tales-from-the-void-by-rit

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

Just remembered pinterest existed and spent two hours searching for pictures to make moodboards for my OCs.

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Your mystery question is here! :)

Star: What's your character's biggest accomplishment or the thing they are most proud of?

My current story has multiple characters but I'll do just one for now:

Rowan's biggest accomplishment is probably being immune to Ravenshade's curse(you'll have to read the story to understand this)

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

I have 4 wips and not enough time😭😭 help

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

I have this story on my blog about a guy who came back to his hometown because of a dream he had and now he's haunted by something pretending to be his dead cousin's spirit.

I am genuinely wanting to read some works from other writers. This is your opportunity to shamelessly plug your WIP or completed work :)))

Bonus points: you yap to me about your story and characters. I am desperate need of a good literary yap session

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

So me

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

Welcome to Ravenshade

Chapter 5

Brooks jolted awake at 3:03 AM to find his blanket missing, his window open, and a pile of leaves on his chest.

Not just leaves—wet, dripping leaves. From the forest.

“What the hell…” he whispered, tossing them aside and sitting up. The cold air bit at his skin, and the silence in his room felt too... intentional.

Something was wrong. Again.

He stumbled toward the window. His breath fogged the glass as he peered out.

And there it was.

The tree. The damn tree. The one on the edge of town.

It shouldn’t be visible from here.

But it was. Lit by a moon that seemed far too bright and far too low, the tree stood like a massive silhouette right outside his backyard fence.

Brooks blinked.

And it was gone.

“Oh yeah. This is fine. Definitely not losing it,” he muttered, closing the window and shoving a chair against it like that would do anything if a supernatural, whispering, cousin-impersonating tree demon wanted in.

Ray showed up the next morning with two large coffees, no sleep, and the permanent expression of someone one loud noise away from committing a felony.

He found Rowan already at the station.

Well, technically, on top of the station roof, lying on his stomach with binoculars and a sandwich.

Ray stood below and stared up at him for a solid ten seconds before sighing. “I don’t even want to know.”

“You’ll ask anyway,” Rowan called, without looking down. “Besides, surveillance is key to understanding what the town is hiding.”

“You’re a sandwich and staring at a grocery store,” Ray deadpanned.

“Suspiciously quiet grocery store,” Rowan added, tearing off a bite and winking.

Ray turned and walked inside. His patience had filed for divorce.

Brooks found Maddison in the library’s basement with a flashlight and seventeen open books around her. She looked like the world’s nerdiest séance host.

“Okay,” she said, looking up from a particularly grim-looking book. “You said the tree followed you?”

“It didn’t—I don’t know! It was outside my window and then it wasn’t. I didn’t open the window. There were leaves on me.”

“Right.” She jotted that down like he’d just said that he stubbed his toe.

“You’re taking this really well,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

“Oh, I had three sleep paralysis demons in college,” Maddison replied. “This is adorable compared to finals week.”

Brooks gave her a long look.

Then Rowan burst into the library like a raccoon with unpaid rent and too much caffeine.

“Do you people even lock this place?” he asked. “You really should. Creepy trees aside, I just waltzed right in. There’s no security. Very disappointing.”

Maddison sighed without looking up. “Rowan.”

“Sup, Maddie. Heard you’re doing nerd magic in the basement.”

“Research.”

“Same thing.”

Brooks stepped back instinctively. Rowan’s energy was... a lot. Chaotic. Like if a hurricane became sentient and started an Etsy store.

Rowan dropped a stack of papers on the table.

Ray’s case files.

He’d stolen them.

Again.

“Why do you have these?” Maddison asked, eyebrows raised.

“Because Ray won't let me help. Which is rude, considering I’m basically a walking supernatural bloodhound.”

“You broke into the police station again?”

Rowan pointed at himself. “Didn’t even have to this time. Roof access. I told him to fix that hatch.”

Brooks, already feeling like his brain was held together with scotch tape, just blinked. “You read confidential police reports?”

Rowan gave him a look. “No, I annotated them. I’m helping.”

Brooks picked up one of the papers.

There were doodles. Little stick figures. One was labeled “Ray :(” and another “Rowan, majestic.”

“But also, look here,” Rowan said, spinning one of the pages around. “There’s a pattern in the recent sightings. People start seeing the tree in different places. Then they hear whispering. Then they go nuts. It’s like the tree’s testing them.”

Brooks paled.

“That’s happening to me.”

Rowan’s face shifted for just a second—concern flickering behind his usual smug smirk. “Then we find out why.”

Ray appeared at the top of the stairs like a biblical plague with a badge. “Rowan.”

“Hey, buddy!”

“You stole my files again.”

“I borrowed them.”

“You wrote on them. With glitter gel pen.”

“It was the only pen in the car.”

Jax stepped in behind Ray, holding a box of donuts. “It was my pen. Also, you were out of normal ones.”

Ray stared at them like he was trying to will an aneurysm into existence.

Jax sat beside Brooks with a smile that was just too calm for someone who followed Rowan into literal supernatural crime scenes like it was karaoke night.

“You okay?” Jax asked.

Brooks gave a tired half-laugh. “I saw a haunted tree in my backyard and woke up with forest debris on me. I’m great.”

“I mean, you’re handling it well. Rowan once got possessed by a mirror ghost and challenged it to a drinking contest.”

“He what?”

“Yeah. He won.”

Brooks paused. “Wait—how do you win against a—?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jax said with a serene shrug. “The ghost apologized and left. Probably still in therapy.”

Later that night, Ray was back in his office reviewing the files.

Rowan’s annotated ones.

He wanted to be mad. Really. But beneath the sarcasm and drawings, there were actually... connections. A strange, solid line between all the witnesses. A timeline he hadn’t even noticed.

Damn it.

Rowan was good.

Unorthodox. Infuriating. But good.

Ray sighed and scribbled a note on the bottom.

“Follow up. But don’t tell Rowan he was right. Ever.”

BROOKS – 3:03 AM

Brooks woke up again.

This time, the leaves were inside his mouth.

He screamed.

When he ran to the mirror, his reflection didn’t scream with him.

It just watched.

Link to all chapters below:

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

Welcome to Ravenshade

Chapter 5

Brooks jolted awake at 3:03 AM to find his blanket missing, his window open, and a pile of leaves on his chest.

Not just leaves—wet, dripping leaves. From the forest.

“What the hell…” he whispered, tossing them aside and sitting up. The cold air bit at his skin, and the silence in his room felt too... intentional.

Something was wrong. Again.

He stumbled toward the window. His breath fogged the glass as he peered out.

And there it was.

The tree. The damn tree. The one on the edge of town.

It shouldn’t be visible from here.

But it was. Lit by a moon that seemed far too bright and far too low, the tree stood like a massive silhouette right outside his backyard fence.

Brooks blinked.

And it was gone.

“Oh yeah. This is fine. Definitely not losing it,” he muttered, closing the window and shoving a chair against it like that would do anything if a supernatural, whispering, cousin-impersonating tree demon wanted in.

Ray showed up the next morning with two large coffees, no sleep, and the permanent expression of someone one loud noise away from committing a felony.

He found Rowan already at the station.

Well, technically, on top of the station roof, lying on his stomach with binoculars and a sandwich.

Ray stood below and stared up at him for a solid ten seconds before sighing. “I don’t even want to know.”

“You’ll ask anyway,” Rowan called, without looking down. “Besides, surveillance is key to understanding what the town is hiding.”

“You’re eating a sandwich and staring at a grocery store,” Ray deadpanned.

“Suspiciously quiet grocery store,” Rowan added, tearing off a bite and winking.

Ray turned and walked inside. His patience had filed for divorce.

Brooks found Maddison in the library’s basement with a flashlight under her chin and seventeen open books around her. She looked like the world’s nerdiest séance host.

“Okay,” she said, looking up from a particularly grim-looking book. “You said the tree followed you?”

“It didn’t—I don’t know! It was outside my window and then it wasn’t. I didn’t open the window. There were leaves on me.”

“Right.” She jotted that down like he’d just said “I stubbed my toe.”

“You’re taking this really well,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

“Oh, I had three sleep paralysis demons in college,” Maddison replied. “This is adorable compared to finals week.”

Brooks gave her a long look.

Then Rowan burst into the library like a raccoon with unpaid rent and too much caffeine.

“Do you people even lock this place?” he asked. “You really should. Creepy trees aside, I just waltzed right in. There’s no security. Very disappointing.”

Maddison sighed without looking up. “Rowan.”

“Sup, Maddie. Heard you’re doing nerd magic in the basement.”

“Research.”

“Same thing.”

Brooks stepped back instinctively. Rowan’s energy was... a lot. Chaotic. Like if a hurricane became sentient and started an Etsy store.

Rowan dropped a stack of papers on the table.

Ray’s case files.

He’d stolen them.

Again.

“Why do you have these?” Maddison asked, eyebrows raised.

“Because Ray won't let me help. Which is rude, considering I’m basically a walking supernatural bloodhound.”

“You broke into the police station again?”

Rowan pointed at himself. “Didn’t even have to this time. Roof access. I told him to fix that hatch.”

Brooks, already feeling like his brain was held together with scotch tape, just blinked. “You read confidential police reports?”

Rowan gave him a look. “No, I annotated them. I’m helping.”

Brooks picked up one of the papers.

There were doodles. Little stick figures. One was labeled “Ray :(” and another “Rowan, majestic.”

“But also, look here,” Rowan said, spinning one of the pages around. “There’s a pattern in the recent sightings. People start seeing the tree in different places. Then they hear whispering. Then they go nuts. It’s like the tree’s testing them.”

Brooks paled.

“That’s happening to me.”

Rowan’s face shifted for just a second—concern flickering behind his usual smug smirk. “Then we find out why.”

Ray appeared at the top of the stairs like a biblical plague with a badge. “Rowan.”

“Hey, buddy!”

“You stole my files again.”

“I borrowed them.”

“You wrote on them. With glitter gel pen.”

“It was the only pen in the car.”

Jax stepped in behind Ray, holding a box of donuts. “It was my pen. Also, you were out of normal ones.”

Ray stared at them like he was trying to will an aneurysm into existence.

Jax sat beside Brooks with a smile that was just too calm for someone who followed Rowan into literal supernatural crime scenes like it was karaoke night.

“You okay?” Jax asked.

Brooks gave a tired half-laugh. “I saw a haunted tree in my backyard and woke up with forest debris on me. I’m great.”

Jax also nodded like Brooks had said he stubbed his toe.

“I mean, you’re handling it well. Rowan once got possessed by a mirror ghost and challenged it to a drinking contest.”

“He what?”

“Yeah. He won.”

Brooks paused. “Wait—how do you win against a—?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jax said with a serene shrug. “The ghost apologized and left. Probably still in therapy.”

Later that night, Ray was back in his office reviewing the files.

Rowan’s annotated ones.

He wanted to be mad. Really. But beneath the sarcasm and drawings, there were actually... connections. A strange, solid line between all the witnesses. A timeline he hadn’t even noticed.

Damn it.

Rowan was good.

Unorthodox. Infuriating. But good.

Ray sighed and scribbled a note on the bottom.

“Follow up. But don’t tell Rowan he was right. Ever.”

BROOKS – 3:03

At 3:03 AM, Brooks woke again.

This time, the leaves were inside his mouth.

He screamed.

When he ran to the mirror, his reflection didn’t scream with him.

It just watched.

Link to all chapters below:

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Welcome to Ravenshade

Chapter 4

The tree stood at the edge of the forest, a gnarled and ancient thing that looked like it had been there since time began. Its branches twisted upward like the fingers of a ghostly hand trying to claw its way out of the earth. Brooks had passed it as a child, but now, as an adult, it felt… different. Larger. More imposing.

“We’re here,” he muttered, the weight of the air thick with anticipation.

The others stood behind him. Rowan had that insufferable grin on his face, as though he was just waiting for someone to trip and make it a spectacle. Maddison was scribbling in her notebook, probably noting down the tree’s exact coordinates and trying to map the aura of doom surrounding it. Jax was scanning the area as though he expected a giant monster to leap out of the bushes. And Ray... Ray looked like he had been dragged here by an angry toddler.

“Do you know how many times I’ve almost been run over this week?” Ray grumbled. “Why am I in the woods looking at a tree?”

“Because this tree is special, Ray,” Rowan replied, his voice completely unbothered. “It’s got this... vibe to it. A very insistent vibe.”

“Yeah, well, it’s also creepy,” Ray muttered, scratching his head.

Brooks could feel the pressure building in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong. He didn’t know how to explain it, but the closer they got to the tree, the more the air around them seemed to vibrate. Like the earth itself was holding its breath.

“I’ll go first,” Brooks said, stepping toward the base of the tree. The bark was covered in strange symbols that looked almost like scratches, but the more he looked, the more they seemed to... move.

“No,” Rowan said sharply, grabbing his arm. “This is a terrible idea.”

Brooks shook him off. “I have to do this. You saw what happened last night. I need answers.”

Rowan didn’t respond. He just watched with a flicker of something in his eyes that Brooks couldn’t quite place.

The moment Brooks’s foot made contact with the earth beneath the tree, the ground shifted. The air turned cold, almost painfully so. It was as if the temperature dropped a full ten degrees.

The trees around them creaked. The wind howled, but only around the tree—it felt like the forest itself was alive and aware of their presence.

Brooks’ breath caught in his throat. His vision blurred, as if a veil had descended over the world. For a moment, everything felt... wrong.

He heard the whispering. That same whisper that haunted him the night before. It came from all directions, from within his mind and around his ears. “Come back. Come back, Brooks.”

Brooks staggered backward, clutching his head. The whispering was louder now, the voice—if it was even a voice—distorted, like an echo from another time.

“Brooks!” Maddison shouted from behind him.

But his gaze was locked on the tree. And within it, a shape began to form. A shadow. A figure, pale and indistinct at first, but slowly taking shape, materializing out of the fog of his mind.

It was Danny. The ghostly image of his cousin, standing in front of him, smiling with those wide, hollow eyes.

“Brooks,” it whispered again. “You know what I am. You know where I am. Come to me.”

Brooks reached out, his heart racing. He was on the edge of madness. He could feel it.

“Don’t,” Rowan’s voice called out from behind him, but it felt muffled, as if the world had begun to fade away. “You don’t need to do this.”

Brooks didn’t hear him. Or maybe he didn’t care. His fingers brushed the rough bark of the tree.

And then—

Nothing.

The whispering stopped. The image of Danny vanished. The tree... was just a tree again.

ROWAN – Completely Unbothered

Rowan stood with his arms folded across his chest, watching the scene unfold with a level of nonchalance that almost made Brooks want to strangle him.

“Are you seriously not feeling anything?” Brooks snapped, his heart pounding in his chest. He was shaking, though he wasn’t sure why. “This place is insane. It’s messing with my head. It’s messing with all of us!”

Rowan yawned. “Nope. Nothing. I’m fine.” He took a step closer to the tree, raising an eyebrow as though daring it to try something. “It’s like it doesn’t even care I’m here.”

“You—” Brooks clenched his fists. “How are you not affected? Everyone else is feeling it. This place is practically designed to make you lose your mind, and you’re just—what? Walking through it like it’s some casual walk in the park?!”

Rowan shrugged, looking far too relaxed for someone standing next to an eldritch tree that literally spoke.

“Some places just don’t have an effect on me, man,” Rowan said nonchalantly, tapping the bark of the tree with the back of his hand. “I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I’m too annoying for the supernatural to deal with. Or maybe I’m just built different.” He grinned, his cockiness unwavering. “I’m practically a walking antidote.”

Ray shot him a skeptical look. “So, you’re saying that this thing, which makes everyone lose their damn minds, doesn’t even touch you?”

“Exactly,” Rowan said with a devil-may-care grin. “Try it sometime. You might actually enjoy it.”

Ray didn’t like this. Not at all.

“I don’t like this,” he muttered again, his eyes flickering between Brooks and Rowan. “Something’s off.”

“Tell me about it,” Brooks hissed, still breathing heavily. “This thing—this tree—it’s not just a haunted landmark. It’s manipulating us. I can feel it.”

“And you’re saying it doesn’t affect you?” Ray turned to Rowan, skepticism etched on his face. “Why the hell not?”

Rowan leaned casually against the tree, inspecting his fingernails. “I’ve got no idea. Like I said, I’ve been in situations where things are a lot worse than this and I’ve walked away fine. Must be my natural charm or something.”

Ray’s eye twitched. “Or maybe you’re just too stupid to realize it’s trying to kill you.”

Rowan grinned. “Look, Ray, I’m alive, aren’t I?”

Maddison had taken out the EMF reader again, but this time it was emitting an unsettling, high-pitched whine.

“It’s reacting to something,” she said quietly, her eyes narrowed in concentration. “But what?”

Brooks stared at the tree, his hands trembling, feeling as though his thoughts were unraveling. “It’s reacting to me. To all of us. Except Rowan.”

“Well, that’s a theory,” Rowan quipped. “Maybe it just thinks I’m too much of a hassle to deal with.”

But Brooks couldn’t shake the feeling that Rowan’s immunity wasn’t a coincidence. Rowan wasn’t like the rest of them—he was different. There was something about him, something that made him impervious to the madness that plagued them all.

The air still felt heavy, and the whispers still echoed in Brooks’ mind. But now, he was beginning to realize that Rowan’s indifference might be their only advantage.

Link to all chapters below

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

Welcome to Ravenshade

Chapter 3

Brooks hadn’t intended to fall asleep on the couch, but the coffee jitters had finally crashed into exhaustion. He didn’t remember closing his eyes.

But he did remember the sound that woke him.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

It was soft at first. Like fingers against a windowpane. Except… he lived alone. And he was on the second floor.

He sat up, disoriented. The living room was dark, the TV screen flickering—he must’ve left it on. The screen buzzed, white static crawling like random pixels. He reached for the remote. It slipped through his fingers and hit the floor with a dull clack. The tapping got louder.

Tap. Tap. TAP.

Brooks turned slowly toward the window.

Someone—something—was staring back at him.

A face. Pale. Too pale. Like chalk soaking in water. The eyes were hollow, but somehow watching.

His lungs forgot how to work.

He stumbled backward, knocking into the table. The lamp crashed. When he scrambled to the window—

The face was gone.

ROWAN – Later That Morning

“You got haunted,” Rowan said, chewing loudly.

Brooks looked like a man who had slept maybe three hours and spent the rest staring at the walls. Which, to be fair, was exactly what he had done.

“You don’t know that.”

“You described a classic case of ghost staring through a window. Happens all the time. Sometimes they just look. Sometimes they come in. Depends on your energy.”

“What does that mean?”

Rowan wiggled his fingers dramatically. “You’ve got the 'touched by trauma' vibe. You’re like spiritual magnet.”

“I’m going to die because I look like the emotional protagonist of a sad indie film?”

“Essentially, yes.” Rowan handed him a fry. “Here. Eat this.”

They were at The Crow’s Nest, a diner that probably failed a health inspection last decade and wore that fact with pride. The waitstaff didn’t write things down—they just remembered.

Maddison arrived, her backpack thudding like it had bricks in it.

“I brought maps,” she said.

Brooks groaned. “Of course you did.”

“I mapped every supernatural sighting in the last twenty years.”

“Of the entire town?” Jax blinked.

“No. Just this street.”

Rowan let out a slow whistle. “Wow. Even I didn’t know this place was that cursed.”

Maddison pointed at Brooks’ place on the map. “Guess where it overlaps with five known 'disappearing's zone.'”

“Right where I live?” Brooks guessed miserably.

“Bingo.”

Ray entered at that moment, balancing two coffees and a look that said he had already had enough of today.

“You’re discussing murder ghosts in a diner again, aren’t you?”

Rowan looked innocent. “No. We’re discussing window ghosts with a taste for souls. Big difference.”

Ray passed Brooks a coffee. “And you’re buying this?”

Brooks shrugged. “I saw something last night. I don’t know what. But it wasn’t normal.”

Ray stared at him. Then at Rowan. Then back to Brooks. “You need sleep. And probably therapy.”

Rowan raised his hand. “I do both poorly, and look how well-adjusted I am.”

Jax muttered, “He once threatened a guy with a water gun.”

“It worked, Jax.”

BROOKS – That Night

Brooks tried everything. Closed all the windows. Left every light on. Played lo-fi beats to stay calm.

Still, he felt it. That static buzz under his skin. The way the air felt too heavy, like something was breathing. The fridge clicked on and he jumped.

And then… the sound came again.

Not tapping this time.

Whispering.

Not outside the window.

Inside the apartment.

He turned. Slowly. Toward the hallway. Where the lights had gone out.

“…Brooks…”

A cold hand brushed his back.

He ran.

ROWAN – 1:13 a.m.

“ROWAN. IT TOUCHED ME.”

Rowan bolted upright in bed, knocking three open books, a slice of cold pizza, and what may have been a small cursed idol onto the floor.

“Brooks? Was it sinister?”

“DOES IT MATTER?!”

Rowan sat up fully. “Okay, I’m coming over. Do not try to communicate with it while I’m gone. Ghosts love that shit.”

“I’m not trying to talk to the spirit, Maddox.”

“You say that, but you’re a white guy in a haunted town and statistically, you’re gonna try something dumb. It's a horror movie rule.”

RAY – Called from Sleep for the Dumbest Reason

Ray arrived after Rowan, with reluctance, of course.

“Let me get this straight,” he said, arms crossed, “You saw a face in the window last night, then heard whispering tonight?”

Brooks nodded. “And it touched me.”

Ray looked to Rowan. “What did you bring this time?”

Rowan opened a duffel bag with flair. “Salt, EMF reader, knife, silver bullets, backup knife, notebook, holy water, and a cursed voodoo doll I borrowed from a museum.”

Ray blinked. “Why the silver bullets?”

“In case it's a vampire.”

Jax peeked out from the bathroom. “I salted the drains. Just in case.”

“Of what? A haunted plumber?”

“Spirits can travel through water,” Maddison explained, way too cheerfully.

Ray threw his hands up. “This is not logical. This is—this is paranormal rumors!”

The EMF reader started buzzing. Not loudly. But enough.

Brooks was standing in the hallway when it happened again. That sensation of weight on his chest. His breath fogged in the air.

He turned to the hallway. And in the center… stood Danny.

His cousin. But wrong. Eyes too bright. Smile too sharp.

“Come back, Brooks,” he said. “You know where I am.”

Brooks stepped back. “You’re not him.”

Danny tilted his head. “Then who am I?”

And vanished.

Rowan caught Brooks before he collapsed. The EMF reader screeched now.

Ray stepped in, pulling out his flashlight. “What the hell was that?!”

“Vision,” Maddison said. “Induced by a spirit.”

“He said ‘come back,’” Brooks whispered. “Said I know where he is.”

Jax tilted his head. “The tree.”

Everyone looked at him.

“What?” he shrugged. “It’s always the tree.”

MORNING – Back at the Diner

Brooks stirred his fifth coffee of the morning, looking tired in a haunted protagonist way.

Rowan was sketching something on a napkin. Jax was trying to convince the waitress to add “pancakes” to the menu.

Ray had a stack of reports and a look like he’d aged ten years overnight.

“I’m going back to the tree,” Brooks finally said.

Everyone froze.

“I need to know. I need to see. If Danny’s there—if his spirit—”

Rowan nodded. “Then we’re going with you.”

Ray groaned. “Of course we are.”

Rowan looked at him, smirked. “Admit it, you’d be bored without me.”

Ray deadpanned. “You make me wish I did believe in ghosts. So one could drag you off.”

Jax looked thoughtful. “Logically, it’s more likely one of us goes missing instead of getting killed.”

Everyone slowly turned to look at him.

“What?” he said. “I’m just saying.”

Links to all chapters below

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

If anyone's up for helping me with my story my messages are still open

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

Welcome To Ravenshade

Chapter 2

Maddison Crowe lived in the library basement, figuratively and possibly legally. She had the kind of face that made people think she was innocent, and the kind of theories that made conspiracy theorists take notes. Her current obsession?

The screaming tree.

More accurately: the statistically improbable number of people who either lost their minds or vanished within a 2-3 mile radius of said tree.

Her laptop was open, and she was already three coffees in.

So, when a certain someone from her “infamous Ravenshade tragedies” file walked into the library, she practically leapt over the desk.

“Brooks Walker?”

He froze like someone caught sneaking snacks into a movie theater. “Uh. Yes?”

“Maddison. I’ve been tracking you.” Beat. “I mean, your name. Your case. I mean—” She flailed. “Your cousin’s case. Not… tracking you like a stalker. Legally.”

She held up a folder thick enough to be a book. “Can we talk?”

They sat in the furthest corner of the library, surrounded by dusty encyclopedias and a very dusty copy of Edgar Allan Poe.

Maddison flipped open her folder and pointed at a blurry photo. “This was taken the night your cousin disappeared. The light pattern here?”

“It looks like a glowstick.”

“No. It’s energy distortion. Or Photoshop. But probably energy distortion.”

Brooks leaned in. “Are you trying to tell me a demon light show kidnapped Danny?”

“I’m telling you the town’s been ignoring something big. And you coming back? That’s not a coincidence.”

He sipped from his third coffee. “I was kind of hoping it was.”

Then, across the room—

CRASH.

Maddison sighed. “And that would be the raccoon in the attic or Rowan Maddox being nosy.”

Brooks didn’t even look. “I’m betting Rowan.”

ROWAN – Totally Eavesdropping

Rowan had wedged himself between two shelves. He squinted between the dusty books like a spy in detective cosplay.

“What is she showing him?” he muttered.

“I think it’s a folder,” Jax said behind him, startling him so badly he hit his head on How to Grow Plants for Beginners.

“Jax, damn it, I told you to distract Ray.”

“I did. I asked him if he’s ever wondered what snakes would sound like if they could scream.”

Rowan blinked. “You what?”

“I was curious!”

“You are many things, but normal isn’t one of them.”

RAY – Back Room of the Library, Regretting Everything

Ray stared at Jax like they were having a staring contest.

“I just wanted to ask if I could look at the case files,” Rowan had said. “Just to compare notes,” he said.

Ten minutes later, his assistant was telling Ray about snakes screams.

Ray took a deep breath. “Do you understand that this is a real case involving a missing person?”

“Yes,” Jax said earnestly. “And if Rowan solves it first, you owe him tacos.”

“I never said—”

“He wrote it down. It’s in your wallet.”

Ray yanked out his wallet and sure enough, inside was a small sticky note with his handwriting:

“If Rowan solves the case first, he gets tacos. And maybe one lingering look.”

Ray stuffed the note away. “He forged that.”

“He watched you write it.” Jax grinned.

ROWAN – Striding In Like a Menace

Rowan kicked the door open like a guy in a drama he was writing.

“Brooks!” he said cheerfully. “Whatcha talking about?”

“Not you,” Maddison replied flatly.

Brooks sighed. “Do you ever not interrupt conversations?”

Rowan pulled up a chair, flipped it around, and sat on it backward like a substitute teacher trying to be cool. “Not legally, no.”

He pointed at Maddison’s file. “This photo. I’ve seen that pattern before.”

“You have?”

Rowan reached into his coat and pulled out his file, slapping it on the table. It was filled with maps, sketches, and at least one drawing of the tree.

Ray followed shortly after, rubbing his temples. “Rowan—”

“Nope.” Rowan held up a finger. “I’m solving your case. Free of charge. Well—unless you count the tacos.”

Maddison looked between them. “What is happening here?”

Brooks whispered, “Foreplay. I think.”

Ray shot him a glare that could dry paint.

Jax handed Ray a coffee, gently nudging him into a chair. “You’ll want to sit for this. Rowan’s about to go on one of his rants.”

“Please,” Ray muttered. “I don’t have time for this.”

Rowan flipped open the map. “See this section? Eight disappearances. One returnee, the only witness. That’s not random.”

Maddison leaned in, eyes wide. “You think it’s a cult?”

Brooks winced. “I hate that I want to hear more.”

Ray snorted. “There is no cult. Just folklore and panic.”

Rowan tilted his head. “That’s what they want you to think.”

“Who’s they?”

Rowan looked dead serious. “Big Tree.”

“Big—” Ray slammed his hand on the table. “You’re making this up.”

“I’m solving this creatively.”

“Rowan, I swear—”

“Ray,” Jax said gently. “His insanity is productive. Let him do his job.”

Ray opened his mouth. Closed it. Whispered: “He scares me less than you do.”

“Aw,” Jax smiled. “Thanks.”

Outside the library, Rowan lit a cigarette and looked up at the woods.

“You think there’s actually something out there?” Brooks asked, lingering beside him.

Rowan shrugged. “There’s always something out there. Sometimes it’s ghosts. Sometimes it’s secrets. Sometimes it’s your repressed childhood trauma dressed in leather and a hatchet.”

“That last one sounds familiar.”

“I’m very self-aware.”

Inside, Ray sat in the corner, flipping through Rowan’s maps. Muttered under his breath:

“…Damn it, this actually makes sense.”

Behind him, Jax whispered, “Told you so.”

Ray jumped out of his chair and nearly punched a Jax.

Link to all chapters below:

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

Welcome to Ravenshade

Chapter 1

Brooks – Ravenshade, 5:23 p.m.

Brooks Walker never expected his return to his hometown to be greeted with an axe.

Well, technically, it didn’t hit him. But it landed in the post right next to his face. With a deep, satisfying thunk.

“Jesus Christ!” Brooks screamed, stumbling backward into a garbage can. It wheeled away with a pitiful metallic groan.

Standing a few feet away was a man in a leather jacket, looking like someone had rejected him from the police force.

“Sorry!” the man shouted, not looking sorry. “Thought you were a ghost!”

“What kind of ghost wears a Jurassic Park T-shirt and is holding a goddamn grocery bag?” Brooks yelled.

The man jumped down, boots slapping hard against the pavement. “A disguised one. They evolve.”

Rowan – 3 Seconds Earlier

Rowan Maddox had been staking out the Whisper Tree again. The town called it the Screaming Tree, but he found that cliché and a little dramatic, considering trees didn’t technically scream. No, they were quieter than that.

Anyway, he was bored. Then he saw a man he didn’t recognize walk toward the edge of the woods. The man had “Main Character Trauma” energy. Sad eyes. Possibly a lost soul. Definitely haunted.

Rowan did what any sane, certified investigator would do. He threw an axe at him. Not to kill him. Just to, you know, check his vibe.

When the man screamed and dove for cover like a Looney Tunes extra, Rowan gave a satisfied nod.

“Not a ghost. Probably.”

“You’re insane,” Brooks muttered, checking if he was bleeding. He wasn’t. But his dignity might be.

“Rowan Maddox,” the man said, reaching out his hand like this was anywhere near an appropriate time for introductions. “Private Investigator. Paranormal Division.”

“Is that… an actual thing?”

“No.” Rowan grinned. “But I say it with confidence, so people assume it is.”

Brooks just stared. “I came here to relive some childhood memories. Not be murdered by Paul Bunyan's hot deranged cousin.”

Rowan blinked. “Hot?”

“I said deranged.”

Then, from the woods came a long, low sound. Like the sound of trees rubbing together—or something imitating it. Brooks froze.

Rowan perked up, one hand slowly sliding into his coat. “You hear that?”

Brooks, wide-eyed, nodded. “Please tell me you didn’t cause that.”

Rowan grinned. “This time? No.”

Ray – The Sheriff's Office, 5:40 p.m.

Officer Raymond Nolan was two cups of coffee and a migraine into his shift when the phone rang.

He didn’t even flinch. “If it’s about the raccoons forming a cult in the cemetery again, I’m hanging up.”

“Ray,” came the dry voice of dispatcher Linda, “your least favorite headache just threw an axe at a civilian.”

Ray exhaled through his nose. Slowly. “Rowan?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Of course.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and grabbed his coat. “Let me guess—screaming tree again?”

“Yup.”

“And the civilian?”

“Brooks Walker. Back in town. You remember the Danny kid? His cousin.”

Ray froze. “Shit.”

Jax – Watching It All From the Car

Jackson “Jax” Torres sat in the beat-up sedan, chewing on sunflower seeds and watching Rowan charm (harass) the man with the Jurassic Park shirt.

He tapped a voice note into his phone:

“Note: Rowan has thrown an axe today. Again. Considering hiding the sharp objects. Also… possible tension with town cop. Update later.”

Ray – Arriving at the Scene

Ray’s cruiser pulled up just as Rowan was showing Brooks a folder full of very questionable “evidence” that looked suspiciously like screenshots from Reddit.

Ray got out of the car like a man walking into war.

“Rowan.”

“Raymond.” Rowan’s smirk could light a match. “You’re not looking tired. That’s new.”

“You threw an axe at a civilian.”

“I missed.”

“That’s not better!” Ray turned to Brooks. “Sir, I apologize for this man’s existence.”

Brooks nodded. “Thanks. I thought I hallucinated him.”

Rowan shrugged. “You’re just mad you weren’t the one I nearly murdered today.”

“I am not jealous of your criminal tendencies.”

“Oh? Then why are you standing so close?”

They were, in fact, very close.

Ray stepped back like Rowan had sneezed a ghost at him. “Don’t make this weird.”

Rowan leaned in with a grin. “Too late.”

Brooks looked from Rowan to Ray. Then to Jax, who had wandered over: “Are they… always like this?”

Jax handed him a water bottle to drink. “I don’t even think they know they’re doing it.”

“I feel like I’m third-wheeling a cop drama written by someone with unresolved romantic trauma.”

“Welcome to Ravenshade.”

As the four of them bickered, none of them noticed the shift in the wind. The trees had gone still. The shadows darker.

Somewhere near the base of the Screaming Tree, a voice slithered out between roots. Not a scream. Not a groan.

Just one word.

“Brooks…”

He turned his head sharply, the bottle slipping from his grip.

Rowan stopped mid-joke. “You hear that?”

Ray’s eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t the wind.”

Jax picked up the fallen drink. “So. Uh. That’s not normal, right?”

Rowan grinned and pulled out a knife from somewhere. “Boys… we gotta investigate this.”

Find link to all the chapters here:

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

Welcome to Ravenshade

Prologue:

POV: Child Brooks, 10 years old

The woods behind Ravenshade always hummed like they were breathing. Not windy. Just… alive.

Ten-year-old Brooks Walker stood near the edge of the tree line with Danny, his cousin and partner-in-crime. They were arguing over whether the thing they’d just seen—a tall shadow that moved wrong—was “just a deer.”

Danny had a nasty habit of daring Brooks into things. Brooks had a nastier habit of saying yes. That’s how they ended up daring each other to throw rocks at "the screaming tree.” No one knew why it was called that. It didn’t scream.

Until it did.

The sound was like a woman crying underwater, but way too close. Brooks ran. Danny didn’t. He stayed behind, transfixed. Smiling. And then something shifted in the trees behind him.

When adults found Brooks curled up near the road two hours later, all he could say was: “The tree took Danny.”

No one believed him. Everyone in town said Danny had “run away” or “got lost.”

But Brooks knew what he saw.

Scene shifts to Present Day (Brooks, 26 years old)

Brooks Walker hadn't been back to Ravenshade in sixteen years. He only came back because of a dream—a whisper that sounded like Danny saying: "Come home."

He thought the town would feel smaller. But it didn’t. It felt bigger. Like the shadows had been growing since he left.

And the screaming tree?

Still there. Still screaming. Just... only at night now.

“Welcome back,” said the gas station clerk with a crooked smile.

“To Ravenshade?” Brooks asked.

“No,” the man replied. “To the whispers.”

Find link to all the chapters here:

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

Welcome to Ravenshade

Summary: Brooks Walker returns to Ravenshade, the town he fled after the death of his cousin Danny—a death no one ever explained properly. Locals blamed "the legend," a folklore tale about an entity that haunts the surrounding woods and drives people mad. Brooks never believed it… until he came back.

What was supposed to be a nostalgic return turns into a spiral of eerie events. Strange whispers in the trees. People acting weird—weirder than he remembers. And a string of incidents that don’t make any sense.

Private Investigator Rowan Maddox is already on the case—uninvited, unofficial, and unbothered. With his loyal assistant Jax in tow, Rowan is convinced something ancient and malevolent is hiding in Ravenshade. He also might be using the investigation to win a long-standing rivalry with the town’s exhausted and mildly traumatized police officer, Ray Nolan. (Who has absolutely no time for supernatural nonsense.)

Together (read: against Ray’s will), the group must figure out what's real and what's just "legend"—and why people keep disappearing near the woods.

Especially when those whispers start calling Brooks by name.

Chapter links below(more will be added as I write them):

Prologue:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

If anyone wants to help me a bit with my story that I'm writing then that'd be great, I'm a bit unsure about it

[tales-from-the-void-by-rit]

Hey there, so what are u writing today?

I'm currently writing a horror story about a guy who came back after a few years to his hometown and slowly finds out that there's a local legend about the woods surrounding that town.

There are a few other lead characters too but I didn't mention them right now.

I'm still figuring out how to write this story as a beginner writer.