The forest was alive tonight. Not in the way forests usually were—with rustling leaves and chirping crickets—but in a way that felt deliberate, calculated. Each step Evelyn took sent tremors through the earth beneath her boots, as though the ground itself recoiled at her presence. She clutched the lantern tighter, its flickering light casting grotesque shadows across the gnarled trees. They looked like skeletal fingers reaching out for her, their branches clawing at the moonlit sky.
Evelyn had never believed in ghost stories. Growing up, she'd roll her eyes whenever her grandmother whispered tales of the crimson veil , a spectral curtain said to drape over those marked for death. But now, standing alone in the heart of Black Hollow Forest, she wished she had listened more closely.
"You shouldn't be here," a voice hissed behind her.
She spun around so fast that the lantern nearly slipped from her grasp. Her breath caught in her throat as she scanned the darkness. Nothing moved. No one stood there. Just the oppressive silence pressing down on her chest.
"Who's there?" she called out, her voice trembling despite her best efforts to sound brave.
No answer came, only the faintest whisper of wind brushing past her ear. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something—or someone—was watching her. Watching and waiting.
Evelyn pressed onward, driven by desperation. Her younger brother, Oliver, had gone missing three days ago. He'd ventured into these woods chasing fireflies, or so he'd told their mother before disappearing without a trace. Search parties had combed the area but found nothing. No footprints, no signs of struggle—just emptiness. And then last night, Evelyn had dreamed of him. His face pale, his lips blue, standing amidst a sea of red mist, calling her name.
"Evelyn… please…"
She woke drenched in sweat, knowing exactly where she needed to go. Deep into Black Hollow Forest, where even the bravest hunters refused to tread. Where the air smelled of damp earth and decay, and the trees seemed older than time itself.
As she walked deeper into the woods, the temperature dropped sharply. Her breath fogged in front of her, each exhale forming tiny clouds that hung suspended in the air. The lantern's flame wavered, threatening to extinguish itself. That's when she saw it—a faint glow ahead, pulsating like a heartbeat. Red, like blood.
Her stomach churned as she approached cautiously. The source of the light was a clearing bathed in an unnatural crimson hue. At its center stood a figure cloaked in tattered fabric, its back turned to her. Around it lay dozens of objects: toys, shoes, scraps of clothing—all things belonging to children who had vanished over the years.
"Oliver?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
The figure turned slowly, revealing a face that made her scream. Its skin was translucent, stretched tight over bone, with veins glowing like molten lava beneath the surface. Eyes black as voids stared into hers, unblinking, unfeeling. In its hand, it held a single red thread, shimmering faintly in the eerie light.
"You shouldn't have come," it said, its voice layered with countless others, echoing as if spoken by a chorus of lost souls.
Evelyn stumbled backward, dropping the lantern. The glass shattered, plunging the clearing into near-darkness. Only the creature's glow illuminated the scene as it advanced toward her, dragging the thread along the ground.
"He called for you," it continued, tilting its head slightly. "But you're too late."
Panic surged through her veins as she turned to run, but her legs wouldn't obey. Roots erupted from the soil, twisting around her ankles and pulling her down. She thrashed wildly, screaming until her voice cracked. Through tear-blurred vision, she watched the creature loom closer, holding up the thread between two skeletal fingers.
And then she saw him. Standing beside the creature, his small frame shrouded in the same red mist from her dream. Oliver. His wide, hollow eyes locked onto hers, filled with both relief and sorrow.
"Evy," he murmured, his voice soft yet distant. "Don't fight it."
Before she could respond, the creature reached out and looped the thread around her wrist. A searing pain shot through her arm, spreading rapidly throughout her body. Her vision blurred further, colors bleeding together until everything dissolved into crimson.
When she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the forest. She stood in her bedroom, sunlight streaming through the window. Everything appeared normal—too normal. Until she noticed the red thread still wrapped tightly around her wrist.
Downstairs, her mother called her name. "Evelyn? Have you seen Oliver? He's been missing since yesterday."
Her heart sank as she realized what had happened. She hadn't saved him; she'd joined him. Trapped forever behind the crimson veil.