The Place No One Returns From

CHAPTER 1: THE PLACE NO ONE RETURNS FROM

Four best friends decided to visit Eldemoor, a mysterious place where some visitors disappeared and others returned changed.

Aleah: "Guys, what if we visit Eldemoor?"

Allyssa: "Are you serious? That place is filled with strange and terrifying things! It has a dark history, and people say there were murders and restless souls wandering around."

Alex: "You're scared of everything, Allyssa. It's probably just a story."

Allyssa: "But what if those stories are true?"

Leo: "Come on, guys. Stop thinking about scary things. If Allyssa doesn't want to go, we'll just go without her."

Aleah: "Relax, Allyssa. It's just a trip. We'll explore the place and come back."

After a moment of hesitation, Allyssa finally agreed.

They traveled for hours before reaching Eldemoor.

The place was surrounded by thick forests and towering trees. Eerie mist covered the road, and there were no tourists anywhere. Everything was unusually quiet.

Even the birds seemed to have disappeared.

A cold breeze swept through the trees.

Allyssa: "Why is it so quiet here?"

Alex: "Because it's a forest. What did you expect? A concert?"

Leo: "Come on! This adventure is going to be amazing."

Aleah took out her phone and began recording a vlog.

Aleah: "Hey, everyone! Today, we're visiting Eldemoor, a mysterious place surrounded by strange stories. We're here to discover the truth behind its dark history!"

As they continued walking, they noticed an enormous wooden sign covered in moss.

It read:

"WELCOME TO ELDEMOOR."

Beneath it, another warning had been carved into the wood:

"THOSE WHO ENTER MAY NEVER RETURN."

Allyssa stepped backward.

Allyssa: "Guys, I don't like this."

Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the forest.

A branch had snapped somewhere behind them.

Everyone turned toward the sound.

Aleah slowly raised her phone.

Through the trees, Allyssa spotted a figure standing in the distance.

Allyssa: "Guys... there's someone over there."

Alex looked toward the trees, but the figure had disappeared.

Alex: "There's nobody there. You probably imagined it."

Allyssa: "I know what I saw!"

Then, a whisper came from directly behind them.

"You shouldn't have come back..."

Aleah spun around, holding her phone tightly.

There was nobody standing behind them.

But when she looked at her phone screen, her blood ran cold.

A pale woman wearing an old, bloodstained dress stood behind the group.

Her head tilted at an unnatural angle, and she was smiling directly at the camera.

Aleah slowly turned around.

Nobody was there.

She looked back at the screen.

The woman was still smiling.

END OF CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2: THE LEGEND OF BLACKTHORN

Aleah turned around, but the woman was gone.

Aleah: "Guys, I saw her! She was on my camera!"

Alex: "It was probably just a shadow."

Aleah checked the video, but there was nothing unusual on the screen.

Allyssa: "We need to leave this place. Something is wrong here."

Leo: "We're not leaving yet. We haven't even explored anything!"

Aleah: "Let's find somewhere to rest before it gets dark."

They found an old wooden shelter near the forest and placed their bags inside.

Aleah: "Since we're here, why don't we tell each other stories about mysterious places?"

She paused before continuing.

Aleah: "Have you ever heard of Blackthorn?"

Alex: "Blackthorn? What's that?"

Aleah: "It's a place where people visit but never return. Centuries ago, many people were killed there. Some believe their souls still remain, wandering among the ruins at night."

Alex: "That's just another scary story."

Allyssa: "But what if it's true?"

Leo: "We're here to have fun, not scare ourselves."

Suddenly, a loud BANG echoed outside the shelter.

Everyone turned toward the entrance.

A piece of old, yellowed paper lay on the ground. Strange symbols were drawn across it, and red ink spelled out a terrifying message:

"BLACKTHORN IS WAITING."

Allyssa: "What if Blackthorn is connected to Eldemoor?"

Aleah: "Then we need to investigate."

Leo: "Tomorrow. It's getting late."

Alex picked up the paper and placed it in his pocket.

Allyssa couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

That night, the four friends tried to sleep inside the shelter.

But at midnight, Aleah suddenly woke up.

Someone was whispering her name.

"Aleah..."

She sat up and looked toward the entrance.

The door was open.

Standing outside was a little girl wearing an old white dress.

Aleah: "Are you lost?"

The girl slowly raised her face.

Her skin was pale, and her eyes were completely black.

Little Girl: "You shouldn't look for Blackthorn."

Aleah: "What?"

The girl smiled.

Little Girl: "Because Blackthorn has already found you."

Suddenly, Aleah's flashlight went out.

She screamed.

Her friends immediately woke up, but the little girl had disappeared.

Aleah explained what had happened.

Alex: "You were dreaming. That's all."

But then, strange words began appearing on the wooden wall.

One letter at a time.

"THE FOUR OF YOU ARE ALREADY HERE."

Beneath the sentence, four names appeared.

ALEAH. ALLYSSA. ALEX. LEO.

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

From deep inside the forest came the sound of a little girl's laughter.

It continued long after everything else had fallen silent.

END OF CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3: THE WARNING FROM BLACKTHORN

The four friends stared at their names carved into the wooden wall.

Allyssa: "We need to leave. Right now!"

Alex: "Someone must have written those words while we were sleeping."

Leo: "But who?"

Aleah: "That little girl knew about Blackthorn."

Allyssa: "What if she's connected to the people who disappeared?"

Leo: "This isn't funny anymore."

Suddenly, Aleah's phone vibrated.

A message appeared from an unknown number.

"STOP LOOKING FOR BLACKTHORN."

Before she could react, another message arrived.

"THE LAST FOUR FRIENDS NEVER RETURNED."

Allyssa covered her mouth.

Alex: "Who sent those messages?"

Aleah: "I don't know."

Then Leo noticed something outside the shelter.

Four sets of footprints led away from the entrance.

But there were no footprints leading toward it.

Leo: "Guys, look at this."

Aleah stepped outside and examined the ground.

Aleah: "How did we get here if these footprints are ours?"

Nobody could answer.

Then, from deep within the forest, they heard faint whispers.

"Find us..."

The friends froze.

Another voice followed.

"Before it's too late."

END OF CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4: THE ABANDONED VILLAGE

At sunrise, the four friends left the shelter to search for a road leading out of Eldemoor.

After nearly an hour of walking, they discovered an abandoned village.

Old wooden houses stood along the road. Their windows were broken, and their doors hung from rusty hinges.

Aleah: "I didn't know there was a village here."

Leo: "Maybe people used to live here."

Allyssa: "Then why did everyone leave?"

Alex: "Let's explore. We might find something about Blackthorn."

They entered the first house.

Dust covered everything. Old plates remained on the table, and a faded calendar hung on the wall.

The year printed on it was 1987.

While searching the room, Aleah discovered an old photograph.

It showed four teenagers standing in front of the same village.

They looked around the same age as Aleah and her friends.

On the back of the photograph, four names had been written.

Beneath them was a sentence:

"THEY WENT TO BLACKTHORN."

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from upstairs.

Everyone looked toward the staircase.

Alex: "Someone's up there."

They slowly climbed the stairs and approached a closed door at the end of the hallway.

When they entered the bedroom, they found strange words written on the wall.

"FOUR ENTERED."

"THREE ESCAPED."

"ONE REMAINED."

Leo: "What does that mean?"

Before anyone could answer, the bedroom door slammed shut behind them.

Then came three knocks.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

A voice whispered from the other side.

"Let me out."

END OF CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5: THE NAME ON THE WALL

Alex tried to open the bedroom door, but it wouldn't move.

Leo joined him, and together they pushed until the door finally opened.

The hallway was empty.

Allyssa: "We need to get out of this house."

Aleah noticed a narrow staircase leading down into the basement.

Aleah: "Guys, look. There's a basement."

Leo: "Why would an abandoned house have a locked basement?"

Alex: "Let's find out."

Allyssa: "You cannot be serious!"

But the others had already started descending the stairs.

Reluctantly, Allyssa followed them.

The basement smelled of damp wood and old paper.

An ancient desk stood in the corner, covered with dusty books.

Aleah opened one of them.

Inside were handwritten records about Eldemoor.

Aleah: "Guys, this looks like a historical journal."

Alex took the book and read aloud.

Alex: "October 14, 1893. Another group has arrived in Eldemoor. They believe Blackthorn is nothing more than a legend."

Leo: "Keep reading."

Alex turned the page.

Alex: "October 17, 1893. They found the entrance. We warned them not to enter, but they refused to listen."

Allyssa: "What happened to them?"

Alex continued reading.

Alex: "October 20, 1893. Four entered Blackthorn. Three returned. The fourth was never seen again."

Suddenly, Aleah noticed a name written on the next page.

BLACKTHORN'S FIRST WITNESS: ELIAS VALE.

Beneath the name was a strange symbol.

It was the same symbol they had seen on the piece of paper outside their shelter.

Leo: "What does that symbol mean?"

Before Alex could answer, a loud crash echoed from upstairs.

Everyone froze.

Then came the sound of someone running down the stairs.

Fast.

Very fast.

Allyssa: "HIDE!"

They ducked behind the desk.

A pair of muddy feet appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

The mysterious visitor stood completely still.

Then a voice spoke.

"I know you're here."

Aleah held her breath.

The footsteps approached the desk.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Then they stopped directly in front of them.

A cold hand reached beneath the desk.

And grabbed Leo's wrist.

END OF CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6: THE HAND IN THE DARK

Leo screamed as the cold hand grabbed his wrist.

Leo: "LET GO OF ME!"

Alex immediately pulled Leo away, while Aleah and Allyssa ran toward the stairs.

The mysterious figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

It was an old man wearing a torn black coat. His face was pale, and his eyes looked empty.

Old Man: "You shouldn't be here."

Alex: "Who are you? What do you want from us?"

The old man ignored his question.

Old Man: "Have you found the journal?"

Aleah held the ancient book tightly against her chest.

Aleah: "What journal?"

The old man suddenly smiled.

Old Man: "The one that tells the truth about Blackthorn."

Allyssa: "Please, just let us leave!"

The old man shook his head.

Old Man: "Leaving isn't as easy as entering."

Suddenly, the lights inside the basement flickered, even though there were no lamps or electricity.

The old man disappeared.

Leo stumbled backward.

Leo: "What just happened?"

Alex stared at the empty space where the old man had stood.

For the first time, he had no explanation.

Aleah opened the journal again.

A new sentence had appeared on the page.

"WHEN THE BELL RINGS THREE TIMES, BLACKTHORN WILL OPEN."

Allyssa: "We need to leave before that happens."

But somewhere outside the abandoned village, a bell began to ring.

DONG!

The four friends looked at one another.

DONG!

The sound echoed through the forest.

DONG!

Then everything went silent.

Far away, beyond the trees, a dark gate slowly opened.

And a voice whispered from the other side.

"Welcome home."

END OF CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7: THE GATE OF BLACKTHORN

The four friends hurried out of the abandoned house.

Beyond the village, a narrow path led toward an enormous iron gate.

Black vines covered its surface, and strange symbols were carved into the stone pillars beside it.

Aleah: "Guys, I think this is the entrance to Blackthorn."

Leo: "Then why does it look like it's been abandoned for hundreds of years?"

Alex examined the symbols.

Alex: "These markings are old. Maybe they're connected to the history recorded in the journal."

Allyssa: "Or maybe they're warnings."

Aleah approached the gate.

Before she could touch it, the iron doors slowly swung open.

A cold wind rushed toward them.

Beyond the gate stood a ruined town filled with ancient buildings.

In the distance, a massive mansion rose above the fog.

Leo: "Okay, that place is definitely creepy."

Allyssa: "We should turn back."

Alex: "We came all this way. We need answers."

They stepped through the gate.

The moment they entered, it slammed shut behind them.

Leo immediately ran toward it and pulled the handles.

Leo: "HEY! OPEN UP!"

The gate refused to move.

Then they heard footsteps behind them.

A little girl stood in the middle of the road.

It was the same girl Aleah had seen at the shelter.

Little Girl: "You finally came."

Aleah: "Who are you?"

Little Girl: "My name is Evelyn."

Allyssa: "What do you want from us?"

Evelyn looked toward the mansion.

Evelyn: "You must find the room beneath the house before midnight."

Alex: "Why?"

Evelyn's expression suddenly changed.

Evelyn: "Because one of you will disappear."

Then she vanished into the fog.

The four friends stood frozen.

From the mansion, a clock began to chime.

It was only three in the afternoon.

But the clock was counting down.

Not up.

END OF CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8: THE MANSION OF THE DEAD

The four friends approached the mansion cautiously.

Its enormous doors were covered in scratches, and the windows were so dark that they couldn't see inside.

Aleah pushed one of the doors.

It opened with a long, terrible creak.

Inside, hundreds of old portraits covered the walls.

Allyssa stopped in front of one.

Allyssa: "Guys, look at this painting."

The portrait showed four young friends standing in front of the mansion.

One girl looked strangely similar to Aleah.

Leo: "That's impossible. This painting must be really old."

Alex examined the frame.

Alex: "Look at the date."

The painting was dated 1893.

Aleah: "Why does she look like me?"

Nobody had an answer.

They continued through the hallway until they discovered a locked room.

A brass plate beside the door read:

THE ARCHIVE.

Alex found an old key beneath a broken vase.

When he unlocked the door, they discovered shelves filled with journals, photographs, and documents.

Allyssa opened a dusty book.

Allyssa: "Listen to this. 'The people of Blackthorn believed that the mansion protected them from an ancient presence beneath the town.'"

Leo: "What presence?"

Allyssa turned another page.

Allyssa: "It says the townspeople performed a ritual to keep it asleep."

Suddenly, a photograph slipped from the book.

It showed a group of people standing around a deep stone well.

Behind them stood the same old man they had encountered in the basement.

On the back of the photograph, someone had written:

THE GUARDIAN MUST NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE.

A loud bang came from the hallway.

The archive door slammed shut.

Then a voice echoed through the room.

Old Man: "You have read too much."

The shelves began to shake.

Every book fell to the floor.

And in the middle of the room, a trapdoor slowly opened.

Beneath it was a staircase descending into complete darkness.

From below, someone called their names.

One by one.

Aleah.

Allyssa.

Alex.

Leo.

END OF CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9: THE SECRET BENEATH ELDEMOOR

The four friends stood beside the open trapdoor.

Leo: "We're not going down there, right?"

Alex: "We need to know what's beneath this mansion."

Allyssa: "And what if the thing calling our names is waiting for us?"

Aleah looked at the journal in her hands.

Aleah: "We've already come this far. We can't leave without understanding what's happening."

One by one, they descended the staircase.

At the bottom, they discovered an underground chamber filled with old candles and stone statues.

In the center stood a massive black door.

The same strange symbol from the journal was carved into its surface.

Alex examined the inscription.

Alex: "It says, 'What was buried must remain forgotten.'"

Allyssa: "Then we shouldn't open it."

Suddenly, Aleah noticed another journal lying beside the door.

Its cover bore a name.

ELIAS VALE.

She opened it.

The first page described a terrible event that had happened in Eldemoor centuries earlier.

Elias Vale had been the guardian of Blackthorn. He had tried to protect the town from a mysterious presence beneath the earth.

But the townspeople had accused him of causing the disappearances.

They locked him inside the mansion.

Before he died, Elias wrote one final warning.

"THE MONSTER IS NOT THE ONE BENEATH THE EARTH."

"IT IS THE ONE WHO OPENS THE DOOR."

Leo stepped away from the black door.

Leo: "What does that mean?"

A sudden vibration shook the chamber.

The black door began to open by itself.

A deep voice emerged from the darkness.

"Finally."

Allyssa screamed.

Something moved behind the door.

Something enormous.

Alex grabbed Aleah's arm.

Alex: "RUN!"

But before they could escape, the staircase disappeared.

The chamber was sealed.

And behind them, the black door opened wider.

A shadow stretched across the floor.

Then a familiar voice spoke.

It sounded exactly like Leo.

"Guys, don't leave me here."

But the real Leo was standing beside them.

Pale.

Terrified.

And completely silent.

END OF CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10: THE FOURTH FRIEND

The voice behind the black door continued calling them.

"Guys... please help me."

Leo stared at the darkness.

Leo: "That's not me."

Alex: "Nobody answer it!"

The shadow moved closer.

Aleah held the journal tightly.

Aleah: "There must be something in here that can help us."

She flipped through the pages until she found a final entry.

"Blackthorn does not take everyone who enters."

"It chooses one."

"And when the chosen one stays, the others may leave."

Leo: "What does it mean by 'the chosen one'?"

Suddenly, the floor beneath Leo's feet cracked.

A black mist wrapped around his ankles.

Leo: "GUYS! HELP ME!"

Alex grabbed his arm.

Aleah and Allyssa pulled Alex backward, trying to save Leo.

But the mist was stronger.

A pale hand emerged from the darkness and seized Leo's shoulder.

Leo screamed as he was dragged toward the open door.

Aleah: "LEO!"

The black door slammed shut.

Silence filled the chamber.

Alex pounded against the door.

Alex: "LEO! OPEN YOUR EYES! COME BACK!"

There was no answer.

Then the staircase reappeared.

A narrow path led back toward the mansion.

Aleah and Allyssa were crying, while Alex stared at the door in disbelief.

Allyssa: "We can't leave him."

Aleah: "We're going to find him. I promise."

They hurried back through the mansion and reached the iron gate.

To their surprise, it was open.

Beyond it lay the road leading out of Eldemoor.

But something was wrong.

There were only three sets of footprints in the mud.

Alex, Aleah, and Allyssa.

They ran until they reached the main road, where a passing vehicle stopped to help them.

The driver stared at their frightened faces.

Driver: "What happened to you three?"

Alex: "Our friend is still inside Eldemoor. Please, you have to help us!"

The driver's expression changed.

Driver: "You went to Eldemoor?"

Aleah: "Yes. Our friend Leo is missing!"

The driver slowly shook his head.

Driver: "There were four of you?"

Allyssa: "Yes! Why?"

The driver looked at them with fear in his eyes.

Driver: "Because I've heard this story before."

He reached into his glove compartment and pulled out an old newspaper.

The headline read:

FOUR FRIENDS DISAPPEAR IN ELDEMOOR - 1998.

Beneath the headline was a photograph of four teenagers.

Aleah stared at the picture.

One of the teenagers looked exactly like Leo.

The driver whispered:

"Nobody has ever returned from Blackthorn with all four friends."

Aleah's phone suddenly vibrated.

A new video had appeared in her gallery.

It was recorded inside the underground chamber.

She pressed play.

The screen showed Leo standing behind the black door.

His face was pale.

His eyes were completely black.

Leo: "Guys... you shouldn't have left me."

The video ended.

Then a message appeared on the screen.

UNKNOWN NUMBER:

"THREE HAVE ESCAPED."

"ONE BELONGS TO BLACKTHORN."

Aleah slowly looked toward the distant forest.

A figure stood between the trees.

It was Leo.

And he was smiling.

THE END... FOR NOW.

BOOK 2 IS COMING!!