Chapter 4
Shadows of the Past
Jack begins to investigate John Welber, discovering the man was a former resident with a troubled past, whose family had a history of unusual beliefs. He starts to wonder if the confession is a deranged fantasy or a chilling warning.
The library’s fluorescent hum felt less like a comfort and more like a low-frequency thrum against Jack’s skull now. Each click of his mouse echoed in the quiet, the digital glow of his Chromebook a stark contrast to the dust motes dancing in the afternoon sunbeams that slanted through the tall windows. He’d spent the last two days – and most of his evenings – sifting through the digital detritus of John Welber’s life, a life that seemed to unravel before him in a series of half-forgotten news articles and forum posts. The initial thrill of discovery had curdled into something heavier, something akin to a stone in his gut.
He found Welber’s name in the local high school’s digital archives, a faded yearbook photo of a gangly teenager with a shock of dark hair and eyes that even in the grainy image seemed to hold a peculiar intensity. John Welber, Class of ‘98. No sports, no clubs, just a single, awkward smile frozen in time. The accompanying blurb was generic, highlighting an interest in “unconventional literature” and a vague desire to “understand the hidden mechanisms of the world.” Jack felt a shiver trace its way down his spine. Unconventional literature. Was The End of All Things part of that collection?
His deeper dives led him to more unsettling discoveries. A local newspaper clipping from 2003, yellowed even in its digitized form, reported on a minor incident at the old Miller’s Creek Bridge. “Local Man Causes Disturbance, Claims Impending Cataclysm.” The man in question was John Welber, then twenty-three. The article, a dismissive paragraph buried on page seven, described Welber’s rantings about “celestial alignments” and a “cleansing fire” to a bewildered police officer. He’d been taken in for observation, released after a few days, and the incident was largely forgotten by the town, filed away as another eccentricity of a quiet, odd young man.
Keep reading "Shadows of the Past"
Open the same story in AIBookCraft. Later chapters may require an active subscription.
Free on iOS & Android · No signup to read