Alone in the Woods, part 7

I ran along the newly paved path, clutching my fancy bottle of water, and didn't stop until I had to catch my breath. I listened for a minute, but heard nothing but the whisper of trees. I hadn't noticed before, but I didn't hear any birds or planes. We lived in a flight path and usually there were planes overhead at least every few hours or so.

Finally I made it to the main highway, but what I saw made my blood run cold.

There were buildings everywhere!

When I had arrived yesterday this was nothing but a lonely road full of farms. Strange cars passed by in bright colors, but they hardly made any sound at all. People across the road were milling about among what I determined to be stores. It was a shopping center. A really big shopping center. How could this have appeared overnight?

I had to investigate.