her domain and no one was allowed in there with her
during family functions unless she specifically requested
assistance.
    All eyes were on Dave, Marie and Amy
when they walked into the living room.
     
    "Hello everyone," Marie said. Dave and
Amy hailed as well. Jan and Vera glanced at each other, then each
responded with a simple, "Hello".
    "Mom…" Marie went over and kissed
Sylvia on the cheek. If the woman's face offered any indication of
her thoughts, it was clear that she was not harboring good ones.
She looked stoically at Marie, Dave and Amy. "How are you all
doing?"
    Amy went over and hugged her
grandmother, but Sylvia barely seemed to notice the girl. She
leaned to the side, retrieved a small blanket she had been knitting
and picked up where she had left off.
    "We're doing good, Sylvia. How are
things with you?" Dave attempted to break the ice that was quickly
forming inside the room. He and Amy sat down together.
    "Jan… Vera…" Marie hailed her sisters
again before sitting next to Dave. Jan and Vera didn't seem the
least bit enthused.
    "Where's Ted?" Marie asked, looking
around.
    "Ted! Marie's here!" Steven shouted
toward the back.
     
    The kitchen, living room and dining
area were all set neatly in one large, open space. Cabinets lining
the ceiling and floor of the kitchen served as a boundary line
between it and the living room.
    A tall, lanky young man in his
twenties emerged from a back bedroom with an equally undernourished
girl on his arm. Ted was a heavy drinker and the youngest of the
Stokes children who always got his way with Sylvia.
    She still allows him to
treat this house like a motel , Marie
thought as she was getting up to embrace Ted.
    "Long time no see, Sis! What's
saying?" Ted voice slurred. "This here's…" He looked at the young
lady next to him. "What'd you say your name was again?"
    "You know my name, you buffoon!" The
girl responded sharply. "Sorry, Ted's sister. My name is Sam… short
for Samantha." She extended a hand. "It's good to meet
you."
    "Nice meeting you too," Marie caught
her hand.
    "Amy, my girl!" Ted pulled up his
niece from the chair and gave her something similar to a bear hug
before turning to Dave and shaking his hand enthusiastically. "Good
to see ya, bro."
    "It's good to see you too, Ted," Dave
said.
    "Well, I know this is supposed to be
some kind of get-together thing, but…" he turned to Sam, "…what'd
you say your name was again?"
    She gave him a reprimanding
glare.
    "Oh, yeah… Sam," he continued. "Me and
Sam gotta hit the road right now. We'll be back in a while. Okay,
Mom?" He eyed his mother who looked back adoringly.
    "You're not driving. Are you?" she
asked.
    "No, mumsy. Ahh…" He looked at Sam.
She knew he had trouble remembering her name again.
    "Sam," Dave reminded him.
    "Right. Right. Sam here… she's
driving," Ted finally cleared it up.
    "All right, son," Sylvia conceded.
"You be careful out there, okay? People in this town have gone
downright berserk lately. I don't know what in the world is wrong
with them."
    Ted leaned over and kissed
Sylvia as she resumed her knitting. Amy sat back and watched her
uncle leave with someone she was sure was yet another stranger he had met and
shacked up with under his mother's nose.
    "So where are your kids?" Marie asked
Jan. "And why isn't Betty here, Steven? She's not
coming?"
    "Ah… no. She's at home,"