Snatchers (Book 9): The Dead Don't Scream Read Online Free Page A

hands. "I knocked on your front door, but there was no reply. So I just came up."
    "And you thought I'd killed myself?"
    "Well..."
    "Jesus." Paul got off the bed and appeared to be in a bad mood, making Karen paranoid. Was he in a bad mood with her? Or was it events from the past that had made him grouchy? "That's the problem with this place. There's no keys for most of the houses around here."
    "That's the trouble with this place?" Karen mocked gently, but was a little miffed about his ungrateful attitude. Yes, he had just lost his son, but he was still breathing. "Don't forget where you were when I first found you."
    "I was with my boy." Paul's words were covered in sadness.
    "You were in a car crash."
    "Look," Paul Dickson said, "If you've come to remind me about you and Shaz saving my skin again ... then don't."
    "I'm not here to argue."
    "Then what're you here for?" Paul stood up straight with his hands on his hips. His face was filled with anger.
    "To see if you're okay." Karen cocked her head to make eye contact with her male friend, and the concerned Bradley queried, " Are you okay?"
    Paul sat down on the bed, hunched his shoulders and lowered his head. Of course he wasn't!
    Karen sat next to him, placed her arm around his waist and slowly dropped her head to the side; it eventually rested on his shoulder. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked.
    "No," Paul said in a hoarse voice. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to stay like this, no talking."
    "Okay."
    Paul Dickson closed his eyes and hugged Karen Bradley tighter. "I just want you to hold me."
    So she did. And fifteen minutes later, she went back to her own house.

Chapter Six
     
    Vince Kindl couldn't sleep and decided to go for a walk. He strolled down Cross Road, passing a couple of parked vehicles that were occasionally used for runs, and could see Harry Branston, sitting on the kerb, staring into nothingness.
    Vince stopped, took a look over his shoulder, then gaped back over in Pickle's direction. He was unsure whether to approach him or not. Maybe he needed some time to himself.
    Vince hesitated, but finally made a decision to go back to the house, back to Rosemary. His steps were few when Pickle called out to him. Vince turned around and announced, "I didn't wanna bother you. You looked like you were daydreaming."
    "I was." Pickle smiled, then urged Vince to sit next to him. "Reality always wins in the end."
    "Maybe this isn't reality." Vince went over and parked his rear next to Pickle's. "Maybe this has been one big dream."
    "I'd take tha' right now," Pickle began to snicker. "If I woke up from this to find I was still in Stafford Jail, I'd be the happiest man alive."
    "At least then you'd be with KP."
    Pickle smiled. "O' course, but I have met some good people in this dire situation o' ours."
    Vince asked, "Anyway, what are you doing out this evening? You don't have another shift till tomorrow."
    Pickle smiled thinly and twisted his face. "I just fancied some air. Is that allowed, Kindl?"
    Vince smiled at Branston's light ribbing, then looked to the side and saw Pickle wince slightly and saw his left hand rub his stomach. He looked to be in some discomfort.
    "Problems?" asked Vince, noticing that his friend was in a little pain.
    "Got an upset stomach."
    "You as well? Must be the water." Vince shook his head. "You wanna be careful you don't soil yourself. It's embarrassing, especially when you're a grown man. Nearly happened to me a few years ago."
    "Really? Dare I ask wha' happened?"
    "I used to live next door to this blonde twenty-something. Absolutely gorgeous, she was."
    "And?"
    "Well," Vince cleared his throat and continued, "one day she came round to my house and started banging the door. I opened it and could see she was in a foul mood."
    Pickle rubbed his head, confused. Where was this tale going? "Why did she do that?"
    "She accused me of stealing some of her underwear off her washing line. She said that she was going to get her bodybuilding