Night Things: A Novel of Supernatural Terror by Michael Talbot Read Free Book Online

preserved in formaldehyde in some intergalactic natural history museum.”
    Garrett was genuinely surprised. His beliefs about beings from other planets had been forged primarily by recent movies, and it had simply never occurred to him that the inhabitants of UFOs might be anything untoward. In his mind they were all like E.T., shy, ancient, and benevolent. At the moment they seemed infinitely more congenial than the humanity across the table.
    Here was just the kind of thing that made him dislike his new stepfather. Stephen’s attempts to engage him in conversation were so transparent and patronizing. He obviously had no real interest in UFOs and was skeptical about their very existence. Garrett perceived in Stephen’s retorts a hint of the same subtle hostility he had sensed previously, and it suddenly occurred to him that this might be precisely the opportunity he had been looking for. He realized that if he could draw Stephen out, lure him into launching an even more overt attack, then his mother might see for herself once and for all what Stephen’s real feelings toward him were. He was racking his brain to determine what he might say to initiate this plan when his mother intervened.
    “Stephen, wouldn’t you at least be curious?”
    “If you came upon some sort of alien spacecraft sitting in the middle of nowhere, would you blunder inside?”
    “No, but—”
    “I would. I wouldn’t care what happened to me,” Garrett blurted out. The words came tumbling out of his mouth so quickly they surprised him almost as much as they seemed to surprise the adults. Although it had never really occurred to him before, his unhappiness over his mother’s marriage made him realize how much he longed to meet his own E.T., to have a magical, all-powerful friend who would both understand and protect him and perhaps even take him off to some better and more hospitable world. As soon as he uttered the words he felt hopeful he had stumbled upon the provocation he had been looking for, because the expression on Stephen’s face instantly became one of perturbed disbelief.
    For several seconds Garrett waited, but then, to his great disappointment, instead of attacking him Stephen simply shrugged his shoulders and settled back in his chair. At first Garrett felt thwarted, but then he looked at his mother and saw his reply had earned from her a look of unabashed horror.
    “What do you mean, you wouldn’t care what happened to you?” she challenged, and the distress in her voice confirmed for Garrett what he already knew, that his plan had backfired and he had managed to alarm her far more than annoy Stephen. Her continued stare told him that she really expected some sort of response, and this left him in a quandary. On the one hand he did not want to upset her further, but on the other, being forced to retract his statement in front of Stephen seemed equally disagreeable. Finally, forced into a corner, he opted for honesty.
    “I don’t,” he repeated softly as an uneasy silence fell over the room, and as if in response to the moment one of the candles suddenly sputtered, casting strange shadows on the wall.
    This confession filled Lauren with horror. It showed her how upset her son truly was. In addition, his interest in UFOs disturbed her more than she cared to admit. Perhaps it was more than just a childish fantasy. She realized that this was the first time she had encountered an example of her son’s thinking that so radically departed from her own. Whatever the reason, she had a problem on her hands, but she feared by pursuing the topic she would topple whatever headway Stephen and Garrett had made by talking together.
    She suppressed her own misgivings and pushed herself away from the table. “I think it’s time for dessert,” she said. She took a large Sacher torte from the sideboard and served them each a piece. She watched as they ate it, hoping the rich chocolate confection might dispel the somber mood, but