Letting out a sigh, I opened the door and got out of the truck.  I had rented it in a small town a hundred miles south of here, and while it had been surefooted enough to get me up the mountain roads and into the valley, I couldn’t say for sure it would get me back down if heavy rains came, or worse, snow.  It wasn’t supposed to get that cold for a few more weeks yet, but I wondered.  The air felt thin and brittle with frost as I went to the back and grabbed my pack.  I had most of my worldly possessions in there, which was freeing and depressing at the same time.  Still, it made it easy to stay on the move, and the money I was going to make this week should go a long way toward starting my new life.

I found it hard to take the first steps toward the place.  It wasn’t just the air that felt thin here.  Everything did.  This whole small, grey valley seemed to be waiting for something, holding its breath before a coming storm.

Taking a deep breath of my own, I forced myself to start walking toward the thing that dominated the whole valley, seemed to tower over everything, even the stark, craggy mountains that loomed on both sides.  Even after years of abandonment, the extravagance of the place was amazing.  Its stone edifice was a dizzying marriage of art deco styles from the early twentieth century and older gothic styles, all interwoven across a building that looked to be more than twenty stories tall and stretched out its arms into the far distance in both directions.  I had the thought that it looked like a palace designed by The Great Gatsby in Hell.

Letting out a small laugh, I jumped when I heard a voice close by.  I looked over to see an older man wearing a stained blue ball cap eyeing me uncertainly.

“You Hollis, I’m guessing?”

I stopped and nodded at him.  “I am, yeah.  Hope I’m not too late.”

The man shook his head without smiling.  He had worn, sunburned skin and permanent frown lines at the corners of his mouth—lines that deepened as he regarded me.  “No, I don’t think so.  Several of the boys aren’t here yet.  But fair warning before you begin.  You’ll be the only girl here, and some of these boys can get real rough, especially after a few days cooped up in a place like this.  I don’t say it to discourage you, just being honest.”

I gave him a small smile.  “Don’t worry about me.  I can get real rough too.”

This time he did smile, if only a little.  “Fair enough.”  Stepping forward, he extended his hand.  “Name’s Mike Bramford.  General contractor for the assessment.  I think you dealt with Molly at the office, right?”