ne-truly alone-and the silence around her screamed danger. Something was coming. Someone. She could feel it, a shadow lurking just out of sight, waiting to pounce. Her hands trembled as she

pening?* But there were no answers, only the hum of the engine and the endless stretch of road ahead. Hours bled together, the city fading into dark, empty stretches of nowhere. Her eyes burned, her arms ached, and exhaustion hit her like a brick. Fear alone wasn't enough to keep her going. She needed to stop, just for a little while. A flickering sign loomed ahead: *"Moonlight Motel-Vacancy."* It was a dump-peeling paint, a gravel lot, a single dim bulb buzzing over the office-but it was something. She pulled in, the car crunching to a stop. The clerk didn't look up from his magazine as she shoved cash across the counter. Key in hand, she shuffled to her room, locked the door, and slid the chain into place. The bed sagged under her weight as she collapsed onto it, still in her jacket and boots. She was too tired to care. Sleep swallowed he