The Hollow Takes Her (Patreon)

Elena stumbled through the thicket, her breath sharp in the evening air. The forest had gone still, too still. She paused near the old tree, hand instinctively reaching for her side just as the first shot tore through her abdomen.

Her white top soaked in crimson as her knees hit the earth. She gasped, eyes wide, muscles trembling. A second shot slammed into her right chest, twisting her body violently onto her back. Her limbs twitched, the pain blooming with every heartbeat.

She reached up weakly, chest heaving, face contorted in disbelief and defiance. But before she could scream, the final shot came. It pierced her heart.

Her back arched once. Fingers curled into the grass. Her mouth opened in a silent gasp, lips trembling around a word that never came.

Then stillness.

The forest reclaimed its silence. Elena’s body lay against the log, chest glazed in blood, eyes fixed on a sky that no longer mattered. The mission had failed. The Hollow had won.