chapter 12:Shadows in the Dark

Samuel led Amelia down the staircase, his grip firm on her wrist. The house groaned around them, as if it were alive—as if it had been listening.

Outside, the night was thick with fog, curling around the streetlamps like ghostly fingers. The town was eerily silent. No cars. No voices. Just the distant sound of wind rattling the old houses.

Samuel kept his voice low. "We need to find someone who can help us."

Amelia pulled her jacket tighter around her. "Who? Everyone in this town seems to be hiding something."

Samuel hesitated. "There's one person. Someone who knows more about death than anyone else."

A shiver ran down Amelia's spine. "Who?"

Samuel glanced at her, his eyes unreadable.

"Evelyn."

Amelia's breath caught. Evelyn. The woman who had looked right through her at the diner. The one who had told her to stop asking questions.

"The way she looked at me…" Amelia whispered. "It was like she already knew."

Samuel nodded. "She did. And that's exactly why we need to talk to her."

A heavy silence settled between them. The idea of confronting Evelyn sent unease curling in Amelia's gut, but what choice did she have?

Before she could respond, a sound cut through the quiet—

A whisper.

Low. Faint. Coming from the alley behind them.

Amelia's body tensed. Samuel's hand went to the knife at his belt.

Another whisper. This time, clearer.

"She doesn't belong here."

A figure moved in the shadows.

Amelia's breath hitched. "Samuel—"

"Run."

They bolted.

Their feet pounded against the pavement, the night swallowing their breaths. The fog thickened, making it hard to see, but Amelia didn't dare stop.

Something was behind them.

Something unnatural.

A shape darted past the streetlamp—a blur of movement, too fast to be human.

Samuel yanked Amelia down a side street, pressing her against the brick wall of an old bookstore. "Stay quiet," he whispered.

The whispers grew.

Amelia's pulse pounded.

Then—silence.

The street was empty. The presence was gone.

Samuel exhaled. "We have to get to Evelyn. Before it finds you again."

Amelia swallowed hard.

Because whatever was following her…

It didn't just want to scare her.

It wanted to take her back.

To be continued…