Chapter 15
The late afternoon sun cast a golden haze over the quiet streets of Black Hollow as Lena made her way home from school, one earbud tucked into her ear. A low, steady beat pulsed softly beneath the hum of cicadas and the distant rustle of wind through pine. Though the sun had begun its slow descent, the warmth still clung to the pavement, soaking into her skin with every step. Her boots scraped lightly along the uneven sidewalk, the scent of sunbaked asphalt mingling with the earthy aroma drifting in from the woods nearby.
Her mind, however, was far from the lyrics streaming into her ears.
The day had felt unusually long. Her body was sore from lack of sleep, and her thoughts remained knotted from the strange text the night before. A text she still hadn’t figured out how to an
