Hollow Road stretched out, wicked and withered, like a monstrous branch of a dead tree. The jeep bounced only slightly as it rolled cautiously over the old dirt road.

"This is insane," Owen said, mystified. "This road can't have been here last summer..."

But the wear and tear said otherwise. There was no way that road was even remotely fresh. Not a single blade of grass or weed sprang up from the ground. Owen glanced from side to side, looking for houses. On either side of him, there were only trees and weeds. He was about to give up, when he finally saw a mailbox looming amongst the tall grass on the left. Owen slowed the Jeep, dropping all the way into first gear. Once he got closer, he was able to see the narrow road beside the box, and the long skinny writing that said the box belonged to 6 Hollow Road.

What happened to one, two, and the rest of the residences on Hollow Road? Owen wondered.

He turned onto the slim road. He was now driving on number six's driveway, but he could also have said he was driving through a little farm. Animals were everywhere. Chickens, a few goats, pigs. A cow looked up and watched Owen with fleeting interest as it lazily chewed a tuft of grass. Every animal was walking around freely. There didn't seem to be any fence or barn at all. He felt like something about that was strange, but then again, he didn't know much about these animals.

Beyond the little zoo stood a frail house stood. It's shutters were hanging, the paint was peeling away from the old wood, and a few layers of dirt seemed to coat all that was visible. He thought maybe, at one time, it might have been white, but a few wars had come and gone since those days. The whole thing seemed to lean like the tower of Pisa. A strange sense of dread seemed to be nudging Owen. It increased the longer he watched the house, sure it would crumble any second. When the house didn't collapse right then and there, Owen shut off the Jeep's engine. He climbed out and shooed some nearby chickens. Feathers fluttered noisily, but they fled his path.

As he walked forward, the house seemed a bit larger...and a bit darker. Actually, it was downright spooky. He could feel the hairs on his arms rising like the hairs on a spooked cat's back. He suddenly found himself dreading the house, but as soon as his right sneaker touched the bottommost step, he felt reassured. This is exactly where he needed to be and the house was actually kind of inviting. Cozy. Only it really wasn't, not to anyone else but Owen.

The door displayed the words Cossroads Voodoo in the same scraggly black writing he had seen on the mailbox. There was no buzzer. He wasn't sure if he should knock or just go inside. He probably should have just gone on home. He wasn't the type of guy to go to a place like that. If his mother knew he was in a place so unkept, she'd have a conniption. He could catch something, she would say...thinking of his mother made him think of his problem again. The sick way he secretly wanted to kill, and how desperate he was that she never, ever find out.

He opened the door and stepped inside. A bell over the door dinged. The inside looked empty. It was a foyer. A bench, walls, coat rack, nothing else. The room beyond, however, looked like shelves, and-

"In need of something, or be ya just curious?" asked a smooth feminine voice from the room beyond.

"Hi, I'm Owen?" he said as politely as one can while speaking to someone they can't see. He started toward the room. "I do need something specific. I hope you can h-"

He had just come into view of the woman and Owen's heart stuttered. Her skin was dark and as smooth as a table surface. Not a single imperfection. Her eyes were almond shaped and hazel colored. High cheekbones. Her hair was in loose, wild curls that fell just beneath her ebony shoulders. She wore a thin patchwork pattern dress in dark colors. No sleeves. A belt wrapped around her thin waist. She was beautiful.

"-elp me," Owen said.

"What ya asking for?" she said.

"Something...serious," Owen said. "What kind of things can you do?"

"Many things," she said, a wry smile on her lips.

"Can you do anything about....erm...uncontrollable desires?"

"Ya having them diff'rant than the other boys ya know?" she asked.

Owen gave a dry chuckle. "Yeah. A lot different."

"And ya wish is to stop them?"

"Yep."

"What are the urges?"

"I'd rather not say specifically..."

The woman's brows raised. She came closer and scrutinized him. Owen started to back away, but she shot out her willowy hand and wrapped her long fingers around his jaws. His eyes locked with hers. His heart pitter-pattered into teenage oblivion, but then something strange happened. As he stood there with her staring all the way into his retinas as if she were determined to rip information straight from his brain....her eyes flashed red for just a slight instant...