The dream came in flashes, broken and burning.
I was running through the forest, thick smoke curling around me like claws, my breath short, my heart thundering. The trees were charred, cracking, groaning as flames consumed them. In the center of it all stood Jayden shirtless, his back to me, shadows dancing over the scars that painted his skin like war stories.
"Jayden!" I called out, my voice cracking.
He didn’t turn.
Then someone else stepped from the smoke. A man.
He had Jayden’s eyes—one red, one silver—but colder. Empty. He smiled, cruel and haunting, before whispering something I couldn’t make out. His silhouette flickered like a ghost before everything burst into flame.
I woke up drenched in sweat, just like the previous night, the sheets tangled around my legs like chains. My
