Paranelope, a ghost hunter who's been cancelled for faking evidence, must discover the truth behind a local cryptid in order to clear her name.
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Penelope, better known as the ghost hunter PARANELOPE to her millions of followers, has only ever want...
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The trees were stripped bare, their empty branches spidering up through the flat grey sky like cracks through glass. This was the first thing that struck Penelope as odd. It's summertime, shouldn't the trees be heavy with green leaves and needles?
The observation wasn't enough to stop her walk. She followed along the path that wove through the strangely dead forest, studying their empty branches. Maybe she had stumbled on a stretch of woods that had fallen victim to an infestation, or the aftermath of a forest fire, though the earth was regular brown not scorched black.
Whatever the reason, she figured it was temporary. If she kept on the path, then it would lead her through to greener pastures—or forest.
It didn't.
Instead, the trees opened up completely, giving way to an open expanse of deadened grass, all yellow and brown. And beyond the strip of grass, a sheer cliff that overlooked a river. The river was swollen, spilling over its banks and washing up against the foot of the rock face. Across the river, another cliff. There the forests and grasses were green, like they should be. And over the lush green forest on the other side a swirl of hundreds of black birds flew together in a wide circle. Ravens. Penelope could hear their croaking, even from here.
She stepped out from the dead forest and approached the edge to get a better look. Why were they flying like that? They were circling something, like vultures honing in on something freshly dead...
But as she neared the cliff's edge, the earth was softer than she thought. Her feet sank into the ground before it crumbled beneath her. A large chunk of the cliff gave way, taking Penelope with it. She scrambled back, turning to grab onto whatever was within reach to save her—a branch of one of the dead trees. She grabbed it, but the brittle wood snapped easily under her hands. She fell back, nothing stopping her from falling off the cliff and into the river—
The minute Penelope opened her eyes, her dream was gone. Only the fear remained, making her breaths come in gulping gasps. She blinked for a moment, letting her heart slow, trying to figure out why she felt so afraid, before giving up and rolling over in bed to reach for her phone.
