LURE OF THE ABYSS

Deep within the treacherous reaches of Ravenwood Forest, where the trees twisted toward the sky like skeletal fingers and fog hung heavily like an otherworldly shroud, whispered tales of a creature that haunted the woods.

The locals spoke of it in hushed tones, their eyes filled with a primal fear that coursed through the town of Eldermoor like a creeping vine. They called it the Grimthane, a monstrous entity born from the darker tales of mythology and folklore.

It was said to stalk the unwary, luring them into the depths of the forest before devouring their souls, leaving their bodies to rot among the leaves like forgotten winter bones.

As the full moon rose high in the obsidian sky, painting the forest in hues of silver and shadow, a group of thrill-seeking friends dared to venture into Ravenwood, eager to debunk the folktales that had haunted their town for generations.

Sarah, the fearless adventurer of the group; Jake, her pragmatic boyfriend; Lisa, the anxious one who had reluctantly joined; and Tom, the thrill-seeker who spurred them on, armed with nothing but flashlights and bravado, headed deep into the heart of the forest, unaware of the true terror that awaited them.

“Come on!” Sarah’s voice rang out, cutting through the thick silence. “It’s just a stupid story. We’d be the first people to prove it’s a myth.” They laughed, the sound ringing hollow in the heavy air, as they pressed deeper into the wilderness, curiosity and adrenaline driving them forward.

Lisa, shivering slightly, trailed behind, her heart pounding a chaotic rhythm in her chest. A sensation of being watched fluttered at the edge of her consciousness, but she shook it off, blaming it on her overactive imagination.

As they ventured further, the forest grew silent, the whispering wind seeming to halt in anticipation. Shadows danced among the trees, and the air turned dense with an unsettling energy.

The early thrill of adventure dissipated, replaced by an oppressive atmosphere that weighed upon them like wet cloth. Tom attempted to crack a joke—a futile attempt to lighten the mood—but the laugh that escaped their lips sounded strained and forced, swallowed almost immediately by the forest’s suffocating silence.

The moon hung low and full, casting eerie shadows that mingled with the trees’ elongating silhouettes. As they reached a clearing, the ground was spongy beneath their feet, a soft, humid soil intermingled with the fallen leaves, a primeval loam that had witnessed countless horrid tales. In the center of the glade was an ancient stone well, its mouth gaping wide like the abyss of hell itself. The stones were slick with moss, and strange inscriptions, partially eroded by time, decorated its perimeter.

“Dare you to look in,” Jake teased, nudging Sarah playfully. She scoffed, but a spark of challenge ignited within her eyes.

Approaching the well, she peered down into the inky darkness that seemed to stretch infinitely. The air around the well stirred, a whispering breeze that sent shivers dancing down her spine. A strange compulsion tugged at her, a tantalizing urge to dive into the darkness.

But Tom interrupted with a laugh. “Let’s just get our photos and get the hell out of here, huh?” Just as he raised his phone to take a picture, a guttural sound echoed from the depths of the well, a low, throaty growl that reverberated off the stones like thunder.

It sent jolts of ice down their spines. Fear stung Lisa’s chest, and she felt the primal instincts kick in, urging her to flee.

“Did you hear that?” Lisa’s voice quavered, her instincts finally overwhelming her. The others, however, laughed it off as typical forest noises—until a rumbling from the well sent a tremor through the ground, as if the earth itself groaned in warning.

Jake shrugged off the rising unease in the group, still caught up in his bravado. "Come on, it's just the wind," he said bravely, but even his voice trembled slightly at the edges.

He leaned in closer to the well, the faint outline of his face illuminated by the dim light of their phones. "Okay, who’s going first? I’ll do it if you do it." But the bravado in his tone was a thin veil over the growing tension, and none of them were willing to take that daring step into the darkness.

"You’re insane,” Sarah said, stepping back, her heart racing. But the compulsion still pressed at her mind, the dark maw below calling to her. She shook her head violently, trying to clear the fog that seemed to daze her senses. It was just a well, after all; just an old, creepy well sitting in the middle of the woods. But then, something in her gut told her otherwise—there was more to this place.

“Let’s go explore the cave instead,” Tom suggested as he scanned the treeline behind them, casting worried glances into the enveloping darkness. “This whole area is creepy as hell.” He would rather face the unknown than linger near the well.

A chill wind gusted, rustling the leaves overhead, as if even the trees whispered their fears. “The cave?” Lisa interjected, eyes wide with alarm. “You mean the one folks say is cursed? The one that’s swallowed people whole?”

“Oh, come on,” Jake rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “It’s just old stories meant to scare kids. There’s no such thing as curses.” But even as he said that, the deep, echoing growl from below the well came again—this time, more like a warning snarl that faded into a low, sinister chuckle, curling around their minds like smoke.

Sarah felt the whispery pull of the void beneath them, stronger this time, a hidden desire scratching at the back of her mind. “I will go down,” she whispered, her breath shaky.

“No!” Tom shouted sharply, pulling her back. His grip tightened around her wrist. “You’re not seriously thinking of doing that, are you?” Yet Sarah stared into the well’s depths, entranced, her mind conjuring images of dark adventures, secrets hidden in the shadowy abyss, the thrill of touching the unknown.

Behind them, a rustle caused them to spin around, hearts racing anew. From the dense foliage stepped a figure—an old woman whose gnarled hands clutched a lantern that cast flickering shadows over her haggard face.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she rasped, her voice like gravel. The lantern’s light illuminated the creases in her skin and the darkness in her eyes, revealing them to be eerily empty, devoid of any warmth. “This land has a hunger for the unwary.”

The friends exchanged glances, hesitant and confused. “Who are you?” Sarah called out, feeling a sudden surge of adrenaline.

“The Keeper of Secrets,” the woman intoned, her eyes narrowing, fixing on Sarah with unsettling intensity. “I know the hungry things that dwell here. The well feeds on foolish desires, lures you with promises of power, of knowledge—things you cannot fathom.” Her crooked finger pointed towards the well, and with it came an unmistakable dread that cast a heavy pall over their thoughts.

Jake scoffed. “What a load of—” But the woman turned, her eyes flashing angrily as the lantern's light flickered ominously. The forests around them seemed to swell larger, the rustling leaves morphing into murmurs that echoed the old woman’s warning.

“Leave now! The darkness sees you,” she warned, her voice rising over the growing whisper of wind. “It craves your fear. If you linger, it will awaken!”

But her words were swept away by the rising howl of the wind, and suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled. A deafening crash reverberated through the trees, echoing like the gnashing of teeth. The earth shuddered again, and the foliage seemed to twist and shift, a living thing reacting to the call from the depths of the well.

Jake suddenly stumbled back, screaming, as an enormous shadow pushed up and out from the neck of the well. A terrifying entity emerged, blurred by the darkness.

Twisted limbs and humanoid features morphed into something unrecognizable, something that had been layered in shadows for millennia, dark as night itself.

Tendrils of shadow flicked outward like the limbs of a grotesque arachnid, each moving in unnatural harmony with the core, the pulse of the ancient creature.

“What the hell is that?!” Lisa screamed as the shadow shifted, revealing eyes that glowed with an otherworldly light, a baleful yellow that consumed all hope. The creature's mouth curved into a cruel grin—sharp teeth glimmered like daggers, gathering the dim light into their menacing glare.

“It is the Wraith of Secrets,” the old woman spoke amid the chaos, her voThe old woman, who had shadowed their steps down the winding path and into the forest from the beginning, now stood surprisingly illuminated under a sliver of moonlight.

Her gray hair framed a weathered face that bore too many lines of sorrowful wisdom. “It feeds on the truths buried deep within your souls, devouring everything you’ve ever hidden.”

“Shut up!” Jake yelled, tears of terror streaming down his face as he trembled. The Wraith's presence pressed down upon him like a physical weight. The very air felt thick, laced with dread and secrets spun from whispers of the unholy things that crept in the darkness.

“Run!” Lisa cried, clawing at Jake’s arm, but her voice was swallowed by the ethereal sound of the Wraith's laughter—an awful, chilling resonance that cracked the air like thunder.

Without thinking, they took off, racing back toward the entrance of the forest. Behind them, the Wraith surged forward, tendrils of darkness streaking across the ground.

The forest, once invitingly vibrant, had morphed into a living nightmare under the Wraith's influence. Shadows elongated, becoming grotesque caricatures of trees and twisted branches that reached out like skeletal hands trying to ensnare them.

As they fled, Lisa could hear Jake’s ragged breathing, a vocalization of pure fear that began to sync with the haunting echoes of the Wraith. Every footfall echoed through the hushed woods, the vast silence punctuated only by the sound of their heartbeats pulsating like war drums announcing the end.

“You’re not going to outrun it!” The old woman’s voice sliced through the growing dread, seemingly coming from all directions. “It knows your secrets. Each step you take is fueled by the very truths you wish to hide.” Lisa shuddered at the thought of her own buried truths rising to the surface, hot and raw like a festering wound. Would the Wraith expose her, clutching her heart in its insatiable grip?

They stumbled into a clearing where the moonlight pooled like liquid silver, a stark contrast to the enveloping darkness. For a fleeting moment, Lisa felt a flicker of hope.

Perhaps they could escape; perhaps the Wraith couldn't traverse the light. But as the moon illuminated their frantic faces, she noticed the odd flicker of shadows swirling around them, dark tendrils cascading like smoke from an unseen source.

The Wraith loomed at the edge, writhing like a thousand serpents, its presence hungrily caressing the space where the light struggled to penetrate.

Suddenly, Jake stumbled, falling to his knees. The terror on his face shifted to something deeper, a gnawing grief that seeped from him like a wound. “Lisa, wait!” He gasped, clutching the earth as if he could grasp hold of some lost anchor. “I need to tell you something.”

“Tell me later!” she screamed, urgency burning in her chest. But even as she spoke, a curious compulsion gripped her. Jake's eyes shimmered with something other than fear—was it regret? In that moment, something fundamentally shifted between them.

“Not on my soul, Lisa, please!” He looked up at her with desperation. “You need to understand why it’s after us!” His voice cracked, and it was like sharp glass cutting through the frail air around them.

Before he could continue, the Wraith surged forward, its ethereal form lunging toward Jake.

A scream erupted from Lisa as she instinctively lunged to shield him, but to her horror, as she reached for him, Jake laughed—a chilling, hysterical sound that deviated from the primal scream.

Plamen Vasilev: , an award-winning freelance writer/poet with published works online and in a dozen US magazines. I have been writing since I was 10. I have won numerous writing contests and have awards from different parts of the world. I am a creative person with big dreams and also love to help people. I also have Certificates on Creative Writing from the UK writing centre, from the Open University in Scotland, Oxford Study Centre and from Harvard University.