Devil's Ridge: A Haunting Paranormal Thriller by Michelle Powers

Author:Michelle Powers [Powers, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michelle Powers
Published: 2025-09-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

They stepped out of the church like survivors of something they couldn’t name. The door creaked shut behind them, and the valley air hit their lungs like a splash of cold water. Sadie walked a few paces down the stone path, then stopped, pressing her hands to her knees and staring at the ground like it might offer some version of reality that made sense. Susan stayed just behind her, arms wrapped tightly around herself, face pale, her thoughts spinning like leaves in a storm.

Sadie straightened and turned, her voice cracking as it broke through the stillness. “He wants you to go back.” Susan didn’t answer. Sadie’s hands clenched into fists. “Like hell you are. We are not doing this. We are not offering you up to some forest cryptid as a spiritual refund.”

“That’s not what he said,” Susan murmured.

“Oh come on,” Sadie snapped, her voice rising. “That’s exactly what he said. ‘It wants what it lost.’ You. He meant you.”

Susan finally looked at her, eyes wet and wide. “Then why do I feel like part of me is still there?” Sadie’s breath caught in her throat. “I don’t remember going into the woods,” Susan said softly. “But I remember what it felt like. The quiet. The pull. The way it… it made me feel safe.”

Sadie stepped forward, grabbing her by the shoulders. “That wasn’t you, Susan. That was it. Whatever it is, it’s lying. It wears faces, it sings songs, it pretends. But it’s not safe. It’s waiting.”

Susan swallowed, then nodded once, more to herself than to Sadie.

They both stood there in the golden hush of morning, the birds finally starting to stir in the trees, as if they too had been frozen, waiting to see what came next. Suddenly, the church door creaked open behind them. Colburn stepped out, coat draped over his shoulders like a weight he couldn’t put down. He didn’t walk toward them, stood on the steps, hands folded in front of him, like a man offering a prayer he knew would never be answered.

“One more thing,” he said, his voice just loud enough to carry across the gravel. “You’re not the only one it ever called.”

Susan turned to look at him. “What?”

He nodded once. “Others have walked that path. Not many made it back. And none of them came back whole.”

Sadie’s jaw clenched. “So why us?”

Colburn’s gaze was steady. “Because blood remembers. Even when minds forget. The mountain doesn’t call strangers. It calls kin.” He turned to go back inside, pausing just before the door.

“If you really want answers,” he said, “go back to where it started. Find the place she pulled you from. It’ll be waiting.” And with that, he disappeared into the church, the door closing behind him like a final chapter sealing shut.

They stood in the parking lot for a long time after the church door closed, both of them staring at it like they expected it to open again. Like maybe he’d come back out and say, Just kidding, here’s a step-by-step guide to banishing ancient forest entities.

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