I lay there for what felt like an eternity, trying to convince my body to move.
Every part of me hurt.
My back throbbed where I’d landed, my head felt like someone had driven a nail straight through it, and my stomach burned beneath my shirt.
I slowly rolled onto my side and pushed myself up.
“Ah…”
A sharp pain shot through my ribs.
I stopped.
Okay.
Maybe moving wasn’t such a great idea.
I took a few slow breaths before attempting to sit properly.
The forest looked different from the ground.
Darker.
Larger.
The trees towered over me, their branches twisting together above my head and blocking most of the sky.
I looked up at the branch I’d fallen from.
It was several feet above me.
How had I even managed to climb that high?
And more importantly…
Why had I felt like I needed to?
I couldn’t remember.
Not completely.
The memories were there, but they felt scrambled.
Like pieces of a puzzle that refused to fit together.
I remembered running.
I remembered something chasing me.
I remembered climbing the tree.
But everything between those moments was blurry.
I touched my stomach.
The scar was still burning.
“What is happening to me?”
My voice sounded tiny against the enormous forest.
There was no answer.
I slowly got to my feet.
My knees almost gave out immediately.
I grabbed the tree trunk to steady myself.
“Okay…”
I breathed through the pain.
“Okay, Destiny.
You’re fine.”
I wasn’t fine.
But saying it made me feel slightly better.
I looked around.
Nothing.
No Parker.
No Kennedy.
No Jeffrey.
No Conrad.
No teachers.
Just me.
Alone.
I pulled my phone from my pocket.
The screen was cracked.
I pressed the power button.
Nothing.
“Of course.”
I shook it.
As if that would magically make it work.
Nothing.
I shoved it back into my pocket.
I had to find the others.
That was the only thing that mattered.
I took a step.
Then another.
My back protested with every movement.
But I kept going.
I don’t know how long I walked.
Maybe ten minutes.
Maybe an hour.
Time didn’t seem to work properly in that forest.
The sunlight barely moved.
The air remained unnaturally cold.
And the silence…
That silence followed me.
I stopped.
I could hear my breathing.
My heartbeat.
The occasional rustle of leaves.
Nothing else.
Then—
Crunch.
I froze.
A footstep.
Not mine.
I slowly turned my head.
Nothing.
I stared between the trees.
“Hello?”
Silence.
I swallowed.
“Is anyone there?”
Nothing.
I took another step.
Crunch.
I stopped again.
My heart began pounding.
The sound had come from behind me.
I remembered the carving.
DON’T LET HER LOOK BEHIND YOU.
I stared straight ahead.
Don’t look.
Don’t look.
Don’t—
Crunch.
Closer.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Please…”
Another step.
Closer.
I could feel something.
Not see it.
Not hear it clearly.
Just…
Feel it.
Something was standing behind me.
I held my breath.
My entire body trembled.
Then I heard breathing.
Slow.
Deep.
Wet.
Something inhaled behind me.
My eyes filled with tears.
I didn’t move.
I couldn’t.
Then a voice whispered beside my ear.
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
I screamed.
I spun around.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Only the trees.
My chest heaved.
“What the hell…”
I backed away.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
I turned and ran.
I didn’t care where I was going anymore.
I just wanted to get away.
Branches slapped against my face.
My shoes slipped against the damp ground.
I stumbled several times but forced myself back up.
I could hear something behind me.
Not walking now.
Running.
Fast.
Very fast.
I didn’t dare look.
I couldn’t.
The warning was still inside my head.
Don’t let her look behind you.
But who was her?
Who had written that?
And why did it feel like the message was meant for me?
I ran harder.
My lungs burned.
My scar burned hotter.
I pressed my hand against my stomach as I ran.
“Stop…”
The pain intensified.
I stumbled.
A tree root caught my foot.
I fell forward.
My hands slammed against the dirt.
I cried out.
And then I saw something.
A shoe.
Right in front of me.
I froze.
Someone was standing there.
I slowly looked upward.
A girl.
Red hair.
Green eyes.
Freckles.
Emily.
My heart stopped.
“Emily?”
She smiled.
But there was something wrong with her smile.
It was too wide.
Too still.
“You came back.”
I scrambled backward.
“But…”
I looked around.
“I thought you disappeared.”
Emily tilted her head.
“I did.”
My breathing stopped.
“What does that mean?”
She took a step toward me.
I moved backward.
“Where are the others?”
She smiled again.
“Which others?”
“Parker.
Kennedy.
Conrad.
Jeffrey.”
Her expression didn’t change.
“They’re not here.”
“Where are they?”
Emily’s eyes shifted toward the trees.
“They’re hiding.”
“From what?”
She looked at me.
“From him.”
My stomach twisted.
“Who is him?”
Emily didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked over my shoulder.
Her eyes widened.
For the first time…
She looked afraid.
“Don’t turn around.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Why?”
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“Because he knows you’re awake.”
I couldn’t breathe.
Behind me…
A branch snapped.
Emily took a step backward.
“Run.”
“What?”
“RUN!”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
I turned and sprinted.
And this time…
I heard it.
A growl.
Low.
Deep.
Almost human.
But not quite.
I ran until my legs nearly gave out.
And then I saw something between the trees.
Two faint points of light.
Watching me.
My entire body froze.
They weren’t eyes.
Not exactly.
They were something worse.
Because whatever was standing in the darkness…
It was smiling.
And somehow…
I knew it had been waiting for me.
For a very long time.