Conrad's voice pulled me back to reality.
"D?"
I tore my eyes away from the trees and looked at him.
"You alright?" he asked again, this time quieter.
"…Yeah."
The lie came out too quickly.
He studied me for a moment, clearly unconvinced, but before he could press further, Mr. Martin clapped his hands once.
"Everyone, stay close. We keep moving."
"But sir…" Jeffrey looked down at the ground. "The footprints…"
"They're gone," Mr. Martin finished grimly.
Nobody argued.
There was nothing to argue about.
The footprints had simply…
Ended.
No signs of struggle.
No tracks leading elsewhere.
No drag marks.
Nothing.
It was as if whoever had been standing there had vanished into thin air.
Miss Nilsson slowly zipped Emily's backpack shut and slung it over her shoulder.
"If Emily is alive, she'll need this."
The words were comforting.
But something about the way she said them…
Made it sound like she was trying to convince herself.
We resumed walking.
Only this time, no one stayed in neat rows.
Without anyone saying a word, we instinctively drew closer together.
Shoulder to shoulder.
As if being closer somehow made us safer.
It didn't.
It felt as though we were willingly offering ourselves in one package for easy attack.
The deeper we went, the stranger the forest became.
The trees seemed impossibly taller now.
Their branches intertwined overhead, blocking almost every ray of sunlight until the world around us faded into an endless twilight.
I looked up.
"…Was it always this dark?"
Kennedy followed my gaze.
"I don't think so."
"It can't be," Parker whispered.
"It isn't even noon yet."
Mr. Martin checked his watch.
Then frowned.
He tapped the glass.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
"What's wrong?" Miss Nilsson asked.
"My watch stopped."
Jeffrey chuckled nervously.
"Dead battery?"
"It had a full charge this morning."
Conrad pulled out his phone.
"No signal."
"I thought we already lost service," Kennedy said.
"We did."
He swallowed.
"My clock's frozen too."
A chill crept through my chest.
Almost instinctively, I reached into my pocket.
My phone.
12:17.
The numbers refused to change.
I stared at the screen for several seconds.
Not a single second passed.
I slowly slipped it back into my pocket without saying anything.
Maybe…
Maybe I didn't want to be the one to confirm what everyone was already beginning to suspect.
This forest wasn't normal.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Our footsteps echoed again.
Except…
Mine didn't.
I stopped walking.
Everyone else continued another step before noticing.
"D?"
Conrad turned.
"What happened?"
"…Listen."
They all fell silent.
Nothing.
I took one careful step.
No sound.
Another.
Still nothing.
Yet everyone else's footsteps crunched loudly against the leaves.
I looked down.
The leaves beneath my boots weren't moving.
My breath caught.
"…Guys?"
Before anyone could answer—
Crunch.
A single footstep echoed behind us.
Not ours.
We all spun around.
Nothing.
Just trees.
Mr. Martin narrowed his eyes.
"Who's there?"
Silence.
Then—
Crunch.
Another step.
Closer.
Jeffrey forced a laugh.
"This isn't funny."
Nobody had laughed.
Miss Nilsson gripped the wooden walking stick she'd picked up earlier.
"Everyone stay together."
Crunch.
Another step.
Deliberate.
Measured.
As if whoever—or whatever—it belonged to wasn't trying to hide anymore.
My pulse hammered against my ribs.
I scanned the trees.
Left.
Right.
Behind us.
Nothing.
And yet…
The footsteps continued.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Conrad slowly moved closer until his shoulder brushed mine.
"You hear it too?"
I nodded.
"I thought I was imagining it."
"So did I."
The footsteps stopped.
Complete silence returned.
No birds.
No wind.
Not even breathing.
Then…
From somewhere deep within the trees…
A voice drifted toward us.
Soft.
Almost childlike.
"…Help…"
Every head snapped toward the sound.
It came again.
"We're over here…"
Jeffrey's eyes widened.
"That's them."
"It has to be," Parker breathed.
Mr. Martin immediately raised his arm, stopping everyone from moving.
"No one runs."
"But sir, what if they're hurt?" Jeffrey protested.
"We don't know who's calling."
The voice came a third time.
Closer now.
"…Please…"
It sounded terrified.
Broken.
Human.
I felt my feet shift before I even realized I'd moved.
Because beneath the fear…
Beneath the uncertainty…
I recognized something.
Not the voice itself.
The direction.
It was coming from the exact same part of the forest where I'd seen the shadow only moments ago.
I wanted to say something,
To tell the others what i had seen earlier.
To scream for whatever that was to leave us alone.
But for some reason, I couldn't move,
And for reasons I couldn't explain…
Every instinct I had screamed the same warning.
Don't answer it.