𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐜𝐡𝐨

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲

Elena sat on the floor of the cabin, her knees pulled to her chest, still shaken from what had just happened. Kian crouched in front of her, his eyes searching hers for any sign that she was still with him, still grounded in reality.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice softer now.

Elena nodded slowly, though she wasn’t sure if that was the truth. “I thought… I thought I heard my mom.”

Kian sighed, sitting back on his heels. “That’s how it starts. The Echo knows what will pull you in. It shows you the things you want most, the things you fear losing. It’s why this place is so dangerous.”

Elena took a deep breath, her fingers gripping the edges of the blanket. “But it felt so real.”

“I know,” Kian said. “That’s what makes it so hard to resist.”

She swallowed, glancing toward the door as if expecting the voice to come back. The cabin, though decrepit and cold, now felt safer than the world outside. “How do you stay here without losing yourself?”

Kian looked away, his jaw tightening. “It’s not easy. I’ve had close calls… too many to count. But I’ve learned to shut it out, to remind myself what’s real and what’s just the Echo playing tricks.” He glanced at her, his eyes softening. “You can learn to do the same.”

Elena wasn’t sure she could. The way the voice of her mother had called out to her had made her chest ache. She wanted to go home, to be safe in her own bed, away from this strange, twisted world. But she knew, deep down, that nothing would ever be the same if she didn’t find a way out of this.

“So… what do we do now?” she asked, her voice small.

Kian stood, brushing the dust off his pants. “We wait until morning. The Echo is strongest at night, so it’s better to stay inside and stay quiet.” He gestured toward the corner of the cabin, where a small pile of logs lay. “I found some firewood. It’ll help keep the cold—and the dark—at bay.”

Elena watched as Kian set to work building a small fire in the stone hearth. The crackling flames slowly filled the room with a soft, warm glow, pushing away the shadows that seemed to creep in from every corner.

As the fire grew, Elena felt a little of the tension leave her body, though her mind was still swirling with questions. “You said you’ve been here for months. How did you get here?”

Kian’s hands paused over the fire for a moment, his expression unreadable. “Same way you did, I guess. I found a door, walked through it… and ended up here.”

Elena frowned. “But why? Why does the Echo take people?”

Kian’s face darkened. “That’s the thing—no one knows for sure. Some say it’s like a test, others say it’s a punishment for something we’ve done. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is finding a way out before it’s too late.”

“Too late?” Elena echoed, fear creeping back into her voice.

Kian nodded. “The longer you stay, the more the Echo gets inside your head. It starts with small things—voices, shadows, memories. But then it becomes harder to tell what’s real. Eventually, you lose yourself entirely, and the Echo takes you.”

Elena shivered, staring into the fire. “Has anyone ever escaped?”

Kian’s silence was answer enough.

A heavy weight settled in her chest. She tried to shake it off, but the fear was overwhelming. What if they never found a way out? What if she was stuck here forever, lost in this twisted place?

Kian must have noticed the fear on her face because he spoke again, this time more gently. “We’re not giving up. There are places we haven’t searched yet, clues we haven’t found. I’ve heard rumors of a way out, but we’ll need to be careful.”

Elena clung to his words, desperate for any hope. “What kind of rumors?”

“There’s an old legend,” Kian said, leaning back against the wall. “It says there’s a key hidden somewhere in the Echo, something that can open a door back to our world. But finding it is the hard part. The Echo doesn’t want to let anyone go.”

Elena frowned. “Why would it keep us here?”

Kian’s eyes darkened. “Because the Echo feeds on us—on our memories, our emotions. It thrives on the pain we carry. That’s why it tries so hard to pull us in, to make us forget what’s real.”

Elena felt a chill run down her spine. She thought about her mother’s voice, how it had sounded so real, so desperate. Was the Echo feeding on her longing to go home? Was it trying to break her down, little by little?

“We’ll find the key,” Kian said, his voice steady. “I don’t know how long it’ll take, but we’ll find it.”

Elena nodded, trying to steady her breathing. She had no choice but to trust him. He was the only one who seemed to understand this place, and if there was even a chance of escaping, she had to believe in it.

As the fire crackled softly, the cabin seemed to settle into a strange calm. But outside, Elena could still hear the faint whisper of the Echo, like a distant melody, beckoning her into the shadows.