Chapter 2

The door creaked open, casting long shadows across the wooden floor. Aiden's pulse quickened as the cold air from outside rushed in, carrying with it the faintest whiff of something rotting. The adventurers stood frozen, their breath shallow, waiting for whatever was out there to reveal itself.

But nothing came.

Instead, there was only the soft echo of the bells in the distance, like a warning that hadn't finished ringing through the silence. Aiden's eyes darted to Kara, whose hand was steady on the hilt of her dagger, her gaze fixed on the door. Even Theron, usually brash and unafraid, had his weapon raised defensively, his brow furrowed with concern.

Lyra, her hand trembling, whispered just loud enough for the group to hear. "What if it's waiting for us to move?"

The oppressive quiet was unbearable. The sound of the footsteps they had heard earlier had faded into the night, but they all knew something was still out there, lurking, watching.

"I'll check it out," Aiden finally said, his voice a low murmur. He motioned to Theron. "Stay with them. If anything happens, get out through the back."

Theron gave a curt nod, but Lyra reached out, grabbing Aiden's arm. "Don't," she pleaded softly. "We don't know what's out there. It could be… like the others."

Aiden hesitated. The thought of what had happened to the other villages weighed heavily on him. They had passed through towns with no signs of life—places where the people had simply vanished, leaving their homes and lives behind. And always, always the bells had been there, haunting the towns like a grim reminder of something darker.

But they couldn't stay hidden forever. Whatever this thing was, they had come to Midvale to uncover the truth, no matter how terrifying that truth might be.

"I'll be careful," Aiden reassured her, though the knot in his stomach told him it was a lie.

He stepped out into the cold, night air, his senses immediately on high alert. The village was shrouded in an eerie stillness, every corner cloaked in shadows that seemed to move and shift in the dim moonlight. The street lamps, once bright and welcoming, were now dark and hollow, their flickering lights long extinguished.

The bells tolled again, this time softer, as if calling from a distance. Aiden strained his ears, trying to pinpoint the source, but the sound seemed to come from everywhere at once.

He scanned the nearby houses, noting the tightly shut windows and doors. The people of Midvale were hiding, as they always did when the bells rang. But hiding from what?

As he moved further into the village square, a strange sensation washed over him, prickling the back of his neck. It felt as though the air itself had thickened, becoming heavy and difficult to breathe. His fingers brushed against the hilt of his sword, instinctively gripping it tighter.

Suddenly, there was movement—a flicker of shadow just at the edge of his vision. Aiden spun around, his weapon raised, but saw nothing. His heart pounded in his chest as he strained to listen, but all he could hear was the faint whisper of wind through the empty streets.

"Show yourself," he muttered under his breath, his voice barely a whisper.

A low growl echoed from the darkness ahead, sending a shiver down his spine. It was a sound unlike anything he had ever heard—deep, guttural, and filled with malice. Whatever was out there wasn't human.

Just as Aiden took a cautious step forward, something darted past him in the shadows. He barely caught a glimpse—a blur of movement, too fast to track. His grip tightened on his sword, his muscles tensing as he prepared for an attack.

But then, the bells rang again.

This time, the sound was deafening, a violent clanging that reverberated through the village like an explosion. Aiden staggered back, clutching his ears as the sound assaulted him, disorienting his senses. His vision blurred, and the ground beneath him seemed to tremble.

Through the ringing in his ears, he heard it—footsteps. Not the slow, deliberate ones from before, but frantic, hurried steps, accompanied by the sound of something heavy dragging across the cobblestones.

He spun around just in time to see a figure emerge from the darkness, staggering toward him. At first, he thought it was a villager—someone who hadn't made it inside in time—but as the figure came closer, Aiden realized with growing horror that something was terribly wrong.

The figure's face was twisted in agony, its eyes wide with fear and madness. Its clothes were torn and filthy, and its skin had a sickly, pallid hue, as though life itself had been drained from it. But it wasn't just the appearance that terrified Aiden. It was the way the figure moved—jerky, unnatural, as if it was being controlled by something unseen.

Aiden took a step back, his sword raised defensively. "Stay back!" he shouted, but the figure didn't respond. Instead, it continued its slow, erratic approach, its eyes locked on him with a vacant, haunting stare.

Behind him, he heard the others rush out of the house, drawn by his shout. Theron was the first to react, charging forward with his sword drawn. "What the hell is that?"

"I don't know!" Aiden yelled, never taking his eyes off the figure. "But it's not human."

Lyra gasped as she saw the figure, her hand flying to her mouth. "It's one of them… one of the villagers."

Before anyone could respond, the figure let out a blood-curdling scream—a sound of pure torment that echoed through the streets, chilling them to the bone. And then, as if triggered by the scream, more figures began to emerge from the shadows.

They came from every direction, shambling out of alleyways and doorways, their hollow eyes gleaming in the dim light. Some were missing limbs, others had gaping wounds that should have killed them, but all of them had the same twisted, vacant expression of terror.

"They're everywhere!" Kara shouted, backing away as more of the figures closed in.

"I don't want to die here, Aiden!" Kieran shouted, while looking directly at those figures.

"You won't, okay? Calm yourself!" Aiden replied.

Aiden's heart raced. They had come to Midvale to uncover the mystery of the bells, but now they were surrounded by the very horrors that had plagued the village. He wasn't sure if they could survive the night, let alone solve the mystery.

The bells rang once more, and the darkness seemed to grow even deeper.

Whatever this was, it wasn't just a village cursed with bad luck.

It was something far worse.