The voice froze me.
Low, rough, layered in something that didn’t sound entirely human. For a moment, I wasn’t even sure I’d heard it at all. Maybe it was just my imagination weaving sounds from the forest into words.
But then it came again, closer this time.
“I said… you shouldn’t be here.”
Every instinct screamed at me to run, but my body wouldn’t move. My feet felt rooted to the ground, my lungs tight as if the trees themselves were holding me in place.
“Wh-who’s there?” My voice cracked, barely louder than a whisper.
The shadows shifted. A silhouette emerged between the trees—tall, broad-shouldered, moving with the silent confidence of a predator.
I stumbled back a step, my heart pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it.
As he stepped closer, details sharpened in the faint l
