Chapter 1
The drive felt wrong from the start.
I was going from my city to my village with my father—a place I hadn’t visited in years. Not since my grandparents died. Back then, it felt like home. Now, it felt like a place we had both quietly erased.
“We’ll just check the fields,” he had said.
He’s a lawyer, always practical. The land had been given on rent, and the man barely paid. Changing him—that was the plan.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Because the entire drive, my father barely spoke.
Just short replies. Eyes fixed ahead.
Like he already knew something I didn’t.
By the time we reached, the sun was low and the air felt… heavy.
“Stay nearby,” he said, stepping out. “I’ll check something.”
Before I could ask what, he was gone.
I waited.
Then I didn’t.
The narrow path between the fields pulled me in. It felt familiar—but not enough to trust. Still, I kept walking.
And with every step, the world grew quieter.
No birds.
No wind.
Nothing.
I stopped and turned back.
The path behind me—
Didn’t look the same.
A cold uneasiness settled in my chest.
“This is stupid,” I muttered, walking faster.
But the fields ended before I could make sense of it.
A village stood ahead.
Not mine.
The houses looked normal. Simple. Still.
Too still.
I stepped in anyway.
A distant bark echoed, but I ignored it.
The road split into two.
And that’s when I saw it.
Massive pillars. Thick pipelines running across them—something industrial, something that didn’t belong here.
They were broken.
Cracked.
Yet standing.
From one of the broken pipes, water poured down like a fountain. Smooth. Endless.
But the ground beneath it—
Was completely dry.
I took a step closer.
“That’s not possible…”
Then—
A sound.
Fast. Heavy.
Running.
A group of pigs rushed out from the fountain road.
Too many.
Too fast.
I didn’t think.
I turned and took the other road.
I didn’t look back.
I just kept moving until the sound faded into silence.
Only then did I slow down.
My heartbeat didn’t.
Something about that felt wrong.
Not random.
Not normal.
Like I had just been—
Stopped.
I kept walking.
A house appeared ahead.
Relief hit me instantly.
I walked up to the gate and knocked.
No response.
I knocked again.
This time, a woman appeared inside the courtyard, but she didn’t open the gate. She just stood there, watching me.
“I’m lost,” I said quickly. “Can you tell me where my village is?”
“I don’t know,” she replied.
Her voice was calm. Flat.
“Okay… then the city? The main road?”
“I don’t know.”
A pause.
Something about the way she said it didn’t feel real.
“Can I use your phone? Please, I need to call my father.”
She didn’t answer.
Her eyes shifted behind her.
I followed her gaze.
An old man sat on a chair, quietly reading a newspaper. A phone rested beside him.
He didn’t look up.
Didn’t react.
Like I wasn’t even there.
Near the gate, two dogs sat still—silent, watching.
And two kids stood nearby.
Just staring at me.
Not smiling.
Not moving.
The woman looked back at me.
For a second, I thought she would open the gate.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she stepped slightly closer… lowering her voice just enough to make my chest tighten.
“Don’t ask too many questions,” she said.
A pause.
Her eyes flicked past my shoulder.
Then she whispered—
“Just… look back.”
