Chapter 4 Shadows of the Past

The afternoon sunlight was fading as Charlie sat at the old wooden table in her hotel room, the photograph was in front of her. She had studied it for what hours, but it still made no sense.

In the picture, a group of smiling people stood together in front of a dilapidated cabin, their faces frozen in time. At the center, her parents stood-her father's arm around her mother's shoulders, both of them looking so young, so full of life. But there was something suspicious about that cabin behind them.

The cabin was familiar. Way too familiar. She had seen it in her dreams, but always in fragments, as though her mind couldn't quite let her remember. And now, here it was, staring back at her, a place she had never been told about.

There were other faces in the picture, too-people Charlie didn't recognize. They were gathered in a tight circle, some with solemn expressions, others with smiles that seemed too wide, some with smiles too strange. She scanned the image again, her finger tracing over her parents' faces as if she anticipated an explanation from them.

The eerie words on the back of the photograph rang in her mind again: "They're watching."

It was then a knock at the door startled her, and she jumped to her feet with fear. She opened it to find Sheriff Maddie Ward standing in the hallway, her arms crossed and her face unreadable.

"I know what you're doing," That was Maddie's first words. " I told you to be careful."

Charlie didn't back down. "I found something. This photograph-it's connected to my parents." She held up the picture, watching Maddie's eyes hover as she took in the image.

Maddie's expression hardened, her lips pressed into a thin line. She stepped inside, glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening. "That cabin," she began quietly, "it's tied to old rumors. People say it was the site of... well, something bad. "Something dangerous"

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Dangerous? What are you talking about?"

Maddie hesitated, clearly struggling to decide how much to say. Finally, she exhaled slowly. "Cult activity. The kind of stuff people don't like to talk about."

A chill ran down Charlie's spine. She had always wondered about the dark happenings in Evermore-the whispers, the strange looks people gave when certain topics came up. But a cult? It seemed impossible and out of place.

"You're saying my parents were involved?" Charlie asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm not saying anything," Maddie replied, her tone defensive. "But there's a lot of things that don't add up in this town. Things that shouldn't be known."

Charlie stared at Maddie, her heart pounding. She knew Maddie was hiding something. But she wasn't going to back down-not now. She needed answers, and she was willing to go to whatever lengths it took to find them.

"Maddie," she said, her voice firm, "I need to know more please. About the cabin. About what happened there."

Maddie shook her head. "You don't want to go there, Charlie. Trust me. It's not safe."

"I'm not afraid," Charlie snapped, her temper flaring. "I need to know the truth. This is about my parents-this is about me. I don't care what's out there."

Maddie sighed deeply, shrugging her shoulders. She seemed to soften for a moment before her expression hardened once again. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

With that, she turned and left, the door closing behind her with a soft click.

Charlie stared at the photograph again. The words on the back echoed in her mind: "They're watching."

She wasn't sure who they were, but Charlie was certain of one thing: whoever they were, they didn't want her to find out what had happened at that cabin.

But if only they knew she'd be more determine, they wouldn't dare to send this, she said to herself with a bold face.

Later that evening, as the sky darkened and the town settled, Charlie found herself standing in front of her car, keys clenched in her hand. Her mind made up. She was going.

The cabin, just beyond the outskirts of town, was calling to her, and she couldn't ignore it any longer. She had to see it for herself. She had to know what her parents had been involved in.

With one last glance at the town square, now bathed in the soft glow of streetlights, Charlie slipped into her car.

She wasn't about to let fear stop her. Not this time.

As the engine roared, she drove away from the safety of the town, heading into the unknown. The night was cold, and the road stretched before her like a dark ribbon, but Charlie felt nothing but an intense desire to see the end of this.

She was going to find the cabin-and she was going to find the truth, no matter the cost.