The alley was silent, but Ashwood never truly slept. Fog clung to the cobblestones like curling fingers, twisting and weaving in the dim light of broken lanterns. A stray cat hissed somewhere in the distance, but no one answered.
Lana stumbled forward, clutching her chest, and collapsed onto the wet stones. Blood seeped through her fingers, glistening in the lantern light like dark jewels. Every heartbeat throbbed painfully in her ears. Her breaths were ragged, shallow, each one a desperate gasp for life.
Eva Carter lunged to her side, pressing her hands against the wound, her own trembling spreading to her voice.
"Lana! Don't you dare leave me! Your mother's waiting for you! You're not going anywhere!"
Lana's lips trembled into a weak smile.
"Eva… you… must… never… stay in Ashwood… Go back… to Grimsvale… never… come here…"
Zoe Harper knelt beside her, trying to stem the bleeding, her hands slick with warmth that wasn't enough.
"Hold on, Lana. You hear me? You can't leave me like this!"
Nora Wells stared into the shadows beyond the alley, eyes wide. Every flicker of fog seemed to twist into a face, every whisper of wind felt like a warning. Something was watching them.
Lana's eyes widened faintly as she tried to speak.
"Watch… the shadows… Ashwood… hides… danger…"
She shivered. Her body went limp, blood spreading like a dark river across the cobblestones. Eva, Zoe, and Nora froze, horror-struck. Ashwood's permanent night pressed down on them, suffocating and alive, and the alley seemed to absorb every sound of their fear.
For a long moment, there was nothing. Then the city whispered.
Grimsvale – Aftermath
The next evening, Eva Carter, Nora Wells, and Zoe Harper sat huddled in a corner of a Grimsvale bar. Neon lights flickered against the glass, their reflections fractured, ghostly, like shattered mirrors. The warmth inside felt unreal after the chilling terror of Ashwood's alleys.
Eva's fists clenched around her glass. Knuckles white. Eyes sharp.
"We can't just forget it… Ashwood is dangerous. And it's not over yet."
Nora leaned back, trying to steady herself. Her hands shook, betraying the calm she tried to project.
"Why didn't anyone tell me? Why didn't our families warn me properly?"
Zoe's voice was low, almost a whisper, trembling with fear and grief.
"Because they knew we'd go anyway. They know things… things about Ashwood… about us… that we don't."
Eva's eyes shifted to the foggy streets outside, where life in Grimsvale went on normally. The city felt safe, but the shadow of Ashwood pressed close in her mind.
"We need to be careful… and we need to find out what really happened to Lana," she said, determination cutting through the fear.
Nora's brows furrowed.
"We're talking about Ashwood. The city… the one our parents said never to go to? The one where shadows move like they have minds of their own?"
Eva nodded.
"Yes. That city. And there's more than anyone has told us. Vampires, witches… phantoms. And something darker. Lana… she found out. And now… she's gone."
Zoe swallowed, her eyes glistening with tears.
"We can't stay here. We have to… do something. But what? And what if we're not ready?"
A sudden chill blew through the bar, flickering the neon lights again. The girls shivered, instinctively glancing around. Grimsvale was supposed to be safe. It wasn't. Not really.
Eva leaned forward, voice quiet but resolute:
"Ashwood isn't just a city… it's a trap. And the shadows… they're already waiting."
The three friends exchanged a look — fear, anger, and determination mixed together. Ashwood's permanent night had already reached into their lives, and there was no turning back.