The cabin was eerily quiet when they finally returned, the wooden beams creaking above them as though they, too, were tense with anticipation. Lisa's mind was still racing, her thoughts jumping between the figure they had seen earlier, Liam's vulnerable confession, and the fear gnawing at her insides. She couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, that whatever lurked in the shadows was drawing closer.
Liam moved around the cabin, checking the locks on the windows and doors with his usual efficiency, but Lisa couldn't bring herself to focus. Her heart was still pounding from the confrontation in the woods, and her mind was a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about what Liam had said—how he felt responsible for pulling her into this mess—and how, in some strange way, it felt like they were connected in a way neither of them could fully understand.
As Liam disappeared into the other room to check the back door, Lisa stood frozen in the center of the living room, her fingers trailing over the edges of the wooden table. The quiet seemed to suffocate her, pressing in on all sides. She needed to do something, anything, to calm her racing thoughts.
That's when she saw it.
A small piece of paper, half-hidden beneath the corner of the rug near the fireplace. At first, she thought it was just a scrap of trash, something that had fallen out of Liam's bag or her own. But as she bent down to pick it up, she noticed the faint, almost illegible handwriting on the front.
Lisa, stop meddling in things beyond your control.
Her stomach flipped.
The words were clear, unmistakable, and yet they made no sense. She could feel the blood drain from her face as the message settled in, the weight of it pressing down on her chest. Who would leave her a note like this? And why?
She turned the paper over, hoping for more information, some kind of clue, but there was nothing—no signature, no other words. Just the cryptic warning.
Her hand trembled as she stuffed the note into her pocket, trying to ignore the rush of panic that surged through her. It could be a prank, a sick joke played by someone who wanted to mess with her. But deep down, she knew it wasn't that simple. There was something ominous about the words, something that felt far too real.
She couldn't shake the image of the figure in the woods. Had it been watching them? Had it known where they were? And now this—whoever had left the note clearly knew more about their situation than they let on.
Lisa's thoughts spiraled as she tried to calm herself. This was just another piece of the puzzle, right? Just another twisted game meant to keep her on edge. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she had no idea what she was really up against. There was so much she didn't know, so much she hadn't figured out.
She couldn't do this alone.
"Liam," she called out, her voice unsteady as she stood by the table, the note still burning in her pocket.
He appeared in the doorway, his brow furrowed. "What's wrong?"
Lisa hesitated, the weight of the note making her chest feel tight. She didn't know how to explain it—didn't know how to tell him that everything felt wrong, that they were walking blindly into something they couldn't control.
Instead, she just held out her hand, silently urging him to come closer.
Liam crossed the room and took her hand without hesitation, his eyes scanning her face. "What's going on?"
"I—I found something," she stammered. "A note. It says we need to stop meddling in things beyond our control."
Liam's eyes widened, his grip tightening around her hand. "Where did you find it?"
"Under the rug. Near the fireplace." Her voice wavered as she spoke, the dread settling deeper in her gut. "What does it mean, Liam?"
He didn't answer right away, his eyes narrowing in thought. His gaze flicked to the corner of the room, then back to her, as if he were considering something. Finally, he spoke, his tone measured but serious. "It's a warning. But from who?"
"I don't know," Lisa whispered, her mind racing. "It's like someone knows what we're doing. Knows about the trap."
Liam's face darkened. "That's not possible. We haven't told anyone about that." He paused, his eyes flashing with something unreadable. "Unless..."
The tension between them thickened, and Lisa's stomach churned. "Unless what?"
"Unless we're being watched. Every step we take, every move we make—it's possible someone's been following us this entire time. And they're trying to stop us."
The realization hit Lisa like a slap to the face. It was one thing to deal with the horrors of the supernatural, the mystery of what was lurking in the dark, but it was something else entirely to realize that someone—human—might be behind it all.
She couldn't ignore the chill that crept up her spine. The figure they had seen in the woods earlier. The note. The strange feeling that something was always just beyond the edge of her perception. It was all connected. But how?
Her thoughts raced, but Liam's voice broke through the fog of her mind.
"We need to be careful," he said quietly, his hand still holding hers, though there was a new edge of fear in his eyes. "If someone knows what we're doing, we have no idea how far they'll go to stop us."
Lisa swallowed hard, her throat dry. "What do we do now?"
Liam's gaze softened, his expression becoming more intense as he looked at her. "We keep going. We don't let them scare us off."
Lisa nodded, but even as she agreed, a wave of doubt washed over her. How could they keep going when they didn't even know who or what was behind this? And who was the real threat—whatever haunted the woods, or the person, or people, who had sent that note?
She wanted to laugh at herself for being so paranoid, for letting this get to her, but she couldn't ignore the sinking feeling that something was coming, something far worse than either of them had expected.
As Liam stepped away to gather their things, Lisa's hand unconsciously brushed against her pocket where the note was hidden. It felt like a weight, a constant reminder that they were in over their heads. And she couldn't shake the feeling that the worst was still to come.
Her stomach twisted again, and for a moment, she thought she saw a shadow move outside the window. She froze, heart in her throat, her eyes locking on the glass as her pulse thundered in her ears.
But it was nothing.
Nothing except her own growing paranoia.
And yet, despite everything, Lisa couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't just her mind playing tricks. That something—or someone—was still watching.