A lone traveler, Evelyn Moore, an investigative journalist drawn by rumors and urban legends, steps off the last train at the deserted station. Her boots echo with each step, the sound swallowed swiftly by the dense mist that swathes the city. Gnarled trees loom overhead, their branches scraping against crumbling brick facades. She clutches her notepad tightly, senses sharpened by the oppressive silence around her.
Evelyn pauses, heart pounding as she notices a series of faded posters for vanished citizens plastered across a noticeboard. A chill wind stirs, carrying with it a soft, almost childlike giggle that echoes between the alleys. "Who’s there? Show yourself!" Her voice trembles, more defiant than brave. Only the silence answers, deepening the sense of unseen watchers.
A sudden scuffle draws Evelyn's attention; she turns to see a gaunt boy, Thomas, with hollow eyes and a trembling voice, clutching a battered teddy bear. "You shouldn’t be here. The city listens. It remembers," he whispers, eyes darting to every shadow. Evelyn crouches down, her tone gentle but urgent. "What do you mean? Who’s after me?" Thomas only shakes his head, disappearing into the darkness as suddenly as he appeared.
Evelyn pushes open the heavy doors, footsteps echoing in the vast, empty nave. In the flickering candlelight, she uncovers a mosaic depicting the city’s founding—a circle of masked figures, eyes blacked out, standing over a map of Gallowmere. A chill creeps up her spine as she traces the figures, realization dawning. "Gallowmere was built to imprison something," she murmurs.
Evelyn flees the cathedral, pursued by shifting shadows that seem to detach from the walls themselves. Faces flicker in every window, watching, waiting. Thomas appears beside her once more, urgency sharpening his features. "Run. The city doesn’t let strangers leave," he pleads, taking her hand as they dart through rain-slicked alleyways.
Evelyn turns to Thomas, desperation in her eyes. "Is there a way out? Or is this—" Her question is cut short as the boy’s form flickers, his eyes now bottomless voids. "You’re part of the city now," he intones, voice echoing with centuries of sorrow. All around, Gallowmere seems to exhale, the city’s heart awakening as it claims its newest secret.
