Page 7 of Searching for Valor

“Middle of nowhere, obviously.”

Noah stared down at his phone for a moment longer, then grumbled under his breath and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “There’s no signal.”

“That’s the whole point.” Grace forced a smile. “Come on, it’ll be fun. We can play board games, roast marshmallows...”

“Yeah, sure,” Noah mumbled, his eyes still fixed on the foggy landscape outside. “I’d rather be in school with my friends.”

A beat of silence passed between them, the soft hum of the car’s engine filling the gap. Grace glanced at her brother again, noting the dark circles under his eyes. He was only twelve, but lately, he seemed so much older. Too much time glued to a screen. Too little time out in the real world. She was hoping this week would change that. Maybe get him to open up and talk to her again.

“It’s kinda creepy,” Noah finally muttered. “Like we’re driving through Silent Hill or something.”

“You play too many video games, kiddo.”

He lifted a skinny shoulder. “Gotta game if you wanna build games.”

Grace opened her mouth to reply, but her words caught in her throat as a dark shape suddenly loomed in front of the car. She slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching against the wet pavement. Noah yelped, bracing himself against the dashboard.

“What was that?” he gasped, his eyes wide with fear.

Grace’s heart pounded in her chest as she peered through the windshield. The fog seemed to have thickened, swirling around the car like a living thing. She could see nothing beyond the reach of her headlights.

“I... I don’t know,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. It looked like... a person? But it was so tall...

And suddenly, she remembered that creepy nursery rhyme kids used to freak each other out with on the playground:

In shadows so deep, the Stalker hides.

Fear his presence where moonlight dies...

That was about a serial killer in this area, wasn’t it?

But he was caught, right? Cold Truth, her favorite true crime podcast, had dedicated six whole episodes to the case.

Noah unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned forward, pressing his face against the glass. “I don’t see anything now.”

Grace’s hands trembled as she gripped the steering wheel. “Noah, sit back and buckle up. Now.”

He reluctantly complied, his eyes still scanning the fog-shrouded road ahead. “Maybe it was an animal?”

“Yeah... yeah, probably,” she agreed, trying to sound more confident than she felt. She took a deep breath and eased her foot off the brake, allowing the car to inch forward. “We’re almost to the cabin. Just a few more miles.”

A tap on the driver’s side window made them both jump.

Grace whipped her head around, heart racing, to see a man peering in at them. She couldn’t really see his face under thehood of his jacket, but there was something… not right about it. He gestured for her to roll down the window.

Where the hell had he come from?

Her initial instinct was to hit the gas, but then she noticed the headlights off to the side of the road behind them. Not from a car—they were too small. Probably an ATV.

If he were local, he could maybe give them directions to the cabin. She didn’t want to tell Noah that the GPS had stopped updating a few miles back due to the spotty signal, and she was afraid they were lost. She reached for the window button.

“Don’t,” Noah whispered. “Let’s just go.”

Grace hesitated, her hand hovering over the window control. Noah’s warning echoed in her mind, but the practical part of her reasoned that they needed help. Still, something felt off about the whole situation.

“It’s okay. I’m going to ask for directions.”

She lowered the window a couple of inches, enough to hear but not enough for the stranger to reach inside. The fog seemed to seep into the car, carrying with it a damp, earthy scent.

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