Chapter 4 – The Hidden Passage
263 Words
The next morning, Amelia returned to the library, clutching the glowing shard. She spread maps of Black Hollow across the table, tracing the edges of the woods with her finger. Something about the layout nagged at her. The forest curved unnaturally, as though hiding something in its heart.
Her search led her to the oldest part of town, where the ruins of an abbey lay half-forgotten beneath moss and ivy. Locals avoided it, muttering about curses. To Amelia, it was an invitation.
Inside, the air smelled of damp stone. Broken pews and shattered stained glass littered the floor. She moved cautiously, her lantern casting shifting shadows. Behind the altar, she noticed a faint draft. Running her hands along the wall, she found a narrow gap.
A hidden passage.
Squeezing through, she entered a tunnel carved into the earth, its walls slick with moisture. Strange markings covered the stone, some matching the symbol she had found in the library. And as she pressed deeper, she heard it again—the hum, louder now, echoing through the stone.
At the end of the passage, she emerged into a cavern lit by a pale green glow. Dozens of lanterns hung from the ceiling, swaying though no wind stirred. Each one glowed with that same eerie flame.
Amelia’s breath caught. The lanterns were real.
And beneath them lay piles of belongings—shoes, toys, coats—everything the missing townsfolk had carried.
Her knees trembled. She had uncovered the truth.
But before she could retreat, a voice behind her said, “You shouldn’t have come here.”
- Writer
