Pale Lantern, Dark Night

Elena’s breath came in ragged gasps, the cold night air slicing through her throat as her boots pounded the uneven dirt road. Moonlight filtered through the skeletal trees lining the path, casting jagged shadows that reached out like claws. She didn’t dare look back.

Run. Don’t look back.

It wasn’t just the noise, though the low, persistent hum that followed her was maddening. It was something more than that, something she couldn’t fully explain. But she knew one thing—she was being hunted.

The night had begun innocently enough. A gathering at the old stone cottage near the woods to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve had drawn in the town’s usual crowd. It had been a tradition for as long as Elena could remember. The bonfire crackled, flames licking the sky as people told ghost stories and danced beneath the stars. A few too many drinks had been passed around, and laughter had filled the chilly October air.

But then someone had suggested it.

“The Lantern Walk,” Liam had said, his grin devilish and eager. “Come on, it’s Halloween. Time to see if the legends are true.”

Elena had felt a prickle of unease then. The Lantern Walk was one of those stories people whispered about but never actually believed in. Or at least, they never said they believed in it out loud. It was supposed to be an old rite, something the villagers had done long ago to appease the spirits that roamed the woods on this night. A way to keep the dark things at bay.

“Don’t be scared,” Liam teased when he noticed Elena’s hesitation. “It’s just a bit of fun.”

“I’m not scared,” Elena had shot back, her pride prickling. But her voice lacked conviction.

The group had decided to split into pairs, each taking a lantern and walking a different route through the woods. They would meet back at the cottage within the hour, or so the plan went. Elena had been paired with Liam, and despite her unease, she’d agreed to go. Maybe it was the cider, or maybe it was just a desire to prove herself, but she hadn’t wanted to be the one who chickened out.

The woods had been eerily quiet as they walked, the glow from their lantern casting a small circle of light that barely penetrated the darkness. The only sound had been the crunch of leaves beneath their feet. Liam, always the joker, had tried to lighten the mood with ghost stories, but his voice had felt thin, stretched by the weight of the silence around them.

They had walked for what felt like miles when they first heard the hum.

It had been distant at first, a low, rhythmic vibration that seemed to come from the earth itself. Elena had stopped, her heart thudding in her chest, and listened.

“Do you hear that?” she had whispered.

Liam had frowned, his playful demeanor evaporating. “Yeah.”

They stood still for a moment, straining to pinpoint the source of the noise, but it seemed to be all around them, an oppressive presence pressing in from the dark.

“Maybe we should head back,” Elena had suggested, her voice unnaturally loud in the stillness.

Liam had nodded, and they’d turned to retrace their steps. But the woods had changed. The path they’d come down was gone, swallowed by the shadows, and the trees seemed closer, their branches arching over them like a cage.

The hum had grown louder.

“Let’s just keep walking. We’ll find the way back,” Liam had said, though he didn’t sound so sure anymore.

That’s when the lantern had gone out.

The darkness descended so quickly, so completely, that it had stolen the breath from Elena’s lungs. She couldn’t see Liam, couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face. Panic flared hot and sharp in her chest.

“Liam?” she had called, her voice tight with fear.

There had been no answer. Just the hum, louder now, pulsing like a heartbeat.

She had reached out, her hands brushing against rough bark and empty air. Nothing. No sign of him. And then, faintly, she had heard it—the soft rustle of movement, something brushing against the leaves, moving toward her.

Run.

The instinct had been immediate, primal. She had bolted, her legs propelling her forward through the dark, branches whipping against her skin. Her breath had come in gasps, her heart a drumbeat of terror. She had no idea where she was going, no sense of direction, only the overwhelming urge to escape whatever was coming for her.

Now, as she ran, the hum grew louder still, a low vibration that seemed to resonate in her bones. She risked a glance over her shoulder, and that was when she saw it—a pale glow moving through the trees, like a lantern but wrong. Too bright. Too cold. It hovered, bobbing unnaturally, and it was getting closer.

Elena pushed herself harder, her lungs burning, her legs screaming in protest. The dirt path beneath her was uneven, and she stumbled, nearly falling, but she caught herself just in time. She couldn’t fall. Falling meant the end.

The trees thinned slightly ahead, and Elena caught a glimpse of something through the branches—a light, flickering and warm. The cottage. She was close. She could make it.

The hum vibrated in the back of her skull now, so loud it was as though it was inside her head. The pale glow was just behind her, closing in, casting long, distorted shadows that twisted and writhed along the ground.

“Help!” she screamed, but her voice was swallowed by the night.

Her foot caught on something, a root or a rock, and this time she went down hard. Pain shot up her leg as she landed, her palms scraping against the ground. She scrambled to get up, but the hum was deafening now, the light so close it illuminated the back of her neck.

She was out of time.

And then, just as suddenly as it had come, the light blinked out. The hum stopped. Silence.

Elena lay there, her chest heaving, staring into the darkness. Her heart hammered against her ribs, but she couldn’t hear anything—no movement, no hum, nothing. Slowly, cautiously, she pushed herself up onto her knees, wincing as her leg throbbed in protest.

What had just happened?

Her mind raced, but she couldn’t make sense of it. One moment she had been certain she was about to die, and now… nothing. The pale light, the hum, all of it had vanished as if it had never been there in the first place.

She stood shakily, testing her weight on her injured leg. It held, though pain radiated up her calf. She needed to get back to the cottage, find the others. Liam. Was he even still out here? Or had he made it back without her? The thought filled her with equal parts hope and dread.

Elena limped forward, following the faint glow of the cottage’s lanterns in the distance. The woods seemed quieter now, almost too quiet, as if they were holding their breath. Her skin prickled with the sensation of being watched, but she forced herself to keep moving. She wasn’t safe yet.

When she finally broke through the trees and stumbled into the clearing where the cottage stood, relief flooded her. The familiar sight of the stone walls, the flickering warmth of the lanterns hanging by the door, and the murmur of voices inside all felt like a lifeline.

She reached the door and burst inside, her heart still racing.

“Elena!” someone shouted. It was Dani, one of her closest friends, who rushed over to her, eyes wide with concern. “Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you!”

Elena could hardly speak. “Liam… the woods… something was out there…”

Dani’s face twisted with confusion. “Liam’s here. He came back ages ago. We thought you were right behind him.”

Elena blinked, her mind struggling to process what she was hearing. “But… I was with him. We got lost, and then there was this light, and…”

“Liam’s been here the whole time,” Dani said, her voice softer now, as if speaking to a child. “He said you wandered off on your own.”

Elena’s stomach twisted into a knot. None of this made sense. She turned, scanning the room, and saw Liam sitting by the fire, looking shaken but unharmed. His eyes met hers, and for a moment, she thought she saw something in them—something dark, something knowing.

The hum returned, faint but unmistakable, just at the edge of her hearing. She froze, her heart plummeting as she realized something terrible.

She hadn’t been running from the woods.

She had been running toward them.