They Took the Wrong Road in America — By Morning, the Entire Village Wanted Them Dead
Chapter 5
That night, Ethan broke into the old church.
He found a locked door beneath the altar.
Inside was a staircase.
The basement smelled of damp earth.
His flashlight revealed shelves filled with boxes.
Documents.
Old passports.
Wallets.
Cameras.
Jewelry.
Photographs.
Personal belongings.
Hundreds of them.
Maya covered her mouth.
“Oh my God.”
Ethan opened a box.
Inside was a wedding ring.
Another contained a child’s backpack.
Another held a driver’s license.
Maya picked one up.
The photograph showed a young couple.
The date was 2006.
“These people.”
Ethan looked at the card.
“Missing.”
Maya opened another box.
More names.
More missing people.
Then she saw something.
A folder with a red label.
2026.
Her hands began to shake.
She opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Ethan and Maya.
Taken that afternoon.
Underneath were two handwritten words.
ROOM SIX.
Ethan stared.
“They’ve been watching us.”
A noise came from upstairs.
Footsteps.
They turned off the flashlight.
Someone entered the church.
A man’s voice echoed through the floorboards.
“Search downstairs.”
Ethan grabbed Maya’s hand.
They hid behind the shelves.
Two men entered.
One whispered:
“They found the archive.”
The other answered:
“Then they can’t leave.”
Ethan recognized the voice.
Sheriff Mercer.
Maya looked at him.
Their eyes met.
Neither moved.
Then the basement door opened.
A flashlight swept across the room.
Ethan pulled Maya deeper into the darkness.
And suddenly his hand touched something cold.
A metal box.
Inside was a stack of old newspaper clippings.
The top one carried a headline:
LOCAL SHERIFF INVESTIGATED AFTER 12 TOURISTS DISAPPEAR.
The date was 1989.
The sheriff named in the article was not Daniel Mercer.
It was his father.
