*"Some voices refuse to be silenced — especially when they carry secrets."*
Eira's sleep was broken.
At first, it was just whispers beneath the hum of the night—soft, indecipherable murmurs that felt like they brushed her skin, just beyond hearing.
Then came the voice.
Clear. Familiar. Impossible.
*"Eira..."*
She bolted upright, heart hammering against ribs like a desperate prisoner.
The room was dark but for the thin moonlight spilling through her curtains.
"Who's there?" she whispered.
No answer.
Then, from the window—the cold night air stirring the curtains—a faint knock.
Knock. Knock.
Eira hesitated. The sound was deliberate.
She moved cautiously, drawing back the curtain.
No one.
Just the empty street beneath the ancient oak.
Her breath caught. Then she heard it again:
*"Eira... come find me."*
A chill swept through her. It wasn't just a voice. It was a summons.
---
The next day, the town felt heavier, as if the shadows had thickened overnight.
She met Tobias at the diner—Ashmoor's sole eatery, a relic smelling of fried food and stale coffee.
He looked tired, haunted.
"Last night, you didn't answer your phone," he said, sliding a coffee across the table.
"I needed sleep," she replied, eyes scanning the room nervously.
Tobias leaned in.
"Look, I don't know what you think this is, but Calla's death—it's just the beginning. Someone or *something* is stirring in Ashmoor. I've been investigating, but the police chief wants this hushed up."
Eira nodded slowly, feeling the weight settle.
"We were kids, Tobias. What if we accidentally did something terrible?"
He met her gaze, a flicker of pain there.
"I'm beginning to think we did."
---
That evening, Eira returned home to find a small package on her porch.
Inside was a voice recorder, dusty and old-fashioned.
Pressing play, her own voice emerged—recorded from years ago.
*"If any of us breaks the pact, the circle must be mended or the consequences will fall on all."*
Then a second voice, low and trembling:
*"But what if one of us wants it to fall?"*
The recording ended abruptly.
Her hands trembled.
Before she could react, her phone buzzed again.
A text from an unknown number:
*"Find me where the pact began. Midnight. Alone."*
---
That night, with the clock ticking toward midnight, Eira stood before the forest's edge, heart pounding.
The air was thick with expectation.
Then a voice—soft, anguished, unmistakably Soren's—echoed from the trees:
*"Eira... help me."*
She stepped forward into the darkness.
And the forest swallowed her whole.
---