As we pile into Maggie's SUV and pull away from the forest's edge, I can't help stealing one last glance out the rear window at the dense trees rapidly disappearing behind us. My arm throbs dully where the makeshift bandage Charles fashioned is wrapped tightly.
"So...what do we do now?" Tim finally breaks the uneasy silence, his gruff voice tinged with rare uncertainty. "With all that crazy tree monster and shaman mumbo jumbo back there..."
"Maybe we should just get the hell out of these backwoods," Maggie interjects, keeping her eyes locked on the winding road ahead. There's a forced lightness to her tone that doesn't quite ring true. "Head back to civilization before any more 'ancient forces' try to gut us like fish."
Charles shoots her a sidelong look from the passenger seat. "You d
