�Joey, are you going to park already or what?� asked Justin, annoyed as Joey circled around the block again.
�Jesus, kid, have some patience.�
�Joey, you�ve been circling this block for almost half an hour. There are open spaces, just park already!�
�Dude, it�s parallel parking.�
�Duh, I can see that,� replied Justin, rolling his eyes. �You lived in New York, the state of parallel parking, almost all of your life. It should be, like, second nature for you.�
Joey spotted a free spot and stopped to pull in. �If you hadn�t noticed, we don�t get to drive that often and when we do it�s either valet or a parking lot.�
Finally, after he parked and shut the ignition off, they got out of the car and began walking toward the main street of the town. Amityville was like your average small town. Little shops lined the street, bicycle riders sped alongside vehicles, and people milled around, not fearing the ongoing traffic in the road. Small red, white, and blue flags adorned the old fashioned lamp posts, wrought iron benches were scattered here and there on the sidewalk, and all the doors to the shops were wide open, welcoming customers.
Justin shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled, obviously enjoying being able to walk about without having a guard towering over his every action. He still wore sunglasses and a hat, which had grown to be second nature anytime he ever ventured out of doors.
�So where are we headed,� asked Justin.
Joey squinted and looked around. �I dunno, it doesn�t seem like they have much. I think I spotted a comic shop up ahead, you wanna go?�
Justin nodded and they continued down the sidewalk. The locals recognized the strangers but nodded politely as they passed. When they walked into the shop they slid their glasses up to the bill of their hats, their eyes adjusting to the slight change in atmosphere. The walls were lined with posters of different comic book heroes and the movie posters of the comics that had been made into movies. Two long rows of comics ran down the middle of the room, leading to a counter where a girl sat, reading a book, her head bobbing to the music that came from the overhead speakers.
Joey tapped Justin in the side before making his way to one of the stands. Justin nodded and proceeded to the counter, where he planned on asking the girl if there were any places that they should go see. When he got there he stood and smiled his prize-winning smile, only the girl didn�t look up. He frowned slightly and knocked on the glass counter.
The girl jumped slightly and looked up. �Hi, can I help you?�
�Yeah, I was wondering if you knew any places around here to go. Y�know, a club or something.�
The girl looked at Justin as if he had grown a third head and chuckled lightly. �You�re not from around here are you?�
�Nope. My friends and I are on a vacation for a week and I wanna do something besides hang out at the house staring at their ugly mugs all week,� joked Justin.
�There isn�t much to do around here besides Main Street. There�s the beach but that�s about half an hour away from here,� she answered, still wracking her brain. �OH! And the local church is having a small festival this Wednesday.�
Justin raised an eyebrow at the girl, obviously unimpressed by her excitement. He had been hoping that there would be some type of teenage entertainment going on in this town. �Is there even a movie theatre around here?�
�Yep. Go down Main Street till you hit Keystone then take a left and it�s two blocks down.� She paused and continued on, blushing slightly. �But then again, I don�t think you�d be too interested in what they have playing this week.�
�Why?� asked Justin, his interest in the town slowly diminishing with every word she had said.
�Well, because they�re having a Disney marathon and you don�t look like the kind of guy who�d want to sit around and watch Cinderella with little 5 year old girls,� she answered, laughing slightly.
Justin frowned and groaned inwardly. So much for looking for chicks. He leaned against the counter and looked around to see what Joey was up to. He was currently engrossed in sifting through the superman comic books, no doubt looking for one to add to his extensive collection. He sighed and was about to walk away when the girl spoke.
�So, where are you staying?� Justin gave her a look and she hurriedly said, �I�m only asking because all the motels are full and the beach houses are closed because it�s not the summer season so I was just wondering��
He furrowed his brow and tried his hardest to remember the name of the family�s house. Da-something or another, he knew that much. �Hey, Joey!�
Joey turned around at the mention of his name. �What?�
�What�s the name of the family that used to live in the house we�re staying?�
�Oh! Uh, the Dafoe�s,� he answered before turning back around to digging through the clearance bin.
Justin turned back to the girl about to repeat the name but stopped when he saw her glaring at him as if he had just insulted her mother.
�Let me guess, you�re here to make another half assed movie on the,� she crooked her fingers and did the air quotes �Amityville horror house.�
�No, my friends and I are here on vacation,� explained Justin slowly, hoping she would stop glaring at him like that. It was making him really uncomfortable.
�All right, so, no movie. Ghost hunting then?� she asked, narrowing her eyes at Justin when the corner of his eye twitched. Justin realized he was caught when the muscle in her neck flexed as she tightened her jaw.
�Well, you see, my friend is really��
�Cut the crap, asshole,� she said sharply. �I�m sick of you Hollywood jerks coming to our town trying to dig up the past and putting your nose where it doesn�t belong. You shouldn�t be here.�
~*Back at the house*~
Chris had spent all day looking through the house, going room by room looking for anything that might reveal some secret about the murders. He searched from the attic to the basement and didn�t find a bloody thing other than dust bunnies that made him sneeze and his eyes water until he couldn�t see anything. Eventually he gave up, disappointment setting in so he decided to go play video games. When the others returned they cooked and sat down to eat and now he, Justin, and JC were doing the dishes.
�Dude, that chick at the comic book store was mental, man,� commented Justin.
�Why, because she didn�t fall for the great Timberlake charm,� teased Chris as he handed him another plate to rinse off.
�Naw, man, I didn�t even try to charm her,� he replied, quickly rinsing the plate off before handing it to JC. �All I did was mention the house and she went ape shit. She glared at Joe and I until we left.�
�The house is probably what set her off,� remarked JC. �I�m sure the people of this town don�t want to be reminded of the horrible past by tourists just looking to stir up trouble.�
�But I wasn�t trying to stir up trouble,� cried Justin. He rinsed off a cup and thrust it into JC�s awaiting hands while mumbling, � And I�m not a tourist either.�
�We�re not in Orlando anymore, Infant,� chuckled Chris. �Here, all five of us are tourists.�
After they finished doing the dishes, they gathered in the family room, where a fire had been made since the air had turned cold. Joey, JC, and Justin were on the couch staring intently at the fire while Lance sat at the piano, tinkering away. Chris walked into the room, holding a coil of rope and a few candles.
Joey looked at Chris liked he�d grown a third head. �What the hell you need that rope for? You plan on stringing one of us up?�
Chris rolled his eyes and shook his head. �Nope, this is for a s�ance, if y�all are man enough to try.�