Land of Shadows

The following morning, a sense of tension and anxiety spread across the town. Jack's disappearance was the topic of conversation everywhere: at the small café, in the supermarket, and even at school. It seemed everyone had their own theory about what had happened, but most of them centered around the forest.

In an old house on the outskirts of town, "Amy," "Ryan," and "Mark" sat silently in the living room, trying to understand what they had seen the previous night. On the table in front of them lay Jack's hat, which one of the police officers had retrieved from the forest, but it held no clues.

"This is insane," Amy said, staring at the hat. "How could Jack just disappear like this? And the carving... we all saw it, right?"

"Yes, but the police found nothing," Mark replied, shaking his head in frustration. "The forest is hiding something, and I'm sure of it."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. When Ryan opened it, an elderly woman stood there, holding an old cane. It was "Martha," the oldest resident of the town, known for her strange stories.

"I heard what happened," Martha said in a low voice. "I wanted to warn you... the forest isn't a normal place."

They looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?" Amy asked, concerned.

Martha sat down on the creaky chair next to the hearth and began speaking:

"Many years ago, a tribe lived in this area, a tribe known as the 'Guardians of the Shadows.' They worshiped an ancient entity said to reside deep within the forest. They believed this entity granted them power and protection, but at a heavy price: the sacrifice of souls."

Mark swallowed hard. "A sacrifice?"

Martha nodded. "Every year, they would offer one of their own people as a sacrifice to the entity. If they didn't, the entity would grow angry and start taking their souls one by one. This went on for years until a small group rebelled and tried to stop the rituals. But before they could destroy the entity, it cursed the forest: 'Whoever enters my depths will become mine.' Since then, many people have disappeared in these woods, and they never returned."

A silence filled the room. None of them dared to interrupt Martha's chilling tale.

"Do you think Jack...?" Amy asked, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"I don't know, dear," Martha said in a sad voice. "But I do know one thing: the forest doesn't return those it takes easily. If you want to find him, you'll need to be ready to face the darkness."

Martha slowly rose, heading toward the door, but stopped before she left. "Be careful," she said, turning to look at them. "The entity doesn't like the curious. If you get too close, it will take you too."

After she left, the three of them sat in silence, weighed down by her words.

"This is nonsense," Ryan finally said, trying to break the silence. "Just an old story to scare children."

"And what about the carving? And the shadows we saw?" Amy snapped. "Is that just a story too?"

"I don't know," Ryan said hesitantly. "But we can't just sit here and do nothing."

"So what do you suggest?" Mark asked.

"We go back to the forest," Ryan said with confidence, though his voice trembled. "We search for Jack and end this."

None of them spoke further, but their eyes said everything. They were scared, but they knew there was no other choice. The forest was

calling them, and the darkness was waiting.