The dawn light filtered weakly through the twisted canopy above, casting jagged shadows across the forest floor. The group moved cautiously, their footsteps muffled by the thick undergrowth. Every snap of a twig or rustle of leaves sent ripples of tension through them, each sound amplified by the eerie silence of the forest.
Zoe kept to Mia's side, her knife glinting in the pale light. "This place gives me the creeps," she muttered, her eyes scanning their surroundings.
"It feels... alive," Mia whispered, her voice tinged with unease. The whispers in her mind had grown louder, their urgency pressing against her thoughts like a relentless tide.
"Alive and watching," Caleb added, his rifle gripped tightly. His gaze darted to every shadow, every movement in the corner of his eye.
The forest grew denser, the trees gnarled and intertwined as if reaching for one another in some eternal embrace. Ruby led the way, her movements calculated and deliberate.
