The fire had started to die down, crackling now and then as dry wood snapped beneath orange embers. A soft wind passed through the trees, rustling leaves and casting wavering shadows across the circle of survivors.
After Max's story, the group had fallen quiet again, the weight of her words lingering in the smoke-filled air.
Then, slowly, Charlie rose to his feet.
His face didn't show fear, but something lingered behind his eyes—something left over from a night long ago.
"This happened a couple of years before I joined engineering college," he began, his voice calm but low.
"I used to be a night owl. Couldn't sleep without playing a few rounds of video games."
People around the fire smiled faintly at the relatability, but Charlie didn't pause for long.
"My bed faced a sofa set. It was a normal night. I played late, as usual… and I must've fallen asleep with the console still running."
"I didn't even know when I dozed off."
He rubbed his palms slowly together, as if remembering something cold.
"But in the middle of the night… I felt something wrong. Not pain. Not a sound. Just… wrong."
"Like someone else had entered my room."
Charlie's voice dropped further.
"I opened my eyes… slowly. And that's when I saw it."
"On the sofa—right in front of my bed—was a shape."
"It wasn't solid. Not human. Like smoke. Dense, black smoke… shaped like a body."
"It had no proper hands or legs. Just a formless body… but it had eyes."
He looked around, and even the firelight seemed to dim slightly.
"Two burning, focused eyes. Staring directly at me."
"It didn't speak. It didn't move. But it watched me."
"I was frozen. My whole body refused to move."
"Then I did the only thing I could. I screamed."
He closed his eyes for a second.
"My parents rushed in. Lights on. The shape was gone."
Charlie gave a slow nod, as if remembering their confused faces.
"They said it must've been a nightmare."
"Maybe they were right. But I… I still remember those eyes."
"I tried to convince myself it wasn't real. Just fear. Just exhaustion."
"Days passed. I tried to forget it."
"Then… I decided I'd sleep in that room again. Alone."
People shifted slightly. A couple of the listeners leaned forward.
"It had been weeks. I thought I was over it. I was wrong."
"I fell asleep late again. Didn't even think of that night."
"But something… woke me."
"This time, it was closer. Right in front of me."
"The face."
"It wasn't smoky anymore. It was… real. Twisted. Wrong."
"Its face was inches from mine. Its breath smelled like rot. Like something ancient and dead."
"I couldn't scream. I couldn't even breathe."
"I don't know how I got out. I just remember running."
He paused.
"I've never slept in that room again."
Charlie sat back down.
The group sat frozen. Even the wind had stopped.
The flames snapped again, casting his face in orange and black.
Then, another figure rose slowly.
It was David.
The policeman.
He looked around once, then folded his arms.
"I don't believe in ghosts."
The group tensed.
"But I've seen things… that I can't explain."
"And if you'll listen " he paused, looking toward the shadows beyond the fire
"—I'll tell you one of them."
He cleared his throat once.
"This… happened years ago. Back when I was just a junior officer."
Everyone's heads turned. Even the forest seemed to hush.
"There's a place near London. A little stretch of road just past the railway station. Nothing remarkable about it… except for a tunnel."
"Blackwall Tunnel."
He said the name like it still echoed in his bones.
"There'd been an accident. Something massive had hit a man. Maybe a truck. Maybe a car. Nobody knew for sure."
"All we knew… was that the body was torn. Half of it gone. What remained lay near the tunnel's mouth, soaked in blood."
Rain began to fall that night. Heavy. Cold. Unrelenting.
"Me and another officer were stationed there. Just to guard the scene till morning."
"We took turns. First him. Then me."
David paused and looked into the flames.
"I've stood guard at a dozen accident scenes. Dead bodies don't scare me."
"But that night… that body…"
He took a breath.
"My shift had just begun. I was alone."
"The tarp covering the corpse… started moving."
The group leaned forward, no one speaking.
"I thought maybe a dog. Or a fox. Maybe even the wind."
"I walked up slowly."
"There it was. The same blood-soaked tarp. Just… shifting."
He mimed the motion—small, unnatural ripples.
"I held my breath. Bent down. Reached out."
"And I lifted it."
What he saw beneath silenced even the fire's crackling.
"The torso. Just the torso. Head to waist."
"It was dragging itself. Inch by inch. Leaving a trail of blood."
"Dragging. Itself."
A few gasped. Barry cursed under his breath.
"I couldn't move. I couldn't even blink. My heart felt like it stopped."
"Rain poured all over me, but I was sweating."
David's hand tightened unconsciously.
"I shouted. Called for the other officer. He came running."
"But when he got there…"
David paused.
"The body was still."
"Covered. Unmoved. Just as it had been."
The group sat frozen.
Francis finally whispered,
"So… it didn't happen?"
David looked at him, his face unreadable.
"He said I imagined it. Laughed. Said it was just my nerves."
He looked back toward the forest.
"But I know what I saw."
"A dead body… dragging itself through the rain."
"And I swear on my badge—"
"It moved."
The group sat silent once again, surrounded by flickering shadows.
The air had grown colder.
The fire spit a final spark into the sky.
Then… silence.
To be continued....
Next chapter release date 1/7/25