Book 1: The Forgotten Well Part 2

Darren stood frozen on the front porch as Sheriff Merrick drove away, his mind whirling with the sheriff's unsettling words. "Some things... they're better left buried." What the hell was that supposed to mean? How could he be so dismissive about a missing child?

Emma was inside, crying on the phone with her sister, her voice thick with desperation. Darren knew she was trying to be strong, but he could see the cracks forming. He could feel them forming in himself, too, the weight of Lily's absence pressing down on him like a lead weight.

But Darren wasn't ready to give up. He wasn't going to leave this alone, no matter what the sheriff said.

Determined, Darren grabbed his jacket and headed out into the yard, scanning the tree line. The woods were dense and overgrown, the branches casting long shadows as the sun began to sink lower in the sky. He hesitated for a moment, the memory of the eerie feeling from last night creeping back into his mind. But Lily was out there, somewhere.

Taking a deep breath, he ventured into the forest.

The air inside the woods was cooler, the light dimmer as the thick canopy above blocked out most of the sun. Darren moved quickly, his boots crunching against the fallen leaves as he called out for Lily, his voice echoing through the trees. But there was no answer, only the soft rustling of the wind through the branches.

As he pushed deeper into the woods, a strange sense of unease began to creep over him, the same sensation he'd felt that first night in the house, the sensation of being watched. His eyes darted around, scanning the trees for any sign of movement, but everything was still. Too still.

After what felt like hours of searching, Darren stopped to catch his breath, his heart pounding in his chest. The woods seemed to close in around him, the silence pressing in from all sides. He was about to turn back when something caught his eye, a small, pale shape nestled between the roots of a large oak tree.

He rushed over, his heart leaping into his throat. It was Lily's stuffed rabbit, the one she'd had since she was a baby. Darren picked it up, his hands trembling as he stared at the dirt-stained fur, his mind racing. She had been here. She had to be close.

But as he looked up from the rabbit, his blood ran cold.

There, carved into the bark of the oak tree, was a strange symbol, an intricate design made up of twisting lines and shapes that seemed to pulse with a dark energy. It looked ancient, the edges of the carving worn down by time, but something about it felt alive, like it was watching him.

Darren's breath hitched, and he took a step back. The symbol looked disturbingly familiar, like something he had seen before but couldn't quite place. It wasn't until he remembered Lily's drawings, her pictures of the tall, masked figures, that it clicked.

The symbol had been on the doorway she had drawn. The one at the bottom of the well.

A cold sweat broke out across Darren's skin, and he turned away from the tree, his heart pounding in his chest. He had to find the well. That's where they had taken her. He was sure of it now.

When Darren returned to the house, it was nearly dusk, the sky painted in deep purples and oranges. Emma was sitting on the couch, her face pale and tear-streaked, clutching her phone in her hands.

"They won't do anything," she whispered, her voice hollow. "The sheriff just... he won't send a search party until tomorrow."

Darren clenched his fists. "I'm not waiting for tomorrow. I found something in the woods." He held up Lily's stuffed rabbit, and Emma's eyes filled with fresh tears.

"She's out there," Darren continued, his voice hard with determination. "And I'm going to find her."

Emma stared at him, her face a mask of fear. "But where? How? We don't even know where to start."

Darren took a deep breath, his mind racing. "I think I know," he said quietly. "There's something I need to show you."

He led Emma into Lily's room, his heart heavy as he picked up the stack of drawings that had been sitting on her desk. He hadn't paid much attention to them before, but now, with everything that had happened, they felt like pieces of a dark puzzle he was only beginning to understand.

As he flipped through the drawings, his stomach turned. There were pictures of tall, thin figures with long arms and blank, expressionless masks. In each drawing, they were standing near a well, an old, crumbling structure surrounded by dark trees.

"They took her there," Darren said, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's in the woods. The well. It's where they've been watching her."

Emma stared at the drawings, her face pale. "But... but these are just drawings. She was imagining it. There's no well."

Darren shook his head. "No, it's real. I found something in the woods today, a symbol, just like the one in her drawings. They've been planning this, Emma. They've been luring her."

Emma's hands trembled as she looked through the drawings. In one of them, Lily had drawn herself standing at the edge of the well, surrounded by the masked figures. Above her, written in childish scrawl, were the words: "Come with us, princess. We'll have a tea party just for you."

Emma's breath caught in her throat. "Darren, this is... this is insane. What are you saying? That some... some things are out there, in the woods, waiting for our daughter?"

Darren met her gaze, his jaw clenched. "Yes. And I'm going after her."

Emma tried to stop him, her voice pleading, but Darren was already gathering what he needed, supplies, weapons, anything that could help him in the woods. He grabbed a flashlight, some rope, a crowbar, and a hunting knife from the garage, his mind focused on one thing: finding Lily.

"You can't go alone," Emma said, her voice shaking. "Please, Darren, let's wait for help."

"There won't be any help," Darren said darkly, his eyes hard. "The sheriff won't come. He knows something, something he's not telling us. And if I wait, it'll be too late."

Emma's lip quivered, and she stepped forward, grabbing his arm. "Then I'm coming with you."

Darren hesitated. He didn't want Emma to be in danger, but he knew he couldn't stop her. She wasn't going to let him go alone. With a nod, he handed her one of the flashlights and a small knife.

"We'll be careful," he said, his voice softening. "But we have to do this."

They both knew what they were getting into. Darren had no illusions about what lay ahead. There was something evil in the woods, something that had been watching them, waiting for the right moment to strike. And now, it had taken Lily.

As night fell, Darren and Emma made their way into the woods, their flashlights cutting through the darkness. The forest felt different now, darker, colder, and more menacing. The trees seemed to close in around them, their branches reaching out like twisted, skeletal hands.

They walked in silence, the weight of their mission hanging heavy between them. Darren's mind raced with the possibilities of what lay ahead. He didn't fully understand what the Night Men were, or how they had lured Lily, but he knew one thing: he wasn't leaving the woods without his daughter.

After what felt like hours, they reached the clearing. And there, at the center, stood the well.

It was just as Lily had drawn it, old, crumbling, and surrounded by gnarled trees. A thick, dark mist seeped from its depths, swirling around the stone structure like a living thing. The symbol Darren had seen carved into the tree was etched into the side of the well, glowing faintly in the darkness.

Emma gasped, taking a step back. "Oh my God... it's real."

Darren gripped the rope in his hands, his knuckles white. "I'm going down."

Emma stared at him, her eyes wide with fear. "Darren, no... we don't know what's down there."

"I have to," Darren said, his voice steely. "Lily's down there. I know it."

Without another word, Darren tied the rope around the edge of the well and lowered himself into the darkness.

The air around the well was unnaturally cold. Darren's breath came in shallow puffs of mist as he stood at the edge, gripping the rope tightly. He stared down into the abyss, the darkness below seemingly endless, the faint glow of the symbol on the well casting eerie shadows across his face.

"I'll be right behind you," Emma said, her voice trembling but resolute. She had tied the other end of the rope around her waist, prepared to follow him down. Her flashlight flickered in the dark as she shined it into the depths, revealing nothing but the damp stone walls.

Darren swallowed hard, his heart hammering in his chest. "If something happens... if anything goes wrong, you climb back up, understand? You get out of here."

Emma's eyes were wide, filled with fear, but she nodded. "Just... just be careful."

Without another word, Darren gripped the rope and began his descent. The cold stone walls scraped against his fingers as he lowered himself deeper and deeper into the well. The farther he went, the darker it became, the walls slick with moisture and the air growing thicker, almost suffocating.

The sound of the wind above faded as the well swallowed him whole. His flashlight beam flickered as he descended, casting long, distorted shadows on the ancient stone. Every few feet, he glanced up to make sure Emma was still there, but she was nothing more than a small silhouette against the night sky now.

Minutes passed, or perhaps it was hours, Darren couldn't tell anymore. Time seemed to stretch in the darkness, twisting and warping as the temperature dropped further. His breath came in short gasps, his hands shaking as he clung to the rope. He could feel the weight of the earth pressing down on him, the claustrophobia tightening around his chest.

And then... his feet touched solid ground.

He released the rope, feeling the damp stone beneath him. The air down here was heavy, thick with a musty, rotting smell that made his stomach churn. He shined his flashlight around, illuminating the narrow tunnel that stretched out before him. The walls were jagged, carved from the same ancient stone as the well, and the strange, glowing symbols were etched into them, pulsating faintly in the dark.

"Darren?" Emma's voice echoed faintly from above.

"I'm down," he called back, his voice barely more than a whisper. "It's... there's a tunnel. I'm going in."

"Be careful," Emma said, her voice shaky. "I'll be right behind you."

Darren hesitated for a moment, his heart pounding, but then he stepped forward, the beam of his flashlight cutting through the thick shadows as he ventured deeper into the tunnel. The air felt wrong down here, thick, oppressive, like something was watching him from the darkness just beyond the edges of the light.

The tunnel seemed to stretch on forever, the walls closing in tighter the farther he went. His breathing was ragged now, fear gnawing at the edges of his mind, but he forced himself to keep going. Lily was down here. She had to be.

As he moved forward, the whispers began.

They were faint at first, barely audible, like the wind moving through the cracks in the stone. But the deeper he went, the louder they became, voices, dozens of them, speaking in a language Darren couldn't understand. The sound made his skin crawl, his heart pounding faster with each step.

And then, he saw it.

The tunnel opened into a large, circular chamber, its walls covered in the same glowing symbols that had been carved into the well. In the center of the chamber stood a tall, crumbling doorway, just as Lily had drawn it, a twisted archway made of ancient stone, leading into pure darkness. The air around the doorway seemed to hum with a dark energy, and Darren could feel the weight of it pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe.

But that wasn't all.

Standing just beyond the doorway were figures, tall, thin, and unnaturally still. Their faces were obscured by blank, featureless masks, their bodies draped in long, tattered robes that seemed to shift and flutter in the nonexistent breeze. They didn't move, didn't make a sound, but Darren could feel their eyes on him, even through the masks.

His breath caught in his throat, and his legs trembled as he took a step back. The figures didn't follow, but their presence was overwhelming, like a suffocating blanket of fear that threatened to crush him. Darren's mind raced, panic surging through his veins.

He wanted to turn and run, every instinct in his body screamed at him to flee, but he couldn't leave. Lily was beyond that doorway. He could feel it in his bones, in the very air around him. She was there, with them.

He took a deep breath, steeling himself. He had come this far. He couldn't stop now.

"Darren?" Emma's voice came from behind him, startling him.

He turned to see her lowering herself into the chamber, her flashlight flickering as it caught the edges of the glowing symbols. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the figures standing beyond the doorway.

"Oh my God..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "What... what are they?"

"I don't know," Darren said, his voice low, barely above a whisper. "But Lily's in there. I know it."

Emma stared at the figures, her face pale with fear. "We can't go in there, Darren. We don't know what's on the other side."

Darren clenched his fists, his jaw tight. "I don't care. I'm not leaving without her."

Before Emma could protest, Darren took a step forward, toward the doorway. The figures didn't move, didn't react to his presence, but the air seemed to grow heavier, the darkness beyond the doorway pulsing like a living thing. Darren's heart pounded in his chest as he reached the threshold, his flashlight beam swallowed by the inky blackness.

He hesitated for a moment, his body trembling, but then he took a deep breath and stepped through.