Everything went black.

Mara Voss couldn’t see.

Couldn’t move.

Couldn’t breathe.

She tried to scream.

Nothing came out.

Then…

A heartbeat.

THUMP.

Silence.

THUMP.

Another heartbeat.

THUMP.

It was not her heartbeat.

Mara opened her eyes.

She was lying on a wooden floor.

Cold.

Wet.

Old.

She slowly pushed herself up.

The room was dark.

A single candle burned on a table.

Mara looked around.

The door was gone.

The windows were gone.

There was no way out.

Then she saw him.

The little boy.

He was standing in the corner.

Six years old.

Dark hair.

Pale face.

Bare feet.

He looked exactly like the child she had seen in the memory.

Mara stood.

“Who are you?”

The boy smiled.

“I told you.”

Mara shook her head.

“You said you were the first.”

“Yes.”

“First what?”

The boy pointed toward the floor.

“First to open the door.”

Mara stared.

“That was me.”

The boy shook his head.

“No.”

Mara stepped backward.

“I was six years old.”

“Yes.”

“I opened the door.”

“Yes.”

“Then I was the first.”

The boy smiled.

“You were the first to open it.”

Mara frowned.

“Then what are you?”

The boy’s smile disappeared.

“The first to come through.”

Mara’s blood went cold.

“What came through?”

The boy pointed at himself.

“Me.”

Mara stared.

The boy slowly walked toward her.

Mara stepped backward.

“Stay away.”

The boy stopped.

“You’re afraid.”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Mara looked around.

“Where am I?”

The boy answered:

“Inside your memory.”

Mara shook her head.

“This isn’t my memory.”

The boy smiled.

“It is.”

He pointed toward the walls.

Mara looked.

The darkness disappeared.

The room changed.

Suddenly…

She was standing inside her childhood home.

The house where she had grown up.

Her mother’s voice came from the kitchen.

“Mara?”

Mara froze.

The boy stood beside her.

“Your mother is waiting.”

Mara looked toward the kitchen.

She could hear dishes moving.

Her mother’s footsteps.

Mara whispered:

“Mom?”

The boy nodded.

“Go to her.”

Mara walked forward.

The boy stayed behind.

Mara reached the kitchen.

Her mother was standing beside the stove.

Young.

Alive.

Smiling.

Mara’s eyes filled with tears.

“Mom.”

Her mother turned.

“Mara.”

Mara ran to her.

She hugged her.

For a moment…

Everything felt real.

Warm.

Safe.

Normal.

Then Mara remembered.

Her mother was dead.

Mara slowly pulled away.

“You’re not real.”

Her mother smiled.

“I know.”

Mara froze.

“What?”

Her mother touched her face.

“I’m a memory.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because you need to remember.”

“Remember what?”

Her mother looked toward the little boy.

He was standing in the doorway.

Watching them.

Mara’s mother whispered:

“Him.”

Mara turned.

The boy smiled.

Mara looked back at her mother.

“Who is he?”

Her mother didn’t answer.

Mara grabbed her arm.

“Tell me!”

Her mother began crying.

“He was never supposed to come through.”

Mara stared.

“Come through where?”

“The door.”

Mara looked at the boy.

Her mother continued:

“Before you were born…”

She stopped.

Mara waited.

“Your father found Blackthorn Manor.”

Mara’s heart stopped.

“My father?”

Her mother nodded.

“He was searching for something.”

“What?”

“Immortality.”

Mara stared.

Her mother continued:

“Your father believed the Hollow could stop death.”

Mara whispered:

“That’s why Edmund Blackthorn built the house.”

“Yes.”

“Was my father working with him?”

Her mother shook her head.

“No.”

“Then how did he find the house?”

“He was invited.”

Mara frowned.

“By whom?”

Her mother looked toward the boy.

“By the first child.”

Mara turned.

The boy was gone.

Mara’s heart began beating faster.

“Where did he go?”

Her mother whispered:

“He’s always been here.”

---

The house disappeared.

Mara was standing in a dark forest.

The sky was black.

No stars.

No moon.

A single path stretched ahead.

The little boy was walking down it.

Mara followed.

“Wait!”

He didn’t stop.

Mara ran.

“Who are you?”

The boy continued walking.

“Why do you look like me?”

The boy stopped.

Mara nearly crashed into him.

He slowly turned.

“I don’t look like you.”

Mara stared.

“You have my face.”

The boy smiled.

“You have mine.”

Mara’s blood ran cold.

“What does that mean?”

The boy pointed toward the forest.

“Look.”

Mara turned.

Hundreds of people stood among the trees.

The missing people.

The forty-seven.

They were watching her.

Mara stepped backward.

“Who are they?”

The boy answered:

“The doors.”

Mara frowned.

“What does that mean?”

“They opened the way.”

“For the Hollow?”

The boy nodded.

Mara looked at the people.

One of them stepped forward.

An old woman.

Mara recognized her from Father Elias’s book.

The woman whispered:

“Don’t trust the boy.”

Mara looked at the child.

The boy smiled.

The old woman continued:

“He is not a child.”

The boy’s smile disappeared.

The woman pointed at him.

“He has no name.”

The boy looked at Mara.

“Don’t listen.”

Another person stepped forward.

A man.

“He was here before the house.”

Another.

“He was here before Edmund.”

Another.

“He was here before the first door.”

Mara stared.

“Then what is he?”

The boy answered:

“Your brother.”

Mara froze.

“What?”

The boy stepped closer.

“Your twin.”

Mara shook her head.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t have a brother.”

“Not anymore.”

Mara felt dizzy.

Her mother had never told her about a brother.

The boy continued:

“You were born together.”

Mara whispered:

“Then why don’t I remember you?”

The boy smiled.

“Because I died.”

Silence.

Mara couldn’t speak.

The boy looked toward the forest.

“Your mother couldn’t accept it.”

Mara stared.

“She brought me back.”

The forest became silent.

Mara whispered:

“How?”

The boy pointed toward Blackthorn Manor.

“Through the door.”

Mara finally understood.

The Hollow wasn’t a monster trapped beneath the house.

It was something that answered people who wanted the dead to return.

Her father had wanted immortality.

Her mother had wanted her son back.

And Mara…

Mara had been the price.

She stepped backward.

“My mother…”

The boy nodded.

“She gave you to the Hollow.”

Mara shook her head.

“No.”

“She did.”

“She wouldn’t.”

“She did.”

“She loved me.”

The boy smiled sadly.

“That’s why.”

---

Mara suddenly woke.

She was lying on the floor of Blackthorn Manor.

Father Elias was kneeling beside her.

“Mara!”

She opened her eyes.

“Father?”

Elias sighed with relief.

“Thank God.”

Mara sat up.

“Where is Caleb?”

Elias looked away.

Mara stood.

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

“Ethan?”

“Missing.”

Mara stared.

“What happened?”

Elias shook his head.

“The house separated us.”

Mara looked around.

They were in a large hallway.

The walls were covered with strange symbols.

Mara touched one.

“What are these?”

“Names.”

“Names of who?”

“The dead.”

Mara looked closer.

Thousands of names.

Some were centuries old.

Then she saw one.

ELIAS CROWE.

Mara froze.

“Father.”

Elias turned.

Mara pointed.

His name was written on the wall.

Elias stared.

“That’s impossible.”

Mara looked at him.

“What does it mean?”

Elias stepped backward.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.”

“Mara.”

“You knew.”

Elias became silent.

Mara grabbed his coat.

“Tell me!”

Elias closed his eyes.

“I’ve been here before.”

Mara froze.

“When?”

“Forty years ago.”

“You came here?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Elias looked at the names.

“I was looking for my son.”

Mara stared.

“The boy from your memory?”

Elias nodded.

“He was six years old.”

“What was his name?”

Elias whispered:

“Samuel.”

Mara remembered the boy.

The first child.

She stared at Elias.

“Was Samuel the first?”

Elias looked at her.

“Yes.”

Mara stepped backward.

“Your son.”

“Yes.”

“The boy who died.”

“Yes.”

“He opened the door?”

Elias nodded.

“Yes.”

Mara’s voice became quiet.

“Then he is the Hollow.”

Elias shook his head.

“No.”

“Then what is he?”

Elias whispered:

“The Hollow’s first victim.”

---

A loud noise came from upstairs.

BOOM!

Mara and Elias looked up.

Another.

BOOM!

The house shook.

Mara grabbed the wall.

“What is happening?”

Elias looked terrified.

“The third door.”

“What about it?”

“It’s opening.”

“Then close it.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because it needs someone.”

Mara stared.

“Who?”

Elias looked at her.

“You.”

Mara shook her head.

“No.”

The walls began cracking.

A deep voice echoed through the house.

MARA.

She covered her ears.

The voice came again.

MARA.

Elias shouted:

“Don’t answer!”

Mara screamed:

“WHAT DOES IT WANT?”

Elias looked at the ceiling.

“The final choice.”

Mara frowned.

“What choice?”

The house whispered:

MOTHER OR BROTHER.

Mara froze.

Elias looked at her.

“Don’t listen.”

The voice came again.

MOTHER OR BROTHER.

Mara shook her head.

“What does that mean?”

Elias whispered:

“The Hollow is giving you a choice.”

“Between what?”

“Your mother…”

He looked toward the darkness.

“…and Samuel.”

Mara’s heart stopped.

“Why?”

“Because one of them can leave.”

Mara stared.

“And the other?”

“Stays.”

The house began shaking.

A door appeared at the end of the hallway.

Mara stared.

Two voices came from behind it.

Her mother’s.

And the little boy’s.

Her mother cried:

“Mara!”

The boy shouted:

“Don’t open it!”

Mara stepped forward.

Elias grabbed her.

“No!”

Mara pulled away.

“I have to.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“My mother is inside.”

“Your mother is not your mother anymore.”

Mara stopped.

Elias continued:

“Whatever is behind that door…”

He looked terrified.

“…it knows exactly how to sound like her.”

Mara looked at the door.

Her mother’s voice came again.

“Please, Mara.”

Mara closed her eyes.

The boy shouted:

“She’s lying!”

Mara opened her eyes.

She suddenly realized something.

The boy had never once asked her to save him.

He had only warned her.

Her mother…

Had only asked her to open doors.

Mara looked at Elias.

“I know what to do.”

“What?”

“Neither.”

Mara grabbed the golden key.

Elias stared.

“What are you doing?”

Mara walked toward the door.

“I’m ending this.”

---

She placed the key in the lock.

The door opened.

Inside…

Was the heart of the Hollow.

A massive black chamber.

At the center…

A giant tree.

But it wasn’t made of wood.

It was made of bones.

Human bones.

Hundreds of arms grew from its branches.

Hands moved.

Fingers scratched.

Mouths whispered.

Mara stepped inside.

Elias followed.

The door closed behind them.

A figure stood beneath the tree.

The boy.

Samuel.

Mara stared.

“Samuel.”

The boy looked at her.

“You remembered.”

Mara nodded.

“You’re my brother.”

Samuel smiled.

“Yes.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then who did?”

Samuel looked up.

The tree.

“The Hollow.”

Mara looked at the tree.

“What does it want?”

Samuel whispered:

“To become human.”

Mara froze.

“Human?”

“The Hollow has existed for thousands of years.”

Samuel continued:

“It has no body.”

“No soul.”

“No name.”

“It wants yours.”

Mara looked at herself.

“My name?”

Samuel nodded.

“Your memories.”

“Your face.”

“Your life.”

“It wants to become you.”

Mara’s blood went cold.

“So the woman who looked like me…”

“Was the Hollow.”

“And my mother?”

“Was its first doorway.”

Mara stared.

“What about you?”

Samuel smiled sadly.

“I was its first victim.”

Suddenly…

The bone tree moved.

The branches twisted.

The mouths screamed.

A massive shadow emerged.

The Hollow.

It had no face.

No body.

Only a giant black shape.

Mara stepped backward.

Samuel stood beside her.

The Hollow spoke.

Not with one voice.

But thousands.

GIVE ME YOUR NAME.

Mara shook her head.

“No.”

GIVE ME YOUR MEMORIES.

“No.”

GIVE ME YOUR LIFE.

“No!”

The Hollow screamed.

The entire chamber shook.

Samuel grabbed Mara’s hand.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Mara looked at him.

“What can I do?”

“Destroy the tree.”

Mara stared.

“How?”

Samuel pointed.

At the center of the tree…

Was a small golden heart.

Mara recognized it.

The same symbol from the key.

“The key.”

Samuel nodded.

“Use it.”

Mara ran.

The Hollow attacked.

Black arms reached toward her.

Mara dodged.

One hand grabbed her shoulder.

She screamed.

Samuel pulled her free.

“RUN!”

Mara reached the tree.

She raised the golden key.

The Hollow screamed:

NO!

Mara stabbed the key into the golden heart.

CRACK!

The tree screamed.

Every mouth screamed.

The chamber shook.

The floor split open.

Mara fell.

Samuel grabbed her hand.

“Mara!”

She held on.

“Don’t let go!”

“I won’t!”

The Hollow’s voice filled the chamber.

YOU CANNOT KILL ME.

Mara shouted:

“Maybe not!”

She looked at Samuel.

“But I can free him.”

She pulled the key.

The golden heart shattered.

BOOOOOOM!

A wave of black energy exploded.

Mara flew backward.

Samuel disappeared.

The Hollow screamed.

The bone tree collapsed.

The chamber began falling apart.

Mara crawled toward Samuel.

“Samuel!”

No answer.

“Samuel!”

A small hand touched hers.

Mara turned.

Samuel was lying beside her.

His body was becoming transparent.

Mara cried.

“No.”

Samuel smiled.

“I’m free.”

“Don’t leave me.”

“I have to.”

“You’re my brother.”

“I know.”

Mara held his hand.

“I just found you.”

Samuel smiled.

“That’s enough.”

Mara cried.

“I never knew you.”

“You know me now.”

The chamber shook.

Samuel began disappearing.

Mara whispered:

“I love you.”

Samuel smiled.

“I love you too.”

His body became light.

Then…

He was gone.

Mara screamed.

The Hollow roared.

The entire manor began collapsing.

Elias grabbed Mara.

“WE HAVE TO GO!”

They ran.

---

The house was falling apart.

Walls collapsed.

Stairs disappeared.

Windows shattered.

Mara and Elias ran through the corridors.

Behind them…

The Hollow screamed.

But something was different.

It was weaker.

Mara looked back.

The creature was breaking apart.

Black smoke poured from its body.

Elias shouted:

“Don’t look back!”

Mara kept running.

They reached the front entrance.

The door was open.

Outside…

Was daylight.

Real daylight.

Mara stopped.

“We’re out.”

Elias nodded.

“Run.”

They escaped.

The moment they crossed the boundary…

Blackthorn Manor collapsed.

The entire house sank into the earth.

The ground shook.

Trees fell.

Dust filled the air.

Then…

Silence.

Mara stood beside Elias.

She looked at the place where the house had been.

Nothing remained.

No house.

No doors.

No Hollow.

Mara whispered:

“Is it over?”

Elias didn’t answer.

Mara looked at him.

“Father?”

He was staring at the ground.

“What?”

Elias pointed.

A small golden key was lying in the dirt.

Mara froze.

“No.”

Elias picked it up.

It was warm.

Still warm.

Mara stepped backward.

“We destroyed it.”

Elias looked at the key.

“No.”

He turned toward the forest.

“We destroyed the house.”

Mara’s heart stopped.

“What does that mean?”

Elias whispered:

“The Hollow was never inside the house.”

Mara stared.

“Then where is it?”

Elias looked at her.

“Inside someone.”

Mara froze.

A voice came from behind them.

“He’s right.”

Mara turned.

Caleb stood in the forest.

Alive.

Mara ran toward him.

“Caleb!”

He caught her.

“You’re alive.”

“So are you.”

Mara stepped back.

“Where were you?”

Caleb looked confused.

“Where?”

“Inside the house.”

Caleb shook his head.

“I never went inside.”

Mara froze.

“What?”

Caleb stared at her.

“I was outside.”

Mara looked at Elias.

Elias was pale.

“Then who was with us?”

A silence fell.

Caleb looked at the destroyed manor.

“Who?”

Mara’s blood ran cold.

She remembered.

The Caleb she had met inside.

The black eyes.

The Whispering Man’s voice.

Mara whispered:

“Not you.”

Caleb stared.

“What?”

Mara stepped backward.

The golden key in Elias’s hand began glowing.

Then…

Caleb smiled.

Mara froze.

His eyes became black.

His mouth opened.

A voice came from him.

The Hollow.

“HELLO, MARA.”

Elias raised his cross.

Caleb laughed.

The forest went dark.

Every tree began moving.

Mara turned to run.

But Caleb grabbed her wrist.

His fingers were ice cold.

He whispered:

“You destroyed my prison.”

Mara screamed.

Caleb smiled.

“Now…”

His face began changing.

His skin cracked.

His body twisted.

The Whispering Man emerged from inside him.

“…I can finally leave.”

The creature looked toward the sky.

And screamed.

The sound traveled across the entire forest.

Far away…

In a hospital…

A patient opened his eyes.

In a city…

A woman looked into a mirror.

On a crowded street…

A child suddenly stopped walking.

And in every place…

Everywhere…

People heard the same whisper.

“I AM FREE.”

Mara stared in horror.

The Hollow had escaped.

And now…

It had no house.

No prison.

No chains.

It could go anywhere.

It could become anyone.

Mara looked at Elias.

“How do we stop it?”

Elias looked at her.

There was only one answer.

“We don’t.”

Mara’s face went pale.

“Then what?”

Elias whispered:

“We hide.”

The Hollow laughed.

The forest disappeared into darkness.

And somewhere in the distance…

A little boy’s voice whispered one final warning.

“Don’t trust anyone.”

Mara turned.

Samuel stood between the trees.

For one second…

Then he disappeared.

Mara looked at Elias.

“Did you see him?”

Elias shook his head.

“No.”

Mara stared into the forest.

Then…

She heard a familiar voice.

Her own voice.

Behind her.

“Yes, you did.”

Mara slowly turned.

And saw herself standing there.

Smiling.

The Hollow had her face.

And in its hand…

Was the golden key.

TO BE CONTINUED…