The day had been long, too long. The kind of day where the hours seemed to stretch endlessly, like time itself was in no rush to move forward. Scott and I had just finished school, and the two of us found ourselves walking along the familiar path home. The afternoon sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the streets of Beacon Hills.
I was distracted, as usual, my mind still buzzing with the strange voice that had been haunting me the past few nights. What did it want from me? Why was I hearing it? It felt like something was just out of reach—like a puzzle I wasn't sure how to solve.
"So, you up for hanging out at the park later?" Scott asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I blinked and looked over at him. "Uh… yeah, sure," I replied, though my heart wasn't in it. "I was just thinking about heading home to check out some stuff for class."
Scott shrugged, a grin tugging at his lips. "Alright. But you're missing out. I think Stiles is bringing his weird conspiracy theories about aliens again."
I chuckled despite myself. "That sounds like exactly what I need right now. Maybe next time."
Scott nodded and then fell into his own thoughts. We walked in silence for a few more minutes, the only sound being the crunch of leaves beneath our shoes. As we approached the edge of town, I felt an odd, inexplicable tug in my chest—a sensation so strong that I actually stopped in my tracks.
"Hey, you alright?" Scott asked, turning back toward me.
I swallowed, shaking my head slightly to clear the fog that had suddenly settled over my mind. "Yeah, just... something's off," I muttered, not entirely sure how to explain what I was feeling. It was like an invisible thread was pulling me in a certain direction, leading me away from the familiar streets of Beacon Hills.
I didn't even realize where I was going until Scott spoke again.
"Are you... are we going to the woods?" His voice was cautious, and I saw his brow furrow as he watched me.
I nodded, but it didn't feel like a conscious decision. It felt like my body was moving on its own, guided by something far beyond my understanding.
"The Hale House," I murmured before I could stop myself.
Scott looked confused, his eyes flicking over to the thick tree line at the edge of the town. "The old house?" he asked, a hesitant edge in his voice. "You sure? I don't think—"
But I wasn't listening anymore. The pull was stronger now, almost magnetic, urging me toward the woods. It was like something was calling to me from within those trees, something I couldn't ignore.
We walked in silence through the woods, the shadows deepening around us as the trees grew thicker. The air was cooler here, the scent of earth and moss filling my nostrils. I could feel it now—the weight of the place. It was ancient, heavy with history, with a darkness that seemed to seep into the very ground beneath our feet.
Scott's voice broke the silence again, hesitant. "You sure you're okay? This place—"
"I'm fine," I interrupted, though I wasn't sure myself. "Just... something's pulling me."
We reached the edge of the clearing, and there it was. The Hale House—or what was left of it.
The charred remains of the once-grand house stood like a haunting monument in the middle of the clearing. The foundation was mostly intact, but the roof had collapsed in on itself, leaving a skeleton of blackened wood and twisted metal. The windows were shattered, and the remnants of the house's former elegance were now reduced to soot and ash.
It was a strange sight, but it wasn't the house itself that made my skin prickle with unease. No, it was the overwhelming sense of wrongness that radiated from it. It was as if the very land surrounding it had absorbed some terrible event, and now it was never going to let go.
I took a step forward, my feet moving on their own accord.
"Are you sure about this, man?" Scott's voice came from behind me, his tone uneasy. "This place... it's messed up. I don't know if we should be here."
But I couldn't stop. Every part of me—every fiber of my being—was drawn toward the house. The closer I got, the stronger the pull became. It felt like it was calling to me, beckoning me to uncover whatever secrets it held.
I glanced over my shoulder at Scott, who was still standing a few feet behind me, watching warily. I could see the concern in his eyes, but it wasn't enough to stop me. Not now.
"I have to," I muttered, though I wasn't sure who I was talking to. The words felt foreign on my tongue, like they came from somewhere else entirely.
Scott took a few more steps forward, but he still looked unsure. "I don't get it, man. Why are you so drawn to this place? It's just... creepy."
I couldn't explain it. It wasn't just curiosity. It was more like instinct. Like my body knew something my mind hadn't yet caught up to.
I stepped closer to the ruined house, the crunch of dead leaves beneath my feet somehow loud in the otherwise still air. As I neared the center of the foundation, I felt it—something—a pulse in the air. It vibrated through the ground, through my chest, like a heartbeat that wasn't my own.
Scott's voice came again, almost a whisper. "We should go. This place is bad news."
But I wasn't listening anymore. The pull was too strong, too urgent. I took another step forward, my heart racing.
And then, just as I reached the center of the house's foundation, the world around me seemed to shudder.
The ground beneath me trembled, a low hum vibrating through the earth. My body tensed, every muscle in my frame alert, as if something was waking up—something ancient, something powerful.
I heard it then. A voice. It wasn't the same voice I had heard in my head before, but it was close. It was distant, echoing from the ruins of the house, reverberating through my bones.
"You are here... at last."
I froze, my breath catching in my throat. The voice wasn't just in my head anymore. It was real. It was coming from the ruins of the Hale House itself.
Scott stepped forward, his face pale. "What is that? What's going on?"
"I don't know," I whispered, my voice shaky. But I couldn't look away from the house, from the source of the voice. "I think... I think it's calling to me."
The ground shuddered again, and I could feel the weight of something ancient pressing in on me, filling the space around us with an oppressive energy.
And then, just as suddenly as it started, everything went still. The vibrations, the voice, the pull—all of it stopped. The woods were silent again.
I stood frozen, my mind reeling from the intensity of what I had just experienced.
Scott was silent, staring at me with wide eyes. "That... that wasn't normal, was it?"
I shook my head slowly. No. It wasn't normal. And for the first time, I realized something deep in my gut.
This place—this house—was just the beginning. Whatever was happening to me, whatever I was becoming, was far more complicated than I could have ever imagined.
And it had all started here.