The Candlelight Chronicles

Chapter Six: “The Sound of Hunger” Journal Entry – Day 6 The knocking didn’t stop. It started again just after midnight. Three taps. Then silence. Minutes later, it came again—three more, slow and deliberate. I stayed frozen at the table, my breath shallow, rifle aimed at the door.

Chapter Five: “The Stranger in the Dark” Journal Entry – Day 5 The groaning started earlier tonight, long before the sunset.

Chapter Four: “Echoes in the Dark” Journal Entry – Day 4 I didn’t sleep at all last night. The groaning grew louder, rising and falling in waves like the ocean outside. It wasn’t just a few of them anymore. It sounded like dozens, maybe more. They surrounded the cabin, staying just beyond the tree line, their movements blending with the rustle of the wind.

Chapter Three: “A Glimpse of the End” Journal Entry – Day 3 The groaning stopped around dawn, but I knew better than to let my guard down.

Chapter Two: “The Longest Night” Journal Entry – Day 2 I made it through the night. Barely. It was the longest night I can remember. Every sound outside felt like it was coming closer—the wind rustling the trees, the distant crash of the waves, and, worst of all, the groaning. It was sporadic at first, like a lone animal in the woods, but as the hours dragged on, it grew. More voices joined the ch...

Chapter One: “The Day the World Changed” Journal Entry – Day 1 My name is Thomas Whitaker. I’m 67 years old, and I’m writing this by candlelight in my small cabin on the outskirts of Crescent City, California. I don’t know who will ever read this—if anyone—but I feel I have to leave something behind. Something that says I was here, that I lived through this.