The drive to Hollow Creek took longer than Daniel had anticipated. The farther he ventured into the remote woods, the more the familiar hum of the city fell away, replaced by the unsettling stillness of nature. The trees grew thicker, their limbs twisting like dark, skeletal hands reaching toward the sky. His headlights barely penetrated the thick fog that clung to the ground like a living thing.

His hands gripped the steering wheel as the weight of what lay ahead pressed against his chest. Victor had been clear, Hollow Creek was no place for the living. And yet, here he was, drawn by a force stronger than fear, the knowledge that he was only one step away from uncovering the truth.

As he neared the location on his map, he slowed, scanning the darkened landscape. There was no sign of a lab, no buildings, no lights. The eerie silence pressed in, punctuated only by the soft crunch of his tires on the dirt road. He checked his phone. No signal. Typical.

He parked the car at the side of the road, the engine idling as he stared into the woods ahead. There was something off about the place, an unnatural quiet that seemed to envelop everything. He grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder, and grabbed the flashlight from the car compartment.

For a moment, he hesitated. He had no backup. No one knew where he was. He was essentially walking into the lion’s den. But what else of a choice he have? He muster his bravery, it was about justice. The voices had led him here. The spirits..Maria, Sophia and others he encountered during his investigation. Victor who had led him here and Emily who had given him the strength to keep going.

He finally stepped out of the car, the chill air biting at his skin. His boots crunched against the gravel as he walked toward the dense woods ahead.

---

The woods were dense, the path barely visible under the cover of thick branches. Daniel’s flashlight flickered as he pushed through the brush, the light barely making a dent in the oppressive darkness. After what felt like an hour of walking, he noticed something strange...a break in the trees, a clearing, signs that there were human traces of what it used to be. He approached cautiously, heart pounding.

And there it was. The lab that seems to be one with the forest.

The facility stood like a tomb, long abandoned and half-hidden by the forest. It was an eerie sight an old research building that had seen better days. The exterior was pocked with decay, rust staining the walls where metal had once gleamed. Windows were shattered or covered in grime, and weeds had grown unchecked around the base of the building.

Daniel’s breath caught in his throat as he approached the main entrance. A faded sign on the door read

'Hollow Creek Research Facility'

There were no guards, no security cameras. Everything was silent.

He pushed the door open with a creak that echoed in the quiet night. Inside, the air smelled stale, filled with the scent of mildew and neglect. The hallways were dark, save for the thin beams of moonlight that filtered through broken windows. The walls were covered in peeling paint, and rust had claimed the metal doors.

But it was the silence that unnerved him the most.

He moved deeper into the building, the beam of his flashlight the only saviour that's maintaining his sanity in this silence, sweeping across the walls. Each step he took made the floor groan under his weight, a constant reminder that this place hadn’t been visited in years.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

---

It didn’t take long for Daniel to find the first clue.

In the corner of a large, abandoned conference room, he spotted something odd, a door, barely visible beneath layers of grime and dust. It was different from the others. There were no windows, no signs of decay. A single lock, covered in rust, was all that kept it shut.

His pulse quickened as he approached. He fumbled for his flashlight and aimed it at the lock, noting the intricate design etched into the metal. It wasn’t a typical lock. This one was purposefully obscured, like someone had wanted it to stay hidden.

His fingers brushed the lock, and to his surprise, it gave way. The door creaked open with little effort, revealing a narrow staircase that descended into the darkness.

He hesitated, then took a deep breath and stepped inside. The air grew colder as he descended, the darkness more suffocating.

The stairs led to a basement. The walls were covered in old, peeling paper, and the dim glow of his flashlight revealed old medical equipment, some of it broken, some of it untouched.

Then he saw the tables.

Rows upon rows of steel tables, all of them stained with something dark and dried. Some had restraints attached to them. The floor was speckled with bloodstains that hadn’t been cleaned in years.

His stomach churned. The smell and environment doesn't help him at all.

He scanned the room, the sound of his own breath loud in the oppressive silence. Then he saw it, a large monitor in the far corner of the room, its screen flickering with static. As he approached, the static cleared, revealing something that made his blood run cold.

A video.

On the screen, a man lay on a steel table, his body twitching violently. His skin was pale, his eyes wide open in terror. A needle was slowly being inserted into his arm by a figure in a lab coat. The man screamed, but the sound was muffled, as if coming from far away.

The video continued to play, showing the man convulsing as the needle emptied its contents into his bloodstream.

Daniel’s hand trembled as he reached for the controls. The video paused, but the image of the man’s tortured face remained burned into his mind.

---

As he turned away from the screen, his eyes landed on something more chilling. Documents scattered across a table. He rushed over, his hands shaking as he rifled through them.

What he found sent a shock of realization through him. These were patient records: names, ages, and dates of procedures. The names were eerily familiar thanks to investigations he made prior. Many were homeless individuals, immigrants, people who had disappeared without a trace. Some of the records listed families who had been told their loved ones had died of natural causes. But the cause of death was not natural.

The virus.

Daniel’s heart pounded as he read more. This wasn’t just a trial for a vaccine, it was a covert operation, an experiment on human life. And the subjects weren’t volunteers. They were victims, stolen from society and used as pawns in Corvin Medical’s dark ambitions.

A note at the bottom of one file caught his eye:

'Phase Zero: Results inconclusive. Further testing required.'

That was the key. This wasn’t a mere accident, it was an orchestrated effort, a long-standing conspiracy.

---

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs above. Daniel froze, heart hammering in his chest. He turned off his flashlight, blending into the shadows.

The footsteps grew louder, closer. He could hear voices now, muffled but distinct.

“Did you hear that?” one of them asked.

“Yeah, I think someone’s down here.”

His mind raced. He couldn’t get caught. Not now.

With barely a moment to think, Daniel grabbed the files and slipped into the shadows, crouching behind a steel table. He held his breath as two men, armed and wearing dark uniforms, walked into the basement.

They were scanning the room, their flashlights cutting through the darkness. Daniel’s body tensed, his pulse ringing in his ears. If they found him now, if they knew what he had, everything would be lost.

The men’s footsteps drew closer.

Then, just as quickly as they had appeared, they turned and left, the sound of their boots fading into the distance.

Daniel let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, his body trembling with adrenaline. He had to get out of here.

He gathered the files into his bag and backed toward the stairs, his heart pounding in his throat. The truth was within reach, but the danger was growing. If he was going to expose Corvin Medical, he had to get these documents out and survive.

But even as he fled, a thought gnawed at him. He wasn’t the only one who knew the truth. And the people at the top would stop at nothing to keep it buried.

(To Be Continued)