The town clock struck twelve, its tolls rolling through the empty streets like thunder.
Emily clutched the diary to her chest, her pulse pounding with each clang. Beside her, Jade's knuckles whitened around the crowbar, and Mia's hands shook as she gripped her phone like it might save her.
They reached the spot—an abandoned playground at the edge of town. The swings creaked in the night breeze, chains rattling like whispers. The slide gleamed dully in the moonlight, its shadow long and skeletal across the sand.
"This is it," Emily whispered.
"Yeah," Jade muttered. "Perfect place for a trap."
The silence pressed down on them. Emily's throat tightened. "Sophie?" she called softly, her voice cracking. "We're here!"
No answer.
Then their phones buzzed. All three, at once. Emily forced herself to look.
"Leave the diary on the swing. Step back. Don't test me. – R"
Emily's fingers dug into the leather cover. Her legs felt like stone as she walked toward the swing set, every creak of sand under her shoes screaming in the night. She placed the diary gently on the cracked rubber seat, her hands trembling as she let go.
She stepped back. One pace. Two. Jade stood at her side, tense and coiled, ready to strike. Mia hovered, eyes darting, tears threatening to spill.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the swing moved.
Not from the wind—but as if someone invisible had brushed it. The diary slid, teetering, then fell into the sand with a dull thud.
Emily gasped.
From the shadows, a laugh cut through the night. Low. Mocking. Familiar.
"Always so obedient," a voice called.
Emily's blood turned to ice. She knew that voice.
Jade stepped forward, crowbar raised. "Show yourself!"
Footsteps echoed from the trees. Slow, deliberate. A figure emerged from the darkness, hood pulled low, a black mask hiding their face. They stopped just short of the swings.
"Where's Sophie?" Emily demanded, her voice trembling but fierce.
The figure tilted their head. "Safe. For now."
"Cut the crap!" Jade snarled. "We did what you asked. Where is she?"
The figure bent slowly, picking up the diary from the sand. They brushed the dirt off the cover with almost reverent care.
"This," the voice murmured, holding it up, "is worth more than any of you understand."
Emily's heart hammered. "You promised! We brought it—now give Sophie back!"
The masked figure laughed again, low and cruel. "Promises are fragile things. Just like people."
Mia broke then, sobbing. "Please! Please, just give her back!"
The figure stepped closer, the diary clutched tight. Moonlight glinted off something in their other hand.
A phone.
They lifted it high so the girls could see the screen.
Sophie. Bound to a chair. Tears streaking her cheeks. Her muffled cries crackled through the tinny speaker.
Emily's knees buckled. "Sophie…"
The masked figure lowered the phone. "If you ever want to see her alive again," they said, "you'll follow my rules. Every one of them."
Then, without another word, they turned and vanished back into the trees—taking the diary with them.
Emily's scream shattered the night.
"Wait!" Emily cried, lurching forward. Her voice ripped through the night, raw, desperate. But the figure was already melting into the trees.
Jade didn't hesitate. "Stay here." She sprinted after them, crowbar flashing silver under the moonlight.
"Mia!" Emily grabbed her arm. "We can't just—"
But Mia was already moving too, her sobs cutting through the air. "Sophie! We can't let them take her!"
Emily had no choice. She ran.
The forest swallowed them whole. Branches whipped against Emily's arms, her breath tearing in her lungs. She could barely see Jade's dark silhouette up ahead, weaving through the trees like a shadow chasing a shadow.
"Jade!" Emily gasped. "Wait!"
But Jade didn't stop.
The figure ahead darted left, slipping between two trees. Jade followed, her crowbar raised high. Emily and Mia stumbled after her, their footsteps loud, frantic.
Then—CRACK.
The ground gave way beneath Jade's feet. She let out a choked cry as she plunged into a pit hidden by leaves and branches.
"JADE!" Emily screamed, skidding to a stop at the edge. She nearly toppled in herself, catching Mia's arm just in time.
Below, Jade groaned, half-buried under sticks and dirt. Her crowbar clanged uselessly beside her.
"It's a trap," Jade hissed, coughing as she pushed herself upright. "They knew we'd follow."
Emily's stomach twisted violently. She could hear it now—footsteps circling them in the dark. Too many. More than one person.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Hands trembling, she pulled it out.
A message glowed on the screen, brighter than the moon above:
"Trust no one. Not even the people standing beside you. – R"
Emily looked at Mia. Mia looked at her. Both pale. Both shaking.
Somewhere in the dark, someone laughed.
Not one voice.
Two.
"Emily!" Jade's voice was ragged, echoing up from the pit. She tried to climb, but the dirt walls crumbled under her grip, sending her sliding back down. "Get me out of here!"
Emily dropped to her knees, reaching down as far as she could. "Give me your hand!"
Mia knelt beside her, tears streaming, both of them straining to grab Jade's wrist. But the pit was deeper than it looked—six feet, maybe more.
"Use the crowbar!" Jade barked, shoving it upward. Emily caught it, nearly dropping it from the weight. She braced the metal against the side of the pit, wedging it into the dirt to give Jade some leverage.
Jade pulled herself halfway up before a sudden snap cracked through the night.
A rope yanked tight around her ankle.
Jade screamed as she was dragged sideways, slamming into the dirt wall before disappearing deeper into the shadows of the pit.
"JADE!" Emily shrieked, her voice tearing her throat raw. She lunged forward, but Mia grabbed her arm, yanking her back from the edge.
"Don't—look!"
Emily froze.
Figures moved in the treeline. Not one. Not two. More.
Dark shapes, masks glinting under the moonlight. Watching. Silent.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket again. She didn't want to look, but her hand moved on its own, unlocking the screen.
One down. Two left. How long before you realize the truth? – R
Emily's hands shook so violently she nearly dropped the phone.
Mia's breath came in sobs. "They're everywhere… oh my God, they're everywhere."
The masked figures didn't come closer. They just stood, still as statues, their presence heavier than the night itself.
Emily's heart pounded so loud she thought it might burst. Her mind screamed: Who are they? How many? Is R just one person—or all of them?
And then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the figures melted back into the trees.
The forest swallowed them.
Silence.
Emily crawled to the edge of the pit again, her voice breaking. "Jade?!"
A groan echoed faintly from the dark. Weak. Pained. But alive.
Emily's tears blurred her vision. She didn't know if it was relief or another kind of terror.
Because one thing was clear now.
R wasn't just a shadow in the dark.
R was a legion.
And they were everywhere.
"Hold on, Jade!" Emily shouted into the pit, her voice hoarse from screaming.
Another groan floated up, followed by the scrape of dirt as Jade tried to pull herself free. "I'm—stuck—" she gasped.
Emily's stomach twisted. She shoved the crowbar deeper into the dirt and stretched her arm down as far as she could. "Mia, help me!"
Mia snapped out of her frozen terror, dropping to her knees beside Emily. Together, they reached, straining, their fingers barely brushing Jade's wrist.
With a guttural cry, Jade lunged upward. Their hands locked.
"Pull!" Emily screamed.
They heaved with every ounce of strength left in their bodies. Dirt rained down, Jade's shoe scraped against the side, and for one agonizing moment Emily thought she'd slip away again—
But then Jade's arm hooked over the edge. With one last desperate heave, they dragged her out, collapsing in a tangled heap on the ground.
Jade lay gasping, clutching her ankle. Blood smeared her jeans where the rope had cut into her skin. "They… they tried to drag me deeper. I swear there was something down there." Her wide eyes met Emily's. "Someone."
Emily's stomach lurched. "We have to get out of here."
Mia's head whipped around, eyes darting into the trees. "They're still watching."
The silence was worse than footsteps. Worse than laughter. The shadows felt alive, pressing in closer.
Emily forced herself to her feet, hauling Jade up with her. "We move. Now."
Half-carrying Jade, they stumbled through the woods. Branches clawed at their clothes, roots caught at their ankles. Every sound—an owl's cry, the rustle of leaves—made Emily's heart seize.
Finally, the treeline broke. They burst into the empty street, gasping for breath under the cold wash of a streetlamp.
Only then did Emily dare to stop. Her chest heaved, her legs shaking.
Jade leaned heavily against the lamppost, her face pale, sweat glistening. "We can't fight this. Not if there's more than one."
Mia clutched her phone to her chest, rocking slightly, tears streaking her cheeks. "They have Sophie. They have the diary. They almost had you."
Emily's phone buzzed again. Her hands shook as she pulled it out.
"You made the wrong choice tonight. Next time, you won't get her back. – R"
Emily's vision blurred with tears. She wanted to throw the phone into the street, to scream, to run until her lungs gave out. But the truth was undeniable.
They weren't dealing with a single monster in the shadows.
They were surrounded.
And if Rachel's warning was right, the most dangerous lies weren't in the diary.
They were standing right beside her.