Peter
The path through this part of the forest was suffocating, the air thick with moisture and the smell of decay. Shadows stretched longer than they should, pooling like spilled ink beneath the gnarled trees. Every step felt heavy like the ground was conspiring to pull us under. Gwen stayed close to me, her dagger ready, while Hook walked a few paces ahead, his tension palpable.
It wasn’t just the oppressive forest weighing on us. It was something else—something worse.
A sound cut through the silence, faint at first.
Tik.
Then again, louder.
Tik. Tok.
My stomach dropped. I looked at Hook, and his entire body went rigid. His head snapped toward the sound, his face twisted in fury.
“Not now,” he muttered, his voice a low growl. “Not here.”
The tik-tok grew louder, echoing through
