Chapter 9
1178 Words
The afternoon sun cast long shadows through the trees as the class hiked deeper into the woods. The fresh scent of pine and damp earth filled the air, blending with the distant murmur of water from the nearby lake.
Selene walked near the back of the group, half-listening to Ms. Danielle’s speech about the local wildlife while Emily practically vibrated with excitement beside her.
“This place is insane,” Emily whispered, showing Leo her phone. “The lake looks like something out of a fairy tale.”
Leo glanced at the screen, nodding. “It’d make a good reference for a painting.”
Emily beamed. “You should sketch something while we’re out here.”
Liam, walking beside Selene, snorted. “Yeah, or maybe we should leave some sacrifices for the forest spirits.”
Selene rolled her eyes. “You’d be the first one they take.”
Liam nudged her with his shoulder. “That’s fair. I am irresistible.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
Ahead, someone yelped as they stepped in a puddle, and another student dramatically shouted, “This is how horror movies start!”
Laughter rippled through the group.
Selene was about to respond when something caught her eye.
A flicker of movement just beyond the trees.
Her breath hitched.
A cat.
The same one from before.
Sleek black fur. And those eyes—red as a burning sunset.
It was watching her.
Then it turned and slipped deeper into the woods.
Selene didn’t think.
She moved.
---
The moment she stepped off the trail, the world shifted.
The sounds of her classmates faded. The air felt thicker, quieter.
She scanned the trees, heart pounding.
The cat was just ahead.
It stopped, turned slightly—as if waiting.
Selene took another step.
And then—a hand wrapped around her wrist.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Liam.
Selene spun, yanking her arm away. “Let go.”
Liam’s jaw tightened. “Are you seriously wandering into the woods alone?”
“I saw something.”
Liam arched an eyebrow. “A killer? A ghost?”
Selene scowled. “A cat.”
Liam blinked. “...You left the group for a cat?”
“It wasn’t normal.”
Liam sighed. “Of course. Because normal isn’t in your vocabulary.”
Selene glared. “I don’t need you babysitting me, Carter.”
Liam didn’t let go.
Instead, he backed her against a tree.
Selene’s breath hitched.
His grip was firm, his body too close. The rough bark pressed against her back as Liam caged her in, his hands braced on either side of her.
“Stay away from me,” she snapped.
Liam’s head tilted slightly. “Oh?”
Selene pushed at his chest. “I mean it. You’re—”
“I’m what?”
She scowled. “You’re annoying. And reckless. And you don’t know when to quit.”
Liam smirked. “And?”
“And you—”
He kissed her.
Not soft. Not careful.
Hot. Rough. Like a challenge. Like a dare.
His lips moved against hers with a recklessness that stole the words right out of her mouth.
Selene’s mind went blank.
Her fingers fisted in his shirt, holding on, pulling him closer despite herself.
His hand brushed her jaw, tilting her face up, deepening the kiss.
The taste of him—fire and trouble and something she didn’t want to name.
Selene should have shoved him away.
Instead, she let herself sink into it.
The air was thick, electric. Every single point of contact between them felt like it was on fire. His hands dropped down to her ass and he pulled her even closer.
And then—
“SELENEEE! LIAAAMM!”
Emily’s voice snapped her back.
Selene tore away, breathing hard.
Liam exhaled slowly, his forehead almost resting against hers before he stepped back.
His smirk returned, but his eyes—they weren’t teasing anymore.
“Guess that shut you up,” he murmured.
Selene’s pulse pounded.
Before she could react, Liam had already turned away, grinning like nothing had happened.
Selene touched her lips.
Oh for the love of all things sane, what the hell had she done??
-----
By the time Selene and Liam caught up with the group, Emily was already mid-rant.
“Are you kidding me?!” she whisper-yelled, stomping toward them. “Where were you? I turn around for two seconds, and you two just—vanish!”
Selene, still slightly breathless, kept her expression neutral. “Got distracted.”
Emily squinted, gaze darting between her and Liam.
Then, very slowly, her lips curved into a smirk.
“Ohhh,” she murmured, wiggling her eyebrows. “That kind of distracted?”
Selene’s jaw clenched. “Shut up.”
Liam, completely unbothered, just stretched. “Relax, Reyes. Veyne had a lot to say, so I helped her… focus.”
Selene elbowed him. Hard.
Emily was definitely not buying their innocent act.
But before she could pry further, Ms. Danielle called out to them.
“There you are!” The teacher’s voice was smooth, with that signature warmth she always carried.
Ms. Danielle smiled, pushing a strand of dark hair behind her ear. “I was just about to send a search party.”
Liam grinned. “Wouldn’t want you worrying about us, Ms. D.”
“Oh, trust me, Carter, you’re built to survive. Selene, though?” Her gaze flickered to Selene, lingering a little too long. “I might’ve started getting concerned.”
Selene forced a neutral smile. “I was fine.”
Ms. Danielle exhaled dramatically. “Good."
They continued moving on, as Ms Danielle kept pointing out rare plants and occasionally rare animals to us. A snake slithered past Tara's legs and Selene was pretty sure that little reptile's tiny little heart had a heart attack from her screaming.
Then all of a sudden, the forest had changed.
It wasn’t just the trees, tall and ancient, whispering as the wind passed through them. It wasn’t just the flickering golden light of the setting sun that cast long, shifting shadows across the mossy ground.
It was the feeling.
Like something unseen was watching. Waiting.
Selene felt it. And She wasn’t the only one.
The group had started bunching together, conversations lowering into hushed tones, eyes darting toward the trees as if expecting something to move.
Even Liam—who made a joke out of everything—had stopped with his usual remarks.
And then it happened.
A sharp snap of rope. A yelp. A thud.
Someone had fallen.
“s**t—help! I—”
Everyone turned just in time to see Mark Turner, one of the track team guys, struggling in a woven net that had snapped up around his ankles, hoisting him slightly off the ground.
It was a trap.
A well-placed, well-hidden trap.
Ms. Danielle rushed forward. “Everyone, stay calm—”
But before she could finish, figures emerged from the trees.
Selene’s stomach dropped.
The people that stepped out of the shadows were not hikers.
- Writer
