The next morning, Boyd and Levi met at the diner with a couple of wrapped sandwiches and two cups of bitter coffee. Elis, Boyd's son, had wanted to join, but his father refused. "Your mom needs you here," he'd said, voice leaving no room for argument.
That was the first time Levi and Elis met; a brief nod passed between them, nothing more. Then Boyd turned toward the treeline. "Let's go."
Levi followed. He caught, in the corner of his eye, Elena standing on the porch, her hands pressed against the door, worry etched on her face as she looked at him. He looked away and adjusted his jacket, his posture a little crooked from the ribs that hadn't yet healed.
The forest swallowed them quickly. Morning light struggled to pierce through the tangled canopy, and the air was thick, damp, and unmoving. No birds, no insects, not even the faint hum of wind. Only the sound of their boots crushing brittle twigs and brushing through the undergrowth.
Boyd finally broke the silence. "So. How long you been here?"
Levi sighed softly. He wasn't one for small talk, but anything was better than the oppressive quiet pressing in on them. "A week, maybe less," he said, scanning the fog that hung low among the trees.
"I came in around sundown that day," he added, glancing at Boyd before looking up at the branches overhead. His eyes were on the trees, imagining himself climbing them, just to distract himself with something. Now that he could think and feel. The forest felt… wrong.
Boyd nodded slowly. "Yeah, Donna mentioned something about that night."
Levi gave a faint, humorless smirk. "Smacked a few of those things in the face while I ran. Ended up on the diner roof till morning."
Boyd blinked, caught off guard. "You serious?"
Levi nodded, looking to now as well. "Yeah, safe to say, they don't feel pain. At least I think so." He told him and then walked forward, leading them.
"What do you mean?" Boyd fastened his strides to catch up. "Exactly what I mean. They don't feel pain even with a mace to their face. They didn't groan or even yelp in pain."
"They just shrugged it off and chased me." Levi continued, glancing behind him as a question popped into his head. Boyd seemed tense and frustrated, and this would work as a way to distract the man from overthinking. "Hey, when you saw the tree. Did you see a pink bicycle?"
The older man seemed a bit confused as to why Levi asked it but shrugged it off, thinking about the day. "I think so, yeah."
"Was it right next to it, in front of the trunk, or somewhere else?" He asked in detail, mind racing as new ideas sprout. "It was off the road, next to the base of the tree. Why?"
Levi turned, "Just something that came up. If someone knew about this place, they could put up a sign, warn newcomers of the place. But for that to work, someone has to escape this place and then come back."
"And fat chance of that happening," Boyd muttered.
"Right." Levi nodded.
The rest of the search was done in quiet silence, as Levi's frown didn't ease up. For some reason, he kept remembering the night in the tree as they walked further and further in the forest.
It was already noon by now, but it felt like something was out. One of those smiling creatures was smiling at him from somewhere. And when he turned towards that direction, Levi would see nothing. But the feeling never left, and he was starting to have goosebumps.
"You okay?" Boyd finally asked as he saw Levi look around as if searching for something.
"You don't feel that?" He asked, not walking any further, as Boyd stopped.
"Feel what?" The retired soldier asked in confusion, but Levi didn't answer, turning every way to find the source. "Something's watching us." Boyd's brow furrowed, scanning the treeline.
Boyd's hand went instinctively to the handle of his machete, the quiet metallic rasp filling the space between them. "You see something?"
Levi shook his head slowly. "Not see. Feel."
Boyd exhaled sharply through his nose, trying to suppress his own unease. "You've been through a lot, kid. Might just be the nerves."
Levi didn't answer. His eyes were locked on a patch of fog between two trees, where the mist was too still, as though it were holding its breath.
A whisper that wasn't sound brushed the air. Boyd didn't hear it, but Levi froze mid-breath, his expression hollowing.
"Levi?"
"We have to go back." The younger man muttered, cold sweat forming on his body, palms itching, and something in him screaming to back off.
"What?"
Boyd frowned, straightening up. "We just got here." He tried, even though it had been hours. But Levi didn't budge.
Levi turned sharply, eyes wide and unfocused, scanning the trees like something might step out at any second. "I'm serious. We need to go back. Now."
"Kid, we came out here to check the perimeter. If something's out there, all the more reason to-"
Levi's voice rose, low and trembling but edged with anger. "You don't get it! This isn't one of them. This is something else."
Boyd tightened his grip on the machete, jaw set. "You think running back is gonna fix whatever's out here? You said you wanted to help, right? Then help me finish this."
Levi's breathing grew shallow, as something in him kept screaming and screaming. His whole body seemed to lean toward retreat, but his eyes stayed on the fog. "Fine, do whatever you want, but I'm going back." Boyd blinked, taken aback by the certainty in his tone.
Levi didn't wait for a response. He turned and started back toward town, his pace quick, almost desperate. Branches snapped under his boots as he moved, not looking back once.
"Levi!"
But nothing, not even a glance, as Levi's eyes were locked towards the town.
Boyd stood there, alone now, surrounded by the heavy silence. For a moment, he thought about following. Then he exhaled roughly and muttered, "Damn fool," before tightening his pack straps and pushing deeper into the trees.
Levi didn't slow until the forest began to thin. His ribs burned, his pulse pounding in his ears, but that crawling feeling- that gaze on the back of his neck, only faded when the roofs of town came into view through the mist.
He stopped at the edge of the road, bent over, catching his breath. Something was pulling at him now, quieter but no less insistent. Not a voice, not a sound, more like a magnetic tug beneath his sternum. He followed it through the empty street, past the old gas station, toward the row of houses, then past the diner.
When he realized where his feet were taking him, his chest tightened. Ariana's house. He stopped at the door, ready to knock, but the commotion inside stopped him.
He froze.
Muffled shouting bled through the walls- Ariana's voice, high and breaking, her mother calling her name. Then a crash. Something hit the floor.
Levi's heart lurched. Without thinking, he twisted the doorknob and shoved the door open.
The scene inside was chaos. The living room looked torn apart. Chairs knocked over, a lamp shattered, curtains half-ripped from their hooks. Ariana stood in the middle of it all, trembling, her hair disheveled for the first time ever, and her face streaked with tears.
Her mother, Elena, had her arms half outstretched toward her, terrified to touch her, while her father, Miguel, stood between them and the hallway, looking like he'd been trying to reason with someone invisible.
"They're right there!" Ariana shouted, pointing toward the corner near the window. Her voice cracked under the weight of sheer panic. "Can't you see them? They're right there! The little boy, he's- he's just there."
But there was nothing. Only sunlight cutting through the blinds, slanting across the floor. At least to the parents, as Levi turned and saw the pale, white skinned kids repeating that same word, over and over, eyes fixed on her.
Elena's voice trembled. "Ari, honey, there's no one there. Please, calm down-"
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Ariana screamed, her eyes wild, until they fixed on Levi, who was also staring at the kid inside their house. "You can see them."
Levi didn't answer. He couldn't.
His throat was dry, his muscles locked, every instinct in him screaming run from the creepy kid, but he stayed rooted to the spot. Because he knew him. And he knew the rest of them, their call for help.
The boy's head tilted toward him, slow and deliberate, like a puppet moved by uncertain strings. His skin was the color of candle wax, and where his pupils should have been full of life, there was only a faint gray sheen, dull and lifeless. The girl beside him looked no older than eight. Her hands hung limp at her sides, yet her lips moved, repeating that same word.
"Angkooey."
Levi walked up to Ariana, crouching in front of her as her eyes was focused only on him, hoping to fix her, to make them go away. Something in him moved as he fixed her curly hair first as calmly as possible.
He reached out slowly, brushing the loose strands of Ariana's hair from her face. His fingers were steady, though his pulse wasn't. The curls were tangled, damp with sweat and tears, but he worked through them with the gentleness of someone handling something fragile, like the motion itself could hold her together.
Her breathing hitched but softened, eyes darting between him and the corner where the pale children stood. Their whispers faltered, the rhythm of their chant breaking as they watched him.
Levi tucked the last strand behind her ear, his voice barely above a whisper. "I know."
Ariana blinked, confusion flickering across her face. "What?"
He turned his gaze toward the children. Their eyes met his- empty, expectant, almost pleading. He took a slow breath, the kind that came from deep in the chest, where fear and memory met. "I know," he said again, firmer this time.
The whispers stopped. The stillness that followed was worse. It pressed in from every side, thick and waiting. The boy's expression shifted, the corner of his mouth trembling like he wanted to say something, but the girl grabbed his hand. Her lips moved once more- silent this time.
Ariana looked to them, almost against her will, and the moment her eyes met theirs, the air shimmered. A thin, cold gust swept through the room, fluttering the torn curtains. And just like that- they were gone. As if they weren't there in the first place.
Ariana gasped, clutching Levi's sleeve. "They- where did they-?"
He shook his head slightly, keeping his voice calm. "They're gone."
Her parents, who had been frozen near the doorway, finally dared to move. Elena rushed forward, pulling Ariana into her arms, though the girl still trembled like her nerves hadn't caught up to the quiet yet. Miguel's eyes went from Levi to the empty corner and back again, searching for an explanation that wasn't coming.
Levi stood slowly, wiping his palms against his jacket as though that could erase the chill lingering in his skin. He turned toward the window, staring at the sunlight creeping through the blinds.
"They weren't here to hurt her," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
Miguel frowned. "What were they, then?"
Levi didn't answer right away. His gaze lingered on the spot where the boy had stood, a faint outline of dirt still visible on the floorboards. "A reminder," he said finally. "Of something buried too deep."
Behind him, Ariana looked up, her voice small and so, so afraid that he wanted to wrap her in a safe blanket.
"We need to talk, Ariana." Levi finally spoke up, her eyes not leaving him, as he turned to her parents as well. "Please." He muttered at the end, as if asking for permission. Her parents were unsure what to do, but it seemed like whatever was going on in this nightmarish town and what had happened to their daughter. Only he could see and understand.
Elena guided Ariana gently toward the couch, her arm wrapped tightly around her trembling shoulders. Miguel followed, sitting on the other side, his hand resting on Ariana's knee like a silent promise that he was there, even if he didn't know what to do. Levi stood for a moment, eyes unfocused, before finally moving to sit on the chair across from them. The living room was still- too still. Even the house seemed to be holding its breath.
He exhaled, rubbing his palms together before speaking. "There's something I didn't tell Donna and the others," he began, voice low. "Not because I didn't trust them. But because I wasn't sure what was real."
Elena's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Levi's eyes shifted to Ariana. "The children," he said. "The ones you saw- they're not new. They've been here long before any of us. I've… seen them before. Not just here, but in my dreams."
Miguel's jaw tightened. "Dreams?"
Levi nodded. "They were killed. Sacrificed, actually. That's what I've been able to piece together." His voice grew heavier. "A long time ago, people here traded their lives- or maybe their humanity- for something. Immortality, I think. Whatever ritual they did, it needed children. Their blood. Their innocence. And those kids… they're what's left of it."
Elena's hand tightened protectively around Ariana. "That's… that's monstrous."
Levi's gaze didn't waver. "Yeah. It is." He looked down at his hands, then back up. "But there's something else. Other than the children, there's the boy in white... He's different. He was in my dream, too. He didn't try to hurt me. If anything, he looked… lost and confused why I even was here. Maybe even trying to help."
Miguel let out a slow, disbelieving breath. "So what, now we're supposed to believe ghosts are trying to help us?"
"I'm not asking you to believe," Levi said quietly. "I'm telling you what I know. And right now, it's more than anyone else does."
Ariana had been silent this whole time, shivering despite the blanket her mother had wrapped around her. Her eyes flicked between them, distant and glassy. When she finally spoke, her voice was small, raw- like it hurt to use.
"I believe him." She muttered, holding back a cough. But Levi walked to the kitchen, putting a pause in the conversation, as he brought her water. With shaking hands, she took from his and sipped just to wet her lips.
But her mind was on overdrive as she thought of how to tell them what she knew. What was happening to her? "Take your time." Levi's calm and gentle voice cut off all the overthinking. She looked at him and nodded in thanks.
"Ever since we came to this town," she whispered, "I could hear things. Not like voices you can point to. More like… whispers in my head. Sometimes it's one voice, sometimes many. They tell me things." Her breath broke as she shut her eyes in pain. Her parents wrapped her in their arms and for a moment, the scene in front of Levi made him envious.
Envious of Ariana and her position. That she had loving parents and how fortunate she was, but he pushed it aside. It wasn't important.
Elena swallowed hard. "What kind of things, baby?"
Ariana's lip trembled. "They tell me how to get out of here."
Silence.
It hit the room like a physical weight. Elena's breath caught, and Miguel went rigid beside her. Levi leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing- not in suspicion, but in concentration, like he was trying to hear the echoes of what she'd just said.
"Ariana-"
"Quiet." Levi shut down her mother's words as he focused on Ariana, his gut screaming danger. Miguel almost rose due to the disrespect, but his daughter's following words stopped him. Ariana's eyes didn't stray from Levi's as she finally spoke her secret out loud.
The secret that kept getting louder and louder in her head. The thing that didn't let her rest or sleep at night, only screaming in her head.
"They tell me to kill you."
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AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think of this chapter.
Hope you had fun reading. And throw some powerstones at me please. I wanna get on the board just so I can get some notice from new readers.