Read Online After Dark by James Leck, Yasemine Uçar, Marie Bartholomew, Danielle Mulhall - Free Book Online

what they were wearing?”
    I shook my head and considered getting another Re-Animator.
    â€œTheir pajamas,” he said triumphantly.
    â€œTheir pajamas?”
    â€œDon’t you see? Pajama-wearing adults do not chase suit-wearing adults through their backyards — it just doesn’t happen. Mr. Baxter wasn’t even wearing a shirt, just some blue pajama pants. And Mrs. Baxter was wearing a pink housecoat and pink fuzzy slippers. And, even if pajama-wearing people did start chasing suit-wearing people off their properties every night of the week, it wasn’t just what they were wearing that was significant, it was how they were moving that really stood out.”
    â€œHow were they moving?”
    â€œThey were moving at an incredible velocity,” he said, his eyes getting wide. “If I didn’t know better, I would’ve guessed they were Olympic sprinters on some powerful, performance-enhancing drug. But they didn’t have the smooth movements of trained athletes — they were kind of jerking, like they were being pulled along by invisible strings.”
    â€œAnd they were chasing the man in the suit?”
    â€œThat’s the kicker,” he said. “This man was extremely large. I would estimate he was at least six and a half feet tall and muscular. He was bigger than Mr. and Mrs. Baxter put together, but he was scared of them, really scared. I saw his face before he ran into the woods behind the property, and he looked terrified.”
    â€œWell, that’s a scary story, Miles,” I said, getting up. “Good luck with everything. If I see Mr. and Mrs. Baxter running around in their underwear, I’ll be sure to get out of the way.”
    â€œTheir pajamas,” he said, standing up, too. “Look, I’m telling you this because we need to do something. We need to warn people!”
    â€œI’ll put it at the top of my to-do list,” I said.
    â€œYou don’t get it,” he said, shaking his head in frustration. “Look, later that night I went back to investigate the situation. I hid in one of the trees at the rear of the Baxter property and observed the house. At precisely 10:48, Baxter came out of his house and walked to the small barn at the back of his property. When he came out, Mrs. Baxter and the man in the suit were following him. They were walking in single file.”
    â€œWow, single file — that’s pretty weird, Miles.”
    â€œThat’s what I thought,” he said, “but it gets worse. They heard me, I don’t know how, I was thirty yards away, staying perfectly still, but they heard me. About halfway to the house, they all stopped walking at exactly the same time and turned around. I don’t have any definitive proof, but I’d say they’re sharing what is commonly referred to as a hive mind. They stopped, turned and then, without saying a word, they started marching toward me. That’s when I took some serious evasive action, my friend, and a few minutes later I was trying to explain what happened to you and your uncle.”
    â€œI’ll make sure I stay on my toes, Miles,” I said, heading for the door. “Thanks for the drink.”
    â€œDid your uncle come home?” he asked, just as I was walking out.
    â€œI don’t think so,” I said.
    â€œI think he knows something is wrong, Charlie. That’s why he left. He knows.”
    â€œSure,” I said, and left Miles standing in the middle of the Voodoo, looking worried.
    I headed back to Church Street, which was still busy. It wasn’t New York City–busy, not by a long shot, but it had a certain bustle about it. It was a relief to see there were a few people around under the age of fifty. There were even a few under the age of eighteen, but I didn’t feel much like making friends, not in my slightly ripe Choke clothes. So I headed back to the inn.
    About two minutes into the hike