Chronicles of the forgotten

The road to Black Hollow stretched endlessly, a ribbon of cracked asphalt disappearing into the horizon. The trees flanking the road stood unnaturally still, as if holding their breath. The radio in the car crackled with static, no matter how many times Eli twisted the dial.

"Typical. Every horror movie starts like this," Eli muttered under his breath, keeping one hand on the wheel. His knuckles were white, his jaw tight. He hated places like this—places that felt forgotten, abandoned. Places that felt *wrong*.

Beside him, Mara sat with her face pressed against the window, her fingers absently tracing patterns on the fogged-up glass. Unlike Eli, she wasn't unnerved by the silence. She welcomed it. The quiet was a balm, a reprieve from the noise of their lives back home. From the memories they were both trying to outrun.

"It's not a horror movie," she said, glancing at him. "It's just a small town. Besides, you were the one who suggested getting away from everything."

Eli sighed, loosening his grip on the wheel. She wasn't wrong. They needed this trip—a distraction, a reset. Anything to keep the past from swallowing them whole. But as the trees grew denser and the sky darkened, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were driving into something far more dangerous than they'd bargained for.

As they rounded a bend, the first buildings of Black Hollow came into view. Or at least, what was left of them. The town was a ghost of itself. Dusty shop windows stared back at them like vacant eyes, and the air carried the scent of old paper and damp wood. The streets were empty, the only movement coming from a lone crow perched on a rusted lamppost.

Then Mara saw it.

A bookstore.

Nestled between two derelict buildings, the shop's once-grand wooden sign now hung askew, the words barely legible beneath a layer of grime. *Caldwell's Books – Closed Forever.*

A strange feeling settled in her chest. Not fear. Not dread. Something else. A pull.

"Eli, stop the car."

---

Eli cut the engine, frowning. "Seriously? The place looks like it'll collapse if you breathe too hard."

Mara was already unbuckling her seatbelt. "I just want to take a look."

Eli groaned but followed. The bookstore's windows were fogged with dust, obscuring the interior. Mara pressed her palm against the glass, peering in. Nothing but darkness.

Then something moved.

A flicker of motion deep inside the store.

Mara's breath hitched.

"Did you see that?" she whispered.

"See what?" Eli grumbled.

Mara didn't answer. Her fingers brushed against the door handle. It was unlocked.

The moment she pushed it open, the scent of aged paper and ink rushed out like a breath held too long. The store swallowed them whole.

---

The inside was bigger than it should have been.

Rows upon rows of bookshelves stretched into the dimly lit space, far too many for a store of this size. A thick layer of dust coated the floor, yet the air was warm, almost humming with something unseen.

Eli stepped in behind her, his boots crunching on the debris-strewn floor. "This place gives me the creeps."

Mara didn't respond. She was too busy taking it all in. The shelves were packed with books, their spines cracked and faded. But something was off. The titles were all wrong. *The Life of John Harper. The Memories of Clara Finch. The Erasure of Samuel Grey.*

"These aren't books," Mara murmured, running her fingers along the spines. "They're… lives."

Eli snorted. "You've been reading too many fantasy novels."

But Mara wasn't listening. Her attention was drawn to a book on the bottom shelf. It was different from the others—smaller, with a black leather cover. And it had her name on it.

*Mara Caldwell.*

Her breath caught. She reached for it—

And then the world shifted.

---

The bookstore was gone.

Mara stood in an endless, dark void, floating books surrounding her like stars in a black sky. She wasn't alone.

Figures stood in the distance—people, but not quite. Their faces blurred at the edges, like paintings smeared by rain. They whispered in voices that didn't belong to the living.

"You found us."

"You can bring us back."

"Before it's too late."

Mara wanted to run, but her feet wouldn't move.

One of the figures stepped closer. Its shape flickered, shifting between human and something else—something monstrous. It reached toward her.

"You must remember."

And then—

She fell.

---

Mara hit the ground hard, gasping. She was back in the bookstore. Eli was shaking her.

"Mara! What the hell just happened?"

She blinked, disoriented. Her hands were empty—no book. But she could still hear the voices, lingering at the edges of her mind.

"Did you see that?" she whispered.

"See what? You just froze for, like, a full minute. I thought you were having a seizure or something."

Mara shook her head, trying to clear the fog. "I… I don't know. I think I saw something. Something… impossible."

Eli frowned, his skepticism warring with concern. "We need to get out of here. This place is messing with your head."

But Mara wasn't ready to leave. Not yet. Her eyes drifted back to the shelf where the book with her name had been. It was gone.

"Eli," she said slowly, "what if this place isn't just a bookstore? What if it's something… more?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Mara, I know you're into all this weird stuff, but come on. It's just an old building. Let's go."

She nodded, but her mind was racing. Something was terribly wrong with this place.

And the worst part?

She wanted to know more.

Even if it meant never being able to leave.

---

As they turned to leave, a sound stopped them in their tracks. A low, guttural growl, coming from the shadows at the back of the store.

Eli froze. "What the hell was that?"

Mara's heart pounded. "I don't know. But we need to go. Now."

They moved quickly, their footsteps echoing in the empty space. The growl grew louder, more menacing. Mara glanced over her shoulder and saw something—a shadow, darker than the rest, moving toward them.

"Run!" Eli shouted.

They burst out of the bookstore, slamming the door behind them. The growling stopped, but the air outside felt heavier, colder.

Mara leaned against the car, trying to catch her breath. "Did you see it?"

Eli shook his head. "I didn't see anything. But I heard it. And that's enough for me. We're leaving. Now."

Mara didn't argue. But as they drove away, she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. And in the rearview mirror, just for a moment, she thought she saw a figure standing in the bookstore's doorway, its eyes glowing faintly in the dark.

---

They found a motel on the edge of town, a rundown place with flickering neon lights and a clerk who didn't seem to care that they were there. Mara barely slept that night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the bookstore, the void, the figures.

And the book with her name.

The next morning, Eli was already packed and ready to go. "We're leaving," he said firmly. "No arguments."

Mara nodded, but her mind was elsewhere. She couldn't stop thinking about the bookstore. About the voices. About the shadow.

And as they drove out of Black Hollow, she made a silent promise to herself.

She would go back.