Page 4 - Breakdown

“We haven’t tried that one yet.” He backed
up to turn onto the road.
Large, bare trees arched over the
entrance. Their branches clawed the roof

of Owen’s car, making screeching noises.
It was like the trees didn’t want anyone to
enter. The road curved sharply to the left
and then turned into a steep hill. They
drove down into what looked like a dried-up
swamp. At the bottom was a faded wooden

street sign: Black Swamp Road. There was
a cluster of worn-out houses with boarded
windows and broken stoops. Many had dogs
on chains, barking. Owen drove around the
road that encircled the very small, unkempt

community.
“That house is 993 and that one is 1001,”
he said. “The house between those two should
be 999 but instead it is 666. That’s an omen I
don’t appreciate.”
“That has to be the house,” Maddy said.

It was small, with a rusted metal roof.
It had a porch with a broken swing. They
followed the cracked and broken sidewalk.

28