Hush Of Shadows (1)(Jayden) It started as a string of disappearances, so subtle that no one thought much of them at first A missing hiker here, a vanished jogger there. But then the numbers began to rise.

People young and old vanishing into thin air, leaving nothing behind but their clothes, their accessories, and the faintest trace of a dark mist that seemed to linger, like a bad memory.

The first one to disappear was Emily Roberts, a teenager out for a late-night walk through a nearby park. The moon was barely a sliver in the sky, and the streets were empty. No one had heard from her after she posted a selfie at the park’s entrance. A few hours later, her phone was found near a dark alleyway, abandoned on the concrete with no sign of Emily herself.

Within days, the news was full of similar stories. Missing persons, some teenagers, others adults, all vanishing under the same mysterious circumstances. Amber alerts filled every phone. Police scoured the forests and backstreets, but no one was ever found. The victims had simply… vanished.

The first clue came when a group of hikers ventured into the woods, determined to find out what had been happening. They had heard the rumors, but it wasn’t until they witnessed it firsthand that they truly understood the terror.

As they made their way deeper into the forest, the air grew colder, thicker. The trees, once towering and imposing, now seemed to close in on them, creating a suffocating tunnel of darkness. And then it appeared.

A shadow, darker than night itself. It wasn’t a figure, not in the traditional sense. It was a thick, swirling black mist that crawled along the ground, creeping up like a living entity, consuming everything it touched. The hikers panicked, trying to run, but their legs wouldn’t move fast enough. The darkness, it seemed, moved faster than they did.

One by one, they were caught. The first victim tried to scream, but the air around them turned deathly still. No sound. No breath. Just the suffocating pressure of the void. As the mist wrapped around them, they stumbled forward, their vision dimming to nothing, until all they could feel was the slow suffocation of their breath being stolen away. The last thing they saw was the oppressive blackness closing in, and then… nothing. Their bodies, lifeless, were left behind in the fog, clothes and all personal items still intact.

The mist retreated, leaving behind only the eerie silence.

The police couldn’t explain it. They’d searched the woods for hours, found nothing but empty trails and the occasional torn piece of clothing. No body. No blood. Just… nothing.

Meanwhile, reports of similar disappearances continued flooding in. A jogger in the city was last seen entering a dark alley, but when her body was never recovered, the case became another chilling entry in a growing list. The darkness seemed to be everywhere. It followed victims into alleyways, onto city streets, into suburban neighborhoods.

People began to speculate. Was it some sort of serial killer? But how could one person take so many in such an eerie, untraceable manner? It wasn’t until a group of teenagers dared to investigate the woods one night that the truth came to light.

They walked deep into the forest, cameras rolling, hoping to catch whatever was responsible for the disappearances on tape. At first, they joked among themselves, the fear of the unknown pushed aside by the thrill of an adventure. That is, until they saw it.

The darkness.

It didn’t announce itself. It didn’t roar or howl like a creature of the night. It was just… there. A massive, suffocating shadow on the ground, a swirling mass of pitch-black mist, crawling up the trunks of trees and curling along the forest floor. And it moved faster than they could run.

One by one, they stumbled into its grip, their senses disintegrating as the darkness engulfed them. It wasn’t like any normal fear. There was no sound, no escape. They couldn’t even hear their own heartbeats. The suffocating pressure began to steal their breath, and their vision blurred until they couldn’t see anything at all.

Then came the dizziness. Their limbs, heavy and uncooperative, felt like they were made of lead. The world spun, and they felt as though they were sinking into an endless void. Some of them tried to scream, but their voices were stolen by the black mist before they could even form a word. And then, as quickly as they had been surrounded, they collapsed into darkness.

When the police arrived the next morning, there were no bodies to recover, only clothing and accessories left scattered across the forest floor some bloodstains, but no traces of their owners. The pattern was unmistakable. This was no normal murderer. This was something far worse.

The darkness continued to spread. People who ventured into any dark places whether it was a park after hours, a lonely alleyway, or even their own backyards reported the same terrifying experience. They would lose their vision, their hearing, their breath everything would fade until they could no longer even move. The shadow would consume them, and they would vanish, leaving only a chilling void in their place.

Soon, the phenomenon was given a name: The Hush of Shadows.

News stations began reporting on it, but they didn’t know how to explain it. Every disappearance was followed by the same eerie message: No one has seen the victims again. Their families were left with nothing but memories and an unbearable silence.

The Amber Alerts became endless, flooding phones across the country. “Missing: Name, Age, Last Seen: [Location]” but there was never an answer. No one was found. The police were left grasping at straws, their search efforts yielding nothing but empty streets and darkened corners.

Even though the Hush of Shadows was more active at night, the darkness could appear at any time. It didn’t discriminate between the innocent and the guilty. It didn’t care who you were or where you came from. The only thing it cared about was consuming you whole body, soul, and breath.

And with every victim it took, the shadow grew stronger. It spread across the land, leaving behind a legacy of loss, terror, and unanswered questions. People whispered about it in fear. The darkness that stole more than just lives it stole hope, stole light, and left only emptiness in its wake.

Copyright © 2024 - Hush Of Shadows ( By Jayden Desilva-Hanies )
This story cannot be reproduced, distributed, adapted, or otherwise used without the express written permission of the copyright holder. All rights to Hush Of Shadows are reserved by Jayden Desilva-Hanies and Rich-Golden Stories™. Unauthorized use is prohibited and may result in legal action.

---