The feast below

Beneath a quiet, picturesque mountain town lies a secret society — the Crimson Table — a centuries-old cult of cannibals hidden in plain sight. Every ten years, they select a "Harvest" — a group of outsiders who disappear without a trace. But this year, one of the chosen is not so easy to digest. Main Characters: Emma Voss, a forensic anthropologist drawn to the town by ancient skeletal remains found in a collapsed cave. Mayor Gideon Hurst, the charismatic leader of the town who secretly leads the Crimson Table. Noah Kade, a local hunter with a tragic past who has spent years gathering proof of the cult. Elias, a boy born into the society who begins to question everything. The bones shouldn't have been that clean. Emma Voss crouched in the shadowed cave, her gloved fingers brushing over the smooth curvature of a human femur. It was pale, polished. Not by time — by hands. Scrape marks trailed along the shaft, microscopic yet unmistakable. This was no burial site. “This doesn't look prehistoric,” she muttered, her breath fogging in the cold air. She snapped photos with her phone, each flash revealing more than she wanted to see — a partial skull with the jaw sawed clean off, ribs snapped like dry twigs. “Emma?” a voice called from outside. It was Officer Wren, the one who had guided her up here. “Sun’s going down. You might wanna pack up.” She stared deeper into the tunnel, where the air grew warmer instead of colder. A faint sound echoed — not wind, not water. A low, rhythmic thump. Like footsteps. Or drums. Emma stood. “I’ll be right there,” she lied. She followed the sound. And the mountain swallowed her whole. ---