Chapter 16: The Girl Who Knew Everything
Elias took a step back, instinct screaming at him to run. But the girl's voice held him like a net—calm, emotionless, terrifying.
Grayson stirred beside him, his eyes flickering, as though something inside him recognized her.
“You…” Elias breathed. “What are you?”
“I’m the first,” she replied. “The first soul this place ever took. And the only one who found a way to stay.”
She drifted down to the stone floor without a sound. The moment her feet touched it, the black water trembled. A low hum rose from the walls.
“You’re in the hollow earth now,” she said. “The skin beneath the world. Where truth and shadow are one.”
Elias swallowed hard. “Why us? Why Grayson? Why me?”
The girl tilted her head. “Because the curse needs a storyteller. And you’ve always been good at digging where you shouldn’t.”
Then she smiled.
It was the smile of a child who knew she had won.
Suddenly, the chamber flashed with white light.
When Elias opened his eyes again—
He was no longer in the chamber.
He was in his apartment.
Morning sunlight poured through the window. Birds chirped outside. The scent of coffee filled the air.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand.
1 New Voicemail: “Hey Elias, this is Sheriff Grayson. You still planning to come out to Black Hollow? Strange stuff going on lately. Could use your eyes on it.”
His heart nearly stopped.
Everything had reset.
Or was it just beginning again?
Author’s Note:
Plot twist activated 😈 What just happened?! Are they stuck in a loop? Was it a dream—or something far worse? Get ready for Chapter 17, where reality bends... and maybe breaks.
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