Dead Silence
Evan stood in the dark hallway, feeling foolish. But something in the old man’s voice made him obey. He tiptoed into the kitchen and, without turning on the lights, reached for his landline to call his colleague, Mark, and laugh about the crazy situation.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Fast, mechanical busy tones. The line was dead. He tried his cell phone. No signal. At 5:15 AM? The world suddenly felt wrong, as if someone had quietly cut the invisible wires connecting him to reality.
Curiosity overpowered fear. Evan crawled to the living room window and peeled back the heavy curtain just a fraction of an inch. The street was empty, except for one car. A black sedan with no license plates sat directly opposite his building entrance. The engine was idling, puffing gray exhaust into the cold morning air. The windows were tinted pitch black.
They weren’t just parking. They were waiting.