Whispers in the Hollow

Title: “Whispers in the Hollow”

They should have turned back when they crossed the rotten fence, but the thrill of doing something forbidden was too strong for Luke and Marissa. Besides, what else was there to do in a dying town like Crest Hollow? Saturday nights were for sneaking beers, telling ghost stories, and daring each other into trouble.

Luke carried the flashlight, its beam slicing through the fog that drifted like lazy ghosts among twisted trees. Marissa stuck close, her hand occasionally brushing his. Neither admitted it out loud, but both were drawn by more than the promise of a scare. Their hearts raced for reasons that had little to do with the cabin ahead.

They found it half-swallowed by the woods—an abandoned hunting cabin leaning like it was sighing its last breath. Planks were splintered, the door hung crooked, and graffiti clawed across the walls, warning, “GET OUT” and “THEY SEE YOU.”

Marissa shivered. “Do you hear that?”

Luke paused, cocking his head. The wind twisted through the trees, whispering in a language that felt almost human. A shadow slipped between the trunks. His stomach flipped, but he forced a grin. “Probably a deer. Come on. I didn’t haul us all the way out here to chicken out now.”

Inside, the cabin reeked of mold and old smoke. A half-broken lantern rested on a crate, and when Luke flipped it on, it cast long, trembling shadows across the walls. Dust danced like tiny spirits.

Marissa found an old leather-bound journal on a shelf, pages cracked and faded. As she thumbed through it, her lips parted. “These are love letters… but—look.” She held it out. “She waits in the hollow, bound to this place by blood and betrayal.”

A breath colder than the autumn air swept past them. Luke spun around, flashlight beam twitching. In the doorway stood a figure—pale, almost translucent, her eyes hollow pits that leaked shadows. Her hair floated as though underwater.

Marissa clutched his arm. “It’s her.”

The ghost raised a hand, beckoning. Against all sense, Luke stepped forward, pulled by something deeper than fear—like a promise made long before he was born. As he crossed the room, time seemed to shudder. The walls darkened, the ceiling sagged, and the trees outside bent closer, their branches clawing the cabin like they wanted in.

“Luke!” Marissa screamed.

He stopped inches from the ghost. Her mouth moved soundlessly, eyes pleading, until at least a whisper bloomed in his mind: “Help me find the one who betrayed me… free me…”

Marissa grabbed Luke’s hand, yanking him back. As their skin met, light burst through the cabin, blinding, searing. The ghost let out a wail that shook the boards. Then, silence. When the light faded, they were alone. The ghost was gone. The cabin seemed smaller, sadder.

Outside, dawn was breaking. Luke squeezed Marissa’s hand, their fingers tangled tight. The woods didn’t seem quite so dark anymore, though the memory of those hollow eyes would haunt him forever. Together, they walked back toward town, hearts pounding, not just from terror, but from the fragile, new adventure growing between them.

Whatever haunted Crest Hollow had let them go. For now.