1.3

I stepped out again into the damp street, resolving to pause by the old mill. The place was a relic swallowed by time and secrecy; rusted gears and broken windows stood like the bones of some long-forgotten giant.

Neighborhood kids dared one another to sneak inside, daring tales muttered in hushed voices. None of us had ever gone deep enough to unravel its mysteries, but according to Mrs. Delgado, Eli might have.

The path to the mill was choked with wild grass and tangled branches, nature reclaiming what man had left behind. As I pushed through, I thought about how the town itself felt like it was trying to forget, erasing the past as if forgetting would make the darkness go away.

But the past clings to Ravenswood like ivy, twisting and creeping beneath the surface.

Near the mill’s entrance, my fingers brushed against graffiti scrawled in faded black paint:

Don’t trust the quiet.

The warning unsettled me. Was it a message from someone else watching the town? Or a childish prank? My chest tightened.

From behind a pile of broken crates, a sudden rustle startled me. I spun, heart pounding. A stray cat with emerald eyes blinked slowly and slinked away into the weeds. I exhaled, relief flooding through me.

I took out my phone, snapping photos of the ground leading into the dark interior. There were fresh footprints in the damp earth. Too small for mine, too messy to belong to Eli’s usual sturdy steps. Someone else had been here recently.

A sudden noise. A metal scraping against stone which echoed from the shadows inside the mill. I froze.

“Eli?” My voice cracked, swallowed by the cavernous space.

I cautiously stepped closer, every muscle tense, eyes straining to pierce the gloom. The faint light filtering through broken panes cast long, eerie shadows that danced across rusted machinery and crumbled walls. The scent of damp wood and something metallic hung thick in the air.

“Eli, if you’re here, please say something,” I whispered, my voice barely more than a breath.

The silence answered me. My heart raced louder than the quiet around me.

Summoning my courage, I moved further inside, each step stirring dust motes that glowed in the slivers of light. The sound jumped again. A soft scrape, like fingernails against metal.

A chill ran down my spine as my phone’s flashlight beam swept across the room, catching a glint on the floor.

Fragments of shattered glass scattered near a twisted piece of metal. I knelt, noticing a torn piece of fabric snagged on a jagged edge. It was dark and familiar. It looked like the sleeve of Eli’s favorite jacket.

My throat tightened.

A sudden scrape, closer now. I whipped my light around, heart pounding.

In a shadowed corner stood a figure, hunched and still.

“Hello?” I called, voice trembling.

The figure shifted, stepping into the pale beam.

It was Caleb—the stranger who had appeared in town just days ago.

His eyes met mine, flickering with a complex mix of fear and something else I couldn’t name.

“Aliyah,” he said softly, voice strained. “You shouldn’t be here.”

I swallowed hard, unsure if I should be angry or relieved.

“Where’s Eli?” I demanded. “Do you know what happened?”

Caleb hesitated, glancing to the side as if weighing his words carefully.

“There are things in this town,” he began, voice low. “Things people don’t want to face. Eli stumbled onto something... dangerous.”

My fingers clenched tightly around the flashlight.

“Tell me everything,” I said.

The shadows in the mill seemed to pulse as Caleb spoke, his voice low and urgent, pulling me deeper into Ravenswood’s hidden darkness. I braced myself for the truth—whatever it was had cost Eli his freedom, or worse. With every word Caleb revealed, the fragile threads of safety I’d taken for granted tightened and frayed.

“Eli found evidence,” Caleb said. “Evidence of a secret society that’s been controlling Ravenswood behind the scenes for generations. They don’t want anyone exposing them.”

His eyes flickered toward the crumbled walls as if the ghosts of Ravenswood were listening.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “Why tell me this? Why now? ”

Caleb hesitated. “Because you’re the only one who still has the courage to fight. And because Eli trusts you.”

"Where did you even get that information?" I asked.

Memories of Eli flashed in my mind—determined, fearless, always ready to stand up for what was right. This wasn’t like him to vanish without a trace. This was something bigger, darker.

"I saw him. He was taken by those men. I- I couldn't bring myself to go after him. I'm scared. "

My clench my fist tighter. I can feel the pain as if the blood is flowing out of the wounds caused by the pressure from my nails. “Do you know where he is?” I asked. Jaw tighten.

Caleb’s face darkened. “I think he’s being held somewhere ‘safe’... as safe as they can make it. I heard their conversation. For some reason, they don’t want to hurt him... atleast, not yet. They want to keep him silent.”

The weight of those words settled like heavy chains around my chest, but I could feel a fire starting to build inside me—a burning resolve I hadn’t known I had before.

“I need to find him,” I said, voice steady despite the storm raging inside.

Caleb nodded. “I’ll help you." he swallows his saliva. "I am being hunted by the guilt that I couldn't do anything." A small pause. " We have to be careful—there are eyes everywhere.”

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