Chapter 4

The stairs leading into the catacombs stretched far longer than any of them had anticipated. The stone steps were slick with moisture, and the walls seemed to close in with every step, pressing them into a suffocating darkness. A faint, sour stench grew stronger as they descended, mingling with the unmistakable smell of death.

Aiden led the way, his lantern casting a dim, flickering light that barely penetrated the black void ahead. Behind him, Lyra clutched her staff, her lips moving in silent prayers. Kara followed, her hand resting on the hilt of her dagger, eyes darting to every shadow. Theron brought up the rear, his massive sword slung over his back, his footsteps heavy with tension.

The deeper they went, the louder the tolling of the bells became, though there was no logical explanation for it. Each chime echoed unnaturally, as if vibrating through the walls, through their very bones.

"Can we turn back?" Kieran said.

"I can't stand that sound," Kara muttered under her breath. "It feels like it's crawling under my skin."

Lyra nodded, her face pale. "The bells are like… a warning. They're telling us we shouldn't be here."

"Maybe we shouldn't," Theron grunted from the back, his usual confidence faltering. "But we've got no choice."

Aiden stayed silent, focused on the path ahead. They had come too far to turn back now. The catacombs were their only lead—their last hope of understanding the twisted curse that had befallen Midvale. And more importantly, the only way to stop it before it spread beyond the village.

The stairs finally ended, opening into a narrow tunnel that seemed to stretch on forever. The air was colder here, as if the very ground was sucking the warmth from their bodies.

"Stay close," Aiden warned, his voice low. "And keep your weapons ready. We don't know what's waiting for us down here."

As they moved deeper into the catacombs, they began to notice strange markings on the walls. Faded symbols, scratched into the stone, some of them eerily similar to the sigils they had seen back in the village. Ancient runes, long forgotten by most, whispered of rituals and curses, etched in a language none of them recognized.

"This place is older than the village," Kieran whispered, running his fingers over one of the markings. "Much older."

"Great," Kara muttered, her eyes scanning the darkness ahead. "So not only are we dealing with a cursed village, we've stumbled into an ancient crypt."

Aiden didn't respond. His mind was racing, trying to piece together the fragments of information they had. The bells, the disappearances, the twisted villagers—they all pointed to something much darker, something that went beyond mere superstition. The catacombs, with their eerie silence and haunting symbols, felt like the heart of that darkness.

Suddenly, a noise echoed through the tunnel. A faint, scraping sound—like metal against stone.

Everyone froze.

Aiden held up a hand, motioning for silence. The sound was faint but unmistakable. Someone—or something—was down here with them.

"Did you hear that?" Lyra whispered, her hand gripping her dagger tightly.

Aiden nodded. "Keep moving. But stay alert."

They continued down the tunnel, their footsteps now softer, more cautious. The scraping sound grew louder with each step, the air growing heavier with the scent of decay. As they rounded a corner, the tunnel widened into a larger chamber, and there, in the center, they saw it.

A figure—human, or what was left of one—was hunched over a pile of bones. Its skin was pale, almost translucent, stretched tight over its bony frame. Its fingers, long and twisted, were scraping against the stone floor, digging into the bones as if searching for something.

Lyra gasped, covering her mouth. "What… is that?"

"What the h/ll?" Kieran said in shock.

The creature turned its head slowly toward them, its eyes hollow and sunken, black pits of nothingness. A slow, guttural hiss escaped its throat, and it began to rise, its limbs jerking awkwardly as if it had forgotten how to move.

Aiden stepped forward, sword drawn. "Get ready."

Before they could react, the creature let out a bone-chilling scream—a sound that echoed through the catacombs, shaking the very walls. The pile of bones behind it stirred, and to their horror, the remains began to move, forming into grotesque shapes. Skeletal figures, pieced together from the broken bones, staggered toward them.

"Fall back!" Aiden shouted, swinging his sword in a wide arc, cleaving through the nearest skeleton. The others followed his lead, their weapons flashing in the dim light as they fought off the advancing horrors.

Theron, with his massive sword, smashed through two skeletons in one swing, sending bone fragments flying across the chamber. "These things just keep coming!"

Lyra, standing in the middle of the group, chanted under her breath, her staff glowing with a soft blue light. She raised it high, and a wave of energy pulsed outward, sending several of the skeletons crumbling to the ground.

But the creature—the one that had been digging through the bones—wasn't finished. It moved with unnatural speed, lunging at Aiden with its long, twisted claws. He barely managed to block the attack with his sword, but the force of the blow sent him stumbling back.

"Watch out!" Kieran shouted, throwing a dagger that embedded itself in the creature's shoulder. It let out another shriek but didn't slow down, its black eyes fixed on Aiden.

Aiden regained his footing, gritting his teeth. He had faced plenty of monsters before, but this… this was different. There was something deeply wrong about this place, something that made every instinct in his body scream to leave.

But he couldn't.

With a powerful swing, Aiden struck the creature, his blade slicing through its torso. The creature let out one final, ear-piercing scream before collapsing into a heap of decaying flesh and bones.

The remaining skeletons crumbled to the ground as if the energy holding them together had been drained.

For a moment, there was only silence.

Lyra lowered her staff, breathing heavily. "What… was that thing?"

"I don't know," Aiden said, wiping sweat from his brow. "But it's clear that whatever is down here… it doesn't want us to leave."

Kara kicked one of the bones with her boot. "We need to find the source of this. Fast."

Theron nodded, his face grim. "If that's just a taste of what's waiting for us down here, we're in for one hell of a fight."

Aiden took a deep breath, his mind racing. The bells were still tolling, their sound louder than ever. They were getting closer to the heart of the mystery—closer to whatever evil lurked beneath Midvale.