The forest swallowed him whole.
One moment Adrian’s furious footsteps pounded the frozen ground. The next, only silence stretched between the trees, as though the night itself had devoured him.
I stood on the porch, frozen in place, staring into the dark void of branches. The moonlight barely reached the forest floor, and every shape looked like a shadow come alive.
“Adrian!” My voice cracked, weak against the vast blackness. “Please, come back!”
Only silence answered.
The minutes bled into each other. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. My bare feet burned against the cold boards, but I couldn’t force myself inside, not while Adrian was still out there.
I whispered his name again, softer this time, as if afraid of waking something else that lurked in the woods.
Nothing.
The silence
