Season 2: Episode 1 – “The New Hunger”
1177 Words
Cold Open
It’s a crisp autumn night. The sound of leaves crunching underfoot echoes through the empty streets of Black Hollow. The wind whispers through the trees, as if carrying secrets.
Lily stands at the edge of the forest, gazing into the distance where the ruins of Hemlock Lane once stood. The place is gone, vanished without a trace, but its shadow still clings to her. She can feel it. The Hollow's pulse beats somewhere deep within her veins.
Lily’s breathing quickens, her pulse racing. She clenches her fist, and with a sudden motion, she slams her hand against the tree beside her. The bark splits under the force, revealing an unnatural, sickly red glow beneath it.
Her hand shakes as she pulls back, realizing the Hollow is still there, inside her. Waiting.
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Act I: A New Beginning
Lily tries to ignore the creeping dread in her chest as she walks home from the forest. Black Hollow seems normal on the surface—quiet, small-town America, the kind of place where nothing ever changes. But it’s not. Things are different now. She can feel the change in the air.
Her parents are adjusting to the “new normal.” Rachel spends hours painting eerie, otherworldly scenes—twisted streets, creatures with eyes too large, and a red sky. Daniel is recovering physically, but there’s a hollow look in his eyes that wasn’t there before. His words are fractured, as though some part of him is still trapped between worlds.
They both deny the truth.
Lily knows better.
At school, she tries to ignore the whispers—people talking about her family like they’re just the latest “quirky” newcomers. But she catches them staring, especially at her father. They’ve noticed something off about him too. Sometimes, when he’s not looking, his eyes flash red, and he’s seen muttering phrases he can’t remember.
Lily’s been lying to herself, trying to convince herself they’re just adjusting. But deep down, she knows the Hollow didn’t just disappear. It’s spreading. And it’s inside her.
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Act II: Disappearances
Strange things start happening. People in Black Hollow begin to disappear—one by one. First, it’s an elderly couple that no one really knew. Their house is found empty, every trace of them gone, except for a single black feather on the doorstep. Then it’s a teenager named Emma—vanishing into the night. Her parents report hearing whispers in the wind before she disappeared.
The town is on edge. People are afraid, but they don’t know what to fear. Lily knows. She feels it in her bones.
And then, things get worse.
Lily finds herself drawn to an old, abandoned part of Black Hollow—the Thorne Estate, a decrepit mansion that once belonged to the now-disbanded Thorne family. It’s a place she’d only heard of in whispers, a house that had been “locked up” for decades.
There’s something in the air there—a thick, oppressive silence. A feeling that something is wrong beneath the surface.
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Act III: Caleb
That’s when she meets Caleb.
Caleb is an outsider. He’s new to town, and Lily can’t help but be suspicious of him. He’s young, around her age, with dark eyes and an unsettling calm about him. He says he’s been traveling for years, following strange occurrences tied to an ancient curse.
When Lily first speaks to him, she feels an instant connection. Like he understands. Caleb doesn’t ask questions about Hemlock Lane, about the Hollow. He already knows. He’s heard the stories. He’s seen the signs.
And Caleb knows the truth.
> “The Hollow never dies. It spreads through bloodlines, through places tied to it. It’s spreading again, Lily. And it’s looking for you.”
Caleb pulls out an old, leather-bound journal, covered in cryptic symbols. It’s Eleanor’s journal, the one Lily thought she had destroyed. Caleb claims to have found it on his travels. He explains that the Hollow’s reach goes far beyond the confines of the street—it’s linked to certain places, to certain families. And Lily’s blood is tied to it all.
> “You thought you escaped. But the Hollow never lets go.”
Lily’s world shatters. She realizes that the curse didn’t end with Hemlock Lane—it’s following her, stalking her every step.
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Act IV: The Hunger Grows
As Lily digs deeper, things in Black Hollow become increasingly bizarre. People are acting strange—more so than before. Neighbors who were once friendly now look at her with vacant eyes. There’s a feeling of unease, as though everyone is just a little off.
Lily comes across a newspaper article—an old one, from over a hundred years ago. It’s about another town, another street, that suffered the same strange disappearances, the same red skies, and the same whispers in the wind.
The article references something terrifying: The Hollow Seed.
The article claims the “seed” is a force of nature, an ancient evil that spreads through bloodlines, consuming everything in its path. It’s always been there, hidden, just waiting for the right moment to rise.
Lily realizes, with horror, that the Hollow is in Black Hollow. It’s feeding off the town, and it’s using her as its vessel. Her blood, her connection to Hemlock Lane, is its key to spreading.
But what’s worse—she feels herself changing.
She’s hungry. A hunger that can’t be sated.
She’s becoming one of them.
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Final Scene:
Lily stands alone on the edge of Black Hollow, staring at the place where Hemlock Lane used to be. In the distance, a faint red glow flickers through the trees. She can hear whispers in the wind, calling her name.
And then, she hears it. A voice, but not her own.
> “Come back… Lily. It’s time for you to come home.”
Lily clenches her fists, the hunger gnawing at her. She turns toward Caleb, who’s standing behind her, watching silently.
> “We can stop it,” Caleb says, his voice low. “We can destroy the Hollow before it spreads any further. But you have to let go. You have to break the bloodline.”
Lily looks at him, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. The Hollow is a part of her now. And she’s terrified to lose herself again.
But deep down, she knows it’s the only way.
- Writer
