Emily Harrow's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Emily Harrow knew the stories about Feralhollow, and she knew people who walked in at night did not always walk out. That was why her hands shook now. She stood at the treeline while her three friends pushed past her into the dark. She wanted to grab them and drag them home. Instead she followed, because leaving them alone felt worse. "It's Friday. There's nothing else to do," Jake said. He kicked a rock down the path and grinned at her over his shoulder. Jake played football and feared nothing, which was exactly the problem. He had dared them all to come. Emily had begged him not to. He had laughed and called her scared. He wasn't wrong. "There's literally nothing here," Britney said. She stopped in a clearing and threw her arms wide. "See? No monsters. No ghosts." Britney liked to be loud, and she liked an audience even more. "Hey, spirits! Come get us! We're right here!" "Please stop doing that," Emily whispered. Dexter checked his phone and frowned. He was the smart one, the one who trusted facts over feelings. "No signal," he said. He held the phone up and turned in a slow circle. "That's weird. I had bars a minute ago." He pushed his glasses up and kept staring at the screen, like the numbers might fix themselves. A cold wind moved through the trees. The branches went still after it passed. Emily felt the quiet land on her skin. No crickets. No wind now. Nothing.