SHADOW INSIDE
557 Words
Part Three: Shadows Inside
The air inside was thick with rot and something else—something metallic, like old blood. Faded furniture sat beneath layers of dust. In the corner, a wooden table held three objects: a cracked mirror, a rusted key, and an old diary.
Liana picked up the diary, thumbing through brittle pages. The words were smeared, but a few stood out: "They watch from the dark. They feed on secrets."
Mira stared into the mirror, frowning. "Why does it feel like it's watching me?"
Elen's fingers closed around the key. She turned it over, tracing strange symbols etched into the metal.
Suddenly, the door slammed shut. The girls froze. Shadows stirred in the corners of the room, stretching, creeping closer.
A whisper echoed from nowhere. "One of you will stay."Panic struck like lightning. Mira spun toward the door, her hands fumbling at the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. It was as though the wood had grown into the frame, sealing them in.
Liana’s heart pounded. She forced herself to stay calm, though her fingers trembled as they clutched the diary. "It’s just the wind," she said, though the lie tasted bitter.
But Elen wasn’t listening. Her gaze was locked on the key in her hand, her thumb still tracing the strange symbols. "These markings… they’re old. I’ve seen them before."
"Where?" Mira’s voice cracked, her eyes darting to the dark corners where shadows twisted unnaturally.
"In the Hollow," Elen whispered, her voice distant. "When we were kids… in that clearing where we…" Her words faded, choked by the weight of memory.
The diary’s pages fluttered, though there was no breeze. Liana stared as ink bled across the paper, words appearing in jagged, spidery handwriting.
"The debt is unpaid. One must remain."
Mira backed away from the mirror, her face pale. She could still feel it—like eyes pressing into her skin, like her reflection wasn’t hers at all. "We need to leave. Now."
But Liana's eyes were fixed on the mirror, her breath catching in her throat. The surface rippled, distorting, and for a brief second, another face appeared behind Mira. A hollow-eyed figure, its mouth stretched into a silent scream.
"It’s her," Liana breathed.
Mira turned sharply. "Who? What are you talking about?"
But the figure was gone. Only her own reflection stared back, though her eyes now looked shadowed, deeper. Different.
The whisper came again, low and cold, rattling through the walls. "One of you will stay."
The shadows stirred, sliding along the floor like black mist, reaching for their feet. The key in Elen’s hand burned cold, searing into her palm, but she didn’t let go.
"What does it want?" Mira cried, her voice breaking.
Elen’s fingers curled tighter around the key. Her eyes were wide, but her voice was steady. "It wants the truth. It wants what we buried."
And Liana understood. It wasn’t just about the Hollow. It was about that night—the night they’d promised never to speak of again. The night Amara disappeared.
A memory flashed—Amara's face pale in the moonlight, her scream echoing in the dark, swallowed by the trees.
The cabin creaked, groaning like an ancient thing roused from slumber. The air pressed heavy against them, suffocating.
"We have to finish it," Liana said, her voice hollow. "We have to remember."
- Writer
