The plane touched down on the tarmac and rolled to a stop , jarring both Blasko and Allan from the doze that they had both settled into . They unfastened their seat belts and rose from their seats , making their way to the exit . As they walked down the steps , Allan pulled out his phone and sent a text , receiving a response within seconds .

"I've just been informed of the location of the vehicle I ordered ." , he informed Blasko . "We will have to pass through the terminal proper to reach it , but this shouldn't be a problem , since we have no baggage to claim , or anything of that sort ."

"Great ! The sooner we can get there , the better !" , Blasko responded . "It's colder than fuck out here , and those clouds look pretty nasty . Besides , it's already after midnight ."

They entered the terminal , and started walking through to reach the area where Allan's vehicle was parked . As they passed the rental - car area , they heard the man standing at the desk say to the attendant , in a frustrated tone , "What the hell do you mean , you can't release any cars ? If you don't have one , just say so , but if you have them , I should be able to get one . I assume that's still how this works !"

"I'm sorry , sir , but a blizzard warning has been issued for the general area , and company policy doesn't permit me to let any vehicles leave the lot under these circumstances ." , the clerk patiently explained .

The two men turned and prepared to resume their trek to the parking lot , but hadn't gone more than three steps when they heard the other man say , "Look , Miss , you don't understand . This is very important . I have friends in Tuttlesburg who may be in danger , and I need to get there as soon as possible . I'll pay double , if that'll help , I just need a car !"

   Blasko and Allan glanced at each other , and then Allan turned and approached the man . "Excuse me , young man , but my friend and I couldn't help but overhear ." , he said . "As it happens , we are traveling to Tuttlesburg ourselves , and you are welcome to accompany us , if you wish ."

   The man turned to look at Allan , raking his fingers through his beard , and said , "Apparently , they're not letting any cars leave tonight , even if you've already booked ."

   "No worries there , I have my own vehicle waiting in the parking lot ."

   "Well , when you put it that way , I accept . Thanks , dude , I really appreciate it ." , the stranger replied , picking up the large rucksack that sat on the floor by his feet and balancing it on his shoulder as he fell in behind the other two .

     The three men made their way outside , and managed fairly quickly to locate the green Jeep that Allan's office manager had told him to look for . They tossed their bags into the rear of the Jeep , and Allan climbed into the drivers seat , with Blasko in the passenger seat , and their passenger in the rear .

   As they left the airport and made their way to the interstate , the back seat passenger lowered the hood of his coat , revealing a head of shaggy , dark - blond hair , which he attempted to straighten out by combing it with his fingers .

   "How long until we get there ?" , he inquired .

   Blasko turned to look at Allan , who replied , "If the weather holds , we should be there in about an hour and a half , gentlemen ."

   The passenger chuckled at this , and said , "I can't even remember the last time somebody referred to me as a 'gentleman' . Hell , most of my friends would laugh at that one ."

   "I can relate , man ." , Blasko said . "You rarely hear anybody referred to that way in my line of work , either ."

   The other man looked at him curiously for a moment , then said , "For some reason , you look sort of familiar to me . What business are you in , if you don't mind me asking ?"

   "I'm a musician , but right now I'm mostly involved with management ."

  "Yeah , I remember now ! You used to play with Ozzy !" , he said , a flash of recognition crossing his face . "So , since you say you're in management now , would I be correct in guessing that you're working with ... Black Veil Brides ?" , he continued , hesitating momentarily as he fished a piece of paper out of his pocket and glanced at it .

   "That's right ." , Blasko told him . "Do you mind if I ask why you seem to have all this stuff written down ?"

   "Because , according to the information I've been given , my friends are with your friends . One of my buddies asked me to come out here to check on his kid sister , and according to him , she works for your band ."

   "Faith Scanlon ." , Blasko stated , and the other man nodded .

   "Wasn't that the pretty dark - haired girl who refused to go into the room when Jinxx was mucking about with his board ?", Allan inquired .

   "That's the one ." , Blasko confirmed . 

   "Board ?" , the other man queried .

   "One of the guitarists has a thing for Ouija boards ." , Allan explained . "And the young lady doesn't seem to care for it ."

   "Good girl !" , the passenger muttered softly . "Apparently that lesson stuck ."

   As they continued down the interstate , snow began to fall , quickly accumulating along the shoulder of the road and drifting across the asphalt , forcing Allan to reduce his speed .

   "What did you mean when you told the clerk that your friends might be in danger ?" , Blasko inquired , turning in his seat to face the stranger .

   He sighed , shoved his fingers through his hair again , and finally replied , "Like I said earlier , Faith's brother , Todd , has been a buddy of mine since she was in middle school . We used to work together , as a matter of fact . Anyway , Faith called him a few days ago and told him that she and a couple of her friends had stumbled across a dead guy close to where they're staying , and sent him pictures of some weird symbols that were left near the body . Todd's chick works at a university , and when she showed the pictures to one of the professors there ,he told her it was some obscure foreign language ."

   "When Todd heard that , he called another friend of ours and asked her to come out here and check things out . And if Jenny's here , I'd put money on the fact that her sister is with her , and they've more than likely brought Crane , too ,because he's a nut about that kind of thing ."

   "What sort of 'thing' would that be ?" , Allan queried .

   "And who the hell is Crane ?" , Blasko added . "Or Jenny , for that matter ?"

   "Crane can be one of the most irritating dudes you'll ever meet , but he's also scary smart , and he'll go to the mat for you if he considers you a friend ." , he said , giving a rueful chuckle . "The three of them put their asses on the line for me awhile back , and got me out of a pretty nasty situation , so I owe 'em big time . But to actually answer your question , he's an ex - college professor who's worked as a consultant for local cops and the FBI . A lot of what he does involves historical stuff , so the language bit would probably interest him ."

   "Well , I don't know if it would qualify as historical , but I did hear something rather interesting when I was speaking to the police chief ." , Allan interjected , without taking his eyes off the road , which had become slick in spots . "She was looking for something while we were on the phone , and put it down momentarily . As I was waiting , I heard someone speaking to her , and they mentioned that this murder seemed to be connected to some others , which apparently occurred several decades ago ."

   "Yeah , that would definitely pique his interest ." , the blond man stated . "Anything out of the ordinary , he'd be right on it . To be honest , I guess you could say that's true about all three of us ."

   All three fell silent for a time , focusing their attention on the road , and the steadily worsening snowfall , which had slowed their pace to a near crawl . By the time they spotted the Tuttlesburg city limits sign , it was nearly daybreak .

   "Well , my friends , barring any fallen trees or snowdrifts , we should be arriving at my house very shortly ." , Allan announced , as he began peering more closely through the windshield , to be sure he didn't miss the turn in the near - whiteout conditions .

   A few minutes later , he carefully negotiated the turn , managing to keep the Jeep from sliding as he did so . They crept down the road , relieved that their destination was almost in sight . Blasko and the passenger both leaned forward in their seats , watching for obstacles . 

   Even so , all three men were taken completely off guard when something streaked out from the treeline to their left , directly into the roadway , stopping several yards in front of them . 

   "Fuck ! Watch out , Allan !" , Blasko shouted .

   "What the hell is that ?" , the passenger wondered . 

   "Bloody hell !" , Allan exclaimed , as he fought to keep control of the Jeep on the snow - covered surface , and failing miserably .

   The last thing the three men saw before the vehicles tires left the ground and they started rolling was the thing in the road opening its mouth to screech at them , revealing rows of jagged , blackened teeth , before it dashed into the underbrush .

   Then , everything was silent , except for the ticking of the Jeep's engine .