Chapter 14: The Hollow Trade

Evelyn sat on the cold motel floor, her breath still shaky. The darkness from the Hollow Place lingered in her mind, wrapping around her thoughts like a suffocating fog. She pressed a trembling hand to her chest.

She was still here.

But for how much longer?

Nathaniel knelt beside her, his hands firm on her shoulders. "Evelyn, talk to me. What happened?"

She swallowed, still feeling the Hollow One's grip on her soul. "I was there. In the place where it takes people."

Miriam's face darkened. "The Forgotten Ones?"

Evelyn nodded. "They— they're trapped, Miriam. And they're warning me. They said they used to be like me." Her voice wavered. "Before it took them."

Nathaniel exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "And you think that's what it's trying to do to you?"

Evelyn hesitated. Then, she slowly pulled back her sleeve.

The mark had spread.

Dark veins curled up her arm, pulsing faintly.

A sickening reminder.

Miriam cursed under her breath. "It's taking you piece by piece."

Evelyn clenched her fists. "Not if I stop it first."

The Deal of the Forgotten

The motel room felt smaller now, the air heavy with something unseen.

Nathaniel paced, frustration clear in his stance. "If the Hollow One replaces people, there has to be a way to stop it before it finishes."

Evelyn's gaze flickered to the shattered glass still on the floor. The reflections were gone now, but she could still hear them whispering in the back of her mind.

A trade. A balance.

She shivered. "It doesn't just take people. It takes their place. But what happens to the real ones?"

Miriam exhaled. "You said they're trapped, right?"

Evelyn nodded. "They're still in there. But it's like… no one remembers they existed."

The realization sank in.

The Forgotten weren't just stolen.

They were erased.

Nathaniel's expression hardened. "Then we have to break the cycle. Get them back."

Evelyn's stomach churned. "But how?"

Before anyone could answer, the lights flickered.

A slow, eerie hum filled the room low, distorted, like a voice just beyond hearing.

And in the farthest corner, where the shadows were deepest

Something shifted.

The Hollow One Comes

The air thinned.

The walls of the motel seemed to stretch.

Miriam grabbed Evelyn's wrist. "We need to go. Now."

But Evelyn couldn't move.

Her reflection in the broken glass was moving.

Standing up.

Even though she wasn't.

Her mirror-self tilted its head.

Its lips curled into a smile.

And whispered:

"Too late."

A shadow lunged.

Evelyn's vision blurred

A cold grip wrapped around her throat

And then

Nothing.

Somewhere Else

When Evelyn opened her eyes, she was no longer in the motel.

The air was thick and heavy.

She was standing on a road.

The main road of Black Hollow.

But it was wrong.

The sky was black. The streetlights flickered, their glow twisting.

The entire town was empty.

Except

A single figure stood beneath the dim light of the old church.

Waiting.

Watching.

And Evelyn knew, deep in her bones

The Hollow One had finally brought her home.

The hollow town

The wind whispered through the empty streets, carrying voices that weren't there. Evelyn shivered. The air felt thick wrong. Like she was breathing something ancient, something that remembered.

She turned slowly.

Black Hollow was deserted.

No people. No sound.

The buildings looked the same, but something about them was off. The windows were too dark. The doors too still. As if nothing inside them had moved in a very, very long time.

And then

A whisper.

"Evelyn..."

Her stomach dropped.

That voice

It came from everywhere.

And from nowhere.

She turned toward the church.

The figure beneath the streetlight hadn't moved.

She forced herself forward. Step by step.

Each movement felt like walking through water.

Too slow. Too heavy.

But she had to know.

Had to see.

She reached the streetlight

And froze.

The Face That Wasn't Hers

The figure was a woman.

Same height. Same build.

Same face.

Evelyn's own face.

But the eyes

The eyes weren't hers.

They were hollow.

Empty.

The woman smiled.

"I told you it was too late."

Evelyn stumbled back. "No. No, you're"

Her own voice cut her off.

"I am you now."

Evelyn's breath hitched.

This—this was what the Forgotten Ones meant.

The Hollow One didn't just take.

It replaced.

And now, in the real world

Someone else was living her life.

Nathaniel. Miriam. The town.

Would they even notice she was gone?

The Door to Nowhere

Evelyn's mind raced. She had to get back. Had to break this.

But how?

The Hollow One her replacement just stood there. Watching. Waiting.

Evelyn clenched her fists. "What do you want?"

The Hollow One tilted its head.

"To exist."

It took a step closer.

"And to erase you."

Evelyn's heartbeat slammed. She turned ran.

Down the empty street. Past the lifeless buildings.

She had to find a way out.

Had to

Her foot caught.

The ground beneath her vanished.

She fell

Into the dark.