The Town With No Exit

Violet Noir was 5 when she was happy. Loud, cheerful, always singing with her parents. Everything changed at 12. After her parents' divorce, she became someone else. Introverted. Cold. She hated people. The only thing that kept her alive was music — her headphones on, world off. Now she is 16. "Violet, this town is cheap. We can start over," her father said, driving into the foggy valley. The sign read: WELCOME TO ELM HOLLOW. It was too quiet. No cars leaving. Only entering. The house they rented was cheap for a reason. The landlady stared at them. "You came with your daughter? You should not have come." That night, Violet heard knocking on her window. Third floor. No tree outside. She looked out. The street was empty during the day, but at night, shadows stood still in the middle of the road, staring at her house. She put on her headphones. The music glitched. A girl's voice whispered through the song: "You can't leave." She pulled off the headphones. Her window was open. She never opened it. Outside, in the lake behind the town, she saw a girl drowning — waving for help — but no one else saw her. Violet tried to record it on her phone. The phone screen showed only black. Her father knocked on her door. "Violet? Who are you talking to?" She wasn't talking. But something was talking to her.