Chapter 13: Ravenscar Fell
851 Words
The village appeared just before sunset.
At first Maya thought she was imagining it.
A collection of dark shapes emerging from the mist-covered moorland.
Silent.
Motionless.
Forgotten.
---
Ravenscar Fell.
---
After more than a century, it still stood.
---
The road leading to it had long since disappeared beneath grass and heather.
Nature had reclaimed much of the settlement.
Trees grew through collapsed roofs.
Stone walls leaned at impossible angles.
Entire cottages had been swallowed by earth and roots.
---
Yet the village remained.
---
Watching.
---
Waiting.
---
The feeling hit Maya the moment she stepped from the vehicle.
---
The pressure.
---
The same invisible weight she had felt at Blackwater.
The same sensation from Ashmere Reservoir.
---
A Door.
---
Another Door.
---
Somewhere beneath Ravenscar Fell.
---
Something slept.
---
Something dreamed.
---
And it knew they had arrived.
---
---
Aaron surveyed the village.
---
"How does nobody know about this place?"
---
Lucas Grigg adjusted the strap of his backpack.
---
"People do."
---
Aaron frowned.
---
"Then why isn't it full of tourists?"
---
Lucas looked toward the village.
---
"Because people stop coming back."
---
Nobody laughed.
---
The statement felt entirely too plausible.
---
---
The group moved cautiously between the ruined buildings.
---
Maya.
Aaron.
Eleanor.
Lucas.
---
The wind whispered through broken windows.
---
Somewhere in the distance a loose shutter slammed repeatedly against stone.
---
The sound echoed across the abandoned settlement.
---
Bang.
---
Bang.
---
Bang.
---
Like a heartbeat.
---
---
The first strange thing they found was dinner.
---
A table stood inside one of the cottages.
---
The furniture should have rotted away decades ago.
---
Instead it remained strangely intact.
---
Four chairs.
Four plates.
Four cups.
---
Everything arranged neatly.
---
As though the occupants had expected guests.
---
Aaron ran a finger across one plate.
---
No dust.
---
No decay.
---
Nothing.
---
"It's impossible."
---
Lucas shook his head.
---
"You're going to be saying that a lot."
---
---
The second strange thing was the clocks.
---
Every house contained one.
---
Every clock had stopped.
---
Every clock displayed exactly the same time.
---
3:17.
---
Maya's stomach tightened.
---
One clock could be coincidence.
---
Two might be strange.
---
Twenty-seven was terrifying.
---
---
Night fell quickly.
---
Too quickly.
---
One moment twilight lingered across the hills.
The next darkness swallowed everything.
---
Even Aaron noticed.
---
"That wasn't normal."
---
"No."
Maya whispered.
---
"It wasn't."
---
---
They established camp inside the old church.
---
It was the only structure still mostly intact.
---
Ancient stone walls surrounded them.
---
Broken stained glass scattered coloured fragments across the floor.
---
The roof sagged overhead.
---
Yet somehow the place felt safer than the village outside.
---
Marginally.
---
---
Around midnight Maya woke.
---
Something had disturbed her.
---
At first she couldn't identify what.
---
Then she realised.
---
The wind had stopped.
---
Complete silence filled the church.
---
No movement.
---
No sound.
---
Nothing.
---
The stillness felt unnatural.
---
Oppressive.
---
Wrong.
---
Slowly she sat up.
---
The others slept nearby.
---
Aaron snored softly.
---
Eleanor lay curled beneath a blanket.
---
Lucas remained motionless against a wall.
---
Too motionless.
---
Maya frowned.
---
"Lucas?"
---
No response.
---
She stood.
---
Crossed the church.
---
And froze.
---
The sleeping bag was empty.
---
Lucas was gone.
---
---
Panic erupted instantly.
---
Aaron woke first.
Then Eleanor.
---
Within minutes they were searching the village.
---
Torches cut through darkness.
---
Their voices echoed between abandoned buildings.
---
"Lucas!"
---
Nothing.
---
Only silence.
---
---
Then Maya saw a light.
---
A faint glow on the hillside beyond the village.
---
Moving.
---
She pointed.
---
"There."
---
The group hurried toward it.
---
The climb grew steeper.
---
The ground softer.
---
The air colder.
---
And the glow brighter.
---
Until they reached the top.
---
And stopped.
---
Lucas stood at the edge of a massive crater.
---
Perfectly still.
---
Facing downward.
---
Watching something below.
---
"Lucas!"
Aaron shouted.
---
The man didn't react.
---
Didn't blink.
---
Didn't move.
---
Slowly Maya stepped beside him.
---
And looked into the crater.
---
The breath left her lungs.
---
Because buried beneath the earth sat a stone structure.
---
Ancient.
---
Cyclopean.
---
Impossible.
---
A temple.
---
Far older than Blackwater.
Far older than Ashmere.
---
And at its centre stood a colossal stone doorway.
---
The Door.
---
One of them.
---
The surface shimmered with faint black light.
---
As though reality itself had become thin.
---
Weak.
---
Ready to tear.
---
Lucas finally spoke.
---
His voice sounded distant.
Dreamlike.
---
Not entirely his own.
---
"It's opening."
---
The earth trembled.
---
Deep below the temple.
---
Something moved.
---
And from within the doorway came a sound Maya recognised instantly.
---
Not words.
---
Not language.
---
Dreaming.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD