THE VILLAGE THAT NEVER LET ANYONE LEAVE
Chapter 5
Ethan didn’t believe her.
Not at first.
He accused Nora of trying to scare them.
But Nora didn’t argue.
Instead, she gave them a key.
“To the old church.”
Maya stared at it.
“What is this?”
“The only place Samuel cannot enter.”
That night, Ethan and Maya entered the abandoned church.
The inside was covered with dust.
Rows of wooden benches faced a cracked altar.
Behind it was a locked cabinet.
The key fit.
Inside were hundreds of files.
Missing-person reports.
Newspaper clippings.
Driver’s licenses.
Photographs.
Dates spanning almost seventy years.
Every person had disappeared somewhere near Black Hollow.
Ethan picked up a file.
A man from Tennessee.
Missing 1974.
Another.
A couple from Ohio.
Missing 1982.
Another.
A family from Pennsylvania.
Missing 1999.
Maya’s hands trembled.
“These people weren’t lost.”
Ethan looked around.
“They were brought here.”
Then he found something.
A folder marked:
CARTER, ETHAN
His entire body went cold.
Maya stared at him.
“That isn’t possible.”
Ethan opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
A baby.
Wrapped in a blue blanket.
Below it was a handwritten note.
Subject returned. Family unaware.
Ethan dropped the file.
“I’ve never been here.”
Nora appeared behind them.
“You have.”
Ethan turned.
“No.”
Nora shook her head.
“You were born here.”
The church door slammed shut.
And somewhere outside, hundreds of footsteps began moving toward them.
