The Silver Eyes

Chapter 2

Charlie stopped the car, felt the gravel buckle under the tires, and cut the engine. She got out and looked around. The sky turned a deep blue hue, and the last rays of the setting sun were disappearing beyond the horizon.

The parking lot was unpaved and there was a ghastly shape of the building in front of them, a massive structure of glass and concrete. There were never lit lanterns around, and nothing illuminated the building. The building itself looked like an abandoned temple, buried amid the black trees and the distant roar of civilization. Charlie looked at Jessica, who was sitting next to her

she was looking out the window. - It's here? Jessica asked.

Charlie shook her head slowly, not sure what she was seeing.

"I don't know," she whispered.

She got out of the car and stood in silence as the car with John and Carlton pulled up beside her.

- What's that? John carefully got out of the car and looked surprised at the building. - Does anyone have a flashlight?

He looked at the others.

Carlton picked up the keys and waved the dim light

with a key ring. "Super," John groaned, and turned away in resignation.

'' Wait. '' Charlie walked over to the trunk of her car. My aunt insists that I should carry things with me just in case.

Aunt Jen, loving but strict, taught Charlie that one of the most important skills in life was independence. Before giving the girl her old blue Honda, she made sure Charlie knew how to change the tire and check the oil, and that she knew the essential parts of the engine. In the trunk, in a black box next to a jack, spare tire, and a small crowbar, she carried a blanket, a large patrol flashlight, a bottle of water, a few muesli bars, matches, and signal flares. Charlie grabbed the flashlight. A Carlton candy bar.

as if they had agreed, they walked along the building without a word. Charlie was lighting the road with a steady hand. The building looked almost complete, but the area around it was uneven, full of stones and sand. Charlie shone on the ground, where tall clumps of grass had grown in the courtyards.

"Nobody's dug in a long time," she said. The building was huge and it took a long time to walk around it. Soon enough, the evening sky's grenade was replaced with stars and silvery clouds. All the walls of the building were of the same smooth beige concrete and the windows were too high to see inside.

"Did they really build it all and then just left it?" Jessica was surprised.

Carlton, said Johnscrio, you don't know anything about it

what happened here?

Carlton shrugged ostentatiously.

- I already told you that I knew about the construction, but nothing else. Why would they do that? John looked anxiously at the door

wa as if he expected someone to be watching him from there.

- It goes on forever. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the outer wall of the building, which was lost in the distance. He glanced at the trees again, as if to be sure that they weren't