Dr. NoSleep

At one point, I thought for sure I heard something scraping against the door lock.

But by the time I woke up and looked around, the source of the sound was gone.

Had someone been trying to get inside my car?

I gave up on sleep and began the second half of my journey while in the dark.

Dawn was breaking by the time I took the highway exit toward Deerchase, not that the town appeared on any signs.

I was grateful that I had written the directions down.

My GPS service was spotty on the mountain roads, and after a while, all of those gloomy forest-covered hills started to look the same.

Maybe it was just the lack of sleep, but eventually I did end up getting a little lost.

I pulled into a gas station, the kind that also sold fishing bait and groceries, where I hoped I could get a little help.

A dusty bell jingled above the door as I walked inside.

The three old men at the counter might have been customers, employees, or lifelong friends.

It was impossible to say which.

They stopped talking and observed me carefully.

I cleared my throat and asked if any of them knew the way to Blink Hollow Road.

The three men exchanged a glance.

Finally, one scratched his stubbly white beard inside.

The large bald man in overalls beside him wanted to know.

I shook my head.

I had been about to tell the trio exactly who I was and what I was doing there, but the way they were questioning me had put me on guard.

The less these three knew, I figured, the better.