Chased By Shadows

Chapter Four: The Third Presence

The following morning was too quiet. No wind. No birds. Just a thick, heavy stillness that pressed against the windows like fog with weight.

Elise brewed coffee with hands that refused to stay steady. She hadn’t slept. Not really. Kaia hadn’t spoken since the nightmare. Just stared through her, haunted.

It felt like something had shifted. Like something was waiting. She jumped when the knock came. Three soft taps at the front door. Elise stared at it, frozen. Kaia was already behind her, silent as ever.

“I didn’t call anyone,” Elise whispered. Kaia stepped forward. “Stay here.”

The man at the door looked normal. Too normal. He wore a tan jacket, round glasses, and a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. In his hands, a paper bag.

“Morning. Sorry to bother,” he said. “You must be Elise. I’m Benjamin.” Elise blinked. “I’m sorry—?”

“I live two houses down. New here. Thought I’d introduce myself. Brought muffins.”

Kaia stepped between him and Elise. He raised his hands. “Didn’t mean to startle.”

“We don’t eat things from strangers,” Kaia said coldly. Benjamin chuckled. “You sound like my daughter.” Elise narrowed her eyes. “You have a daughter?”

“Yeah. Maren. She’s sixteen. Keeps to herself. You probably haven’t seen her. She likes the woods more than people.”

He offered the bag again. “They’re blueberry.” Kaia took the bag. Stared at it. Sniffed it. Then slowly closed the door in his face.

“Do you believe him?” Elise asked once he was gone. Kaia shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

“It might. I didn’t know someone moved in.”

“He said his daughter likes the woods,” Kaia murmured. “The woods behind your house.” Elise paled.

She hadn’t told anyone about the girl she saw in the trees last week. The one who watched, then vanished.

Kaia’s gaze drifted to the window. “Maren.”

That night, Elise sat by the living room window, watching the street. She didn’t know what she was looking for.

At 9:17 p.m., the light in Benjamin’s second-floor window turned on. A silhouette moved past. Small. Thin. A girl.

Elise stared, heart tightening. Then the shape paused. Turned. And for a second,

It felt like the girl was staring straight at her.

Kaia wandered the backyard alone. The fog from earlier had returned, wrapping the trees in silence. She didn’t know why she walked toward them.

Her feet moved like they remembered something she didn’t. Branches snapped behind her. She turned quickly. Nothing.

But she swore she wasn’t alone.

Inside the house, Elise was flipping through her old journals. She found one from high school. A name was underlined twice. “Mallory.”

She didn’t remember writing that. She didn’t remember anyone named Mallory. She kept reading. “Mallory says I should stop writing down the things I think I see. But I have to. They don’t stop. The girl in the woods. The whispering. The sleepwalking.”

“Mallory thinks it’s in my head.”

“But I saw the girl again last night. Watching me.” Elise closed the journal. Tried to breathe.

The next day, they went to town for more supplies. Kaia insisted they stop at the pharmacy for something Elise refused to say she needed sleep aids.

On the way back, Elise nearly bumped into someone at the corner. A woman. Leather jacket. Sharp features. Cool eyes. “Sorry,” Elise muttered. The woman glanced at her. Then blinked. Slowly.

“Elise Wren?” Elise froze. “Yes...?” The woman smirked. “Detective Mallory. You don’t remember me, do you?” Kaia moved closer. “No,” Elise said slowly. “Should I?”

Mallory tilted her head. “Not surprising. You were... not yourself the last time we spoke.” Kaia stepped between them. “What do you want?”

“Just checking in,” Mallory said. “After all these years... the reports. The case files. Some things just don’t rest easy.” She handed Elise a card. “Call me. When you remember.” And walked away.

They didn’t speak for the entire drive home. Kaia sat stiffly in the passenger seat, eyes fixed forward. “She lied,” Kaia said suddenly.

“Who?”

“That detective.”

“She seemed to know me.”

“That’s what I mean,” Kaia said. “Too well.”

That night, Elise dreamed. Only it didn’t feel like a dream. She was in a hospital room. Wires on her wrists. A nurse writing notes. Mallory standing at the door, watching.

“She’s not stable,” someone whispered.

“She doesn’t remember what she did,” someone else said. And then, a little girl. At the foot of her bed. Smiling. Short hair. Grey eyes. Kaia.

Elise woke up gasping. Kaia wasn’t in the house. She searched everywhere. Kitchen. Basement. Backyard. Gone. Then the phone rang. A voice on the line. Familiar. Cold. “She’s not what you think she is,” the voice said. Then silence.

Kaia didn’t come back until morning. Her clothes were wet. Her shoes muddy. “Where were you?” Elise asked. Kaia looked dazed.n“I don’t remember,” she whispered Elise wanted to scream. But didn’t.

That night, Elise stood at the back door, staring into the woods. And from deep in the trees, A figure stared back. Not Kaia.

Not Maren. Someone else. Someone she couldn’t see clearly. But who didn’t blink. Didn’t move. Didn’t leave.