“What the—” Brian grabbed his soda from the TV tray as it toppled, sending Cheetos across the living room. In the kitchen, something shattered.
Denise paused the TiVo; Rod Serling halted mid-intro. “Earthquake?”
“Don’t think so.”
The lights went out.
“So much for hour 18 of the Twilight Zone marathon.” Denise didn’t sound overly disappointed.
Brian shuffled across the room, careful not to crush Cheetos into the carpet. Retrieving his keys from the hook, he said, “But that was ‘Maple Street.’ One of the best.” He shined his keychain light below his chin, campfire/Bela Lugosi-style. “Monsters were due on Maple Street.”
“Quit it. Check the backyard.”
Brian slipped his shoes on before entering the kitchen. “Hey, that serving tray your folks gave us, the one shaped like Oahu. We don’t need to send a thank-you anymore.”
A foot-wide ditch ran across the backyard, fence to fence. The fences themselves were fine, but Brian could see the ditch cut into the next yards.
“What was the episode about?”
Brian walked onto the lawn. Water bubbled into the bottom of the ditch. He hoped it was water. “Aliens experimented on a neighborhood. Turned the power out, blocked radio transmissions. Eventually, the humans got paranoid, turned against each other.”
“Sounds fascinating.”
Denise, who’d been unenthusiastic throughout the marathon did sound fascinated.
Brian turned the flashlight on her face? “Who are you? What’ve you done with my wife?”
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