Page 105 of The Hanging Dolls

He stood over her. “Stop looking into Rachel. Or Viper will have you killed too.”

Zoe lay on the floor, the side of her head pressed into the carpet. Her body felt like lead. Her vision blurred as she followed the shoes of the retreating figure making his way out of the room.

Her eyes rolled back in her head as she tried desperately to hold on, but the walls weren’t just closing in, they were blackening. The edges of her vision searing like burned paper. The door burst open again and this time Aiden ran in.

“Storm!” He crouched down, his worried face hovering over hers. “Storm! Stay with me!”

And then she catapulted into another nightmare.

She was running through the woods, the trees twisting and closing in around her, their branches clawing at her as she pushed forward. The air was thick with mist, making it hard to see, but she couldn’t stop. A young girl’s voice echoed through the darkness, pleading for help.

“Help! Please, help me!”

Zoe’s heart raced as she followed the voice, her feet barely touching the ground. The sound led her to a small clearing where an old, moss-covered well stood. The voice was coming from inside.

“I’m here! Please, help me!”

Zoe leaned over the edge, peering into the blackness below. She could just make out the faint outline of a small figure, huddled at the bottom, hidden in the shadows.

“I’m going to get you out,” Zoe called, trying to keep her voice steady.

“Please, hurry. I’m so scared,” the girl cried, her voice barely audible now.

Zoe reached out, but the darkness seemed endless, the well impossibly deep. She leaned further, straining to reach the girl, but suddenly the ground beneath her gave way. She felt herself falling, the world spinning as the darkness swallowed her whole.

“Emily!”

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