Roisin
“Who’s there?” I shouted, my voice trembling despite my desperate attempt to sound steady. The blade shook in my grip as I thrust it out before me, its sharp edge catching the faint, fractured light that slipped through the canopy above. My throat was dry, each word scraped raw. “Come out! I’m warning you!”
The forest gave me nothing in return. My voice bounced back at me in hollow echoes, swallowed by the suffocating stillness. Even my heart seemed too loud, its frantic pounding filling the silence until it was all I could hear. My chest rose and fell in shallow, ragged breaths that only made the quiet more unbearable. I tightened my hold on the switchblade until my knuckles burned, forcing my steps backward, slow and cautious, my eyes darting frantically through the shadows. I
