Shadows Of Blackridge

Shadows Of Blackridge Part 1

Emily was greeted by the cold winds of Blackridge. She wrapped her coat tightly and looked around. The town was exactly as she had heard from her friends—small but quiet and somehow even spooky. The high mountains surrounded the town as if they were protecting its secrets. This was the place where Emily came in search of her next big story.

Emily was a normal reporter from New York who had recently failed in investigating a big scam. So now her job was in danger, and her editor was not willing to give her another chance. But when she heard about six consecutive disappearances in Blackridge, she was convinced that this was the news that could save her career.

For the past six months, one person had been disappearing every month in Blackridge. At first these incidents were ignored, but as these incidents increased, the fear among the people of the town grew. Now people were afraid to leave their homes. Emily wanted to get to the bottom of it all.

While checking in at the hotel "The Blackridge Inn", the middle-aged woman sitting at the reception gave her a strange look.

"Why are you here?" the woman asked in a cold voice.

"I am a reporter," Emily said with a smile. "I am working on the missing persons cases happening here."

The woman's face became frightened. She whispered, "Don't go out here at night. This place… is not safe."

Emily took her words lightly. She thought these were superstitious people of an old town. But the fear in the woman's eyes was hard to ignore.

After spending some time at the hotel, Emily decided to go to the main square of the town. She had to talk to the people there and try to understand how and why these incidents were happening.

As soon as she stepped into the square, she saw people looking at her. Suspicion and worry were clearly visible in their eyes. No one was ready to talk to her. When he asked a question to a shop owner, he bowed his head and closed the door.

But then, a thin girl slowly walked towards her.

“Are you a journalist?” the girl asked softly. Her voice was trembling.

“Yes,” Emily answered immediately. “What is your name?”

“Sarah Miller,” the girl said. “Whatever you are doing here, please help me find my brother Alex. He disappeared last week. The police say he may have run away, but I know that’s not true. He will never leave me alone.”

Emily saw a truth in Sarah’s frightened eyes. She immediately decided that she had to help Sarah with this case.

“I will help you,” she said. “Tell me everything about him.”

Sarah asked her to come to her house. On the way, she told her that Alex was a very cheerful and responsible person. He taught at the town school and was Sarah’s only support. Their parents were killed in a car accident many years ago.

“He didn’t come home that night,” Sarah said crying. “The police did nothing. They didn’t even file a proper missing person report.”

Emily realized that this was more than just a case of disappearance. There was something more mysterious.

When they arrived at Sarah’s house, she showed Emily to Alex’s room. The room was clean, but Emily’s eyes immediately went to an open notebook. She picked up the notebook and began to read. There were strange markings on the pages. Three circles stacked on top of each other, with an arrow in the middle. On the last page were the words: “Shadow Hill Caves.”

“What is this?” Emily asked.

“These are the caves,” Sarah said. “North of town. People say it’s dangerous to go there. I’ve never been there.”

Emily’s heart began to beat faster. This notebook and the markings might be connected to Alex’s disappearance. She knew she had to get to Shadow Hill Caves.

That night, Emily was sitting in her hotel room, taking pictures of the notebook. She tried to find out about these marks on the Internet, but she could not find much information. Then she heard someone knocking on the window.

Emily was startled and looked towards the window. It was pitch dark outside. She removed the curtain, but there was no one there. She was about to move back when her eyes fell on the soil below the window. The same mark with three circles was made there.

Emily's heart sank. She thought that it seems someone is following me.