CHAPTER 27: CURSED TOWN

Nope. Absolutely not. I didn’t like that.

"Uh, Professor?" Felix’s voice cracked. "Did that—did that thing just smile at us?"

"Yes."

"Are things in the forest supposed to do that?"

"No."

"Great. I’ll just go ahead and die now."

Julien smacked him on the back. "Not before me, coward."

The thing in the woods didn’t move. It stood just beyond the tree line, its features obscured by the shadows, except for that smile—wide, unsettling, too many teeth.

Mira was already gripping her dagger, her posture tense. "So... what’s the plan?"

I considered our options. One: We run, screaming, into the nearest house like terrified villagers in a bad folktale. Two: We engage and risk fighting something we don’t understand. Three: We pretend we never saw it and hope it respects personal space.

None of those options seemed great.

I took a breath. "We don’t move yet."

"Yet?" Leo repeated, voice barely above a whisper. "What do you mean yet?"

"We don’t know what it wants."

"Professor, it’s smiling. That’s never a good sign."

"Maybe it’s just friendly?" Wallace offered.

The moment the words left his mouth, the thing tilted its head. Slowly. Deliberately. Like it was considering the suggestion.

I turned to Wallace. "Congratulations. It heard you."

Wallace blanched. "I take it back."

I kept my gaze locked on the figure. The moment we bolted, I had no doubt it would chase. And judging by the sheer wrongness of its presence, I wasn’t convinced it would let us outrun it.

The old man behind us coughed, stepping forward with shaky limbs. "You’re marked now."

"Excuse me?" I said flatly.

He nodded toward the thing in the woods. "It knows you. You saw it. That means it can follow."

Felix wheezed. "Follow us where?"

The old man didn’t answer. He just turned and shuffled back into his house, closing the door with an ominous finality.

"...Did he just leave us?" Leo hissed.

Julien let out a short laugh. "Honestly? Respect."

The thing in the woods finally moved. It didn’t step forward, didn’t charge—just sank into the darkness, fading as if the forest had swallowed it whole.

Mira exhaled. "I don’t know if that’s better or worse."

I glanced at my students. All of them were still on edge, hands hovering near weapons, muscles tight with tension.

"We’re staying in Black Hollow," I said.

Leo groaned. "Can’t we just—"

"No."

He groaned louder.

Ignoring him, I turned toward the nearest intact building. "Find shelter. We’ll regroup and figure out our next move."

Felix raised a hand. "Is one of the options leaving and never looking back?"

"No."

His hand dropped. "Thought I’d ask."

As we moved, the silence of the town pressed in. The streets were empty. The doors locked. And somewhere, out in the trees—

Something watched.

I’ve been in some bad situations before. This? This was starting to rank pretty high.

Black Hollow felt wrong. Not just because of the thing in the woods, but because of the way it felt. The air wasn’t just still—it was thick, like the town itself was holding its breath.

"Okay," Julien said as we stepped toward a half-intact building. "We’ve got unknown monsters in the forest, a town that smells like bad decisions, and an old man who just declared us doomed before shutting his door. Love that. Fantastic. What’s next? The ground starts whispering?"

Leo immediately jumped back, staring at his feet. "Can the ground do that?"

Mira smirked. "Would be funny if it only whispered to you."

Leo gave her an exhausted look. "Why am I still here?"

I ignored them, pushing open the door of the abandoned inn. The hinges groaned like they hadn’t been used in years. The inside was dusty, but mostly intact. Wooden tables and chairs were scattered about, some broken, others just covered in cobwebs.

"Well," Wallace muttered, "it’s got a roof. That’s already better than sleeping outside with the... smiling thing."

Felix shivered. "Don’t call it that."

I glanced at the room. No bloodstains, no obvious signs of struggle. That was almost reassuring.

"We’ll stay here for now," I said. "Set up a perimeter. Make sure nothing gets in."

Julien flopped into a chair, tossing his sword onto the table. "How long are we stuck in this haunted dump?"

"Until I figure out what’s going on."

Leo sighed dramatically. "So, forever."

I ignored him. "Mira, Felix—check the upstairs rooms. Julien, Garrick—secure the doors and windows. Wallace, see if there’s anything useful left behind."

"And me?" Leo asked.

I looked at him.

He groaned. "Right. ’Be useful, don’t die.’ Got it."

As they moved, I found myself glancing toward the window. The forest loomed beyond the town, dark and still. I knew better than to assume we were safe.

Something was out there.

And we weren’t leaving until I knew why.

After securing the inn—which mostly involved kicking away debris and making sure the doors weren’t going to fall off their hinges—we gathered around the main hall’s fireplace. Unfortunately, there was no fire, just a pile of long-dead ashes and a concerning number of cobwebs.

Julien poked at the soot with a stick. "So, uh... is anyone else noticing how there’s nothing here? No animals, no bugs, no weird town hermit telling us to ’stay away from the cursed well’?"

Mira leaned against the table. "You sound disappointed."

"I am disappointed! If we’re stuck in a creepy town, I at least want context! Give me a tragic ghost story, an ominous message carved into the walls—something!"

Felix, ever the optimist, shivered. "I’d rather we didn’t find ominous messages, thanks."

"Fine, but if a bloodstained diary shows up, I’m reading it," Julien said, crossing his arms.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "We’re not looking for a diary. We’re figuring out why this place is abandoned."

Leo groaned. "I already know why. It’s cursed. Boom. Done. Let’s leave."

"We’re not leaving," I said.

He threw his hands up. "Why do you always say that?"

"Because it’s always true."

Leo buried his face in his hands.

Ignoring him, I looked at Wallace. "Find anything useful?"

Wallace, who had been rummaging behind the old counter, stood up and held out... a dented lantern and a single rusty spoon.

"...Great," I muttered. "We’re saved."

Wallace shrugged. "Most of the useful stuff is long gone. Food’s either rotten or missing, and anything valuable was probably looted years ago. The only thing that seems intact is..." He hesitated, then pointed at a door behind the counter. "The cellar."

The moment he said it, everyone immediately turned to me.

I stared back. "What?"

Mira smirked. "Oh, you know what."

I sighed. "You all want me to check the ominous cellar?"

Julien grinned. "You are the Professor. Shouldn’t the responsible adult check for monsters first?"

Felix nodded rapidly. "Yes. That. Definitely that."

Garrick, the only one not actively trying to get me to do something stupid, scratched his head. "If something’s down there, shouldn’t we all go?"

Julien scoffed. "Come on, we all know how this goes. The brave and extremely competent teacher goes in first while the students stay back and prepare for a dramatic rescue if needed."

I deadpanned. "You just want me to take the risk."

Julien grinned. "Yes."

I stared at him for a long moment before standing up and walking toward the cellar door.

He blinked. "Wait, you’re actually going?"

I threw the door open, peering into the pitch-black descent. It smelled damp, with a faint, unpleasant scent beneath it—like old wood and something else.

I turned back to them. "If I don’t come back in five minutes, assume I’ve died a tragic and heroic death."

Leo groaned. "That is not funny."

I ignored him and stepped inside. The stairs creaked ominously beneath me as I descended, the darkness swallowing me whole.

And because my life is never simple, the door immediately slammed shut behind me.