Echoes of the night

Chapter 3: The Final Echo

Mara didn’t sleep. By morning, she had gathered her things, determined to leave Lorian behind. But something nagged at her—the whispers, the vanishing, Lina’s warning.

She decided to visit the town’s archives before leaving. The librarian, an elderly woman with deep lines of worry etched into her face, hesitated when Mara asked about the missing people. Finally, she sighed and handed her an old newspaper.

The headline sent chills through Mara’s spine.

Lorian Orphanage Fire: 13 Children Missing, Presumed Dead

The article detailed how, years ago, a fire had consumed the orphanage at the town’s edge. But no bodies had ever been found. Just ashes and whispers.

That night, Mara sat in her car at the town’s exit, debating whether to drive away or dig deeper. As she replayed the recording one last time, her heart nearly stopped.

The last voice on the tape wasn’t Lina’s.

It was her own.

You should not have come.

Her own voice echoed back at her from the tape, distorted, twisted. A chill ran down her spine as a shadow shifted in the rearview mirror.

The whispers had found her.

And this time, they wouldn’t let her go.