All Chapters of The Town of Bogahill: Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
51 chapters
CHAPTER 31; THINGS THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE SURVIVED
The dust still hung thick in the air, settling slowly over the broken ground where the pit once gaped open. Officers yelled orders, children sobbed, and the Bishop’s prayers cracked with exhaustion. But Mary didn’t move She sat kneeling at the edge of the cave-in, her leg throbbing, her fingers trembling against the dirt.Mary dropped to her side.“officer Mary… talk to me. You’re bleeding.”Officer Mary looked down. The claw marks on her ankle were deep, exact, almost ceremonial in shape. The flesh around them had already begun to darken.“I’m fine,” she whispered But she wasn’t Not physically and Not mentally Not after what the creature said.Mary touched her arm gently. “What happened down there? You… froze.”officer Mary swallowed hard It knew my name.”Mary frowned. “What? How?”Mary hesitated Then whispered “It knew my mother’s name too.”Mary breath caught “Officer Mary… that thing shouldn’t know anything about you.”“I know.” “Then how?”“It said she was here before, Pregnant, With me.
CHAPTER 32; THE SECRET
Mary didn’t sleep Her apartment was too quiet ,Too still, Too watched.Peter slept heavily on the couch, totally unaware of the shadow outside the window, the faint scrape of claws against the glass, the whisper of something ancient breathing her name.Mary sat upright, back stiff, eyes fixed on the message glowing on her phone “ASK YOUR MOTHER.”Her mother The one person Mary had never questioned The one person who avoided stories about her childhood The one person who refused to ever let her return to the village where she was supposedly born.Mary grabbed her keys “Mary…? Where are you going?”Peter murmured half-asleep.Mary turned,“I have to see her. Now.” Peter blinked tiredly. “At 3 a.m.?”“It can’t wait. It won’t let me wait.”Peter sat up. “Then I’m coming.”“No,” Mary said. “You need rest.”Peter stood immediately. “I’m not letting you go alone. Not now. Not after everything.”Mary hesitated.Okay. Maybe she did want someone with her.“Fine,” Mary whispered. “Let’s go.”The shadow at th
CHAPTER 33; BACK TO WHERE IT BEGAN
The morning sun hadn’t even risen when Mary stepped out of her mother’s house.The sky was still a bruised navy blue, heavy and trembling like it knew something monstrous was awake beneath it.Peter was waiting outside on the porch, her hands buried in her hair, pacing frantically.When she saw Mary, she rushed over“Mary! I heard shouting what happened? Are you okay?”Mary looked at her, eyes hollow.“No,” she said quietly. “But I understand now.”frowned. “Understand what?”Mary turned toward the road “I have to go back.”peter grabbed her wrist. “Back where?”Mary whispered the word like it tasted like ash.“Bogahill.”Peter froze.“No. No, absolutely not. We just barely got out alive! We lost officers. You nearly died. That thing”Mary cut him off.“Peter . My mother made a deal. Before I was even conceived. She promised me. I was the offering.”He stared at her as if she had misheard.“Your mother? Promised you?”Mary nodded“And the creature waited. Twenty-five years. It couldn’t touch me unle
CHAPTER 34; THE ONE WHO REMEMBERS US
Mary froze The tree with the scratch marks the one that had been miles behind them now stood directly in their path. The long vertical gouges were fresh, still glistening with sap that looked disturbingly like diluted blood.Peters voice shook. “…this wasn’t here.”Peter stepped closer, raising his flashlight.“Something is following us. Or guiding us. Mary felt a chill travel straight down her spine.“No,” she whispered. “Not something. Someone.” Because that’s when she saw it.A figure standing behind the tree, Small. Thin. Trembling A teenage boy Barefoot Clothes torn Skin pale with exhaustion and cold He looked exactly fourteen Mary gasped.“James ?”the first of the five missing tens His eyes lifted to hers, glossy with tears, like he was fighting between relief and terror But he didn’t speak His lips barely parted as a whisper escaped raspy, desperate, barely audible.“Don’t be loud… it hears you.”Mary stepped forward instinctively, her heart breaking.“You’re alive. Oh my God you’re
CHAPTER 35; ONE WHO WALKS AT NIGHT
Finally, they reached a clearing A single swing set stood there, New. Clean, Bright red.Completely out of place in the rotting forest The swing moved gently though there was no wind And sitting on it. was comfor The missing 16 year old girl Her legs dangled like a child’s.Her white dress was stained with ash Her hair hung in tangled ropes around her face She didn’t look at them She just swung Mary choked on a sob comfort honey we’re here now. We’re here to take you home.comfort didn’t answer She swung forward, Backward, Forward, Backward.Her feet didn’t touch the ground Mary stepped closer slowly “Comfort I know you can hear me.”Comfort lifted her head a little And whispered “Don’t wake him.”Mary froze Eric swallowed. “Who who is he?”Comfort didn’t blink She didn’t stop swinging “He walks at night.”raised his flashlight, but Mary grabbed his arm fast.Don’t shine it on her face.”“Why?“Something’s wrong. She’s off.”Comfort giggled suddenly.A small, broken sound Her legs kept swinging
CHAPTER 36; THE GRAVES
Bogahill feeds on fear ,On memories On the voices of our families.”comfort winced and grabbed Mary’s arm tighter.“He hears us now,” Amelia whispered. “We spoke too loud… we woke him… he’ll come back…”Caroline stepped closer Mary, you must leave.”Mary shook her head instantly No. I’m not leaving you. I’m not leaving any of you.”Caroline’s eyes glistened. You don’t understand. Bogahill is not a place. It’s a hunger. It chooses people.And it chose you,” Samuel whispered, staring at Mary’s grave marker Mary forced her body to stay steady No. No. I refuse this. I am NOT dying here.”Caroline closed her eyes, as if listening to something none of them could hear.You don’t choose, Mary. Bogahill does.”A cold wind sliced through the clearing She gasped and clung to Mary’s coat.Peter and john raised their guns. From beneath the earth, the soil began to shift.Mary took a step back, shielding Amelia behind her. Her heart hammered, but she kept her weapon steady Stay behind me. All of you.”The gro
CHAPTER 37; PATH OF THE MARKED
Comfort nodded, trembling violently Yes that’s his road. He patrols it. Anyone who steps on it. he marks.”Mary stepped between the two girls Comfort . Caroline. Look at me.”They both turned their terrified eyes toward her.Tell me the truth,” Mary said quietly. “Has he already marked me?”The girls exchanged a terrified glance Caroline whispered yes.”Mary’s stomach dropped.How?” she whispered.She answered in a shaky voice When you touched Eric you took his mark. It passed onto your skin.”Mary stared down at her hands.They looked normal But as she focused a faint shadow under her skin moved. Like ink. Like something crawling just beneath the surface Mary swallowed hard Peter stepped closer. “Mary can he track you?”Caroline nodded. He can feel you. Like a heartbeat in the dark.”Mary straightened her shoulders.No. We’re moving with bait.”Peter stared at her. “Mary This thing already wants me,” she said. “It carved my grave. It knows me by name. It’s coming for me no matter where I go.”Ca
CHAPTER 38; HOUSE OF BREATH
The house he lives in Peter whispered, “This wasn’t on the maps. This wasn’t in the missing family reports.”Mary stared, her heart pounding It was in the original file,” she said softly. “The one from Caroline’s family, Caroline nodded slowly My family… we lived there. John swallowed hard This was… your house?Caroline nodded again Yes Bogahill took it.Mary scanned the porch.A single rocking chair rocked back and forth, No wind, No movement Just rocking Caroline stepped forward a little My husband used to sit there.”Comfort tugged her back No. Don’t go. If you go too close he senses you deeper.”Mary took a slow step forward.Her instincts screamed.Everything inside her warned her to stay back But Caroline reached into her pocket and pulled out A small locket Inside were two photos, Her family The one Bogahill devoured My house…” Caroline whispered. “Maybe the others are inside. Maybe Charles is.”Peter exhaled shakily.“So we enter?”Before Mary could answer The rocking chair stopp
CHAPTER 39; SHADOWS IN THE DOORWAY
They check that room first, and stick to the right wall. Eyes forward. Move. They passed two doors. One half open, one shaking as if something inside pressed against it.When they reached the third, Caroline stopped completely.She raised a trembling hand toward the doorknob, then froze.Mary… my room… it’s cold. Like ice.Mary touched the air near the doorShe hissed and yanked her hand back Freezing cold, Impossible cold Breath condensed instantly Peter stared. It’s like walking into a freezer. John whispered No. Worse. It’s like something drained the warmth out.”Mary turned to Caroline.What was in this room? What mattered to him? Caroline swallowed.My mom, My dad Eric ,We prayed here when the noises started. When things began moving. When the walls grew teeth.”Mary stiffened And what happened?Caroline’s eyes filled with tears.He came. Mary pushed the door open A blast of cold air burst out, nearly knocking them backward, Inside The room was pristine. Clean. Untouched As if frozen in t
CHAPTER 40; FALL INTO THE VEIN
Her eyes locked on the creature.Its second leg entered the room, joints bending backward like a broken marionette. Its body towered, almost touching the ceiling. Its face was still hidden in shadow but its smile wasn’t.A long, jagged grin stretching across a shapeless face Mary whispered I’m right here. The creature paused Then leaned in, bending until its hideous grin hovered inches from Mary’s face Its voice all the voices whispered togetherI’ve waited so long.”Mary exhaled slowly Then come get me. The creature lunged Mary dove sideways RUN!”Caroline and comfort bolted past Samuel and Greg as the creature’s clawed hand slammed into the floorboards where Mary had just stood Wood exploded.Dust filled the air Mary rolled, choking, vision blurry, ears ringing The creature shrieked A deafening, distorted howl that shook the walls Caroline screamed.“MARY! Mary staggered to her feet GO! NOW!”John grabbed the girls and sprinted down the hall. Peter followed, pulling Mary with him Behind