The bell above the door of the Lucky Dog Convenience store tingled as Pete came back from outside. Pete fought with the door because of the rush of wind coming from the blizzard that had blanketed the ground outside with over a foot of snow.

“It’s no use; we are not going anywhere. The snow is just too deep,” Pete said.

“What are we supposed to do?” Kate replied.

“We have heat, food, and cover. We can just stay here until this blows over. The plow should be coming soon.”

A faint voice from the TV could be heard in the background, “The weather guy says this is the storm of the century. It’s going to be a couple of days before we could get out of here.”

Pete could tell that Kate was getting nervous. “Baby, it’s ok.” What better place to ride out the storm than the Lucky Dog. We have magazines to keep us entertained. We have all the food we can eat. Granted it’s not good for us,” he said with a chuckle. “We have a bathroom. We have a TV. We are sitting pretty. Relax, we will be okay. Plus you wanted us to spend some quality time together. So here you go my love.” Pete outstretched his arms. Kate looked at him and smiled as she walked into his embrace. “I love you, Kate Munson. You are my sunshine.”

“I love you too. You’re right, it’s better to be here and safe than to be out in the blizzard stuck in the ditch with no heat.”

“I know, I’m going to relish the day that you relent that I am pretty freaking smart.”

Kate gently hit him the chest. “You are pretty smart,” she said with a sly grin and her green eyes rolling to the back of her head.

“Hey, go sit down, and I will make us some dinner.” Pete kissed her on the forehead and smacked her on the bottom as she walked away.

Kate sat at the counter and turned up the TV, as the weatherman continued the live coverage of the storm. “Along the Glendale basin, all the way up to near Rutledge is the heaviest band of snow. Listen close, anyone in this area needs to stay put. Do not go out in this weather. There is near zero visibility as white out conditions are in full effect. I repeat, do not think that you can make it in this storm. Do the smart thing and stay home. We are getting word that I-562 is shut down by the highway patrol as we speak…”

Pete startled her as he came up behind her with a meal of Vienna Sausages and a bag of Fritos.

“Oh my, now this is a five-star dinner,” Kate said looking at Pete.

“Oh, this is nothing, wait until you see what I have planned for breakfast. You will want to give me a Michelin star after that feast.” Pete said trying not to laugh.

“I can not wait.” Kate puckered her lips inviting Pete to kiss her.

Pete smiled and lowered his head to hers and kissed her lips. They both jumped up as the front door to the store flew open. Snow and magazines flew into the store with hurricane force. Pete dropped his plate and ran to the door. Kate scrambled to start picking up the debris flying in. She knelt over to get one of the flying magazines when she noticed Pete standing still in front of the door. “Pete shut the door.” Pete did not budge. “PETE close the damn door.” Still, Pete did not move a muscle. She moved forward and grabbed his shoulder. He jumped with fright and stared down at her. She could see the shock in his eyes. He looked back at the door. She matched his gaze and saw her.

In the doorway stood a little girl. Bright red blood covered the girl’s face and clothes. A knife shimmered in her right hand. A teddy bear in the other. The most frightening thing is that the girl wore a smile. The wind and the snow made her hair dance around her sweet little chubby face. Pete and Kate stood there, not knowing what to do. Kate finally snapped out of it and started toward the girl. Pete put his hand out and stopped Kate in her tracks.

“Look at the knife,” Pete said.

“We have to do something. We cannot just leave the girl out there, what if she is hurt?”

“What if she hurt someone else?” Pete looked at Kate.

Kate screamed over the wind, “Sweetie are you hurt?”

The little girl said nothing but shook her head. “Is someone else hurt?”

The girl again shook her head to the negative.

Kate said, “Sweetie come in here out of the cold so we can warm you up.”

The girl looked through them at the rest of the store and said, “Are you guys alone?”

Kate gasped at the question,”Yes… We are the only ones here.” The girl’s smile came back on her face and walked into the store. The smile made Pete uneasy. She stepped within a couple of feet of Pete and held the knife out for Pete to take. Pete went to grab the knife but hesitated. Then reached down and took the knife from the girl. She leaned in close and said. “Don’t lose that; we may need it if he comes here.”

“Who is coming?”

“The bad man. He follows me. I think I lost him this time, but better to be safe than sorry. Do you have anything to eat, I’m hungry.” Pete and Kate both snapped out of their trance and jumped toward the girl.

Pete had forgotten that the door was wide open until a shiver overcame his body. Kate took the girl to the back and started to warm her up.

“Pete you need to call Dwight ASAP,” Kate said.

“Already on it.” Pete locked the front door and proceeded behind the register to make the call. He dialed the direct number; the town wasn’t big enough for a 911 system. The receiver started to ring. Pete let out a small sigh and waited for an answer. He looked back to the girls and gave a smile. Kate still had a worried looked attached to her smile back. A voice finally picked up, “This is the sheriff’s office.”

“Hey Wanda, this is Pete over at the Lucky Dog. A little girl…” He paused to look back to make sure that the girls couldn’t hear his conversation. He started to whisper. “A little girl covered in blood just showed up here, with a knife in her hand. We brought her inside. She doesn’t look to be injured. But we need some help out here as soon as you can.”

The static on the line increased, and Wanda’s voice was breaking up. “You have a what…; I can barely hear you.”

“We need help up here, now.”

“You… I cannot… stay there.” And the phone call ended. Pete tried again, but the line was dead. He placed the phone down and turned to Kate and the girl who was smiling again. “The phone is out.”

“Did you tell them about our situation?” Kate said.

“I did, but I don’t think that she could understand me.”

“Maybe she did, and help is on the way.”

Looking out the window at the snow blowing sideways across the front of the store, “It may be awhile because I haven’t seen one car go by in awhile.”

Kate focused her attention on the girl. “What’s your name sweetie.”

“My name is… I can’t remember. The bad man calls me Lilly Bug. But, I know that’s not my name.” The girl held up the bear for Kate to inspect. “This is Charle; he is my best friend. I do not go anywhere without him”

“Oh, he is a sweet looking teddy bear.” Kate’s stomach turned as blood covered the bear just like the girl. She took the bear from the girl and placed it on the girl’s side so she could finish cleaning the girl. “Okay, sweetie let’s go to the bathroom to get you cleaned up.” She took the girl by the hand and herded her toward the back of the store. Kate looked back at Pete, “Can you get her some clothes?’

“Sure thing.” He headed off the clothes aisle. “Sweetie, who is the bad man?”

“He’s the man who kept me in the bad place for a long time. I finally got to go outside tonight. It’s been awhile since I got to go outside. The snow was beautiful. I decided to take a walk, and I found your place. I was getting cold, so I wanted to come in.”

“The quiet room?” Kate said.

“It’s the place where bad girls go when they cannot behave. It’s okay; I have music and books. And he even lets me color every once in awhile.”

“Is this bad man your dad?” Pete said.

“No… well I don’t know. He is the only adult I have ever known. He brings me… other girls. Sometimes I get to play with them. Some are old; some are young like me. But they don’t stay long. He usually takes them to the barn so they can be free.”

“The barn?” Kate asked.

“Yeah, it’s an old barn on the property. The bad man says that whoever he takes there is worthy of being free. I don’t know what this means. But he has let a lot of people go free. Can I have some food.” The girl said as her stomach made a hungry noise.

“Sure.” Pete blinked as he almost forgot the girl’s request earlier.

Kate said, “Let’s get you out of these clothes. And wash you up. Does that sound alright?”

“Yes, I am a little wet.” the girl said as she looked down at her blood stained clothes.”

“Where did all this blood come from?” Kate asked.

“Oh, it’s not mine.”

“Who’s is it?”

“Her name was Maddie. She was the girl who left the door to the quiet room open. She got some on me when she was trying to make me leave the quiet room. She told me that I needed to run away. I told her that I couldn’t because the bad man always found me.”

“Oh you poor dear, what happened to Maddie? ” Kate said shooting a glance toward Pete.

“The bad man hurt her. She probably didn’t follow the rules.”

“What rules?”

“The rules of the quiet room. The bad man said there were three simple rules. Don’t scream. Don’t try to run away. And most important of all always do what the bad man says.”

“Sweetie, Where is this quiet room?”

“It’s up to the road at the old Sherman Place. The bad man made sure I knew where it was in case I ever got lost.”

“Pete, can you try to call the sheriff again?”

The girl shot a glance toward Pete in a panic, “No don’t, the bad man does not like the police. He said they don’t understand. He would hurt them. Do not call the cops.”

Kate placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “Sweetie, we have to. If he is holding you captive, and hurting girls. We have to try to stop him.”

The girl looked down at her toes, “You can not stop the bad man. He won’t let you stop him.”

“We have to try.”

The girl lifted her eyes to meet Kate’s and leaned in close. In a whisper, “Then you’ll all die.”

Kates blood went ice cold. She looked at Pete.

Pete turned and ran to the front behind the register and disappeared under the counter. He came back up with a 12 gauge shotgun and pumped a shell into the chamber. “Quick, let’s get into the back and get warm.” Kate didn’t hesitate, and snatched up the girl and headed toward the back. Pete tried the telephone one more time, but still no use.

He slammed his palm onto the counter. He had never been so scared in his life. He had to protect the girls. He slipped the phone into his pocket and went to the front door. He looked out into the winter wonderland peering into the darkness looking for any movement. Nothing caught his eye as he locked the door. He turned the open sign to closed. He quickly made his way to the breaker box and turned all of the outside lights off. He turned the inside store lights off, only leaving the cooler lights on, putting the rest of the store into a somber pale blue darkness. Satisfied that the shopping area looked uninhabited. He went to join the girls in the back, only stopping to grab a couple of bottles of apple juice and a six pack of beer. Might as well try to take the edge off, he thought to himself.

The girl held up the bear for Kate to inspect.Pete rounded the corner and opened the door to the back. “I got us some refreshments.” He stopped short as his mind wrapped around what he saw in front of him. The girl was standing holding hands with a tall man in a dark suit. Kate was lying in a pool of blood. The girl was holding a knife at her side. Blood was dripping off the tip of the blade. “I told you he would find me, he always does.” The girl’s face lit up with a cruel smile.

Pete screamed and lifted the rifle. The girl and the tall man didn’t move. Pete started to stagger. He lost his grip on the shotgun, and it fell to the floor. He grabbed his chest. His face filled with pain, as his cheeks flushed as if his skin was on fire. He fell to his knees, and his eyes went wide. He reached out toward the little girl as if he wanted her to help him. She looked up at the bad man, who looked down at her and smiled. Pete fell to the floor and stopped breathing.

Lilly Bug shifted her gaze from the bad man to Pete’s body on the floor and said, “It’s ok, they weren’t worthy anyway.”