The streetlamps in Ashwood had this annoying habit of flickering right when you didn’t want them to. Tonight was no exception. The one above me buzzed like a dying bug zapper, and I half expected it to give up completely and leave me in the dark.
I hugged my backpack tighter and quickened my pace. Devon’s voice from earlier—You’re not safe, Ivy. Not anymore—echoed in my skull like some cursed ringtone.
Safe. Ha. I lived in the most boring town in existence. The scariest thing I’d seen last week was Mrs. Henderson’s cat dragging half a squirrel onto her porch.
Still…
My ears caught every sound. A twig snapping. A branch creaking. The crunch of leaves that might’ve been mine… or not.
I shook my head. “You’re fine,” I muttered under my breath. “It’s just the wind. Or a squirrel. Or… murd
