A chilling tale of a haunted village, a cursed cheese, and a desperate fight for survival.
Chapter 1: The Strange Village
The sky hung heavy and gray, motionless as if frozen in time.
Sami held his daughter Jude's hand tightly as they walked along the dusty road, searching for something to fill their hunger.
Jude pulled her hand away and said,
"Dad… I'm really hungry."
Sami sighed, exhaustion written all over his face:
"I know, I know, Jude. Soon we'll find a place to eat."
Ahead, they saw a small village — old and worn-down. The street was empty, the only sound their footsteps on the dusty ground.
Sami looked at the cracked walls of the houses and said,
"Looks like we've reached an abandoned village…"
But when they turned the corner, they found a tiny shop with a faded sign above the door:
"Um Al-Khair Grocery"
Sami entered, Jude following behind him. Inside, the air was colder, and the smell was strange — like rotten cheese mixed with something else, something unbearable.
The shopkeeper stood by the fridge, his small eyes and unnervingly wide smile greeting them softly:
"Welcome… I have something you won't find anywhere else. Local cheese… rare."
Sami hesitated, but hunger won. He took a small piece of the cheese and brought it to his mouth. At first, it tasted normal — but seconds later, a strange flavor hit him, metallic, as if mixed with... blood.
He broke off a little more and handed it to Jude.
She tasted it and immediately grimaced:
"Yuck! What is this? It doesn't taste good at all!"
Sami shot the shopkeeper a suspicious look and said,
"Sorry, we won't buy anything. Thanks."
They left the shop, but as soon as they stepped outside, they froze.
The street was suddenly filled with people — but strangely, many had no hands. Some had one hand; others had both arms cut off at the shoulder.
Jude gasped and screamed,
"Dad! This village… I read about it before!"
Sami turned to her quickly:
"What? Where did you read?"
Tears in her eyes, she said,
"On the internet… It's a village known for cutting off the hands of the poor and using them for food… even cheese! They mix it with human bones!"
Sami stood stunned, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
He looked back at the shopkeeper standing behind the glass, smiling — the same smile, unchanged.
Chapter 2: You Can't Leave
Sami grabbed Jude's hand tightly.
"Come on, let's get back to the car quickly!"
But… the car?
It was gone.
"Dad…! The car? It was right here!" Jude's eyes darted around nervously.
Sami tried to stay calm.
"Maybe we took a wrong turn… Let's keep walking this way!"
They started running, but every street they turned to was the same — same faces, same roads, same waiting people.
A tall man appeared before them, wearing a gray robe, his face expressionless.
"Where are you going?" he asked in a deep voice.
"We want to leave the village," Sami replied.
The man slowly shook his head.
"No one leaves after entering… You are one of us now."
"What do you mean?!" Sami shouted.
"You're guests… but every guest pays a price. And we pay in our own way."
Behind them, men appeared dressed in old clothes, carrying sharp tools — knives, saws, and one holding a long iron rod that looked like a melted hand.
Jude screamed and cried,
"Dad! Don't let them take me!"
Sami stood in front of her,
"I won't let anyone touch you! They won't take you while I'm alive."
But before he could move, a strong blow hit him from behind.
They dragged him to the ground, saying,
"We need new hands…"
Chapter 3: The Escape
Jude screamed as she watched her father being dragged, blood dripping from his head, unable to get up.
But she was smart—she knew shouting or running wouldn't help now.
She quietly stepped back, slipped into the alleys, and disappeared.
She walked between the houses, hearing people crying and pots boiling… but the smell?
Not like normal food.
She stopped at a window and peeked inside.
She saw a woman tied up, and another woman cutting something off a man and putting it in a pan.
Jude held back a scream deep inside her chest, whispering,
"Oh God… Oh God… is this a nightmare?"
But the voice behind her was not a nightmare.
A small boy, maybe ten years old, missing one eye but otherwise normal, said,
"Looking for your dad?"
Jude turned and saw him.
"I can help you… but you have to do exactly as I say."
Chapter 4: The Cemetery Road
The boy's name was Nassar, and he was one of the poor villagers, knowing all the village secrets.
He said,
"They take people to the old church… that's where they cook, prepare, and store. If we find your dad before dawn, we can get him out."
"And if we don't?" Jude asked, her voice breaking.
"He becomes part of the goods."
They walked through the cemetery, where the roads were dug up, with empty open graves.
Nassar said,
"These aren't graves of dead people… they're graves of people who are eaten."
Jude put her hand over her mouth to keep from vomiting.
They reached an old stone building with a broken cross on top, orange firelight shining from its windows.
Chapter 5: The Sacred Kitchen
Through a crack in the wall, they peeked inside the church.
People dressed in white stood around a stone table, on which lay a half-covered body…
It was Sami, tied at the edge of the table!
"Daaaad!" Jude cried out—but she instantly regretted it.
Her voice had been heard.
People started running after them, but Nassar grabbed her hand:
"Come this way, through the secret path!"
He opened a back door and led them down under the church, through a narrow corridor smelling of rot—but it led directly beneath the table.
"Pull him from under the table, from underneath!" Nassar whispered.
Jude crawled through the blood and water until she reached her father.
Sami was conscious but weak.
"Jude… I'm here…" she said, trying to untie him.
"Run, Jude… don't leave me…" Sami gasped.
But she didn't give up.
She untied his bonds, and Nassar pulled them inside.
Chapter 6: The Last Village
They fled, running through the night as voices called their names behind them:
"Sami… Jude… come back, let us finish… you're our food, don't run away…"
They reached a dark forest. Nassar said,
"If we reach the stone bridge before sunrise, we can leave. The bridge separates the village from the world, but once the sun rises… it closes forever."
Jude carried her father, with Nassar leading the way.
The screams behind them grew louder—people walking without legs, children with empty eyes, a woman scratching her face with a nail.
They reached the bridge… which shook.
"Faster!" Nassar shouted.
They ran, with something crawling on the ground behind them, whispering,
"Join us… you are one of us…"
But they crossed… and suddenly everything vanished.
The forest was quiet.
The sun had risen.
Sami fell to the ground, crying,
"We were going to be… food…"
Chapter 7: The Cheese, Once More
They returned to the city, but Sami could never forget.
Jude became afraid of food, shops, even cheese.
One day…
A package arrived in the mail.
Jude opened it.
Inside was a piece of cheese.
And a card that read:
"Taste your fate… what's coming next."