The vast open moors did nothing to lift Nikki's spirits. She stared out over the barren landscape and shuddered. The rolling, empty hills stretched for miles and were blanketed by a never-ending smothering fog. The odd tree or bush that tried to grow here was quickly oppressed by the elements and left looking bare and pathetic. Peaks rose but their tops were veiled by thick grey clouds, as depressing as they were ominous.

The beaten grass at the side of the single lane track danced as the unforgiving wind whipped it sporadically, shaking the van with its strength. As signs went this was a glaring neon arrow, warning them to turn back now, but no one was heeding it.

They had travelled all day, the van wheezing its way down the lesser known roads in an attempt to avoid the police. The last thing they needed now was to get sidetracked by some over zealous law enforcement officer tracking a stolen vehicle. Especially when it was clear they'd done the owner a favour by taking it. It was on its last legs and in desperate need of scrapping.

Nikki glanced down at the open map on her phone for the hundredth time. She knew the route by memory but nerves were becoming hard to ignore and the brightly coloured lines on the screen were a welcome distraction. They weren't that far from the town, another half an hour and they'd reach its outskirts. She rechecked the map. The road they were slowly navigating wasn't even important enough to have a name but she knew from the books she'd read that the locals had nicknamed it Dark Entry Lane.

How appropriate, she'd thought as they'd turned on to it. It led west and with the oncoming twilight, their destination was covered with black storm clouds and a heavy, dark mist. Now that they were that much closer it only looked worse. In the distance Nikki's keen eyes spotted the shadow of a spire fighting to be seen through the stupor. It looked far from welcoming.

"Not far now." Her words were unnecessary as everyone inside the vehicle could see what she saw but she couldn't stand the disturbing silence any more.

"Cheerful little place, can't understand why anyone would want to leave," Sam quipped.

The van slowed as Sam plotted a complex course around the potholes and debris that littered the neglected track.

"This is hopeless," he grumbled as they bounced from dip to crater.

"Stop. You're close enough anyway." Nikki sighed.

"No it's fine we can make it--"

"Just stop. If we get too close they'll hear the damn van, it's hardly the quietest is it?" Nikki laughed and all eyes turned to her. Sam raised his brow, his expression one of concern. She knew they saw through her feeble bravado but she also knew she had their full support and none of them would call her out.

"Look, up there, pull off the road by those rocks, it'll offer you some shelter..." Should the worst happen.

"We'll be with you every step of the way." Josh nodded and Nikki couldn't tell if he was trying to assure her or himself.

"I know."

"You won't be alone."

"I know."

"And if you need me, I'll be right there, you just have to say the word."

Nikki climbed over the back of the seat and into his waiting embrace. She was frightened and apprehensive, but at least she was in control. Unlike Josh who had to sit impotently watching from the outside.

"I'll be perfectly fine. I can look after myself but should I need you, I know you'll be with me before I can even finish my sentence."

She held him tightly, holding on to him for as long as was decent. This isn't goodbye! I'll be seeing you all very soon. But a weight in the bottom of her chest that had once been her stuttering heart wasn't so sure. "Okay, enough of this. Follow me through Zeke and for god's sake stay out of sight." She glanced quickly at them all in turn and flashed a forced smile. "See you soon."

Her feet had hardly touched the ground before Ezekius was pushing into her mind. She smiled genuinely.

Let's do this.

The rush of emotions that answered her was so unexpected she staggered back, gasping. A sense of pride filled her thoughts and goosebumps rose on her skin as she was bathed in unconditional love. "Zeke!" She gasped, bent over double and clutching at her chest. Eventually the sensation waned enabling her to right herself. Shaking out her arms and rolling her shoulders she ignored Ekekius' embarrassment. Glossing over their tender exchange, she ran through the list of facts she knew about the town. Under the cover of Zeke's borrowed cloak she walked carefully across the inhospitable moors, dissecting every last tidbit that ran through her brain.

She knew the town was small. At its peak it was home to around thirty people from six different families. It hosted a church that had been built around the thirteen hundreds but other than that she knew only of the homes. Until last night, that was. She contemplated the idea of a library in such a tiny municipal. Why would they have one? Most if not all the inhabitants would have been illiterate so what reason would they have for a library? It didn't make sense.

The scraps of information she'd pieced together as well as the town's location had come from varying places around the world. It held a great deal of significance for those believing in this PreAdemic race, but exactly why, Nikki was unsure. What was it about this god forsaken place that made it so important?

She knew the others could hear her musings but they never once interrupted her. And she was glad. She needed radio silence in order to think. Below her feet the grass squelched. She pulled her cloak tighter as the wind picked up again, gusting with such a force she had to steady herself against its buffering. Why would anyone choose to live here?

Just ahead a shape loomed, its identity protected by the ever increasing darkness. Nikki squinted and slowed down, moving with extreme caution. It was large but not big enough to be a building. She crept on, her heart in her mouth and her nerves jangling. As she got closer still, she exhaled, laughing with relief at her own imagination. Another boulder outcrop. She edged around the rocks, warily watching her footing as the path steepened considerably.

In the back of her mind she was aware of her three companions. She knew they were holding their breath with every step she took but it wasn't at all comforting. She'd been so insistent that she came alone but now, a part of her wished she'd agreed to some company. Shake it off! She coached herself, steeling herself to the task ahead.

Up ahead the fog seemed to be thinning and as she climbed higher, Nikki was able to see more of the town. Four buildings stood at equidistance with a small church positioned proudly at the centre of the square. Around the outskirts, a few more, larger houses dotted the basin on the strange, small valley. This was it, this was the town!

Leaning back against a rock, Nikki pulled up her hood and wrapped the cloak around her. The light was fading fast and she was glad, it might provide her with a bit of extra cover if she was lucky. She exhaled slowly, allowing her newly acquired supernatural sight time to digest her surroundings. She peered keenly out from under the hood, calculating the best way in and out of the area without being seen. She couldn't see any of the Hunters but she knew they were here somewhere.

Don't think about them. She told herself firmly. Just get on with what you came to do.

A winding overgrown pathway to her left led down to the buildings and she was almost tempted to take it but it was too exposed. She supposed it had been designed that way so that anyone visiting would be easily detected and looking at the way it circled around to the opposite side of the church, she was wiling to bet it had been effective.

Directly in front of her there was a small lip before a steep slope. She imagined the young boys of the village tearing down the incline as their mothers berated them from the pathway. It didn't look that safe but she doubted she'd end up with any lasting injuries if she fell. Of course that was assuming the Hunters didn't spot her.

With her mind made up Nikki pushed away from the rocks she had been leaning against to the sudden familiar shriek of a Hunter. Cowering back, she tucked herself as best she could into a small crevice and prayed that the cloak would help disguise her.

From under the hood, she watched as two large wings lifted a Hunter into the air opposite her. It appeared to come from the farthest end of town, behind a distinguished looking building. Dipping her head down she waited with baited breath to see if it would notice her but it just screamed into the night sky before gliding over her head off into the distance. No, it hadn't seen her and now Nikki was sure she knew where the rest of them would be.

Without allowing herself anytime to think, Nikki scrambled down the bank trying her hardest not to dislodge any of the large rocks along the way. The last thing she wanted now was for one of them to roll down and announce her arrival.

Deftly she made it to the bottom, crouching low as soon as she was on flat ground to assess her immediate surroundings. Instinctively she counted three beats and watched. But nothing moved. She had made it in undetected.nStaying low she hurried to the first house. From the look of the structure, it was clear the town had not been a prosperous one. Hugging the walls she moved to the south side and slipped in to the blackness through the doorway.

Pausing to catch her breath she noted the quietness that engulfed her. It was strange, for a place nestled in the middle of the moors where the wind took no prisoners, this town was eerily silent. She tried to recall the last time she had experienced such a still calm but she couldn't. Every recent memory was seeped in some sort of noise - whether it be Ezekius inside her mind or the chaos of battle. No she wasn't used to such quiet and it unnerved her.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the building and she was able to make out rough shapes. She moved around the room, closely inspecting everything she found. It was a family home; there was no denying that. The dinner table and chairs that had hosted their meals remained intact except for a few nicks and bumps. Six chairs surrounded the table, pushed neatly underneath, waiting to be used again. Just past the table the fireplace held a large pot and an iron poker, and resting against it amongst the dust and decay was the ladle that would have spooned out the food.

On the back wall of the house a small homemade frame held a tapestry of a family tree. The stitching was complex and intact and Nikki could just about make out the names. Turning away, Nikki continued exploring the abandoned house. Each of the three rooms were exactly as they would have been all those hundreds of years ago. It was almost as if the occupants had simply upped and left and time had forgotten about the small town, preserving it in a gentle wrapping of dust.

Why hadn't anyone been here? Why hadn't it been discovered? Given that they lived in an age of technology, what had kept this place hidden? Or perhaps it hadn't been hidden; perhaps the myth surrounding it had scared people away? Unlikely, Nikki surmised, but not impossible.

After having her fill of the house she readied herself to move on. There was nothing here that would help her. Slipping out of the door she looked across the stretch of grass to her next destination and calculated the best route. She decided that her only choice was to run as fast as she could and hope for the best. Not exactly a wise move, but one she must accomplish none the less.

She cocked her head and strained to listen through the silence. Nothing, not even the creepy howling from the wind as it whistled through the rocks.

Sinister, Nikki realised with a jolt. That's what this town was, sinister. But then, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered gleefully, so are you. And it was right. If she thought back over some of the gruesome murders she'd committed she could justify her presence in the ghost town. This wasn't a place for humans, but she wasn't human. Not anymore.

With renewed determination she sprinted at lightening speed to the next building, prowling the outside. This building was different. This building was much bigger. The windows were larger and higher and there were two floors instead of just one. And this one had a door still intact and closed. Turning the handle slowly, Nikki cringed as it squealed out in protest. She froze, straining through the stillness to listen for any movement but still, nothing.

She let out the breath she'd been holding and heaved open the door, falling into the grey stone building.

Inside the view stole her breath. On each wall, next to each of the four high arched windows, stood a large bookshelf reaching almost to the ceiling. There were hardly any books left on the shelves, most had been tipped out onto the floor and lay in untidy piles around their former homes. To Nikki, it looked very much like someone had come in and ransacked the place, but why? Had they been searching for something and if so, had they found it?

The mystery of the strange town just kept building. Nikki shook her head. Just what had happened here? Sighing she cocked her head and paused. How could a town lay so perfectly intact after so many years? And what was it with the other words and abandoned towns?

Suddenly, Nikki's heart dropped to the floor. It was quiet. Too quiet and had been since she'd stepped foot inside the town ...

Closing her eyes she opened her mind and pushed hard to find him. But it didn't matter how hard she tried, Ezekius simply wasn't there. She froze as the swirling dread ensnared her and plunged her into the ice-cold fear she'd been trying to ignore. This town wasn't just abandoned, no, the inhabitants had run and fast to get away from it. This was no ordinary town left to time, there was something very wrong with the place and through the terror pulsing through her veins, Nikki was determined to get to the bottom of it.