Infestation: A Small Town Nightmare by Tanya R. Taylor

 
     
    I
     
     
    "Honey, wake up!" Dave shook her
gently. The tossing and turning had jolted him from his
sleep.
    Marie opened her eyes suddenly. She
was in a state of shock.
    "You were having a bad dream," he told
her.
    She wiped the pebbles of sweat that
sheathed her forehead and sat up in bed. "What time is
it?"
    Dave glanced at the clock. "It's half
past three. Are you okay?"
    Marie scanned the dark room as if
distracted by something. "They're here," she said. "We have to do
something."
    "Whose here? What are you talking
about, honey?"
    She turned to him. "This was no normal
dream, Dave. The people of this town are in serious
danger."
    Dave reached over and switched on the
light. "Tell me about this dream."
    She tried to assume a more comfortable
position as if it would somehow aid in telling the story. "I saw
these black, hideous-looking creatures hovering in mid-air and the
townspeople below were running in all directions in panic and in
terror. Then I saw you, me and Amy driving in the pick-up and bolts
of lightning were shooting everywhere. Lamp-poles were being set
ablaze as we shot past them and people were scattering like crazy
fleeing in nearby bushes and hiding just to dodge them.
"
    "These black creatures… were there a
few… many?" Dave asked.
    There were so many of them, Dave," she
replied. "They were hovering over the town in one main area
over-head, then they dispersed in various directions—east, west,
north and south."
    "Is that it?"
    "No." Marie shook her head quickly.
"People—young and old—were standing at the edge of the bridge
overlooking the sea. They were just standing there as if in a daze
or something, then I saw them walk off one by one."
    "What?" Dave's curiosity was
piqued.
    "It's terrible!" Marie cried. Dave
could see the terror in her eyes.
    "What do you think this all
means?"
    "Evil has arrived—an evil that this
town has never, ever seen before," she replied.
    "Are you sure about this one?" Dave
stared intensely. "Maybe it means something other than what you
think." He felt a measure of anxiety he didn't remember feeling
before.
    "No." Marie shook her head again.
"It's landed and I don't know what to do about it."
    After a seemingly long pause and
considering everything that was just shared, Dave said: "Let's try
to get some sleep. Your book signing is in a few, short hours.
We'll talk about this later, okay?"
    "Okay," Marie answered.
    Dave switched off the light again. His
only prayer right then was that the anxiety would wear off soon
enough for both of them to get back to sleep. After eighteen years
of marriage and witnessing each premonition and dream Marie ever
spoke about materialize one after the other, he knew he had no
choice but to take what she had seen seriously. This one tonight,
however, seemed to be the worst.
     
    Later that
morning…
     
    "How's the coffee?" Dave asked a
minute after he had placed Marie's favorite brown mug on the table
in front of her.
    "It's fine," she answered
tiredly.
    "Were you able to get back to
sleep?"
    "No."
    "Me neither."
    "Oh, sweetheart…" Marie looked at him
pitifully, feeling terribly guilty for having laid such a burden on
him in the middle of the night. "…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said
anything last night."
    Dave sat across from her. "I wanted to
know, remember?"
    "You know what they say about
curiosity." She smiled weakly.
    "I can't recall. How does it go
again?"
     
    "Good morning!" Seventeen-year-old Amy
Adams sang as she sailed through the kitchen. She gave her parents
each a peck on the cheek.
    "Where are you going already?" Marie
asked.
    "School, Mom. Remember, I have a few
more months left at Riverdale." She smirked.
    Marie glanced at her watch. "But it's
only…"
    "A quarter of seven," Amy noted. "I
wanna get there a little earlier to put in some practice time in
the music room before school starts."
    "Your dedication to your guitar
lessons is commendable," "Dave leapt in.
    "It is," Marie agreed, taking another
sip of