Chapter 6: The Buried Truth
Eliza crouched down, running her fingers over the warped wooden floorboards. Her pulse hammered in her ears as she pressed her palm against the cool surface, feeling the subtle give beneath her touch.
"This wasn't always like this," she murmured.
Nate knelt beside her, pulling a pocket knife from his jacket. "Then let's see what someone wanted to hide."
He wedged the blade between the boards, prying at the edges. The wood groaned in protest before finally cracking apart. Dust billowed up as a dark, narrow gap revealed itself beneath.
Eliza hesitated, staring into the blackness below. A stale scent drifted up—a mixture of damp earth and something else. Something rotten.
Nate reached into the gap, his fingers brushing against something solid. He exhaled sharply. "There's something here."
He pulled out a small, rusted tin box. The metal was corroded at the edges, as if time itself had been trying to erase its contents.
Eliza's fingers shook as she unlatched it. Inside, nestled among yellowed scraps of paper, was a photograph.
A photograph of her.
But it wasn't just her. The image was old, faded at the edges, capturing a moment she didn't remember. She was younger, standing in front of this very house, smiling. Beside her stood another child—a boy. His face was partially scratched out, but something about him seemed achingly familiar.
Eliza's breath caught. "Who is this?"
Nate peered over her shoulder, his expression grim. "That's what we need to find out."
But before Eliza could respond, a loud creak echoed from the hallway.
Someone else was in the house.
Chapter 7: Footsteps in the Dark
A floorboard creaked.
Eliza's breath hitched as she and Nate froze. The air in the house felt heavier now, thick with the weight of unseen eyes.
Nate motioned for silence, his fingers tightening around the pocket knife he still held.
Another creak. Closer this time.
Eliza's heart pounded in her chest as she scanned the dimly lit hallway. The open door cast a long shadow on the wooden floor.
Then—a flicker of movement.
A figure loomed in the doorway, silhouetted by the faint light filtering in from the street. The stranger stood still, watching.
"Eliza," a low voice murmured.
She stiffened. The voice sent a chill through her veins. It was deep, familiar in a way that made her skin crawl.
Nate shifted beside her, his stance protective. "Who are you?" he demanded.
The figure took a slow step forward, his boots echoing against the old wooden planks.
"You don't remember me?" the man asked, almost amused. He stepped into the light.
Eliza's breath left her in a rush.
The man's face was worn, lined with age, but his eyes—those piercing, dark eyes—hadn't changed.
Memories slammed into her like a crashing wave.
"Daniel," she whispered.
Daniel Hawthorne. The boy from the photograph.
The one she had forgotten.
The one who had disappeared.
Chapter 8: The Forgotten Name
Eliza's hands trembled as she stared at Daniel. He was supposed to be gone.
Dead, even.
"How?" she managed to whisper.
Daniel tilted his head, his dark eyes unreadable. "I could ask you the same thing."
Nate stepped forward, blocking her slightly. "You were missing. Everyone thought—"
"They thought wrong." Daniel's voice was edged with something sharp. He took another step closer, his gaze fixed on Eliza. "You left, Eliza. You ran. And you forgot me."
The words sent a shudder through her. A part of her mind screamed that something wasn't right.
"I didn't forget you," she said, but even as she spoke, doubt curled inside her. She couldn't remember what had happened that summer. The blank spaces in her memory felt more like wounds now.
Daniel let out a hollow laugh. "Didn't you?"
He pulled something from his coat pocket and tossed it onto the floor between them.
A small, rusted locket.
Eliza's breath caught. She knew that locket.
Her fingers hesitated before picking it up. As soon as she touched the cold metal, flashes of something—shadows, voices, screams—rushed through her mind.
Then—blood.
Her own gasp broke the silence.
Daniel was watching her carefully. "Do you remember now?"
A pounding started in her skull, like a warning. But deep down, she knew the truth.
Something had happened to Daniel all those years ago.
And she was at the center of it.
Chapter 9: The House in the Woods
The locket felt like ice in Eliza's hands. Her vision swam as memories threatened to break free.
Nate touched her arm. "Eliza?"
She forced herself to breathe. "I—I don't know," she whispered. "I don't remember everything, but I know this locket was mine."
Daniel gave a slow nod. "Then you know where you need to go."
She looked up at him, heart hammering. "Where?"
His lips barely moved as he spoke.
"The house in the woods."
A pulse of dread went through her. The abandoned house. The one they had all been warned to stay away from as children.
"I haven't been there since—" She cut herself off.
Since he disappeared.
Daniel's gaze darkened. "It's time to go back."
Nate looked between them, jaw tight. "That place is a ruin. What do you think we'll find?"
Daniel's face was unreadable. "Answers."
Eliza swallowed hard. The wind outside howled through the cracks in the old house, whispering secrets long buried.
She had come back to Hollow Creek looking for the truth.
Now, it was leading her into the woods.
And she wasn't sure she would make it out.
Chapter 10: Into the Woods
The wind howled through the towering trees as Eliza, Nate, and Daniel stood at the edge of the forest. The path ahead was barely visible, shrouded in mist and memories Eliza wished she could forget.
She hesitated. "I don't know if I can do this."
Daniel's voice was calm, but firm. "You don't have a choice."
Nate stepped closer, his presence grounding her. "We go together."
The three of them moved into the darkness, their footsteps muffled by the damp earth. Twisted branches reached for them like skeletal fingers. The deeper they went, the heavier the air became.
Eliza's heart pounded as flashes of a half-remembered past flickered through her mind—the sound of screaming, the sharp scent of iron, the feeling of cold hands grabbing her wrist.
She stumbled.
"Easy," Nate said, catching her elbow.
Eliza blinked, her breath uneven. "Something happened here."
Daniel didn't turn around. "Yes. And we're going to find out what."
Ahead, the ruins of an abandoned house loomed through the fog.
The past was waiting.