Nathaniel scoffed quietly from the back. "There's a lot worse than this. As long as you don't mind."

But he had an odd, uneasy feeling as they continued on, like a sort of panic tugging subtly deep inside him. He frowned and watched out the windows. Why was he feeling like this? He wasn't afraid of this area...

"Hey, can you stop a second? Please?" he asked suddenly.

The driver glanced up at him like he was crazy.

"Please stop. Right here." He opened the door and stepped out of the car, his senses on high alert. What was that? He walked forward, feeling that frightened tug in his gut.

"Hey kid!" The driver called out. "What are you doing, get back in the car!"

"One second..." Nathaniel called back. He reached the dark opening of an alley and peered down it.