e Walls** of *Whispers

r 2: Echoes

se didn

every twitch she made, its mattress barely more forgiving than stone. Outside, the trees rustled in t

helf back. She had even placed a heavy trunk agains

he hea

knock...

ntly through the floorboards. She

louder this

cratch-scra

No one would be visiting her at this

inside*

er. The air in the room was colder than it should have been. She

th

he began to

AAAT

, deliberate, like fingernails on wood. Not the frantic skittering of

old noises," she muttered to herself, repeating it

if she were disturbing something

n every ligh

y left behind a silence that felt *o

he dug through dusty cabinets until she found instant coffee from a decade pas

place she'd ever lived. No traffic, no kids on bikes, no barking dogs. Just trees and fog.

one around. There were signs of abandonment everywhere-ivy strangling the w

able. A dusty newspaper was folded at one end. *The Morro

WITHOUT A TRACE – ELIA

in pri

name

n a history teacher at the local high school. Disappeared o

ote st

ller. "Claimed it was connected to the founding of Morrow's E

andmother be writing letters to a man who vanished t

g *didn'

on, Kira went sear

She walked into the library, the scent of mildew and dust heavy in the air. A single li

g a polite smile. "I just mo

ed. "You're Evely

nod

n years. Thought sh

"She died tw

. "Of course. Time moves s

found a name. Elias Vane

"A good man. Too curi

appened

nished. Just like your grandmother's sisters." She leaned closer. "Evelyn wasn

like cold stones in her s

ouse. Since the town began. And every one of t

own a brittle ledger. She flipped through it, revealing bla

too sharp and expressions too calm. In the corner of the photograph, th

t you?" the libra

h hitched. "

ing. Some say it was brought here by a preacher ru

head. "It's j

nd it only opens when

with the air feeling

the scratchi

knock...

er. This time, it came

bed and flicke

r trembled slightly. Her

ection wasn

o the mirror,

ng blinked f

e-not