The retired sheriff’s words lingered in the dusty air like smoke which created an unbreakable bond in the air. Sarah forced herself to maintain a calm face while she experienced intense fear which made her breathing feel stuck in her throat.

She prepared herself to face Henderson’s upcoming interrogation. Instead he dropped the five-dollar bill across the counter and said “Be careful Sarah Louis.” He then walked out.

The moment the door closed, Sarah collapsed into the chair behind the counter. Burned thirty years ago. That’s impossible.

She kept thinking; the book needed to be brought back because someone had always planned for its return.

She opened the book again. The note’s ink looked darker which felt almost wet when touched. A chill ran up her arms.

She needed answers – not just theories. The best place to start to dig information is from the basement. The entire town’s hidden secrets remained accessible only through the town’s archives which existed in the basement.

Sarah closed the door and switched the sign to Closed before heading downstairs. The basement smelled of mold and old paper, the scent of forgotten years. She found the cabinet marked:

1990–1995: LOST & DESTROYED.

Her fingers shook as she continued searching until she uncovered the card for:

Along Came a Spider Copy 0035.

The checkout record at first glance appeared identical to the record which she had viewed upstairs.

Mira Price — July 18, 1994— LOST.

She found another detail when she looked closer. An extra line appeared underneath Mira’s name.

July 20, 1994 – Borrower: Thomas Henderson (Then a jagged line drawn through the name) RETURNED.

Sarah’s breath stopped; Thomas, the sheriff’s son and Mira’s high school boyfriend.

What was he doing with the book just two days after Mira vanished? Her gaze fell on the scrawled word RETURNED. The handwriting was the same looping script she had seen inside the book: “Finally, you found me.” Her skin crawled.

Before she could react, the overhead light flickered once before it stopped working. The basement became totally dark.

The wooden floorboards above her started to make creaking sounds. Someone was inside the bookstore. Sarah pressed her body against the filing cabinet while she held the book against her chest to stop her heart from beating. The door hinge made a loud creaking sound.

A voice from upstairs moved down the stairs.

“Sarah?”

It was familiar one. The voice belonged to Thomas Henderson. The sound of his footsteps showed that he moved down the stairs in a relaxed manner with high self-assurance. The flashlight beam created a visual path which cut through the dark space.

“I saw my father leaving,” he said. “He forgets things now. Things he shouldn’t.”

The light from the flashlight advanced across the concrete surface until it reached her shoes.

Thomas whispered to her “I know you found it. “The book never should have come back here.”

He spoke at a lower volume.

“It belongs in the house.”

Sarah entered the flashlight beam while she held Along Came a Spider. She demanded “Why?”.

Thomas exhaled shakily. “Because it’s part of the lease agreement.”

Sarah saw his face through the bright white light which showed the fear in his eyes.

Fear of what she had uncovered.

And fear of what still waited in the shadows.

— End of Part 2.

Final Part will be released on 03/29/2026.