Chapter 14: Ashes of Ekanjo
The silence after the scream was the loudest thing they'd ever heard.
Lerato sat with her hands in the dirt, breathing like someone who'd run through a nightmare and come out alive or nearly. Her clothes were stained with blood not hers and her eyes darted across the clearing, searching for any remaining sign of the marked.
Gone.
Simo sat against a fallen log, nursing the cut on his leg, while Thabo paced back and forth, looking at the now-split Heart Tree. It stood in eerie stillness, leaking black sap that hissed and bubbled as it touched the ground.
The air was… cleaner. For the first time since they'd entered this cursed forest, they could breathe without feeling like fear was coiled around their necks.
I think it's over, Simo whispered, half-afraid the forest would hear and punish him.But Lerato didn't respond. She was staring at something hidden in the split of the tree.A box. Wooden. Old, but somehow untouched by rot.
They found bones beneath the soil. And things began to change. People vanished. Voices whispered from the trees. The children saw things in the shadows. And then the bleeding began."The forest had awoken and it was hungry.
Lerato closed the book slowly.This whole place… she murmured. The village became the forest. The forest became a curse. And it never ended. Not until we…
Fed it? Simo asked bitterly. Or freed it?Before anyone could answer, a sound echoed through the trees.A slow, deliberate bell.
One.
Two.
Three.
Thabo stood up. Nope. Nope. Why is there always another creepy sound?But then they saw it rising in the distance: smoke.Lerato rose, clutching the journal. Let's go. Maybe this will lead us out.
They followed the trail, the trees no longer moving or whispering, the air oddly calm. As they walked, Lerato noticed something strange: the blood lanterns were gone. Every last one. Replaced by small stone carvings the kind you'd place on graves.
Each with a name. Some with two. One had three.Thabiso. Amara. Nia.They finally reached the edge of the forest.
And there it was: the village.
Not the twisted forest version but the real Ekanjo Village, or what was left of it. Burned ruins. Crumbled walls. Ashes where homes once stood. The only thing still standing was a chapel, blackened but whole.
It looked abandoned.
But inside, candlelight flickered.Simo stopped. Nope. We're not going in there.But Lerato was already walking. We came this far.Thabo groaned and followed. You have a death wish.
The chapel was silent. Dust floated in the air like snow. On the altar sat another journal larger, newer. And beside it, three lanterns. Not blood-filled. Just ordinary glass, with unlit wicks.
And a note.
One light for each survivor. Carry it out. Do not look back.Simo glanced at Lerato. What happens if we do?No one wanted to find out.
They each took a lantern. Thabo lit his with shaking hands. Lerato helped Simo. The flames flickered to life.The moment the third flame lit, the chapel shook. The walls groaned. A roar rose behind them a thousand voices crying out at once.Lerato didn't hesitate. RUN!
They bolted out the chapel, across the ruins, into the field beyond.The sky turned crimson.The earth split behind them.The village was collapsing in on itself being swallowed by the curse it had carried for centuries.
She crawled forward, ignoring the sticky sap, and reached in. The box came free with a soft click, as if it had been waiting.Thabo came closer. Don't tell me you're opening that.
She gave him a look. Everything we've seen and this is what scares you?He shrugged. A little, yeah.Still, he knelt beside her, and Simo joined too, limping slightly.
Lerato opened the box.
Inside was a journal. Thin, the cover cracked. The pages were yellowed but legible. On the inside cover was a name, written in neat, elegant handwriting:
Amara Ekanjo.Simo's eyes widened. That's the name from the photo locket. The girl from the altar.Lerato opened to the first page.
"I am writing this so the world never forgets what happened here. If you are reading this, you are either a survivor... or next."She read aloud, voice steady despite the chill creeping down her spine.
"My village was once peaceful. We lived by the forest, fed by its fruits, protected by its trees. But we were warned never build beyond the red stones. Never cut the Heart Tree. We thought the old ways were just stories. Until the digging began."
But the lanterns held strong.
When they finally crossed the old stone gate marking the village border, everything stopped.Silence.The forest was gone.The village gone.
Behind them, only open field. As if none of it had ever existed.They dropped to the grass, gasping.Thabo laughed first wild and breathless. We made it. We're alive.
Simo groaned. I'm never going near a forest again. Ever.Lerato just lay back, staring at the sky.But she still held the journal.Amara's story would be told.
One Month Later.Lerato sat in her room, scrolling through an old laptop. The screen showed an article:
Three Teens Escape 'Lost Village' Legend Local Authorities SkepticalShe scoffed. Of course they didn't believe them.No one ever did.But deep down, she knew the truth. So did Thabo and Simo.
They had survived The Forest That Screams. A knock at the door.Her mom peeked in. Letter for you.She opened it. No sender.Inside was a single note.
It's never really over. You took something that belongs to us. Come back… or we will come for you.Under it a drawing.Of the chapel.With three lanterns.All lit.But one… flickering.