BAD-011
Barista: Zach Black
Date: Jan-8-2020
Receipt: BAD-011
Subject: Omens
Something’s wrong.
I don’t say that lightly. Not when we’ve spent the whole day tracking something we shouldn’t be.
But this—this is something else.
Been following the Mattock River the whole way. Kept it to our left, a natural line pulling us straight to Mellifont.
Except now, standing here, I realize it’s not where it should be.
It’s behind us.
No—beside us.
No—
It’s circling the Abbey.
That’s not how rivers work.
Eoin’s pale as death, staring at the water like he just realized he’s been walking in a place he’s not supposed to be. Joy’s knuckles have gone white around her tarot deck. Victoria’s got that glassy look, like she’s seeing two things at once. Travis keeps flipping the map, holding it to the light like the damn thing will change if he looks hard enough. Max is dead silent, scanning the trees like they’re waiting for them to blink first.
The world’s gone silent. Too silent.
No wind. No birds. Not even the whisper of water on the banks. Just thick, crushing silence—pressing in like something alive, heavy enough to set my teeth on edge. The only sound left is our own breathing, too loud, too sharp. And beneath it—our hearts, hammering like they already know what our heads refuse to accept.
We are the hunters no more.
Every instinct in my body screams—move, run, escape. But there’s nowhere to go. The river’s surrounded us. Trapped us in a circle. A knot. The paths loop back on themselves, the river bends in ways it shouldn’t, and Mellifont Abbey looms ahead, yawning open like a trap with no clear way out. We’ve been moving forward. I know we have. But somehow, we’re right back where we started. And the air’s too thick. The wind’s too still.
Something here isn’t letting us leave.