We sat in the car for long minutes, taking note of the peculiar and foreboding surroundings. Ours was the only vehicle in the parking lot of a store that was the only one of its kind in roughly a thirty-five mile radius. “Business is usually booming.” Aries frowned, her eyes narrowed and focused on the brightly lit log cabin style building. “I don’t like this. Something’s wrong.” “I agree. The lights are all on, but the owner’s car is gone. Of course, he may have gotten dropped off.” “Hmm. Maybe. Only one way to find out.” The creak of the car door sounded like a shot ringing out in the subdued night air. “Where are the birds?” I whispered, hurrying to match Aries’s long strides. “They were chirping when we left the house, weren’t they? And I’m pretty sure I heard them a few miles back, when I had the window down.” “I noticed that too. Something is wrong here. I can feel it. Stay close and stay behind me,” she instructed, drawing a short but still lethal-looking jagged edge knife from her bag.
