The first light of dawn painted the sky in soft shades of pink and gold, but beneath the canopy of the ancient forest, the sun barely penetrated. Emily, Aiden, and Mira moved in silence, the weight of what had just transpired still heavy on their shoulders. The village was behind them now, but its people—worn and scared—remained in their hearts. Each step forward was a silent promise to protect them, even if the path ahead was fraught with danger.
The forest felt different today, alive in a way Emily hadn't noticed before. The wind seemed to whisper through the trees, carrying a sense of anticipation, as though the woods themselves were aware of the threat that had emerged the day before. Emily couldn't shake the sense that they were being watched, not by the usual creatures of the wild, but by something older, something that had always been hidden in the shadows.
