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Back Gallows Hill Save as PDF
Chapters (45)
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Margot, frowning, craned closer to the window as she tried to see. It was no good. The glass was foggy, the sun at the wrong angle to make out any details.

She crossed to the front door and stepped outside, following the porch’s steps to the ground. Her neck craned as she tried to see between the sickly branches. The trees there weren’t thick. They shouldn’t have been able to conceal anything large.

Dead grass crackled under her shoes as she crossed the field. She couldn’t hear much else. No insects. No birds. The trees had looked cramped and small from a distance, but as she neared them, they seemed to grow larger.

It’s daylight. She tried to smile at the thought, but the expression didn’t form quite right. The video said I was allowed to play outside during daylight.

There was something among the trees, though. Something that didn’t mix properly with the outlines around it.

A post had been left in the ground. It was old, crumbling. Possibly a relic from some old fence that had long ago been removed. Margot let her hand touch down on it as she walked past.

The shape in the trees seemed to move a fraction. Margot hesitated, midstep, eyes squinted against the light as she tried to see. Branches, nearly bare of leaves, swayed in the light wind. But the motion she thought she’d seen was different.

She moved forward, letting go of the aged post as she put her full weight into her next step. The ground beneath her collapsed.

Margot didn’t have enough time to gasp. Her hands flew out, clutching at clods of soil as she dropped beneath the surface. The dirt gave out under her hands, falling down with her into endless darkness.

Her left-hand side landed first, jarring her, the impact running along her ribs and through her shoulder. She squeezed her eyes closed, expecting worse, but the stabbing pain of broken bones didn’t materialize. Her hip and side stung, but the landing had been padded.

Dirt rained around her. Grains got into her mouth, thick and loamy and sour. She rolled to her side, spitting them out, then carefully opened her eyes.

All around her was nothing but darkness. Her hands and knees pressed into soft soil. The air was cold, at least fifteen degrees lower than the surface temperature, and smelled of earth and old decay.

She lifted her head. A block of light came down from above, marking the hole she’d fallen through. It had to be more than ten feet above her. It was a miracle the drop hadn’t hurt her worse.

Where am I?