The hollow ones

Ellie, Malcolm, and Sam moved fast, stepping into the open hallway now that the house had let them go. But even as they hurried toward the exit, Ellie could feel it.

The shadows weren't just lingering.

They were following.

Sam cast uneasy glances over his shoulder. "We should be running."

Malcolm kept a steady grip on Ellie's arm. "If we run, it might react."

Ellie barely heard them. The house was watching her.

The doors had opened because of her.

She swallowed, pushing down the shiver creeping up her spine.

They turned a corner—

And stopped.

The front door was gone.

Sam blinked. "What the—?"

There should have been a grand entrance hall. The massive, rotting double doors that had let them into Blackwood Manor.

But now—

A new door stood in its place.

It was tall and narrow, made of polished black wood with intricate carvings along its frame. The symbols were wrong—shifting, twisting, as if they were alive.

And in the center—

A keyhole.

Ellie's stomach dropped.

Sam backed up. "Nope. Nope. That wasn't here before."

Malcolm's jaw tightened. "The house changed it."

Ellie felt it. A pull.

This door wasn't just blocking them.

It was waiting.

For her.

She swallowed hard. The Hollow was inside her now—and it knew what this door was.

"Step through."

A whisper slithered through her mind.

Ellie shook her head. "No. We need to find another way."

She turned—and froze.

The hallway behind them was gone.

Only darkness stretched beyond the walls, the edges of the world crumbling into shadow.

Sam let out a sharp breath. "Oh, hell no."

Malcolm tensed. "Ellie. What do we do?"

Ellie stared at the twisting carvings on the door. The keyhole seemed to pulse, like it was breathing.

Something waited on the other side.

She didn't want to know what.

But they had no choice.

Ellie took a step forward—

And the door unlocked itself.

A soft, metallic click.

The handle turned on its own.

And the door—

Swung open.

Beyond the Door

A deep, dark forest stretched beyond the threshold.

But it wasn't any forest Ellie recognized.

The trees were massive, their bark as black as ink, their branches curling unnaturally toward the sky. The air was thick, buzzing with something unseen, something that made her skin tingle.

The Hollow.

It wasn't gone.

It was bleeding through.

Ellie turned to Malcolm and Sam. "We don't have a choice. We go in together."

Sam hesitated, looking like he wanted to argue. But Malcolm just nodded.

Without another word, Ellie stepped forward—

And crossed the threshold.

The Hollow Forest

Ellie's foot hit solid ground.

But the second she crossed the threshold, a cold shudder ran through her body. The air inside the Hollow Forest was wrong—heavy, thick, pressing in on her like unseen hands.

Behind her, Sam let out a sharp breath. "This place…"

Malcolm stepped in last, his eyes narrowing as he scanned their surroundings. "It's not just a forest."

Ellie knew what he meant.

The trees weren't just tall—they loomed, their twisted trunks pulsing as if they were alive. Their bark was black, but it wasn't wood. It looked more like stone, cracked and split, as if something beneath was trying to push through.

The ground was covered in ashen leaves, shifting under their feet with each step. In the distance, low whispers curled through the air, carried on an unseen wind.

They weren't alone.

Ellie's pulse pounded.

Sam turned in a slow circle. "Where the hell are we?"

Ellie's fingers tightened around her arm. The mark burned, a slow, rhythmic throb that pulsed in sync with the trees.

She could feel this place.

The Hollow wasn't just here.

It was everywhere.

Malcolm stepped closer to Ellie, voice low. "Do you hear anything?"

Ellie hesitated.

Then—a whisper curled at the edge of her mind.

"You belong."

Ellie's throat tightened. She shook her head, forcing the voice away. "We need to find a way out of here."

Malcolm nodded, but Sam scowled. "Yeah? And which way is 'out'? Because I don't see any doors, Ellie. Just a lot of nightmare fuel."

Ellie turned, scanning the endless stretch of blackened trees. He wasn't wrong.

The door they had stepped through—

Was gone.

A chill ran down her spine.

"There has to be a way," Ellie murmured.

Then—the whispers changed.

Soft at first. A sigh of recognition.

Then—something stirred.

The trees ahead of them moved.

Not swaying with the wind.

Not shifting naturally.

They stepped aside.

Revealing a path.

Ellie's breath hitched. "It's… guiding us."

Sam backed up. "Oh hell no. No, we are not following creepy trees that move on their own!"

Malcolm frowned but didn't argue. His gaze flickered to Ellie. "Can you feel anything?"

Ellie's veins burned.

She knew.

The Hollow was calling her forward.

But why?

Ellie swallowed. "We don't have another choice."

Malcolm sighed. "I figured you'd say that."

Sam groaned. "Yeah, because going deeper into creepy horror-forest is obviously a fantastic idea."

Ellie didn't respond.

Instead, she took the first step forward.

And the trees—

Closed behind them.

Something Watches

The path stretched ahead, winding between the blackened trees, their trunks shifting as if breathing. The air pressed heavy against Ellie's skin, thick with an energy that felt both familiar and foreign.

Something was watching them.

Malcolm walked beside her, silent and tense. Sam trailed behind, eyes flickering across the twisted forest.

Sam let out a nervous chuckle. "So, does anyone else feel like we just stepped into a cursed fairy tale?"

No one answered.

Ellie wasn't sure how to explain what she felt.

The Hollow wasn't just leading them.

It was testing her.

She could feel its presence, curling around the edges of her mind. Watching. Waiting.

"Prove yourself."

A whisper slithered through her thoughts, so faint she almost doubted she heard it.

Her mark burned, pulsing in time with the trees.

Then—a sound.

A faint scraping.

Ellie froze.

Malcolm's hand darted to his knife. Sam tensed.

The sound came from the trees—a low, dragging noise, like something moving through the leaves.

Then—a shadow shifted.

Ellie's pulse spiked.

Something moved between the trees.

A shape, too tall, too thin, its limbs stretched and unnatural.

It didn't move like a person.

It crawled, its body twisting as it shifted forward. The sound of bones creaking filled the air.

Sam swallowed hard. "Nope. Nope. Nope."

Malcolm's voice was sharp. "Ellie—do you know what that is?"

Ellie's breath came in short bursts.

She had seen this thing before.

Not in the real world.

But in the Hollow.

It was one of them.

A Hollow One.

And it had found her.