Chapter 53: Hidden Truth

First light shrouded Eldridge Falls in thick fog as if the town were to cocoon itself in eerie silence. There was something akin to holding my breath, just waiting for that one thing to finally break the stillness. As life started seeping in, whispers of unease feathered their way across the community. There was a growing undercurrent, one feeling no one seemed to shake: that something was about to change. Emma Harper lay in bed, fighting insomnia very uncomfortably amidst the myriad of cloaking canvases that reflected the turmoil in her mind. She had little sleep that night in bed, as accusations ran through her head during the last couple of days. First, it was Donovan's return that placed them all on edge, and now it was a shadowy entity that threatened to blow up the very foundation their town stood upon. The permutations running in her mind were wild. It was Nathaniel, solemn but determined, who had come to pull her from her reverie with a knock on the door. "Emma, you got to take a look at this," he said, clutching in his hand a worn envelope. "I found it buried in the attic cleaning. It is from the founder of the town, Samuel Eldridge." Emma furrowed her brow, took the envelope, and immediately could feel the weight of its history. "What does it say?" I don't know, but certainly back to the early days of the founding of the town, said Nathaniel. It may throw some light on who he was. They sat down at the little table in her studio; oil paint fumes were suspended in the air. Nathaniel unfolded the envelope and did so to precision. Inside were several sheets of yellowed paper. As he unfolded them, Emma's curiosity grew. "Let me see what secrets he's keeping," she said, already gathering over him. Nathaniel continued to read, the volume of his voice steady, though laced with incredulity. "Whomever it may be that shall come after me, I am writing this in hopes that my truth shall not die with me. Eldridge Falls is a town that has, for all appearances, been built upon strength and in unison. My measures taken to keep her safe and prosperous have been questionable." Emma's heart was racing. "What does he mean, 'questionable'?" "Here it gets dark," Nathaniel said, furrowing his brow as he read on. "I have made pacts with forces beyond our understanding. That this land prospers, I have made many sacrifices to the shadows just beyond our world. Those who got in the way were sacrificed upon this earth, and I fear that will haunt my legacy. Sacrifices?" Emma breathed. "What was he doing?" "Samuel Eldridge thought he was saving the town. It would appear that he used dark magic, however, trifling with those selfsame forces we now are facing," Nathaniel replied with a shake of his head in utter disbelief. "If that is, in fact, the case, it means that everything we thought to be right about our history wasn't correct in the first place." A wave of dread washed over Emma. "What does that mean for us? For the town?" Nathaniel blew out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair. "It means we're dealing with something that's deeply ingrained into the very fabric of Eldridge Falls, and unless we manage to do something to stop it, history might just repeat itself. Later that afternoon, town hall called an emergency meeting, and Emma and Nathaniel stood before the crowd, ready to tell all in the heated atmosphere. In no time, the room was filled with worried faces: friends, neighbours, and a few familiar strangers who came to hear this news. Julian Harper stood at the front, ill at ease, his arms across his chest. "What's going on? Why'd you call us here?" Emma's eyes turned sideways to Nathaniel, seeking encouragement. "We found something that changes all we've ever known about Eldridge Falls." She unfolded the pages and in her professionally trained voice started to read. A murmur overspread the room. Her voice didn't shake, but the tones did; she could scream loud only: "This letter now shows that the founder of our town, Samuel Eldridge, made dark pacts with I don't know whom just to make this town prosperous. He sacrificed people so that he could retain power, and these sacrifices have left a mark on our land." The room was filled with gasps. A wave of unease just crossed the crowd; some exchanged troubled glances. Marla rose to her feet as her voice rose sharp. "You're telling me our town was founded on blood? What can we take from our history now?" "Precisely," put in Nathaniel, "for unless we shine light upon that fact, then we are bound to give way before that selfsame darkness which Samuel Eldridge perpetrated.". A hand shot up in the back of the room. It was Donovan. "You're all looking at this the wrong way. If Eldridge made these pacts, then we have to understand what he was dealing with. We need to know how to protect ourselves from whatever it is he summoned." "Are you saying we should follow in his footsteps?" Marla snapped back; her eyes narrowed, "That's insane! Donovan threw his hands up in a gesture of frustration. "I'm telling you, we're supposed to learn from the past. How are we to struggle against an enemy that we don't even know who it is?" She felt the tension travel through her, the sudden electric charge in the air. "It's time we come to one united decision. It is not about blame; it is survival. We have to face what has been hidden for so long.". There was a murmur of assent, but there was doubt. The buzz of discords of views and emotions wrestled themselves in the buzzing room as everybody tried to sort out what the dark legacy of the founder meant. In an instant, the lights fluttered and a chill swept the room. All conversations ceased as all eyes turned to the windows, observing the fog now thickening, rolling in much heavier than before. It was as if the very shadows of Eldridge Falls listened, and waited on their next move. "Is that some kind of omen?" Julian asked, shaking. "It's more than an omen," Donovan said, white as a ghost. "It's a warning." Once again, the lights flickered and fell; any beaming in that room was snuffed out. The air filled with gasps until a loud explosion outside terrified them all. "What was that?" someone yelled. Julian sprang to the window and peered out. "I think it came from the cemetery! Afraid yet resolute, the group began a run for the door. Electricity was in the air as they stepped out into thick fog. Whirling shadows across gravestones, unsettling silence wrapped itself around them. Emma's heart pounding in her chest, she asked, "What are we expecting to find out there? Donovan stepped up beside her, features sombre. "If the pacts that Eldridge made still have any power, we could be waking what should have been left sleeping for a very long time." They finally reached the cemetery now, the fog curling around the headstones as if some sort of tendrils. The air was alive with an odd energy humming beneath their feet. Over there!" Julian pointed, and they all turned toward a flickering light near the oldest part of the graveyard. It pulsed like a heartbeat, drawing them closer. As they drew closer, they saw an old grave-half-smothered in dirt with a weird symbol carved into the stone. The light emanated from the earth around it, lighting the darkened faces of the townspeople. "What is that?" Marla whispered, clear fear in her voice. Donovan knelt beside the grave; in an instant, his face changed from one of fear to determination. "This is where the sacrifices happened, and this is where whatever's buried here needs to be uncovered." Emma watched him, her heart racing on her chest. "What if we awaken to something we can't control?" "Then let's face it together," Nathaniel said, moving to stand beside Donovan. "We owe that to everyone who suffered under the legacy of Eldridge.". They had barely started digging away the dirt when the rumbling noise came from beneath them. The light grew and began to stretch out into long, stretched shadows across the cemetery as though reaching out. The air crackled and grew thick with tension until the ground began to shake violently. Everyone lurched backward and Emma's breath caught as headstones began to shudder. She knew in that instant, they were not alone. Beneath the earth, something stirred-something very, very old and very powerful. It bucked the ground and flared bright, a shadow clawing its way from the grave-twisting, contorting in form. The people in town realized, with growing horror, that they'd unleashed some dark force inextricably linked to Eldridge Falls, one that would change their town forever-and themselves along with it.