An endless blanket of darkness.
Spine-chilling silence which was sometimes broken by the cries of the cicadas and other midnight insects.
And sounds of a car engine moderately speeding along a ragged, uneven dirt road.
Were it not for the stretch of black in front, it would have been apparent to the passengers of this luxurious grey car that they were already near the foot of a mountain. There were no houses nearby. Through the limited illumination ahead, foliage, rocks, and trees were the normal scenery around, never the best, and was even quite spooky because it was currently the witching hours.
