The woods had a name whispered only among those who knew better: Hollow wood. It was the kind of place where trees leaned too close, their gnarled branches contorting like skeletal fingers. Shadows stretched unnaturally long. And when the wind blew, it carried voices—distorted, pleading, laughing when no one should.
For Nate and Lillian, along with Chris and Valerie, it was the perfect camping getaway.
“A weekend of disconnect,” Chris had said, grinning as they hiked deeper into Hollow wood. “No phones. No distractions. Just us and nature.”
Nightfall. The four sat around the fire, swapping stories, the flame casting flickering silhouettes against the towering trees. That’s when the first unsettling thing happened—Lillian reached for her water bottle, only to find her hand wrong. Her fingers had lengthened unnaturally, joints swollen as if the bones were stretching beneath the skin.
“What the hell?” she gasped, jerking back.
Nate grabbed her wrist, the firelight revealing something worse—her nails had grown brittle, cracking like old bark, veins pulsing in a way veins shouldn't.
“We need to go,” Valerie murmured, pale-faced.
But as they turned toward the path back, the woods… shifted. The trail they’d hiked earlier twisted upon itself, leading only deeper.
Then Chris screamed.
His arm—where he’d cut himself earlier with his camping knife—had sprouted roots. His veins unraveled into thin, writhing tendrils, burrowing into the forest floor. He tried to sever them, but they only grew back thicker, embedding themselves in his flesh.
The woods were taking them.
Lillian fell next, her skin warping as something inside pressed against her flesh—like fingers pushing outward from beneath her ribs. Valerie convulsed, her eyes rolling back as the whites of them turned black, bleeding into a void where pupils should be.
Nate stumbled away, breath ragged, clutching his chest—his heartbeat too loud, thrumming like drumbeats matching the pulse of the earth itself.
The trees shuddered, leaning in.
They had come here willingly. The pact had been sealed.
Somewhere beyond the canopy, the sky split open, unveiling something that watched—something that had always been watching.
And Hollow wood was hungry.
For Nate and Lillian, along with Chris and Valerie, it was the perfect camping getaway.
“A weekend of disconnect,” Chris had said, grinning as they hiked deeper into Hollow wood. “No phones. No distractions. Just us and nature.”
Nightfall. The four sat around the fire, swapping stories, the flame casting flickering silhouettes against the towering trees. That’s when the first unsettling thing happened—Lillian reached for her water bottle, only to find her hand wrong. Her fingers had lengthened unnaturally, joints swollen as if the bones were stretching beneath the skin.
“What the hell?” she gasped, jerking back.
Nate grabbed her wrist, the firelight revealing something worse—her nails had grown brittle, cracking like old bark, veins pulsing in a way veins shouldn't.
“We need to go,” Valerie murmured, pale-faced.
But as they turned toward the path back, the woods… shifted. The trail they’d hiked earlier twisted upon itself, leading only deeper.
Then Chris screamed.
His arm—where he’d cut himself earlier with his camping knife—had sprouted roots. His veins unraveled into thin, writhing tendrils, burrowing into the forest floor. He tried to sever them, but they only grew back thicker, embedding themselves in his flesh.
The woods were taking them.
Lillian fell next, her skin warping as something inside pressed against her flesh—like fingers pushing outward from beneath her ribs. Valerie convulsed, her eyes rolling back as the whites of them turned black, bleeding into a void where pupils should be.
Nate stumbled away, breath ragged, clutching his chest—his heartbeat too loud, thrumming like drumbeats matching the pulse of the earth itself.
The trees shuddered, leaning in.
They had come here willingly. The pact had been sealed.
Somewhere beyond the canopy, the sky split open, unveiling something that watched—something that had always been watching.
And Hollow wood was hungry.