Chapter 2 - The Empty Car
The manager tightened her grip on the boy's collar while her eyes darted around the room like a trapped animal.
"You are lying to everyone you filthy little brat!" she screamed hysterically.
Before she could hurt him the old man struck her arm violently with his heavy wooden cane.
The manager yelped in pain and released the terrified child instantly.
"Do not ever touch my grandson again," the old man roared with a terrifying authority.
The rich woman who had mocked the boy earlier suddenly stepped forward and pulled the child behind her back.
"I am calling the police right now," the wealthy woman announced as she dialed her phone.
The manager realized she was losing control of the situation and began to back away toward the employee exit.
"Arthur, you cannot possibly believe the words of a street rat over me," the manager pleaded to the old man.
Arthur did not even look at her as he placed a comforting hand on the boy's shaking shoulder.
"Take me to your mother right now," Arthur gently commanded.
The boy nodded and grabbed Arthur's hand to lead him out of the shattered luxury showroom.
They walked out into the cold evening air while the sirens of approaching police cars echoed in the distance.
The boy guided Arthur toward a dark and neglected corner of the boutique's massive parking lot.
A rusted and badly dented sedan was parked under a flickering streetlamp.
Arthur felt his heart pounding in his chest as he approached the vehicle.
He had spent the last seven years mourning a daughter he thought was dead.
Now he was only a few feet away from holding her in his arms again.
"Mom, I brought help," the boy called out as he reached for the rusted door handle.
He pulled the car door open and proudly stepped back to let his grandfather look inside.
Arthur leaned forward with tears already welling in his tired eyes.
But the smile instantly vanished from his face as a chilling wind swept through the parking lot.
The passenger seat was completely empty.
The boy panicked and began checking the backseat while calling out her name repeatedly.
"She told me she would wait right here for me," the boy cried out in confusion.
Arthur noticed something shiny resting on the floorboard of the empty car.
He reached down and picked up a silver locket that he had given Anna on her sixteenth birthday.
The chain of the locket was violently snapped in half.
Arthur stepped back from the vehicle and noticed something even more terrifying on the pavement.
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A fresh trail of dark red blood led directly from the car door toward a narrow alleyway behind the shopping center.
Suddenly a black tinted van sped out of the alleyway and accelerated dangerously toward them.
