Chapter 2 : Shadow Of Regrets

The sun rises over Chandrakund, but the town remains shrouded in an eerie stillness. Julie steps out of her car, her eyes bleary from a restless night. She holds a coffee thermos, sipping while surveying the town square. 

Her camera hangs around her neck, and the bag of cassette tape is slung over her shoulder. She glances at the deserted buildings, then looks down at her phone. The phone shows no signal.

She sighs and head towards the outskirt of town, her boots crunching on gravel. 

Julie follows a faint trail into the woods. The trees are gnarled and overgrown, their branches clawing at the sky. She spots small cabin partially hidden by the foliage. 

She approached cautiously. 

Julie to herself ''This isn't creepy at all''.

She knocks on the cabin door. No response. She hesitates, then knock again. She knocks again. Danny steps out of the shadows, shotgun in hand. 

'' You've got about 5 seconds to tell me who you are and why you're here '', said Danny.

Julie raising her hand defensively. ''Whoa, easy. I'm a journalist, Julie Joseph.

Danny lowers the shotgun slightly, but his expression remains hard. ''You shouldn't be here. Nobody should be here'' Danny said. 

''That's the thing - no one is. I'm trying to figure out why'', answered Julie.

''Come inside. If you're stupid enough to stay, you might as well know what you're dealing with.'' Danny speaks sarcastically.

The cabin smelled of wood smoke and damp earth. Danny stood by the fireplace, his broad shoulders silhouetted against the glow of the flames. He hadn't spoken in several minutes, and the silence gnawed at Julie. Outside, the ever-present quiet of Chandrakund pressed against the cabin walls, broken only by the faint crackle of the fire.

Danny's eyes were locked on the flames, his expression unreadable. Julie shifted in her chair, the leather creaking beneath her.

(Danny sifting through papers). Chandrakund was a normal town once. People worked, laughed, raised their kids. Then the mine started humming. Just a faint noise at first. Most of us thought it was the equipment. 

He sets a map on the table, showing the mine's depths marked with red X's. 

'' What was it ?'' Julie asked .

Danny hesitates to explain. 

"You said you'd explain," she prompted, her voice cutting through the stillness.

Danny didn't look at her right away. Instead, he reached for a glass of amber liquid on the mantel, taking a long sip before finally turning to face her.

"You ever heard something that wasn't there?" he asked.

Julie hesitated. The question felt pointed, like it had claws. "I don't know what you mean."

Danny chuckled bitterly. "Yes, you do."

She opened her mouth to protest but stopped. Her thoughts flicked back to earlier—the whispers, faint and distant, like voices calling to her from another world.

"I've heard... things," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

Danny nodded, as if he had expected her answer. "That's how it starts."

He sat down across from her, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. In the dim light, the lines on his face looked deeper, carved by years of something heavier than time.

"This town isn't just dying," Danny said. "It's already dead. And the Sound is what killed it."

Danny's Past

Julie frowned. "The Sound? You keep talking about it like it's alive."

"It is," Julie said grimly. "Or at least, it's not just noise. It feeds on people—their guilt, their fears, their secrets. And when it's done with them, it takes them."

He leaned back, staring at the ceiling as if searching for the right words. "I used to work in the mines, same as most people in Chandrakund back then. My father ran the operation, kept the town afloat. We thought the strange noises were just echoes, vibrations from deep underground. But then people started changing. They'd hear things—voices, whispers—telling them things they shouldn't have known. And some of them..."

He trailed off, his jaw tightening.

"What happened to them?" Julie asked.

Danny 's gaze dropped to the floor. "They disappeared. Or worse."

The silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating.

"And you stayed?" Julie's voice was sharp,

incredulous. "Why? Why wouldn't you leave?"

Danny looked at her then, his dark eyes burning with something she couldn't quite place—guilt, anger, grief. "Because I couldn't."

Danny remembered the day his father went down into the mine for the last time. The memory played in his mind like a film reel, sharp and vivid.

IN CHANDRAKUND MINE - YEARS AGO

The tunnels were suffocating, the air thick with dust and tension. Danny stood at the entrance, arguing with his father.

"Don't go down there!" Danny had shouted, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "You've heard the stories—people don't come back."

His father, a tall man with a hard face and harder hands, had simply glared at him. "And if I don't go, who will? You?"

Danny had flinched. He was 18 then, just old enough to know what fear tasted like and too young to hide it.

"You don't understand," his father said, his voice softer now. "This town needs the mine. Without it, there's nothing left. I won't let Chandrakund die because of some... noise."

He had disappeared into the tunnels with a group of men, their lanterns bobbing like fireflies in the darkness. Danny waited for hours, his stomach churning with dread.

But his father never came back.

Present Day

Julie watched Danny closely, the pain etched into his face. She wanted to say something, to ask more, but the words caught in her throat.

Finally, she broke the silence. "And the Sound... it's still here?"

Danny's expression darkened. "It never left. It's why I stay. Someone has to keep it contained, or it'll spread."

"Spread?" Julie asked, her stomach twisting

.

Danny nodded. "It's not bound to this town. It's in the tapes, the recordings. It can travel, take root somewhere else. That's why I destroyed most of them. But if you've brought one back..."

Julie felt her pulse quicken. "I didn't know," she said quickly. "I thought they were just—"

"Stories?" Danny interrupted, his voice sharp. "They're not. The Sound is real, and it's dangerous."

Flashback: Julie's Trauma

The mention of the Sound triggered something deep in Julie's mind, a memory she had buried long ago.

She was ten years old, her brother Jack just seven. The forest was alive with the sounds of summer—birds chirping, leaves rustling. They were playing hide-and-seek, Jack laughing as he darted behind trees.

"Jack, I'm going to find you!" she called, giggling as she chased after him.

But then the laughter stopped.

Julie froze, the sudden silence pressing against her like a weight. "Jack?" she called, her voice trembling.

No answer.

She searched the clearing, her heart pounding. Then, faintly, she heard it—a whisper, so soft she thought she imagined it.

"Julie.. help me..."

She spun around, her eyes wide. "Jack?

Where are you?"

The whisper came again, closer this time. "Julie..."

And then she saw him. He was standing at the edge of the clearing, his back to her.

"Jack!" she shouted, running toward him. But no matter how fast she ran, she couldn't close the distance.

"Jack, why didn't you help me?"

The words sent a chill down her spine. She reached out to grab him, but he turned, and his face was gone—just a blank, featureless void.

Julie snapped back to the present, her breathing ragged. Danny's voice pulled her back to reality.

"You okay?" he asked, his brows furrowed.

She nodded quickly, though her hands trembled. "I... I think I've heard it before. The Sound. Years ago."

Danny's jaw tightened. "Then it's already in you."

Julie shivered, the weight of his words settling over her like a shroud.

"What do I do?" she whispered.

Danny stood, his face hard as stone. "You fight it. Or you don't leave this town alive."

To be continued....