Into the Hollow

No sign marked the way to the hollow, and Emerlyn wondered if it had fallen down over the years or if the lack of markers was intentional. She tried to shrug off the unease, repeatedly telling herself to just have fun. Halloween was the time for going to scary places. 'Besides, 'she thought, 'Max would be right. This would be pretty lame if we weren’t at least a little scared.' Scattered remnants of crooked fence posts, oxidized barbed wire, and unpaved driveways were the only indications that life had once existed here. Thomas adjusted his glasses and squinted as he peered into the darkness. He saw the hauntingly pale glow of moonlit headstones hiding beneath the fog. The sight alone sent a tingle of fear and excitement down the back of his neck. And the thought of it being so close to Halloween, well, it seemed to amplify all of his senses. Oddly enough, Thomas sort of liked the sensation of being afraid. He’d grown accustomed to the feeling while researching paranormal topics and various conspiracy theories. "The trees are getting too thick. We're going to have to park and walk from here," Jack said as he brought the vehicle to a stop." "I was afraid you'd say that."Emerlyn sighed while nervously adjusting the cross on her necklace. Jack opened up the driver door and stepped out onto the rocky soil. "Hey, Babe, can you hand me my .357 revolver?" he asked while pointing under Paige's seat. "Gladly," she replied with a sense of relief. "I was afraid you might have forgotten it." ” "Now, you know me better than that, little lady."” He chuckled while buckling the old leather gun belt around his waist. “"And guys, careful getting out. Don't scratch my doors on any branches." ” "It's really dark,"”Max whispered under his breath. Even the near full moon had trouble breaking through the massive tree canopy that towered above. "Yeah, no shit Sherlock. That's why I brought a couple of these,"” Jack replied as he powered on a 1500 lumen flashlight and handed the other to Thomas. "We own the night! Let's go motha fuckas!"” "Alright, guys, the only clues we have are from Dad's ghost story. We don't have trail maps or anything, so keep your eyes peeled for signs of any church remains, a burial ground, and, I guess, a creepy tree?"” Jack couldn't help but laugh at the idea of a tree being scary. “"The fog is starting to settle in, but I've the truck marked on my GPS. As long as we make it back to the truck, we've nothin'’ to worry about. Thomas, step down your flashlight output to a lower setting to conserve battery power." ” As Jack led the group deeper into the hollow, the energy in the air began to shift. Max was noticeably less talkative, Thomas's posture became even more rigid and focused, Paige's eyes darted rapidly from one illuminated tree to the next, and Emerlyn had this unshakeable feeling of being watched. Thomas dabbled in paranormal research, obsessed over ufology, and was well versed in cryptozoology. Unfortunately, all of these various hobbies and idees fixes were beginning to take a toll on his imagination. Supernatural thoughts of Amelia raced through his head. Every crackling leaf, broken branch, and shifting shadow cast by his flashlight seemed to have a mind of its own, and it felt like there was always someone or something just beyond the corners of his eyes. Perhaps Emerlyn's paranoia of being watched had influenced his thinking, but there was something even more terrifying weighing on Thomas's mind.