And beneath my shirt, the scar on my stomach began to burn again.
I pressed my palm against it.
The heat was spreading.
Slowly.
Almost deliberately.
“Destiny?”
I looked up.
Conrad was watching me.
“I’m fine.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I am.”
He gave me a look that told me he didn’t believe me.
Before he could say anything else, Mr.
Martin spoke.
“We’re moving.”
His voice sounded strained.
“Nobody separates.
Nobody wanders off.
And nobody looks behind them unless I tell you to.”
My heart dropped.
Nobody looks behind them.
The words on the tree flashed through my mind.
DON’T LET HER LOOK BEHIND YOU.
I stared at Mr.
Martin.
“Sir…”
He looked at me.
“Yes?”
“Why did you say that?”
He hesitated.
“For safety.”
“Because of the message?”
His expression changed.
Only for a second.
But I noticed.
“Mr.
Martin?”
“Keep walking, Destiny.”
He turned away.
That wasn’t an answer.
And somehow…
That scared me more than if he’d said yes.
We began walking again.
This time, Mr.
Martin led us at a much faster pace.
No one complained.
The trees seemed to grow closer together as we moved, their branches twisting overhead like crooked fingers.
I kept my eyes on the ground.
I didn’t want to look behind me.
I didn’t want to look too far ahead either.
Every shadow looked like a person.
Every tree looked like it was moving.
Every sound made me jump.
Then I heard it.
A twig snapping behind us.
I froze.
Everyone else stopped too.
Nobody turned.
For a few seconds, there was nothing.
Then…
Another snap.
Closer.
Conrad’s hand found mine.
His fingers were cold.
“Don’t turn around,” he whispered.
“I wasn’t going to.”
“You were thinking about it.”
I swallowed.
“Maybe.”
“Don’t.”
The way he said it made my chest tighten.
He sounded genuinely scared.
Then a soft rustling came from the bushes behind us.
Something was moving through them.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I could hear my heartbeat.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The sound behind us stopped.
Then a voice whispered through the trees.
“Destiny…”
My eyes flew open.
I knew that voice.
Emily.
I turned before I could stop myself.
Conrad grabbed my wrist.
“Don’t!”
I stopped.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“That was Emily.”
“No.”
“It was.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Emily is gone.”
I stared at him.
The voice came again.
“Destiny…”
This time it sounded closer.
Almost directly behind me.
I felt tears sting my eyes.
“She’s calling me.”
Conrad tightened his grip.
“Then let her call.”
“But—”
“Don’t answer.”
His voice cracked.
“Please.”
I had never heard Conrad sound like that before.
So I stayed quiet.
And eventually…
The voice stopped.
We kept walking.
But something had changed.
The forest no longer felt like a place we were searching.
It felt like a place that was searching for us.
The trees seemed endless.
The ground beneath our feet became uneven.
Roots twisted across the path.
Branches scratched against our clothes.
And the farther we went, the weaker the sunlight became.
Then Parker stumbled.
“Ow!”
Kennedy caught her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Parker looked down.
A thick root had caught around her ankle.
She pulled her foot free.
“Why does this place feel like it’s getting darker?”
Nobody answered.
Because it was.
The afternoon light had somehow faded into something closer to dusk.
I checked my watch.
My stomach dropped.
“Guys…”
Everyone looked at me.
“It’s three fifteen.”
Jeffrey frowned.
“So?”
“We’ve only been walking for…”
I counted in my head.
“Maybe forty minutes.”
Mr.
Martin checked his own watch.
His expression hardened.
“Three fifteen?”
“Yes.”
He looked at Miss Nilsson.
She checked hers.
“Mine says three fifteen too.”
Kennedy frowned.
“But we left the school before two.”
Silence.
That shouldn’t have been possible.
We’d been walking for over an hour.
Yet our watches insisted only minutes had passed.
I felt the scar on my stomach throb.
Once.
Twice.
Then three times.
I pressed my hand against it.
This wasn’t random.
Something was happening.
Something was wrong.
And somehow…
I felt like my body knew before my mind did.
“Mr.
Martin.”
He stopped.
“What?”
“I think we should go back.”
His expression softened slightly.
“I agree.”
We turned.
And that’s when Jeffrey screamed.
“Where’s the path?”
Everyone stared.
The path we’d just walked through was gone.
Not hidden.
Gone.
Trees stood where we’d been walking only seconds ago.
Thick trees.
Untouched trees.
No footprints.
No broken branches.
Nothing.
Miss Nilsson’s face went pale.
“That isn’t possible.”
Mr.
Martin slowly stepped forward.
He touched one of the trees.
His fingers trembled.
“We need to stay calm.”
Jeffrey shook his head.
“How are we supposed to stay calm?”
“Jeffrey…”
“We’re lost!”
“Lower your voice.”
“Why?”
Jeffrey’s voice cracked.
“Why are you acting like you know what’s happening?”
Mr.
Martin didn’t answer.
Jeffrey stepped closer.
“You know something.”
“Jeffrey.”
“You know something about this place!”
“Enough.”
“No!”
Jeffrey pointed toward the trees.
“People have been disappearing for weeks and now we’re stuck in the woods and you’re acting like this is some normal school search!”
“Jeffrey!”
Miss Nilsson grabbed his arm.
“Stop.”
He looked at her.
She whispered something to him.
I couldn’t hear it.
But whatever she said made his face change.
He stepped back.
I looked between them.
“What did she say?”
Nobody answered.
My stomach tightened.
“What’s going on?”
Mr.
Martin looked at me.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
I almost laughed.
Nothing?
We were lost in a forest that didn’t seem to obey the rules of reality.
A missing girl had disappeared in front of us.
Our watches weren’t moving properly.
The path had vanished.
And my scar was burning beneath my clothes.
Yet apparently…
Nothing was happening.
A scream suddenly tore through the forest.
We all jumped.
“HELP!”
A girl’s voice.
Parker’s eyes widened.
“That sounds like Emily!”
Jeffrey immediately started running.
“Jeffrey!”
Mr.
Martin chased after him.
The rest of us followed.
Branches whipped against my face as we pushed through the trees.
“HELP!”
The scream came again.
Closer.
We ran faster.
Then the trees opened.
A small clearing appeared ahead.
Jeffrey stopped.
Everyone nearly crashed into him.
“What?”
He pointed.
There was no one there.
Only an old wooden swing hanging from a thick branch.
It moved gently in the breeze.
Back.
And forth.
Back.
And forth.
Creak.
Creak.
Creak.
Parker whispered,
“That’s creepy.”
Kennedy shook her head.
“Why would there be a swing out here?”
There was something written across the wooden seat.
I stepped closer.
My stomach twisted.
DESTINY.
My name.
Carved into the wood.
I couldn’t breathe.
“How…”
Conrad stepped beside me.
“That’s your name.”
“I know.”
“Have you ever been here before?”
“No.”
The lie came automatically.
But something inside me screamed that it wasn’t a lie.
Because somewhere deep in my memory…
I had seen this place.
Not in a dream.
Not exactly.
Something older.
Something buried.
A flash.
A tree.
A hand gripping a branch.
A voice screaming.
My own voice.
I stumbled backward.
“Destiny?”
I grabbed my head.
“I…”
A sharp pain shot through my skull.
Then another flash.
The forest.
Darkness.
Someone running.
Me running.
Something chasing me.
I gasped.
Conrad caught me before I fell.
“Hey!
Hey, look at me.”
I stared at him.
His face seemed strangely distant.
Like I was looking at him through water.
“I’ve been here.”
“What?”
“I’ve been here before.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
My breathing became uneven.
“I don’t remember.”
The scar on my stomach burned so intensely that I cried out.
Everyone turned toward me.
I pulled my shirt down.
“Destiny, what’s wrong?” Parker asked.
“I need to leave.”
“We’re trying.”
“No.”
I looked toward the trees.
“We need to leave now.”
Something was coming.
I could feel it.
The forest seemed to know it too.
The birds suddenly stopped.
The swing stopped moving.
The wind disappeared.
And then…
A low growl came from somewhere beyond the trees.
Nobody moved.
Another growl.
Closer.
Jeffrey whispered,
“What was that?”
Mr.
Martin’s face drained of colour.
“Run.”
That was all he said.
We ran.
I don’t remember much after that.
Not clearly.
I remember Parker screaming.
I remember Kennedy grabbing my hand.
I remember Jeffrey running ahead of us.
I remember Miss Nilsson shouting something.
I remember Mr.
Martin telling everyone to keep moving.
And then…
I heard something behind us.
Not footsteps.
Something heavier.
Something dragging itself through the forest.
Branches snapped.
Trees shook.
The sound grew louder.
Closer.
Much closer.
“Faster!” Mr.
Martin shouted.
I ran.
My lungs burned.
My legs felt numb.
I couldn’t breathe.
But I kept going.
Then I tripped.
My hand hit the ground.
I looked up.
Everyone was gone.
“Guys?”
Nothing.
“Parker?”
Nothing.
“Kennedy?”
Silence.
“Conrad?”
My voice cracked.
No answer.
I pushed myself upright.
The forest was empty.
Completely empty.
I was alone.
“No…”
I turned around.
The trees seemed taller now.
Darker.
And somewhere in the distance…
Something laughed.
I ran.
I didn’t know where I was going.
I didn’t care.
I just ran.
Branches scratched my arms.
Roots caught my feet.
My lungs screamed for air.
Then I saw it.
A tree.
Large.
Old.
Its branches stretched high above the forest floor.
I didn’t think.
I climbed.
I grabbed the lowest branch and pulled myself up.
Then another.
And another.
Higher.
Higher.
I could hear it below me.
Moving through the trees.
Looking for me.
I pressed myself against the trunk.
My entire body trembled.
“Please…”
I didn’t know who I was begging.
God.
My parents.
Anyone.
Anything.
Just…
Please let me live.
The forest became silent.
I slowly opened my eyes.
Nothing.
Maybe it was gone.
Maybe I’d escaped.
I took a shaky breath.
Then I heard something.
A whisper.
Right beneath me.
“Destiny…”
I looked down.
Nothing.
I shifted backward.
The branch beneath me creaked.
I froze.
A loud crack split through the silence.
My eyes widened.
“No…”
The branch broke.
My body dropped.
I reached for another branch.
My fingers caught it for half a second.
Then slipped.
I screamed.
The world spun.
Trees blurred around me.
The sky flashed between the branches.
My stomach lurched.
And then—
THUD.
Pain exploded through my back.
“OWWW!”
I groaned, rolling onto my side.
For several seconds, I couldn’t move.
My head throbbed.
My back burned.
I slowly opened my eyes.
Leaves.
Dirt.
A broken branch beside me.
I pushed myself up, wincing as pain shot through my body.
I looked around.
I didn’t recognize where I was.
And then…
The events of the day began replaying in my head.
Emily.
The forest.
The message.
The whispers.
The creature.
The running.
The tree.
My heart began pounding.
It was then…
I knew I’d fucked up.
I’d fallen straight into the nightmare I’d been trying to escape.