The shadows of our town

chapter 10: discover

The house was quiet as the group gathered in the living room, each of them feeling the weight of what had happened. Carla, still pale and exhausted from the ordeal in the basement, had retreated to her room to rest. The others, despite their growing exhaustion, were still searching for answers. The mystery was deepening, and with every new discovery, the terror seemed to close in on them even tighter.
Thomas sat at the coffee table, his eyes scanning over old journals and websites in a frantic attempt to find something—anything—that could help explain the dark presence they were dealing with. But his thoughts kept drifting back to Carla. He couldn't shake the image of her lying unconscious, her body trembling with an invisible force. The look in her eyes when she came to... it haunted him. He had been so terrified he might lose her, and the thought of it still gnawed at his gut.
He was still lost in his thoughts when a soft knock echoed from the hallway. The door creaked open, and Carla's tired but familiar face appeared in the doorway.
"Hey," she said, her voice soft but determined. "I'm ready to get back to work. I don't want to just sit here."
Thomas smiled, a genuine relief flooding through him as he stood up. "You sure? You've been through a lot, Carla. You don't have to—"
"I'm fine," she interrupted with a small smile, though the strain was evident in her eyes. "I can't just sit here and do nothing. Let's figure this out. Together."
The group exchanged glances, their anxiety about the situation shifting to something more hopeful. They knew they were stronger together. With Carla back at their side, the fear felt a little less suffocating.
As she sat down with them, Thomas took a moment to check on her, his gaze softening. "I was really worried about you, you know," he said quietly, looking at her with a mixture of concern and something more—something deeper. "I thought... I thought I might lose you."
Carla's heart skipped a beat, and she looked away, her cheeks flushing. "Thomas..." Her voice faltered, but she quickly recovered. "I know. I'm sorry you had to see me like that. It's just... so much to process. But I'm okay now. Really."
Thomas smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. There was so much more he wanted to say, but he couldn't bring himself to voice it. He didn't know how she felt, and the last thing he wanted to do was make things more complicated—especially now, when everything felt so out of control.
The conversation quickly shifted to the events of the night before. "Carla, you said something about the eyes," Adam began, his voice urgent. "Can you tell us more about what you saw in the basement? Those red eyes...?"
Carla closed her eyes for a moment, trying to recall the image. "I don't know how to explain it. It wasn't like a person's eyes. They were... wrong. They were burning, like coals. But not in a natural way. And it wasn't like it was just looking at me. It felt... focused. Like it was looking into me."
The group went silent as they processed her words. The gravity of the situation was starting to hit harder. They weren't just dealing with an ordinary murderer, or even a deranged person—they were dealing with something far darker, far more powerful.
"That's exactly what we need to figure out," Billy muttered. "How could this thing have hurt Sam and Alisya like that? They were in the woods, right? Were they face-to-face with this... thing?"
"I don't know," Thomas answered. "But that's what we need to figure out. Was it in the same house we were in? Or is it something that follows us? Could it have followed Sam and Alisya to the lake?" He rubbed his temples, trying to clear his mind. "We need more information."
That's when Melissa, who had been quietly scrolling on her phone, suddenly sat up straighter. "Wait a second. I might have something."
The group turned to her as she held up her phone, her eyes wide with excitement. "I found something. Someone posted on Facebook a few months ago about something... exactly like what we've been talking about."
"What do you mean?" Adam asked, leaning in to see her screen.
"I was scrolling through some groups," she explained, "and I found a post from a woman—her name's Lydia Calloway. She said she saw something in the woods near Closeville. A shadow... but not just any shadow. She described the eyes—red, like burning coal—and she says it's been following her, even haunting her dreams."
"That sounds exactly like what Carla saw," Billy said, his voice growing tense.
"Exactly," Melissa confirmed. "And look—she says it's been showing up in other places around town too. I think we need to meet her. She might know something more."
The group agreed, and after a few texts back and forth, they arranged to meet Lydia in a secluded part of the town park later that evening. It was risky, but they felt they had no other choice. The more they knew, the better their chances of surviving this nightmare.

Later that night, they met up with Lydia, an older woman with a haunted look in her eyes. She was clearly nervous, glancing over her shoulder constantly as if she feared being followed. When they told her about Carla's encounter in the basement, she stiffened, her eyes darkening with fear.
"It's here," Lydia whispered, almost to herself. "It's been watching you. All of you."
The group exchanged uneasy glances, their hearts pounding. "What is it?" Thomas demanded. "What do we do about it?"
Lydia hesitated. "It's not human. Not entirely. It's some kind of... demon. It feeds on fear, on grief. It attaches itself to places of darkness, places where pain has lingered too long. The more you try to fight it, the stronger it becomes."
"Why is it targeting us?" Melissa asked, her voice trembling.
"You've uncovered something it doesn't want you to find," Lydia replied. "This demon... it's ancient. It's been here for generations. And now, it's focused on you. It knows your grief, your pain. It's watching you. Waiting."
Thomas's heart sank as the full weight of their situation crashed down on him. This wasn't just some random killer. This was something old, something evil that had been lurking in the shadows of Closeville for far longer than they could have ever imagined.

As they walked back to their cars, the atmosphere was heavy with dread. The encounter with Lydia had left them all shaken, but they knew they couldn't stop now. The group quickly began discussing their next move, but all the while, Thomas couldn't shake the image of Carla's pale face, her vulnerable eyes staring back at him.
"We have to protect her," he said, voice strained. "We can't let this thing take anyone else. Especially her."
Carla, who had been silent until then, looked up at him. She could see the fear in his eyes, the worry. And for the first time in a long while, her heart felt lighter. She wasn't alone in this.
"I'm ready to fight back," she said quietly, her voice steady. "I won't let it hurt me. Or any of us."
But as they continued talking, planning their next steps, Thomas couldn't ignore the growing unease in his chest. This demon was real. And it was stalking them. Waiting. And he knew, deep down, that its next target was Carla.

Later that night, after the group had gone their separate ways, Carla made her way home. As she walked through the quiet streets of Closeville, she felt a shiver run down her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and her stomach twisted into knots. It was as if something was watching her.
When she finally made it into her house, she locked the door behind her, breathing a sigh of relief. But then, she heard something—soft banging noises from upstairs.
Her heart skipped a beat. She was alone. Her parents were out of town, and there was no reason for anyone to be in the house.
Cautiously, she made her way upstairs. Her feet were heavy, her every step filled with trepidation. As she reached her bedroom, she hesitated, but something urged her to go inside. She tried to calm herself, to push aside the dread that had settled in her chest, but it was no use.
She climbed into bed, pulling the covers tight around her, and tried to relax. But no matter how hard she tried, the feeling of being watched never left. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep.
But as she did, a tall shadow with burning red eyes loomed over her bed, watching her every move. The demon was still there. And it was closer than ever.