CHAPTER EIGHT: THE ROOMS THAT SHOULD BE EMPTY The knocks stopped. Not faded. Not drifted away. They just… ended. Like someone had decided they were done making noise. Ayla stayed frozen under the metal staircase, her back pressed against the cold support beam. Rain hammered the awning above them, but the sound felt distant compared to the silence in the walkway. The teenage girl held up a finger, telling her not to move. They listened. Footsteps again. Slow. Measured. Not sea

The Night the Highway Went Quiet CHAPTER ONE: WHAT THE STORM BROUGHT Ayla had been driving for hours, and the storm just would not let up. The rain was sideways, smacking the windshield like it had a personal problem with her being on that road tonight. Every time it hit the pavement, a low mist floated up off the asphalt. Not real fog, but that hazy layer you get when cold rain hits warm ground. It made the highway look like a long gray tunnel with no exit. Her GPS kept cutt