The thick canopy of trees swallowed the moonlight as Trench and Reyes navigated the overgrown path toward Brimstone Ridge. The air was damp, heavy with the scent of moss and decay, and every step seemed to amplify the eerie quiet of the forest. Despite the Bureau's standard-issue flashlight cutting through the gloom, shadows danced along the edges of their vision, teasing at shapes that weren't there.
Reyes broke the silence first, her voice low. "Does this remind you of Black Hollow? Or is it just me?"
Trench grunted in acknowledgment. "Black Hollow had a different energy. This… this feels wrong in a way I can't pin down."
He tightened his grip on his service weapon, the cold steel grounding him against the oppressive atmosphere. It had been years since Black Hollow, but the memory of that failed mission lingered like an old scar—a reminder of the cost of underestimating the unknown.
The sound of a branch snapping in the distance brought both agents to a halt. Trench's flashlight swept through the darkness, illuminating nothing but gnarled roots and underbrush. Reyes held up a hand, signaling for silence as they waited, ears straining for any follow-up noise. None came.
"Animal," she whispered, though her tone betrayed her uncertainty.
Trench didn't respond, his instincts prickling.
When they finally emerged from the forest, Brimstone Ridge lay ahead like a ghost town. The scattered houses were dark and lifeless, their outlines warped and jagged as if the buildings themselves had been stretched by some unseen force. A faint, metallic tang hung in the air, sharp enough to make Reyes cover her nose.
"It's worse than the photos," she muttered, scanning the area.
Trench stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the sheriff's station at the center of the town. "Let's start there. We need to figure out what happened to Danvers."
Reyes nodded and fell into step beside him, her own weapon drawn. The town's oppressive silence was broken only by the crunch of gravel beneath their boots. Each building they passed seemed to radiate its own wrongness, as if they were being watched by the structures themselves.
Inside the sheriff's station, the air was stale, thick with dust and disuse. Papers were scattered across the floor, some torn to shreds as if by a wild animal. Trench's flashlight swept over the room, revealing upturned furniture and a shattered coffee mug still lying in a puddle of dried liquid.
Reyes knelt by the desk, flipping through a stack of weathered reports. "These are weeks old. No sign of anything recent."
Trench's gaze was drawn to the far wall, where a large corkboard was pinned with photos, maps, and scribbled notes. One of the photos stood out—a grainy image of the forest with a dark shape barely visible among the trees. A single word was scrawled beneath it: "HUNGER."
He turned to Reyes, holding up the photo. "Whatever this is, Danvers knew it was out there."
Before she could respond, a low, resonant hum began to fill the room. It was faint at first, almost imperceptible, but it grew steadily louder, rattling the windows and setting Trench's teeth on edge.
"What the hell is that?" Reyes hissed, rising to her feet.
Trench's answer was cut off as the light above them flickered and died, plunging the room into darkness. He spun toward the door just in time to see the shadows outside shift and writhe, forming into something impossibly large.
"Move!" he barked, grabbing Reyes by the arm and pulling her toward the back exit. The door slammed open under his weight, and they stumbled into the alley behind the station.
The hum had transformed into a deafening roar, and the ground beneath them trembled as if the earth itself was alive. Trench risked a glance over his shoulder and froze. A massive, undulating figure loomed at the edge of the alley, its form amorphous and ever-changing, eyes—if they could be called that—glowing like embers in the void.
Reyes fired her weapon, the gunshots echoing like thunder, but the rounds vanished into the creature's shifting mass without effect.
"We're not equipped for this!" she shouted, her voice barely audible over the chaos.
Trench's mind raced as he pulled Reyes further down the alley. They needed cover, a plan, anything to buy them time. But deep down, he knew this was just the beginning.
The creature didn't pursue them far. As abruptly as it had appeared, it receded into the shadows, leaving the town eerily silent once more. Trench and Reyes found temporary refuge in an abandoned gas station on the outskirts, their breaths ragged as they leaned against the walls.
Reyes broke the silence first. "That thing… It's not like anything we've seen before."
Trench nodded, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "No. But we've seen enough to know we can't face it unprepared."
He glanced out the window, his jaw set. "We need to call this in. Let the Director know exactly what we're dealing with."
Reyes hesitated. "And if it moves before backup arrives?"
Trench's expression hardened. "Then we'll do what we always do. Hold the line."
Outside, the forest stirred once more, a reminder that their battle was far from over.