Harvest of Death

That night, the entire Silverbrook was enveloped in a strange intoxication — everyone was indulging in food, drink, music, and dance. Harvest Square was aglow with lights; people were laughing and wandering about. But in one corner, all the children were completely immersed in Ezekiel's story — their eyes sparkling with fear and curiosity, oblivious to the noise around them…

Then…

A strange silence fell…

And in the next moment…

Aahhhhhhhh…!

A piercing scream echoed through the air, shaking the entire atmosphere of the Harvest Festival to its core.

The vibrant mood of Harvest Square came to a standstill in an instant — the children's laughter ceased, the drumbeats stopped, and a profound silence enveloped everything.

Everyone's eyes widened, their gazes turning toward the scream — toward the riverbank…

Through the fog, a boy came running into view — Noah. He was in a terrible state: his face smeared with blood and dirt, clothes torn, and his eyes filled with such deep fear as if he had just locked eyes with death itself. A chilling wave swept through the air, as though an unknown presence had wrapped the entire village in its cold embrace.

The children, who moments ago had been engrossed in Ezekiel's story, scattered in fear. Grace hid in a corner, trembling with her head buried between her knees. Amelia's shaking hands dropped her drawing book to the ground, tears streaming from her eyes. Tommy stood frozen like a statue — his face pale, eyes fixed on Noah, as if time itself had stopped.

Noah, clutching for support, staggered forward and screamed in a terrified voice:

"Help… save me! It… it wasn't human! It took Lila… it took Lila!"

His voice trembled, the fear palpable in his words. Stumbling, leaving a trail of blood behind, he headed straight toward Harvest Square. All eyes were fixed on him in shock.

Mr. and Mrs. Levingston — the baker couple — stood outside their shop, watching with heavy eyes, as if a nightmare had come to life. In Harvest Square, everyone's feet seemed glued to the ground. Children clung to their mothers. Noah pushed through the crowd.

Then Mayor Edgar spoke in his deep voice:

"Noah, son, who did this?!"

But Noah couldn't hear anything. As he reached the center of Harvest Square, his body gave way — he began to collapse. Silas Crowe, the village hunter standing near the mayor, rushed forward and caught Noah before he hit the ground, laying him down and checking his pulse. Noah's eyes had rolled back, his body soaked in blood, his face etched with the terror of death.

Silas shouted:

"Martha! Come quickly! He's unconscious!"

From the crowd, Martha — the village herbalist — rushed forward with her bag of herbs. Her eyes fell on Noah's chest, where deep claw marks of a predatory animal were visible, blood gushing from them and soaking his entire body. Seeing his condition, Martha shouted:

"Quick! Take him to the Medical Hut!"

At her sharp command, the people, who until now had only been watching, began to move, and whispers spread through the crowd. From the crowd, Jonah Myles and Timothy Hale helped Silas lift Noah and carried him toward the Medical Hut.

Meanwhile, Ezekiel's eyes were still fixed on the sky — the clouds had completely covered the moon, and a faint, cold breeze began to blow. Amelia pulled Tommy into her arms, holding him tightly.

Inside the Medical Hut, Eliza joined Martha. Together, they cleaned Noah's wounds. Just then, Noah regained consciousness. Before Martha could say anything, Noah grabbed Jonah's legs, stammering repeatedly:

"Save me… save me! It… it wasn't human… its eyes… teeth… claws… it was a monster!"

Outside, everyone's eyes were fixed on the door of the hut. Brother Caleb — the village's former priest — was praying. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, and all the torches burning in Harvest Square went out in an instant. The entire Silverbrook plunged into deep darkness — every corner, every alley, and every heart filled with shadows.

And in the next moment, a bright light flashed in the sky — but it wasn't the light of the torches; it was flames rising from Miller's Farm, reaching toward the heavens.

A scream rang out — fire!

Timothy and Silas rushed out of the hut and saw the villagers running in panic. Silverbrook had, in an instant, drowned in fear and darkness.

Mayor Edgar's heart was pounding. He looked at Amelia, who was sobbing while holding Tommy. Taking a deep breath, he spoke in a loud, commanding voice to calm everyone:

"Get all the children and elderly to safety! Everyone else, grab buckets of water and start putting out the fire!"

At his words, the crowd quieted down, then immediately began fetching water to extinguish the flames. The entire village united to fight the fire.

Just then, the bell of the village clock tower rang loudly. On the roof of the clock tower, a dark shadow appeared — it opened its glowing red eyes and gave a terrifying smile. In the next moment, it vanished. A chilling silence of fear spread over the entire village.

The flames had now taken a more ferocious form. Several houses had been engulfed by the fire. Then, from a burning house, a shadowy figure emerged. The people, who until now had been running with buckets of water, froze in place. All eyes were locked onto the shadow.

Silas Crowe gripped his crossbow tightly and aimed at it. But the shadow, like lightning, appeared behind him and plunged its claws into his throat. Blood gushed from Silas's neck, and a strange silence fell over the village. No one could comprehend what had happened — they just stared at his lifeless body.

Then Mr. Levingston screamed, "Monster!"

With his scream, chaos erupted. The monster began killing everyone one by one — slashing throats, tearing chests. Bodies began to fall everywhere.

Ezekiel, who until now had been staring at the sky, had an eerie calm on his face, as if carrying the weight of some secret. The shadow approached him, and in the next moment, it tore his face apart.

A little distance away, Amelia, who had been holding Tommy tightly, screamed upon seeing this. Her scream made Tommy, who had been standing like a statue, tremble. His eyes fell on Ezekiel's blood-soaked body lying on the ground.

At that moment, the moon emerged from the clouds, its light falling directly on the shadow. The figure was now clearly visible — glowing red eyes, sharp white teeth, like ice, and claws dripping with Ezekiel's blood. Tommy's body shook. His legs trembled; he wanted to run, but his scream was stuck in his throat.

The shadow slowly advanced toward Tommy. Tommy's gaze shifted to Amelia, who was sitting on the ground, hiding her face in her knees, trembling with fear. Tommy closed his eyes tightly.

Then a voice shouted, "Run, son!"

Tommy opened his eyes slightly; his vision was blurry. He wiped his tears and saw — Timothy had grabbed the shadow. But in the next moment, the shadow plunged its hand through Timothy's chest, ripped out his heart, threw it to the ground, and crushed it with its hand. Seeing this, Tommy's face turned pale, a mix of helplessness and anger flashing in his eyes.

Tommy picked up a stick lying nearby and moved forward to attack the shadow. But the shadow, with lightning speed, grabbed Tommy by the throat, lifted him into the air, and threw him into a burning house.

Amelia, who had been hiding in the corner until now, was attacked by the shadow and killed instantly. Then the shadow vanished into the darkness.

The entire village was filled with the stench of blood and death. The flames began to consume everything…

Whisper of secret.....

Did the monster attack Silverbrook purely out of hunger and instinct, or was there a darker purpose behind its arrival — a hidden secret connected to the village's past?

TO BE CONTINUE...