Cow in EE's woods: "A narrow cave sat hidden among the pines, its mouth choked w…"

A narrow cave sat hidden among the pines, its mouth choked with moss and dripping water. Hikers passed it every year without noticing. Those who did notice often stopped to take pictures. Some never came back. The disappearances were strange. No screams. No blood. Just abandoned backpacks found days later beside muddy trails. Search parties blamed cliffs, bears, bad weather. The woods kept their secrets. But something lived in the Hollow. On wet nights, it crawled from the cave and waited among the trees. It watched with patient, unseen eyes as flashlights bobbed through the darkness. When someone wandered off the path, the forest would go quiet. Then there would be a sound. Not a growl. Not a footstep. Something wetter. Something dragging itself through the leaves. The missing hikers were never found. Only long grooves in the mud leading back toward the cave, where cold water dripped endlessly into the dark. And deep inside, beyond where sunlight had ever reached, something waited for the next person to get lost.