welcome to black hollow
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Narrated by Aanya Mehra
I’ve been chased by angry exes, accidentally lit my roommate’s kitchen on fire, and once got locked inside a public toilet at a wedding — but nothing, nothing, prepared me for Black Hollow.
A town so small, it’s basically a rumor. Surrounded by dense forest, eternally gloomy skies, and people who stare like they’ve never seen eyeliner before.
Which, in their defense, might be true.
“Why the hell are you smiling like that?” I mumbled to myself as I stared at the faded wooden sign:
> Welcome to Black Hollow – Population: Classified.
Seriously? Classified? What was this, Area 51’s emo cousin?
I adjusted my denim jacket and clicked record on my phone. Time to do what I came for.
“CrimeCast with Aanya — episode one," I whispered. "Today, I’ve arrived in Black Hollow, where at least seventeen people have gone missing in the last five years. Locals say it’s wild animals. I say: bullsh—”
“Excuse me, are you lost?”
I jumped — and dropped my phone.
There, standing just a few feet away, was the most unfairly attractive man I’d ever seen. Tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in all black, with eyes the color of cold silver. His presence was… overwhelming.
Like he wasn’t just looking at me — he was reading my soul, writing notes, and maybe deciding whether to bury me in the woods.
“Are you the welcome committee?” I asked, attempting sarcasm to hide my racing heart.
He didn’t smile. “This town doesn’t get visitors.”
“Well, I’m not a visitor,” I lied. “I’m just… passing through.”
“Then keep passing.”
Rude. Hot, but rude.
“And who exactly are you?” I asked.
He took a slow step forward. “Aarav Blackthorne. Mayor of Black Hollow.”
Oh.
Oh, crap.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Mayor,” I said with a forced grin. “I’m Aanya. Definitely not a journalist or crime podcaster, just a totally average girl who definitely didn’t come here to investigate serial murders.”
His eyes narrowed. “You talk too much.”
“Thanks. I consider it a gift.”
He turned away without another word and disappeared down the misty road, leaving me alone with the howling wind, my cracked phone screen, and the feeling that I had just met the town’s biggest secret.
---
Later That Night…
I checked into the only inn in town — “The Hollow Rest,” run by a lady who looked like she’d survived three apocalypses and still had change for a twenty.
“Don’t go out after dark,” she warned, her voice like gravel. “The forest gets hungry.”
I laughed.
She didn’t.
So I stayed in.
Until 2:13 AM.
When I heard a sound outside my window. A low growl. Followed by screaming in the woods.
I grabbed my phone and sneakers.
Because apparently, I have no survival instinct.
---
In the Forest…
Branches snapped. The air smelled like metal. I should’ve turned back. But instead, I kept walking.
And then — I saw it.
A creature, massive and shadowed, hunched over something. Claws. Fur. Glowing amber eyes.
A werewolf.
I gasped — and stepped on a twig.
The creature froze.
Then turned its head.
Right toward me.
And just before it lunged, a dark blur slammed into it — and they both vanished into the trees, growling and snarling like monsters from hell.
I ran.
Tripped.
Fell.
And passed out cold on the forest floor.
---
To Be Continued...
When Aanya wakes up, she’ll be inside the mansion of Black Hollow’s mayor — bruised, confused, and watched over by the very man she suspects might be hiding something monstrous.
And maybe, she isn’t just here for the story.
Maybe she’s part of it.
