BLACK HOLLOW

Chapter 1

— New Roads

The road into Black Hollow felt too quiet.

Not peaceful quiet.

He felt like they did not belong there instantly. He wanted to be back home , where everything felt familiar and right.

Kael Ashford sat pressed against the passenger window, watching the world outside blur into long stretches of dark trees and tangled branches. The glass was cold against his skin, but he didn't move. He hadn't moved much the entire drive.

Behind him, the moving truck rumbled steadily, carrying everything they had left of their old life.

Kael didn't look back at it.

He didn't want to think about what was inside those boxes.

Or what wasn't.

His father wasn't coming with them.

That was the only thought that kept returning, no matter how many times he pushed it away.

A soft sound came from the backseat.

Shadow.

The dog shifted slightly, nails clicking against the floor as he adjusted beside Owen. The little boy sat curled up against him, fingers buried in the thick fur like it was the only solid thing left in the world.

Owen didn't speak.

He rarely did now.

Kael glanced back at him for a moment.

"You okay back there?" Kael asked, quieter than he meant to.

Owen nodded once.

Shadow lifted his head at Kael's voice, then settled again, eyes fixed on the passing forest like he was watching something move between the trees.

Kael turned back to the window.

"I still think this is stupid," he muttered.

His mother didn't look away from the road.

"Kael," she warned softly.

"I'm serious," he said. "We didn't have to move here. We had a house. I had school. Friends. Everything was normal."

His mother's grip tightened on the steering wheel.

"Nothing is normal anymore," she said.

The words landed heavier than she probably intended.

Kael looked away.

"I know," he said after a moment. "But this isn't fixing anything."

Silence filled the car.

Only the sound of tires on asphalt and the distant groan of wind through trees.

They drove for several more minutes before the forest finally broke.

A wooden sign stood at the edge of the road.

Weathered. Tilted. Old enough to feel forgotten.

WELCOME TO BLACK HOLLOW — EST. 1827

Kael leaned forward slightly.

Something about it made his chest feel tight.

Not fear.

Just...unease.

As they passed it, he noticed people standing near the roadside.

A man holding a bucket.

A woman with grocery bags.

A child beside a bicycle.

All of them had stopped moving.