The sound was small, but enough to make my skin crawl. A rustle of leaves, the faint crunch of something stepping on dry twigs. My eyes darted toward the thick shadows between the trees.
For a second, my brain tried to catalogue every dangerous animal I’d ever read about that might live on a tropical island. Snakes. Monkeys. Deer. The list was unhelpful.
“Hello?” My voice was sharper than intended, like I was scolding the bushes.
No answer. Of course, there wasn’t.
I swallowed, adjusting my weight to make as little sound as possible.
But even after scanning the environment for close to a minute, I couldn’t spot anything.
“Maybe it’s just the wind,” I said, convincing myself.
Except there was no wind, the air was heavy and still. Something thudded way off in the trees. Not loud enoug
