The forest was silent, except for the sound of a shovel cutting through the earth.
A girl—barely in her twenties—knelt in the middle of the dark woods, her face streaked with mud and sweat, as if she were a warrior in some ancient ritual. Her white dress was smeared in dirt, torn at the edges. Fear radiated from her eyes, wild and searching. Her hands trembled as they gripped the shovel.
She wasn't sure what she was digging for. Only that she had to find it.
The rain began without warning, pelting the leaves above, seeping through the canopy, mixing with the dirt beneath her nails. A chain hung around her neck, the large cross resting heavily against her chest. She clutched it like a lifeline, whispering something no one could hear.
The wind howled.
The girl moved faster, ditching the shovel to claw at the earth with her bare hands. Blood mixed with mud as scratches bloomed across her skin. Her breath hitched. She was digging up a secret—one the forest had buried long ago.
Then—
A dull clink.
Her fingers hit something hard. Metal.
She unearthed a small, rusted box, shaped oddly like a miniature coffin. Her breath caught. Slowly, she wiped away the soil, tracing its corners, her fingertips trembling. As she pried it open—
A scream tore through the forest. Not hers.
Something—someone—was behind her.
She turned.
A blinding white light slammed into her.
YOU ARE READING
Fossils of Memory
FantasySome memories are not your own-until they begin to haunt you. Rhiana Fosters has everything-a loving family, close friends, and a talent for painting. But when a recurring dream pulls her into a world she doesn't recognize, her perfect life begins t...
