Chapter 1
Ten year old Davey Carter was walking home from the library when he first saw the stranger. He was a tall old man with long white hair and Davey thought his skin seemed to be vacuum sealed to his bones. When the man saw Davey he smiled, that small sent a shiver down Davey's spine.
He saw the man lips move and he knew the man had said hello, Davey gave a quick wave and a small smile and quickened his pace. He wanted to get hone as quickly as he good, besides the fact that the stranger creeper him out completely , he wanted to get started reading the book.
He had recently discover the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan and couldn’t read them fast enough. To Davey the idea of a child with a disability being the offspring of a God thrilled him. Davey had been born deaf and although he knew he would never hear, the idea that there could be a bigger reason behind his deafness, intrigued him.
When Davey got home, he sat in his favorite chair and opened his book. His dad was watching a baseball game, looks like the Guards were losing again. He tried to read but the image of that man had infiltrated his imagination and wouldn’t leave. The man had been wearing a thick black suit, and although it wasn’t necessarily hot, Davey knew it wasn’t cold enough for that thick of a suit, even for an old man. He wondered why he was wearing it, he wondered why had he smiled at him. As Davey sat there, remembering the encounter, he had forgotten that the man had raised his finger to his lips in a hush motion. Did the man know he was deaf and if so, how?
Davey nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his arm. It was his dad asking what was wrong. That he had looked like he saw a ghost. Davey signed that maybe he had and told his dad about the man.
He told him he was probably just passing through thier small town and maybe the man just had poor circulation which was why he wore the heavy suit.
Davey nodded in agreement. He was sure his dad was probably right, but why did the man shush him that way?
Davey shook his head and tried to get the image out of his mind, and opened his book. Besides he had ancient Greek monsters and God’s to contend with.
Davey Carter was born to Marlene, whom everyone called Mary, and Lionel Carter twelve years ago. Davey was born deaf and although it took a while both Mary and Lionel Carter learned American Sign Language long before Davey. They made it a point to use it at all times around him so he would grow up with it as other kids grew up with the sound of words. Davey had never considered himself disabled and to a point he hated that word. For him being deaf was the norm. When the events on the evening of August 15th happened, which had become known as the Oak St. massacre, Davey had both been grateful and hated being deaf.
Chapter 2
“Hey, handsome. Wanna have some fun?” Naomi said.
“Not right now babe the game is on.” Phill said.
“You sure, I will make worth your while.” Namou said will a seductive softness in her voice as she slid one finger down the side of his arm.
“Babe, The game. Maybe later.” Phil said annoyance rising in his voice. He didn’t want have sex with her now, later, oe ever again. Phil had been seeing this little Mexican woman he met at work on the side and she was the only woman he wanted to be with. He knew he would have to leave Naomi soon, he just wasn’t ready for all that drama right now.
“C’mon babe, I’m lonely.” Namoi said almost begging. She hated feeling that she needed to beg for his attention, but it was that or Vic the vibrator again. If she was being honest, Vic was the better lover, but lacked everything she truly wanted, like hands and lips.
She knew something was off with her husband the last few but just figured he was tired of the rut.
She had just turned 32 and Phil 35. They had been married for the last eight years. They didn’t have kids, it was about two years ago they found out Phil was sterile and couldn’t have kids. Since then, it was get up, go to work, come home, eat, and on Thursday night have sex. However the last few Thursdays he wasn’t in the mood. She remembered a time when he couldn’t keep his hands off her, but know he barely looked at her. She knew she was losing him, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight. This was her man and she still loved him.
“I said later!” Phil shouted. “All I want right now is to drink my beer, watch the game and relax. Maybe later I will slip you the old pickle of you still carrying on like this.”
“Fuck you.” She said quietly, almost a whisper as she got up and left the living room in a hurry. A living room they had had sex in a hundred times, a living room that had become cold and heartless.
Chapter 3.
Benny and Betty Gerhardt had been married for 54 years. They had five kids, 7 grandkids, and currently 4 great-grandchildren. They adored every one of them. They lived in the little cream colored house on the corner of Oak street for 51 if those 54 years. They bought the house brand new for $8,000. Benny worked for the electric company for 35 years before he retired at the age of 65 almost fourteen years ago.
June who was four years younger than her husband still woke up every morning at 7 to make them breakfast. She still cleaned the house everyday. Some days were harder than others but as she liked to say- she manages just fine.
Benny could bee found working in his garden most days and every night after dinner they would go for a walk around the small town just like they did when they first moved into the small three- bedroom ranch. Over the years thr dinners got earlier, the walk got shorter, especially as the friends they talked to on those walks began to pass away, but they still went for those walks, her arm inside of his.
Chapter 4
Oak Street was a small dead end road in a small one light town. There were five houses that called Oak street home. The Gerhadts lived in the first home and on yhe other side was a small blue house much like theirs that had been for sale for almost two years now.
Next to them were the Carters. June Gwrhardt just lived when Davey Carter came over and visited sometimes. He had taught her a little sign language over the years. Across from them lived Phil and Naomi Mercer. They had just moved to Oak Street the past summer.
At the end of the road stood the Miller home. Red and Candice Miller had bought the land back in 1979 and built a two-story house on the property. All the other houses on Oak Street were single story ranch. In 1991 Red came home to find Candice in bed with with his brother. He had gotten hisnpistol, killed them both, and them himself. No one had lived there since. Th we house was falling down due to rot and neglect and according toe Benny Gerhardt, it represented the small town of Maronsville.
Benny had watched at family after family had moved away or died off over the years. When Benny and June had bought there house there was well over 500 people living in Maronsvill, now the population had shrunk down to 180 and that included the neighboring farms, of which there was quite a few. The school had closed down 15 years ago amd the local kids now rode the bus to the nearby Village of Cedar Grove. The county sheriff patrolled the small town every now and again. The First Bank of Maronsville closed back in 1996 and the post office shut down a few years later. OOnlya small church which doubled as the small library was still open.
When someone does move into town it’s usually only for the cheap rent or cheap housing market and only live there a few years before buying a nicer house in a nicer and larger town. So when the man in the dark suit had found Maronsville he smiled. Here was a town who is segregated from the outside world as if it was dead and forgotten. As he walked the town the morning of August 15th he saw a young man with a few books in his Han he followed him. When he got to Oak Street and saw there was only a few houses with people in them he thought Oak Street was the perfect appetizer.
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