THE VILLAGE THAT DIES EVERY MIDNIGHT

The Song in the Dark

The melody continued.

Soft.

Slow.

Almost gentle.

Elias stood in the doorway of his house, listening.

He couldn't see anyone in the street.

Bellgrave was buried beneath darkness, and the moon had disappeared behind thick clouds.

Yet the melody remained.

Three notes.

A pause.

Then four more.

There was something strangely familiar about it.

Elias closed his eyes.

For one brief moment, the village disappeared.

He saw sunlight.

A younger version of himself sitting on the floor beside his mother.

Mara was humming.

Her hands were busy folding clothes.

Someone was playing a guitar in another room.

The memory felt warm.

Safe.

Then it vanished.

Elias opened his eyes.

"What was that?"

Lyra was watching him.

"What did you see?"

"Nothing."

"You heard it too."

"Yes."

"Then why did you tell me not to listen?"

Lyra's jaw tightened.

"Because that song isn't supposed to be here."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Elias stared at her.

"You've said that too many times."

"Because there are things about Bellgrave even I don't understand."

"Then tell me what you do understand."

Lyra glanced toward Mara.

"Not here."

Elias frowned.

"Why?"

"Because your mother shouldn't hear this."

Mara stepped forward.

"I am standing right here."

Lyra looked at her.

For a moment, neither woman spoke.

Then the melody stopped.

The silence that followed felt worse.

Elias stepped into the street.

"Where did it come from?"

Lyra pointed toward the northern road.

"The forest."

Elias looked in that direction.

The road disappeared into darkness between the trees.

"The forest?"

"Yes."

"Then that's where we're going."

Lyra immediately shook her head.

"No."

Elias turned.

"You said you wanted to understand the loop."

"I do."

"Then we investigate."

"Not tonight."

"Why?"

"Because the forest changes after midnight."

Elias remembered his mother's words.

He said the trees moved.

A chill passed through him.

"You've been inside."

Lyra didn't answer.

"How many times?"

She looked away.

"Enough."

Elias studied her face.

"Did you find the song?"

Lyra's silence was answer enough.

Before he could ask another question, Mara stepped between them.

"Nobody is going into that forest."

Elias looked at her.

"Mother—"

"No."

Her voice was firm.

"I don't know what is happening to this village, but I know that forest."

Elias frowned.

"You've been there?"

"When I was young."

"What happened?"

Mara hesitated.

"Your father took me there once."

Elias froze.

"My father?"

She nodded.

"He wanted to prove something."

"What?"

"That the stories were lies."

"What stories?"

Mara looked toward the forest.

"About the people who disappeared."

Elias's chest tightened.

"People disappeared?"

"Years ago."

"How many?"

"I don't remember."

"Mother."

She looked at him.

"Too many."

Lyra quietly said, "They're still there."

Mara turned sharply.

"What?"

Lyra looked toward the forest.

"The missing people."

Elias stared at her.

"How do you know?"

"I've seen them."

Mara's face lost its color.

"That's impossible."

Lyra didn't respond.

Elias felt something shift inside him.

The forest wasn't simply another part of Bellgrave.

It was connected to the loop.

Maybe even to the thing beneath the village.

He looked toward the darkness.

"We're going."

Lyra caught his arm.

"Not tonight."

"Why?"

"Because you don't know what the forest does."

"Then tell me."

She lowered her voice.

"After midnight, the forest doesn't stay in one place."

Elias stared at her.

"What does that mean?"

"The paths move."

"The trees move?"

"Sometimes."

"And the people?"

Lyra looked at him.

"Sometimes they move too."

A distant branch snapped.

All three turned.

Nothing stood on the road.

Then the melody began again.

This time, it was closer.

Elias felt his stomach tighten.

The tune was no longer coming from the forest.

It was coming from somewhere inside Bellgrave.

He turned toward the houses.

The melody continued.

Then he realized something.

It was coming from his home.

Elias rushed inside.

"Mum?"

No answer.

He ran into the kitchen.

Empty.

"Mara!"

Lyra entered behind him.

"Where is she?"

Elias looked around.

The back door was open.

His blood went cold.

"She was here."

Lyra ran outside.

Elias followed.

They found Mara standing at the edge of the village.

Barefoot.

Her eyes were closed.

She was humming the melody.

"Mother!"

Elias ran toward her.

Lyra grabbed him.

"Wait."

"That's my mother!"

"I know."

"Then let me go!"

"Something is wrong."

Mara continued walking.

One step.

Then another.

Toward the forest.

"Elias..."

He looked at Lyra.

"She's not hearing us."

Mara's humming became louder.

Elias pulled away.

"Mother!"

She stopped.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

They were normal.

"Elias?"

He rushed to her.

"What were you doing?"

Mara looked confused.

"I don't know."

"You were walking toward the forest."

She looked behind herself.

"I was?"

Elias grabbed her shoulders.

"Did you hear the song?"

"What song?"

He stared at her.

"The melody."

Mara frowned.

"I wasn't singing."

Elias and Lyra exchanged a look.

"You were humming," Elias said.

Mara shook her head.

"No."

Then she suddenly touched her throat.

"I don't remember the tune."

Elias felt cold.

"You don't remember?"

"No."

She looked frightened.

"I don't remember singing at all."

Lyra stepped closer.

"What did you remember before you came here?"

Mara looked at her.

"Nothing."

"Think."

Mara closed her eyes.

Then she whispered:

"I heard someone calling."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"What did they say?"

Mara's face tightened.

"Elias."

Elias went still.

Lyra's expression changed.

"That's impossible."

Mara looked at her.

"Why?"

Lyra didn't answer.

Elias turned toward the forest.

Something was calling his name.

Again.

From between the trees.

"Elias..."

His mother grabbed his arm.

"Don't go."

He looked at her.

"I need to know."

"No."

Her grip tightened.

"Whatever is in that forest knows you."

Elias looked at Lyra.

She nodded slowly.

"She's right."

The melody stopped.

A church bell rang once.

Dong.

Elias looked toward the tower.

The clock showed 11:18.

He had expected midnight.

But the bell had rung early.

His heart began pounding.

Lyra stared at the church.

"That shouldn't happen."

"What?"

"The bell only rings at midnight."

Elias looked at the tower.

"Then why did it ring?"

Lyra's voice was barely audible.

"Because something changed."

Another bell rang.

Dong.

11:19.

Mara began trembling.

Elias stepped in front of her.

"Stay behind me."

The third bell rang.

Dong.

11:20.

Elias looked at Lyra.

"What's happening?"

"I don't know."

He almost laughed bitterly.

"Of course."

Lyra ignored him.

"We need to get inside."

"Why?"

"Because the rules are changing."

They hurried toward the house.

But before Elias crossed the doorway, he heard something.

A whisper.

Very close.

"Elias."

He turned.

No one.

Then he noticed footprints in the mud.

Bare feet.

They led from the forest.

Straight toward his house.

Elias crouched.

There were dozens.

Some were small.

Some belonged to adults.

But all of them stopped at the same place.

His front door.

Lyra stood beside him.

"What are those?"

"I don't know."

Elias looked at her.

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Then you've never seen them before?"

"No."

She looked genuinely frightened.

That frightened Elias more.

He stood.

"We're going to the church."

Lyra nodded.

Mara shook her head.

"Why?"

"Because the bell is ringing early."

Elias looked toward the tower.

"Something is forcing it."

They began walking.

Halfway to the church, the village changed.

A window opened.

An old man stepped outside.

He stared at Elias.

Then whispered:

"You're late."

Elias stopped.

"What?"

The old man blinked.

His expression returned to normal.

"What are you doing out so late?"

Elias stared at him.

"You said I'm late."

The man frowned.

"I said nothing."

Elias looked at Lyra.

She had heard it.

He knew she had.

They continued.

At the church steps, the bell rang again.

Dong.

11:31.

The church doors were already open.

They hadn't been before.

Elias slowly approached.

"Who opened them?"

Lyra drew her silver blade.

"I don't know."

Elias stepped inside.

The church was empty.

Candles burned around the altar.

He looked at the symbol carved into the stone.

The circle.

The three crooked lines.

But something was different.

There was writing beneath it.

Elias moved closer.

The words had been scratched into the stone.

He read them aloud.

"When the bell calls, the remembered must answer."

Mara whispered:

"What does that mean?"

Lyra stared at the words.

"I've never seen that before."

Elias turned.

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

The church bell rang again.

Dong.

11:32.

Elias stared upward.

"Why is it counting?"

Lyra's face became pale.

"It isn't counting."

"Then what is it doing?"

She looked toward the altar.

"It's waking something."

A deep vibration moved through the floor.

Mara grabbed Elias.

The candles flickered.

Then every flame bent toward the altar.

Elias slowly stepped backward.

Something was beneath them.

He could feel it.

A heartbeat.

Slow.

Heavy.

Ancient.

Thump.

The floor shook.

Thump.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Thump.

Elias looked at Lyra.

"What is that?"

For the first time since he'd met her, Lyra looked completely terrified.

"I don't know."

The floor beneath the altar cracked.

A thin black line appeared in the stone.

Elias stared at it.

Then something whispered from beneath the church.

Not his name this time.

A sentence.

A promise.

"We remember the ones who remember us."

The crack widened.

And from somewhere deep beneath Bellgrave, something began to laugh.