Terror Town by James Roy Daley Read Free Book Online Page A

Kenobi?”
    Dan nodded. “I’ve got two Wookies, a Jawa, and a big bag of light-sabers, hiding in my basement. Do you want to help me find them or cry about the gasman? It’s your choice.”
    “I don’t like you,” Cameron said playfully.
    “I don’t like you, either,” Dan said, flaunting his used car salesman smile. “But it’s nice to see you know about Star Wars .”
    “I’ve got two older brothers. I know about a lot of things.”
    “Like The Sex Pistols.”
    “Yes, like The Sex Pistols.”
    Dan’s salesman smile became a schoolyard bully’s grin. “The Sex Pistols suck. You’re a loser.”
    Cameron’s smile widened.
    This man, she decided, was hilarious… and completely full of crap. He probably liked The Sex Pistols more than she did. And not only that, he had drained her anger away almost magically. He was a Jedi, that’s what he was. He was a shit-disturbing, mind-altering, Jedi.
    Acknowledging this, Cameron realized something: she liked Daniel. Yes, he was too old for her, ten years off the mark from her point of view. But he was funny and cute, maybe even hot. He looked cool in his Black Sabbath t-shirt; his hair was dark and his muscles were strong and lean. He was city, not country. He had character, and baby, that shit mattered. From what she had seen, Dan was sensitive, smart, and able to read people perfectly. He was fun to be around, too.
    She liked him all right, liked him a lot. And she was single now, looking for love, a little remuneration to help ease the pain of a terrible break-up. Maybe she needed a man in her life, not another boy. Maybe she needed someone like Dan. Was it possible the attraction was a two way street? She thought that perhaps it was.
    Silence claimed the room.
    Roger disrupted it: “Should we get going?”
    Cameron heard the words, but their meaning did not register. She was thinking about Daniel now, wondering if she could find a way to get him alone.
     
     
    5
     
    Nicolas Nehalem sat in his car across from the Laundromat, eying The Big Four O . He had a squirrel lying on the seat beside him. He had driven past the rodent, then decided to go back and scoop him up. The poor little guy was still alive, gasping for air, and squealing in pain. The squirrel had been run over by a truck. Its back legs were crushed. Intestines were sticking through a long grisly tear in its stomach. Its tail was twisted awkwardly. A little pink piece of meat hung from its mouth, surrounded by fur that was sticky with blood.
    Nicolas felt a connection with the rodent, and named him Fuzzy.
    But it wasn’t Fuzzy that brought Nicolas to The Big Four O . It was the girl behind the counter: Cameron.
    She captured his interest a week earlier.
    Rewind: Last Wednesday Nicolas had lunch at The Big Four O and Cameron served him. He ordered a hamburger without the bun, three hardboiled eggs, and a glass of chocolate milk. She said it was a strange order. He said she was beautiful. She smiled politely and walked away. When she returned, Nicolas said, “What’s your name?” She told him. Nicolas smiled and said nothing more. And as the day wore on, Nicolas repeated her name over and over inside his mind. It was rattling around his thoughts for hours. Cameron, Cameron, Cameron… All at once, it was decided: he would fill his empty cage with Cameron.
    Fast forward: Nicolas was excited.
    Inside the car, he pressed a button. The automatic window rolled up. He hit another button. The window rolled down. This went on for over ten minutes, and all the while the squirrel wheezed and cried and felt more pain then most people can imagine.
    Then something happened, something that made Nicolas smile with delight: a fly landed on the steering wheel and when Nicolas slapped it, the fly fell onto his lap. The insect was stunned, but alive.
    Delicately, carefully, Nicolas lifted the fly by its wings. This was so good it was making him dizzy. He had a fly, a squirrel, and soon he’d have Cameron too.
    How