After more time passed, Thanksgiving came around, and Gretta asked James if he wanted to come over for dinner. After hesitating, and dwelling on his thoughts from the last time he was at her house, he begrudgingly agreed. The first thing he noticed when he got there was a strong metallic scent coming from somewhere outside the house in the backyard. His stomach churned, and he became very disturbed at the rotting and musty odours he was picking up as he got closer and closer to the front door.

Gretta suddenly opened the door, running over and enveloping her boyfriend in a warm embrace. She quickly brought him inside, talking and rambling off as they sat in the living room together. James became distracted, and forgot about the odours from outside, for the moment at least. Soon enough, dinner was ready. They didn't have a turkey, or ham like most families, having what seemed to be pulled pork, and other such choices of meat around, although it all tasted a bit similar to James.

When they finished eating, James decided to help clean up. While he got to it, he started feeling like he was being watched again, like the last time he'd been there. Glancing around, he noticed Eric staring at him, not blinking or even moving much as he held an emotionless mask.

Everything froze for a moment, before he snapped out of it. Eric had been called over by his mother, a happy smile returning to the young boy's face as he helped wash dishes and clean up like nothing had happened. James pulled Gretta to the side, asking her about the odd happenings he'd been noticing, but she just told him he was being paranoid and stressed. Giving him a hug and a kiss, she helped him calm down before getting his help to finish cleaning up. He felt like he was being watched once more, but found he wasn't when he looked around, everyone too busy with cleaning to even notice him.

After things were all tidied up, he gave Gretta a good night kiss, and quickly left to go home. He didn't end up getting any sleep that night, barely squeezing in a few naps the next day, since there was no school, thankfully. He found his mind constantly going back to all the odd things he'd been noticing about the Johnson's recently, and their house. Something just didn't feel right about it anymore.