parking lot at the rear. As he turned to enter the lot, a flash of hot pink caught his eye. It was stapled to the telephone pole. Usually such signs advertised garage sales or church picnics, but when he read the lettering on the sign, it chilled his blood.
He looked left, then right. The only person on the street was the jump roper. He reached up and plucked the flyer from the pole, careful not to tear it in half.
As he walked toward his truck, he folded the paper and tucked it in his pocket. This was bad. Very bad.
Matt and Jill had polished off the spaghetti. After dinner, he helped her clear the table and put the dishes in the sink. He volunteered to wash the dishes but she declined, preferring to let them soak while the two of them talked.
They retired to the living room, him in a recliner and Jill sitting across from him on the plush couch, a glass of Merlot in hand. They had talked over dinner, mostly about their pasts and her adventures in nursing. She had also been engaged, but she wasn’t seeing anyone right now. That was the best news Matt heard in a long time.
She told him about the death of her father when she was young. He felt bad for her, not having a father and, from the sound of it, having a mother who didn’t approve of anything her daughter did.
“I think it’s great you’re doing what you want to be doing,” he said.
“You can’t let your parents run your life. I love my mother, but if I went to med school like she wanted me to, I wouldn’t be happy at all.”
He had deliberately been vague about his background, mentioning that his parents were deceased, his time in the military and living in different cities out west. Luckily, she had bought the line about his parents being wiped out in a head-on collision with a semi. He felt his face start to flush when he told her the lie, and hoped she couldn’t tell. Later on, when he got to know her better, maybe he’d tell her the truth about his parents.
Jill tucked her legs up under her and sat Indian-style on the couch.
“So about our encounter in the warehouse,” she said.
“What about it?”
“It’s obvious something strange happened. And you seem to know more than you wanted to say that night. So what was it? An animal? A howling psychotic?”
Matt wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, not sure if it was the heat or his nerves making him perspire. “Do you believe in UFOs?”
“Don’t even tell me it was an alien.”
“I’m not. Maybe I should rephrase the question. Do you think that UFOs or aliens could exist?”
“It’s not impossible,” Jill allowed.
“How about other things? Loch Ness Monster, ghosts, psychic phenomenon?”
“No, maybe, and no.”
“So you’ll admit that maybe there’s things in this world that are out of the ordinary?”
“I suppose so, yeah.”
Matt swallowed hard. He had never told anyone in detail about the secrets in Lincoln, and it might convince Jill that he had gone off the deep end, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t give up until he explained. Here goes nothing—or maybe everything .
“Jill, the people in this town are not all ... people. That is, they’re not what they appear to be.”
“How so?”
“Underneath the skin, there’s a beast. A monster, whatever you want to call it. As far as I can tell, they prey on people who are human.”
“So, you’re talking about vampires, werewolves, something like that?”
“Not exactly.”
“And I suppose you’ve seen one of these things?”
He detected the skepticism in her voice and thought he must’ve blown it with her. Maybe she would call the Buffalo Psychiatric Center and have them cart him to the booby hatch. “I’ve seen them.”
“When?” she demanded.
He didn’t answer her for a moment, pondering whether or not he should tell the whole truth . But he had already started the unbelievable story, so why not finish it?
“Well?”
“They killed my parents. And my little
He looked left, then right. The only person on the street was the jump roper. He reached up and plucked the flyer from the pole, careful not to tear it in half.
As he walked toward his truck, he folded the paper and tucked it in his pocket. This was bad. Very bad.
Matt and Jill had polished off the spaghetti. After dinner, he helped her clear the table and put the dishes in the sink. He volunteered to wash the dishes but she declined, preferring to let them soak while the two of them talked.
They retired to the living room, him in a recliner and Jill sitting across from him on the plush couch, a glass of Merlot in hand. They had talked over dinner, mostly about their pasts and her adventures in nursing. She had also been engaged, but she wasn’t seeing anyone right now. That was the best news Matt heard in a long time.
She told him about the death of her father when she was young. He felt bad for her, not having a father and, from the sound of it, having a mother who didn’t approve of anything her daughter did.
“I think it’s great you’re doing what you want to be doing,” he said.
“You can’t let your parents run your life. I love my mother, but if I went to med school like she wanted me to, I wouldn’t be happy at all.”
He had deliberately been vague about his background, mentioning that his parents were deceased, his time in the military and living in different cities out west. Luckily, she had bought the line about his parents being wiped out in a head-on collision with a semi. He felt his face start to flush when he told her the lie, and hoped she couldn’t tell. Later on, when he got to know her better, maybe he’d tell her the truth about his parents.
Jill tucked her legs up under her and sat Indian-style on the couch.
“So about our encounter in the warehouse,” she said.
“What about it?”
“It’s obvious something strange happened. And you seem to know more than you wanted to say that night. So what was it? An animal? A howling psychotic?”
Matt wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, not sure if it was the heat or his nerves making him perspire. “Do you believe in UFOs?”
“Don’t even tell me it was an alien.”
“I’m not. Maybe I should rephrase the question. Do you think that UFOs or aliens could exist?”
“It’s not impossible,” Jill allowed.
“How about other things? Loch Ness Monster, ghosts, psychic phenomenon?”
“No, maybe, and no.”
“So you’ll admit that maybe there’s things in this world that are out of the ordinary?”
“I suppose so, yeah.”
Matt swallowed hard. He had never told anyone in detail about the secrets in Lincoln, and it might convince Jill that he had gone off the deep end, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t give up until he explained. Here goes nothing—or maybe everything .
“Jill, the people in this town are not all ... people. That is, they’re not what they appear to be.”
“How so?”
“Underneath the skin, there’s a beast. A monster, whatever you want to call it. As far as I can tell, they prey on people who are human.”
“So, you’re talking about vampires, werewolves, something like that?”
“Not exactly.”
“And I suppose you’ve seen one of these things?”
He detected the skepticism in her voice and thought he must’ve blown it with her. Maybe she would call the Buffalo Psychiatric Center and have them cart him to the booby hatch. “I’ve seen them.”
“When?” she demanded.
He didn’t answer her for a moment, pondering whether or not he should tell the whole truth . But he had already started the unbelievable story, so why not finish it?
“Well?”
“They killed my parents. And my little
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