The Bloody Harvest

Book excerpt: The sun was setting behind the rolling hills, casting long shadows over the fields of corn. The sound of crickets filled the air as the last of the harvesters made their way home, leaving the fields empty and quiet. But as darkness descended, a chilling wind began to blow, carrying with it a sense of unease and the faint, metallic scent of blood. In the small town of Oakwood, nestled in the heart of the countryside, whispers of a curse had been circulating for generations. Every year, during the harvest season, strange and inexplicable events would occur. Crops would wither and die, livestock would fall ill, and the townspeople would huddle together in fear, waiting for the next disaster to strike. This year, however, the curse seemed to have taken on a more sinister form. In the weeks leading up to the harvest, several farmhands had gone missing without a trace. Their families searched desperately, but all they found were abandoned tractors at the edge of the cornfields, engines still running and doors left wide open. As night fell, the local sheriff received a frantic call from a farmer on the outskirts of town. When he arrived at the scene, his flashlight beam revealed a sight that would haunt him for years to come. The farmer's body lay sprawled across his front porch, his chest cavity hollowed out as if something had burrowed its way inside. A trail of viscera led from the corpse into the cornfield, disappearing into the darkness. As the harvest moon rose into the sky, casting an eerie light over the town, a group of teenagers gathered at the edge of the cornfields. Among them was Tara, a bold and adventurous girl with a penchant for exploring the unknown.