Danny has always been drawn to the unknown, the unexplained. As a kid, he'd spend hours poring over books on ghosts and monsters, his mind racing at the possibility that it could all be real. So when rumors started circulating about a string of bizarre occurrences in the small town of Wimberley, he knew he had to see it for himself.

     At first, it seemed like your typical small-town nonsense. Pets gone missing, strange noises at night, the occasional glimpse of something out of the corner of an eye. But there was something different about this small Texas town, a palpable sense of dread that hung in the air like a fog.

Danny arrived in town on a drizzly afternoon, the kind that made you want to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea. But he wasn't there to relax. Danny had a mission: to get to the bottom of the strange happenings in Wimberley.

     His first stop was the local diner, a greasy spoon called "Luci's" that seemed to be the hub of town gossip. Danny slid onto a stool at the counter, ordering a cup of black coffee as he took in the atmosphere. The diner was bustling, farmers in flannel and truckers in worn denim, all fueling up for a long day of work. But despite the outward sense of normalcy, there was an undercurrent of fear. Hushed whispers, nervous glances over shoulders, the clinking of silverware on plates taking on a staccato pattern.

     He struck up a conversation with the waitress, a friendly woman named Lilly with a thick southern drawl. At first, she was tight-lipped, clearly wary of this outsider poking his nose into town business. But as the afternoon wore on, she began to open up. "It started a few weeks ago," she said, keeping her voice hidden under the sound of the surrounding chatter. "Pets at first, then...then people. My niece, Emily, she was the first to vanish. Just gone, without a trace."

     A chill ran down Danny's spine as he scribbled down some notes. This wasn't your typical ghost story, not if people were going missing. He thanked Lilly and slid off his stool, his mind going a million different directions. “What in the hell was going on in this town?”, he thought to himself.

The sun was setting as he left the diner, casting long shadows across the deserted streets. He had the feeling of being watched, goosebumps riddled his arms as a chill went up his spine. He quickened his pace, his heart beating out of his chest.

     As night began to fall, Danny found myself at the local library, a dusty old building with the musty smell of decay. The librarian, a kind-eyed old woman named Ms. Edith, was more than happy to help him dig into the town's history. 

"Wimberley has always been a place of...power," she said, her voice full of a quiet reverence. "There's a thinning of the veil here, a place where worlds meet."

     Danny's breath went cold as he scribbled down her words. ‘A thinning of the veil’ - that was exactly the kind of thing He was looking for. Was it possible that this tiny little town was some kind of portal, a doorway to the other side? As the night wore on, he found himself poring over dusty old tomes, the words blurring together on the page. He was about to pack it in when he stumbled upon something that made his blood also run cold. An ancient ritual, one used to summon entities from the other side. And the location of this ritual? Right here, in Wimberley.

     This wasn't a haunting, not in the classical sense. Something much more sinister was at play. Danny was gathering his things when he heard it, a low rumble like thunder on the horizon. But the sky outside was clear, the stars twinkling like diamonds against the inky blackness. Was something about to happen again, right here in front of him?

     The rumble grew louder, the ground beginning to shake beneath his feet. He was frozen in place, the only thing moving was his heart, and it was going well above any local speed limits. Then, he saw them. Shadows, tall and imposing, their eyes glowing like embers from the depths of hell, quite possibly their home. Danny’s mind recoiled in horror as he realized the truth. 

Demons. 

     They were real, and they were here. Danny was still stuck in place, unable to move or speak or do anything but stare as the shadows drew closer.

And then, everything went black.

     When he came to, he was lying on a cold tile floor, his head throbbing like a drum. The library was silent, the only sound the steady tick of a clock somewhere in the distance. Danny stumbled to his feet, his mind reeling. What had just happened? And where was Ms. Edith? As he staggered out into the night, he realized that he had an answer. The rumors, the missing people, it all made sense now. Wimberley wasn't haunted, not by ghosts, anyway. Something much more sinister was at play.

     Danny didn't bother to pack, just grabbed his keys and hit the road. He had to get out of there, had to get as far from Wimberley as possible. As he sped away, he could feel eyes on him, the weight of town gazing down on him. He didn't dare look back, just kept his eyes on the road.

It wasn't until he saw the sign for the county line that he finally allowed himself to breathe. He was safe, or at least as safe as he was going to get for the night. Danny pulled over at a roadside diner, his hands shaking as I dialed a familiar number.

"Hey," a voice answered on the first ring. 

     It was Eve, his old partner in crime. They'd investigated countless hauntings together, but nothing could have prepared then for this. "It's Wimberley," he said, his voice shakey and quiet. "We need to talk."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then a soft sigh. "I'm on my way."

     Danny waited for Sarah to arrive, but he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. He kept looking over his shoulder, expecting to see those glowing eyes. But there was never anything there. When She arrived, her face was grim. "I've been doing some research," she said, sliding into the booth across from Danny. "I think I know what's going on."

Danny leaned forward, he was sweating with anticipation and any kind of answer to make sense of it all. "What is it?"

"It's a summoning," she said, with fear in her voice. "Someone, or something, is bringing them here. But I think we can stop it."

     Danny nodded, a sense of determination washing over him. They'd dealt with hauntings and ghosts, but this was something different. This was demonic, and it was way out of their league. They had no experience with this. But they couldn't just sit back and do nothing. They had to try and stop it, no matter the cost. While they drove back towards Wimberley, Danny could feel a sense of dread building in his stomach. They were heading back into the mouth of hell, and he wasn't sure if they'd make it out again. But he knew one thing for sure: they weren't going down without a fight.

     Eve's profile is set in a determined expression, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. They were heading back. Back to that godforsaken town, where the shadows writhe like living things and the wind howls with a voice that isn't of this world. Eve doesn't say a word, but Danny knows she feels it too. Her jaw is clenched, the muscles in her neck corded with tension. Endless fields of withered corn, skeletal trees that seem to reach for the pair like bony fingers. And the sky...the sky is wrong. the sky is never supposed to reach this saturation of red. When the sun went down...when the darkness fell...they came. They came with the red sky. Clawing their way out of the earth, their eyes glowing with an otherworldly green fire.

     Eve's hand brushes Danny's, a fleeting touch that's gone almost before he registers it. It's all the reassurance they can offer each other. The fields began thinning, buildings rising from the gloom like specters. The town. It's...it's wrong. The roofs are jagged, the windows empty holes that stare back at them. And the silence...there's no birdsong, no rustle of leaves. Just that silence, oppressive and heavy with waiting.

     Danny's mouth was dry, his heart slamming against his ribs. He fumbled on the seat beside him, his fingers closing around the shape of a dagger. It's not much, not against what they were facing. But it's all they had. Eve found the info she had needed and was able to get this dagger blessed before driving out. The main street stretched out before them, a gauntlet of darkness and shadow. At the end of it, Danny could feel the pulse, the rhythmic throb of the circle. The demons were waiting for them.

     Eve didn’t slow, just keeps driving, her eyes fixed on some point ahead. Danny followed her gaze, and his blood once again turned to ice. The circle. It was open, a gaping maw of green fire that seemed to pierce the very sky itself. And from it...from it, they were coming.

     The demons were indescribable. They defied words, defied comprehension. They were wrong, just like the sky, all of them, their bodies twisted and flowing like melted wax. And their eyes...their eyes are on Eve and Danny. The car squealed to a halt, throwing the two forward. Eve was already moving, her own dagger glinting in the sickly light. Danny was right behind her, his heart in his throat. This was it. This was to be the end.

     They moved as one, a well-oiled machine, honed from years of battling the things that go bump in the night. But this...this wasn't just a ghost, or a demon. This was something else entirely. This was the abyss itself, staring back at them. The green fire was hotter now, the air thick with the stench of sulfur and something worse. Something...meatlike. Danny could feel the ground trembling beneath his feet, the pulse of the circle growing stronger. It's going to explode, to send them flooding back into their world.

     Eve is ahead of Danny, her movements swift and sure. He can see her lips moving, the words of the banishment spilling from her lips. But Danny could feel it, a resistance, a push back against the power she was summoning. They didn’t want to go. Once beside her, his own dagger raised, his voice joining hers. The words felt strange, the taste of old languages and forgotten power on their tongues. But it was not enough. The fire was higher now, the flames crackling and spitting. And through it...through it, he could see them. Their eyes were on them. And then, in a flash of insight, he knew. The circle wasn't a gate. It was an anchor. It's what had been holding the hellspawn there.

     There was no time to think. Danny just acted, his dagger flashing in the firelight. It bit deep, the blade screaming as it cut through the arcane energies. Eve's head whipped around, her eyes wide with understanding. And together, they would strike. The backlash was immediate, a wave of power that sent them both flying. Danny landed hard, the dagger spinning from his grasp. And when he looked up, the fire was dying. The green glow was fading, and through the smoke, he can see stars. It was done. It was finally done. But as Danny rolled to his feet, he saw Eve, pale and shaken. Bleeding...Danny’s dagger was lodged in her gut. Eve was shaking and struggling to breath. She was gurgling on her own blood. This wasn't the end. There will be more circles, more gates, more of the things that lurk in the dark. All of Danny’s fears could possibly be coming to fruition. He sat with Eve holding her hand and crying, expressing his gratitude and love to her. Then Danny saw Ms. Edith walking towards him. He forced a smile and nodded at her as she continued walking. Then he heard something behind him thud against the pavement, as he turned his head to look, he spotted Lilly standing right behind him. 

     “Well ain't that something, sugar?” Lilly proclaimed, looking at Eve’s dead body and the spot where the circle used to be. She then used her nail and started slicing up her heck. Danny watched in horror, still holding Eve on his lap. “What was happening”, he frantically tried to figure out in his head. Lilly then stuck her fingers into the wound and peeled the skin from her face, exposing her true self, red skin, hairy, two very long horns contouring her skull. 

     “You're not gonna just take my family and friends from me like that are ya?” she asked with a smile. “We came here for a reason” 

      “NOOOOO”, Danny tried to scream out, but it was cut short by a slash across his throat. Danny grabbed at his throat trying to hold in his blood, only to see his murderer, Ms. Edith standing in front of him, sporting her own demon look. As Danny fell back, Choking on his own steady flow of blood, Lilly walked over to him and smiled, 

“It was a valiant effort dear. You just needed to do a little more research”, said Ms. Edith with a grin.

     With that, Lilly snapped her finger, and the circle lit back up. Hundreds of demons started flowing through the gate. They picked up Danny, who hadnt died yet but was unable to fight back anymore, and Eve, and walked them back over to the circle and dumped them through, right into the depths of hell. 

     From that point on, more and more circles started showing up in small towns. Deep in the south. The world was in for a real awakening. One they could have never anticipated.