Chapter 7: The Hunger of the Hollow

Darkness rushed forward.

Evelyn had seconds to react. She stumbled backward, heart hammering, as the shadows collapsed toward her. The figures within them those hollow, shifting bodies stretched out their hands, whispering in voices that weren't quite human.

She braced for the cold grip of death.

But then

A hand grabbed her wrist.

Nathaniel.

He yanked her back with brutal force, sending them both crashing to the ground as the darkness slammed into the tunnel walls. The impact sent a shockwave through the mine, and the wooden beams groaned, dust cascading from above.

Miriam's voice rang out from somewhere behind them.

"Run!"

Evelyn didn't hesitate. She pushed herself up, feet pounding against the dirt as she sprinted back the way they came. Nathaniel was right behind her, his breathing ragged.

The whispers chased them.

And something else.

A deep, guttural sound a voice so ancient it felt like it had been buried beneath the earth for centuries. It wasn't words. It was hunger.

The tunnel twisted and blurred around them. The further they ran, the more wrong everything felt like the walls were shifting, stretching, reshaping themselves to keep them trapped inside.

Then a fork.

Two paths.

One led deeper.

The other…

Evelyn didn't have time to choose.

The shadows surged behind them, and the choice was made for her.

Nathaniel grabbed her arm and shoved her toward the right passage just as the darkness swallowed him whole.

Evelyn screamed.

"NATHANIEL!"

She lunged, but it was too late. He was gone.

The whispers howled.

The mine trembled.

And then the ground gave way beneath her feet.

She was falling.

Falling down.

The Forgotten Chamber

Evelyn hit the ground hard, the air knocked from her lungs. The fall wasn't far, but the impact left her dazed.

She groaned, rolling onto her side. Her flashlight had fallen a few feet away, flickering weakly.

She reached for it with shaking fingers and lifted it, casting light into the darkness.

And then

Her breath caught.

She wasn't alone.

The chamber around her was massive, far larger than any mine tunnel should have been. The ceiling stretched impossibly high, lost in the dark. The walls weren't rock they were carved. Symbols and patterns, ancient and unreadable, spiraled across the stone in intricate, disturbing designs.

But it wasn't the carvings that made her blood run cold.

It was the coffins.

Rows upon rows of them. Dozens. Maybe hundreds.

And they weren't sealed.

They were open.

Evelyn's stomach twisted. Inside each coffin was a body.

But these weren't skeletons.

They were preserved.

Their skin pale and waxy, their eyes shut as if they were merely sleeping.

Then

One of them moved.

Evelyn's pulse spiked.

A slow, rasping breath echoed through the chamber.

And then

The coffin lids began to shift.

One by one, the figures inside started to rise.

The Ones Who Were Taken

Evelyn scrambled backward, her heart slamming against her ribs.

The figures were slow, unnaturally slow, their limbs stiff as they pushed themselves upright.

And then

One of them opened its eyes.

Black.

Just like Lillian's.

Evelyn's breath hitched.

A voice, thick and distant, whispered from the dark.

"You… should not be here."

She wanted to scream, to run, but her body wouldn't move.

Then

From the far side of the chamber, a shadow detached from the wall.

Taller than any human.

Shifting.

Watching.

The Hollow One.

Its presence was suffocating. A living void, devouring the light around it.

Evelyn could feel it inside her head.

You came looking for answers.

The voice wasn't spoken. It was planted inside her mind, spreading like rot.

The whispering figures stirred, their movements sluggish, their faces twisted in expressions of something almost human.

But they weren't human.

Not anymore.

Evelyn clenched her fists. "Where's Lillian?" she forced out.

The Hollow One didn't move. But she felt its amusement.

She is where she has always been.

It lifted a single, elongated hand and gestured toward the farthest coffin.

Evelyn's blood turned to ice.

No.

It couldn't be.

Slowly, she turned her flashlight toward the coffin at the edge of the room.

Her breath stopped.

Lillian lay inside.

Her face unchanged.

Her body perfectly preserved.

Her eyes open.

And staring directly at her.

Evelyn staggered forward, her chest tight. "Lillian?"

The Hollow One laughed.

And Lillian

Sat up.

Her mouth opened.

And a whisper escaped.

"Run."

Lillian's Warning

Evelyn couldn't move.

She couldn't breathe.

Lillian was right there.

Not a memory. Not a vision. Not a whisper in the dark. Real.

Her best friend sat in the coffin, her skin pale but untouched by time, her eyes black as endless voids. Her lips trembled as if fighting against something unseen.

And then, again

"Run."

Evelyn took a shaky step forward. "Lillian… it's me."

A flicker of something human flashed across Lillian's face. Pain. Recognition. Fear.

Then her body jerked.

A sharp, unnatural spasm, as if invisible strings had yanked her back. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, her fingers digging into the coffin's edges.

Evelyn lurched forward. "Lillian!"

The chamber shuddered.

The Hollow One was watching. Waiting.

The whispers around her grew louder. The other figures in the coffins twitched. Some turned their heads toward her. Others slowly pushed themselves up, their joints cracking, their breath rattling in their throats.

They weren't dead.

Not fully.

But they weren't alive, either.

Lillian's black eyes locked onto hers, wild and desperate.

"Evelyn… you have to go. Now."

Evelyn clenched her fists. "I'm not leaving you."

Lillian shook her head violently. Her voice dropped to a whisper, as if afraid something would hear.

"It doesn't let go. It doesn't forget."

Evelyn's stomach twisted.

A shadow moved behind Lillian.

The Hollow One.

Its presence weighed down on the chamber, suffocating the very air. The figures in the coffins went still, as if awaiting its command.

You do not belong here.

The voice wasn't heard. It was felt.

Inside her skull. Inside her bones.

Evelyn gritted her teeth. "Let her go."

The darkness rippled. The Hollow One didn't laugh, but she felt the same terrible amusement it had before.

She is already mine. As you will be.

The whispering surged, turning into a deafening roar. The coffins crashed open.

Hands reached out. Grasping. Crawling.

The ground beneath her fractured.

A force like icy fingers wrapped around Evelyn's ankles, pulling her downward.

Lillian screamed.

"EVELYN!"

And then

A blinding flash of light.

The Fire That Burns the Dark

Evelyn hit the ground hard, gasping as warmth rushed back into her limbs. The air was filled with the sharp, acrid scent of burning.

Fire.

It licked at the chamber walls, its golden glow pushing back the darkness.

Miriam stood at the tunnel's entrance, holding something in her hands. A lantern.

But it wasn't an ordinary lantern.

The flame inside burned white.

The Hollow One recoiled.

Its form twisted, writhing, pulling back from the light like a wounded animal. The shadows screeched, their forms warping, fading into the blackness.

Evelyn sucked in a breath. She could move again.

Miriam locked eyes with her. "Get up. Now."

Evelyn scrambled to her feet, her heart hammering. She turned to Lillian

But she was already sinking back into the coffin.

Her fingers clutched at the edges, her blackened eyes pleading.

"Don't let it take me again."

Evelyn lunged forward

But the Hollow One closed its grip around her friend.

And with a single, gut-wrenching pull, Lillian was gone.

The coffin slammed shut.

And the whispers vanished.

Silence swallowed the chamber.

Evelyn stood frozen, her breath ragged, the weight of loss crushing her chest.

Then

Miriam grabbed her arm. "We have to move."

Evelyn turned, eyes burning. "We can't just leave her"

Miriam's face was grim. "We don't have a choice."

She lifted the lantern higher, its strange white fire casting eerie shadows across the stone walls.

"The Hollow One doesn't kill them," she murmured. "It takes them piece by piece."

Evelyn's fingers tightened into fists. "Then we take her back."

Miriam studied her for a long moment. Then she sighed.

"I hope you're ready to fight a god."

📚End of Chapter 7☺️.

This chapter raises the stakes. Lillian isn't just missing—she's trapped in a state between life and death, bound by the Hollow One. Miriam's lantern, wielding an unknown power, is the first real weapon against the entity.