Chapter 58: Echoes of the Past

The next morning, the whole town was abuzz. The roar, which came from the woods, really scared them to death, but nobody knew what that meant. Some said this was a warning; others said it was the last remainder of the darkness they defeated. Emma knew better, though. She just couldn't get the feeling out of her head that something much worse was still waiting. Nathaniel was back on his feet far quicker than anyone had expected, and he still looked pale and drawn. Standing next to Emma, they again peered out at the townspeople once more congregating in the square. Nervous, eyes continued to dart towards the edge of the forest, as if whatever had roared was going to burst forth at any moment. "We need answers," Emma said in a hushed tone. "We can't wait like this." Nathaniel nodded. "Agreed, but where do we even start? Just then, Julian appeared, looking super stern. "I think I may have found something," he said, looking around him guardedly as if at any moment others would pop out. "There's this old journal. It belonged to one of the town founders, Harold Blackwood. I found it in the archives this morning." Emma's eyes went wide. "Harold Blackwood? Nathaniel's ancestor?" Nathaniel scowled. "What's it say?" Julian pulled out the worn leather journal, whose pages had yellowed with time. "It speaks of some sort of something which Harold found long ago deep in the woods. According to him, it held some sort of power-something to do with the origins of the town. Her fingers flipped the pages over, her heart quickening as the faint handwriting grew enough to make out that this was important. "This could be the key to it all," she whispered. "If we find this artefact, perhaps we will finally know just what is going on here. Nathaniel shook his head. "You think some old artefact is going to stop whatever's out there? We don't even know if it still exists." Julian crossed his arms over his chest. "You got a better idea? Because right now, this is all we've got. She looked between them as the tension mounted. "Look, we can't afford to argue. We have to go into these woods, find this artefact, and find out what it's all about." Nathaniel paused a moment before heaving a sigh. "Alright. But we're not going in blind. We need a plan." It wasn't until the sun was low in the sky that they took off. Nervy-edged, Emma, Nathaniel, Julian, and Grace entered thick woods. Tonight, the woods seemed a lot darker than usual: treetop extensions grasped out like dark gestures across the path; long shadows twisted everywhere, so it was hard to see more than a few feet in front of themselves. "I hate this," Grace said under her breath, kicking dust. "Why are we always in the creepy woods?" Julian just laughed. "Because we're in a creepy town." Emma did her best to focus, but her mind kept drifting back to the journal of Harold Blackwood. There, he had been fairly vague about the artefact itself, but one instruction had come across loud and clear the stone circle that lay at the heart of the forest. It was there that it had lain in hiding. "How much further?" Nathaniel asked, casting a nervous glance about him. "Not far," Emma replied, "it said in the journal that it was near the old well. We should be close." The deeper they struggled into the woods, the thinner the trees became until they were standing in a small clearing; in its centre lay an ancient circle of stone, overgrown with moss and vines, an old, crumbling well set at its centre. "This is it," Emma breathed. Her gaze scoured the stones. "This is where Harold hid the artefact." Grace shivered. "I don't like it here. It feels. wrong." Julian stepped forward, peering more closely at the well. "Look at this," he said, kneeling beside the stones. "There's something carved into the side." Emma knelt beside him, running her fingers over the symbols. They were worn, barely visible, but she could make out the outline of a spiral, surrounded by strange, unreadable markings. "What do you think it means?" Julian shrugged. "No idea. But I'm guessing it has something to do with the artefact." Nathaniel frowned. "So where is it? Emma stood and peered out at the clearing, her heart bucking in her chest. "It said in the journal that it was hidden beneath the well." Julian grinned. "Guess that means we're going down." Grace groaned. "Of course it does. They laboured at a frenetic and hurried pace, removing the garbage from above the well and casting a rope into the murk below. Julian was the first to descend as his flash shone weird shadows swallowed him whole in its bowels. A couple of moments later, his voice was echoing upwards: "There's something down here!" Emma's heart raced, scrambled after him down the rope to where her feet touched solid ground. The air was cool and damp, the smell of earth coming faintly to her. Julian was standing by a small stone altar; he sent the beam of his flashlight over the strange twisted thing which lay resting upon it. Another step forward, and Emma's breath caught abruptly in her throat. The thing was so unlike anything she'd ever seen. It was just a little thing, a blackened stone no larger than a fist, but its surface shone in an unnatural light. Weird symbols were carved onto its surface, glowing dimly in the dark. "This is it," she whispered. "This is what Harold found." Julian nodded. "But what is it? What does it do? Nathaniel's voice was echoing from above. "We don't have time to figure that out. Grab it and let's get out of here." Emma's hand hovered over the stone, not touching it. There was just something about it that seemed almost dangerous. Still, they didn't have much of a choice. Reaching out, she carefully picked it up. The instant the artefact touched her fingers, a surge of energy ran through her body, jolting her so that her gasp was audible. What is it?" Julian breathed. "I don't know," Emma said, her voice shaking. "But I think it's powerful." They scrambled up out of the well and back through the trees toward the clearing, the artefact clutched safely in Emma's backpack. But as they burst out into the clearing, a low growl rumbled through the air. "What was that?" Grace whispered, her eyes scanning the clearing. There was no time to say a word when the earth suddenly started to shudder beneath their feet and that loud growling of last night rumbled through the forest once more. The treetops swayed to and fro; cold whips of wind tore across the glade, sending leaves and dust dancing high into the air. "We have to go!" Nathaniel shouted, tugging at Emma's arm as he began to run towards the edge of the forest. As they ran, suddenly the earth fissured in front of them and from the darkness below a figure arose, its features indistinct, but no doubt grotesque. It was tall and lean; the skin pale, drawn tight over the bone. Its eyes glowed like lanterns in the dark with an evil green light, while its mouth was twisted into a gross grimace. "You've found it," the figure rasped out, sounding amazingly enough like fingernails on a chalkboard. "The key to your destruction.". Emma's heart faltered as the figure took another step forward. Its bony fingers were stretched out toward her. "Run!" she shouted, shoving them toward the trees. They ran through the woods, the figure's laughter echoing behind them. Emma clutched tight to her grip on the bag as her head spun. They had the thing, but what did that mean? And what in creation was that thing? They burst from the woods, into the town. Emma looked over her shoulder, expecting that figure to be following them. Instead, the forest was still, save for the rustling of the wind through the trees. For the time being, at least, they were safe. At that moment, Emma felt a sudden pain in her hand. She gasped and pulled the artefact out of her bag, her eyes wide in horror. Carved symbols into its surface now glowed brighter, pulsating with some otherworldly light. A crack started to form from it in the stone, splitting it open as something inside stirred.