Whispers in the Dark

Introduction

Memory is a strange thing. It bends and warps with time, reshaping itself into something new—sometimes softer, more forgiving, and other times darker, more treacherous. Claire had always believed she knew the difference between what was real and what was imagined, but now she wasn't so sure.

Standing at the edge of her old hometown, she realized it had all started here, in this quiet place where nothing ever seemed to change. Where secrets weren't buried deep—they floated just beneath the surface, waiting to be uncovered by anyone brave or foolish enough to look.

Fifteen years was a long time to stay away, but for Claire, it hadn't been long enough. The memories still lingered, like ghosts, tugging at her every time she closed her eyes. The day she left, she'd promised herself she wouldn't come back. She had built her life on that promise, convinced that distance could protect her from the truth.

But promises were easy to break when someone you loved went missing.

Her sister, Julia, had vanished without a trace. No explanations, no goodbyes. The police had said she probably ran off, the same tired answer they always gave when they had no real leads. But Claire knew better. She could feel it deep in her bones, the same way she had felt something was wrong fifteen years ago, before everything had gone to hell.

The missing girl back then had been Sarah, her best friend. But Sarah hadn't run away. They found her body in the basement of Claire's house, cold and lifeless, while Claire stood at the top of the stairs, unable to remember how she had gotten there. The police called it an accident. Claire had tried to believe them.

Now, with Julia gone, the past was clawing its way back, demanding answers. And Claire knew the only way to find her sister was to return to the place where it all began.

But the past has a way of twisting in on itself, turning even the clearest memories into something unrecognizable. And as Claire drove down the familiar roads, past the fields and the woods that seemed to close in tighter the closer she got, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was driving straight into a trap.

Because somewhere, deep down, she knew—whatever had taken Sarah all those years ago wasn't done yet. And now, it was waiting for her.