Part 42 (2/2)
Annja nodded. ”I've seen some amazing displays in my time.”
”Well, one of the shooting stars seemed to touch down out there.” She pointed to the window. ”Somewhere in the woods, one of those meteors landed. And somewhere out there, something happened.”
”And you think that David stumbled across the meteor, perhaps?”
”Maybe.”
”And then what?” Annja frowned. ”It would seem unlikely that he came into contact with an extraterrestrial race who then turned him into a mindless zombie that they could control with strange thought beams and stuff like that.”
Sheila eyed her. ”You're mocking me, Annja. I don't appreciate that.”
”Well, try to see it from my perspective. It sounds like another load of BS.”
”It's not bulls.h.i.+t.”
”So you say, right after you tell me that you just lied to my good friend about seeing big foot.”
Sheila sighed. ”Look, they're not related. I told a white lie and now I'm telling you the truth.”
Annja took a deep breath. ”So what exactly are we supposed to do, then?”
”Wait until your clothes are dry and then leave this place. While you still can.”
”While we still can? What does that mean?”
”Haven't you noticed the lack of people in town? The lack of activity? Folks are starting to disappear.”
Annja nodded. ”Things do seem a bit quiet, but I chalked that up to people not needing to come into town all that often.”
”Before Dave changed, this place was much busier.”
”And you're saying he's directly responsible for the people going missing?”
Sheila nodded. ”He knows he can't get rid of everyone without raising the alarm, so he went after the people living farthest away first. Eventually, he'll get to the rest of us. Those of us who live here in town.”
”Why don't you leave?”
Sheila shook her head. ”Not everyone is convinced.”
”You don't say.”
”They think I'm crazy. Just because I had a nervous breakdown a few years back and had to spend some time resting. They think I'm out of my mind. Sure, they're all nice to my face but I know how they talk behind my back.”
”And Ellen thinks this is the case, too?”
”Ellen's my best friend. She's the only friend I have here in town aside from my husband. She's the only one who lets me know what's going on, but she spends most of her days in abject terror of what Dave has become.”
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