I reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a small, heavy metal flashlight Liam kept there.

My heart was hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs, a dull ache spreading through my chest.

I could still hear Chloe’s sobbing voice in my head. *She’s going to kill me, Audrey.*

We turned off the highway onto the cracked, weed-choked asphalt of the old industrial district.

The buildings here were dark, empty warehouses with broken windows and rusted chain-link fences.

In the distance, the skeletal silhouette of the charity hall rose against the grey sky.

It looked like a jagged, broken tooth rising from the mud of the coast.

Liam slowed the car down, turning off the headlights as we approached the perimeter fence.

“We park here,” he whispered, steering the SUV behind a stack of rusted shipping containers. “We don’t want her to see the lights.”

The engine died, leaving only the sound of the rain drumming relentlessly on the metal roof.

I opened my door, the cold air immediately cutting through my thin jacket.

We stepped out into the mud, our boots sinking into the wet, cold earth.