The diary
770 Words
Chapter 16
The narrow tunnel seemed endless.
Amora ran until her lungs burned and her legs threatened to give way. Behind them, the sound of collapsing rocks echoed through the mine, followed by distant shouts.
Ethan kept one hand on the flashlight and the other firmly around her wrist.
“We’re almost there,” he said, breathing heavily.
A faint glow appeared ahead.
Daylight.
With one final push, they emerged from the tunnel onto the banks of a quiet stream hidden deep within Blackwood Forest.
For a few moments, neither of them spoke.
They simply stood there, catching their breath.
Amora looked back toward the mountain.
“Evelyn…”
Ethan lowered his head.
“We don’t know what happened.”
“But we do know what she’d want us to do.”
He looked at the leather diary tucked safely beneath his arm.
“Keep going.”
⸻
An hour later, they reached an abandoned hunting cabin deep in the woods.
The windows were covered with wooden shutters, and the roof sagged with age, but it offered something they desperately needed.
Shelter.
Ethan checked every room before allowing Amora inside.
“It’s clear.”
She sat heavily at the old wooden table.
Her hands were still trembling.
“So many people have died because of this.”
Ethan placed the Raven Files, Noah’s letter, and the leather diary on the table.
“Then let’s make sure they didn’t die for nothing.”
⸻
The diary was worn with age.
The initials J.C. were engraved on the front.
“Jonathan Cole,” Amora whispered.
“My father.”
She slowly opened the first page.
The handwriting was neat and confident.
If this diary is ever found by my family, it means I failed.
I’m sorry.
A tear slid down Amora’s cheek.
She continued reading.
Blackwood wasn’t built on honest work.
It was built on fear.
For years, a small group of powerful people has controlled this town by deciding who succeeds… and who disappears.
Ethan leaned closer.
“The Raven Circle.”
Amora nodded.
She turned another page.
Her father’s entries described secret meetings, unexplained financial transactions, and families forced to leave Blackwood after refusing to sell their land.
Then one sentence caught her attention.
The Circle has five founding members. I have identified four.
Beneath the sentence were four names.
Richard Hawthorne.
Michael Carter.
Victor Langston.
Harold Pierce.
“The fifth name is missing,” Ethan observed.
Amora flipped through the remaining pages.
Several had been ripped out.
“They took them.”
“No.”
Ethan examined the torn edges.
“They were removed carefully.”
“Your father did this himself.”
“But why?”
“So no one person would have the whole truth.”
⸻
A folded map slipped from between the pages.
Unlike Noah’s map, this one showed the entire town of Blackwood.
A red circle had been drawn around one location.
Blackwood Railway Station.
Amora frowned.
“The station’s been closed for years.”
“So why mark it?”
Ethan unfolded the rest of the map.
Written along the bottom were six words.
The key opens Locker 27.
Amora reached into her pocket and pulled out the brass key Evelyn had given her.
A small number was engraved on it.
27.
She looked at Ethan, her heart racing.
“This is it.”
He nodded.
“I think your father wanted us to find that locker.”
⸻
As evening settled over the forest, rain began to fall once more.
The old cabin creaked under the weight of the wind.
Ethan stood by the window, watching the trees.
Something didn’t feel right.
“We should leave before dark,” he said.
Amora looked up from the diary.
“You think they know we’re here?”
“I don’t take chances.”
Before she could answer—
A twig snapped outside.
Both of them froze.
Ethan quietly switched off the lantern.
The cabin fell into darkness.
Another sound.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Circling the cabin.
Amora instinctively reached for Noah’s letter.
Ethan moved silently toward the door.
Then—
Three knocks.
Soft.
Measured.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A woman’s voice came from outside.
“Amora…”
“I know you’re in there.”
Amora’s eyes widened.
She knew that voice.
It couldn’t be.
“…Claire?”
Silence followed.
Then the voice spoke again.
“Please…”
“I need your help.”
Amora looked at Ethan.
Confusion filled her eyes.
Claire was her childhood best friend.
But Ethan slowly shook his head.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“Don’t open the door.”
- Writer
