I never would have thought a year ago that things would end up this way. Back then, everything felt... normal. Or at least, as normal as it could be in this small town. I had no idea that within the span of a single year, my world would be turned upside down. That something as simple as an old, forgotten diary would lead me into a nightmare.

It was a rainy Thursday evening, one of those typical fall nights where the sky is a constant shade of gray, and the air smells like wet leaves. I sat in my room, the same room I had spent countless hours in since we moved here. My room was nothing special—a bed in the corner, a desk cluttered with schoolwork, and a bookshelf with books I'd never gotten around to reading. And then, there was the window that looked out over the town of Holloway.

I often found myself staring out of that window, just lost in thought. There wasn't much to see—just rows of old, creaky houses lined up like forgotten soldiers, waiting for something to happen. Most of the town was like that, stuck in time, just drifting along. It wasn't that I didn't like it here—I had my friends, and life wasn't exactly miserable. But it always felt like something was missing.

And that's when I met Mr. Caldwell.

He wasn't new to town, not exactly. But he was new to me. I'd heard whispers about him, rumors about the retired detective who lived on the edge of town. People said he was strange, reclusive, that he spent most of his days in his study, reading old newspapers and scribbling in notebooks. There were stories about how he'd solved some of the most puzzling cases in town's history, only to disappear into obscurity after his retirement.

I first crossed paths with him at the town library, of all places. I was there with Lila, looking for a book for an English assignment. I didn't expect to see anyone I knew, but there he was, standing in front of the history section, his sharp eyes scanning the shelves like he was looking for something specific.

Lila noticed him first. "That's Mr. Caldwell," she whispered, her voice tinged with curiosity. "The retired detective."

"Yeah, I've heard of him," I said, not really thinking much about it. "What's he doing here?"

"I don't know," Lila said. "He's always here, but he doesn't talk to anyone. He just... looks at old records."

I watched him for a moment longer, unsure if I should say anything. But then he turned, his gaze locking onto mine. He looked... different. Like he could see right through me, like he knew something I didn't. There was something unsettling about the way he studied me, but also something familiar, like I'd seen him before in a dream.

"Ethan Holloway," he said, his voice low and gravelly. "I thought I might run into you."

I blinked, taken aback. "How do you know my name?"

"I've been around long enough to know the names of everyone in town," he said cryptically. "But it's not you I'm interested in, not directly, at least. It's your family."

I wasn't sure if I should be flattered or worried. My family wasn't exactly famous, but we weren't unknown either. My dad had lived in Holloway for years before we moved here, and my mom... well, my mom wasn't someone anyone talked about much. She passed away when I was young, and I didn't like to talk about her. Not to anyone.

But Mr. Caldwell wasn't like everyone else. He didn't ask questions about my mom, or anything else about me. Instead, he just nodded, as if satisfied with whatever he'd seen in my eyes. And then, as quickly as he'd appeared, he turned back to the shelves.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Ethan," he said, almost to himself. "We all have our parts to play in the stories of this town."

His words didn't make sense to me then, but they stuck with me. I couldn't shake the feeling that he knew something I didn't.

That was the beginning. The beginning of something that would change everything.

The next few months passed like any other. School was the same: classes, assignments, occasional moments of fun with Lila, Derek, and the others. Derek Wolfe, of course, was the troublemaker. He was the kind of guy who made things happen—not always for the better. But even Derek, with his cocky grin and his attitude, couldn't shake off the feeling that something was... wrong in Holloway.

Lila and I spent a lot of time together. She was the one person who seemed to understand me, the one person who didn't mind that I was a little different from the others. She was always so full of energy, so eager to find out more about the world. I envied that about her, sometimes.

And then there was Hannah, my younger sister. She was innocent in all of this, blissfully unaware of the strange things that were starting to happen. She was only ten, but she had this way of seeing the good in everything. I wished I could be more like her, but as I got older, it felt like I was losing that ability.

That feeling of unease in Holloway, though, wasn't just in my head. Things started happening that didn't make sense. People started disappearing.

It started with just one person—a man who had lived on the outskirts of town. A recluse. People said he had been disappearing for years, but now, he was gone for good. No one seemed to care much. After all, he was just another lonely old man who'd spent his days hiding from the world. But then others started disappearing too. People I knew, or people my parents knew. Each disappearance felt stranger than the last, and no one had any answers.

And then, one night, I saw something I couldn't explain. I was walking home from the library when I saw a figure standing near the edge of the woods. It was a woman—her face hidden in the shadows, but I knew who she was.

It was Emily Harper, the local historian.

I'd seen her at the library many times, but she wasn't someone I had ever spoken to much. She was a quiet, reserved woman, always surrounded by books and old records. But now, she was standing there, staring into the woods, like she was waiting for something.

I couldn't help but watch her. There was something about the way she stood there, her body rigid, like she was expecting someone—or something.

But just as quickly as I spotted her, she turned and disappeared into the trees. I wanted to follow, but I didn't. I had a feeling that whatever she was doing, it wasn't something I was meant to understand. At least, not yet.

I didn't know it then, but that was the first sign. The first sign of the dark web that was beginning to form around Holloway. The signs were everywhere, hiding in plain sight, and I was too blind to see them.

I didn't know it then, but my life was about to change.