The forest was thick, and the path unfamiliar, but they could feel where the others had gone. The energy left behind like heat in their footsteps.
After ten minutes, they reached a small clearing.
And froze.
Rose stood in the center, her arms outstretched, eyes glowing faintly. Around her, the other three stood in a half-circle, holding hands. They swayed slowly, chanting sothing too soft to understand. The air was thick, humming, alive with sothing ancient.
And then,
Susan stepped out from the trees and joined them.
The circle closed.
Their eyes turned white.
The ground cracked.
Jude pulled Sophie back just before the clearing split down the middle, a thin jagged line opening like a wound. From inside, faint whispers poured out. The sll of sothing rotting and sweet.
Sophie covered her mouth. "It’s a summoning."
"Of what?" Jude whispered.
Rose raised her head suddenly, staring straight at them through the trees.
And smiled.
Jude didn’t wait. He pulled Sophie and ran.
They didn’t stop until they reached the river again. The stars above them spun. Their hearts thundered.
"She saw us."
"We saw it," Jude whispered. "And now we know."
"But it knows too."
They sat at the water’s edge, both trembling, both shaking.
And behind them, from sowhere deep in the woods, a soft voice called Jude’s na.
It was Rose.
But not her voice.
Sothing else. Speaking through her.
Calling him ho.
Jude didn’t sleep. Not even a blink. The way Rose had looked at him in that clearing, the way her voice had slipped from the trees like smoke wrapping around his na, it left his skin cold and his chest tight, even now as the morning sun kissed the treetops. Sophie dozed lightly beside him, but her body never relaxed completely. It was like both of them had been holding their breath since last night.
He sat up slowly, muscles aching from tension. The forest felt quieter than usual, too quiet, the kind of stillness that didn’t belong to a living place. And though the sun had begun to warm the sky in pale gold, the shadows beneath the leaves clung to the trees like sothing afraid to let go.
Sophie stirred, blinking up at him. "Did you hear anything else?"
"No. Just her voice... once."
Sophie touched his thigh lightly, and for a mont, just a mont, she was just his wife again. Beautiful, tender, hers. "We’ll fix this, Jude."
He nodded but said nothing. Because right now, he wasn’t sure how.
They went back to camp together, and the mont they stepped into the clearing, everything looked... normal. Too normal. Rose sat beside the fire, humming while she ran her fingers through Zoey’s hair. Layla and Grace were cooking fish, giggling like girls at a river picnic. Susan and Natalie were plaiting flower crowns, and Emma danced barefoot with Stella to a soft tune that echoed between the trees.
Sophie leaned into Jude. "This looks like a trap."
"They’re playing house." Jude’s voice was low, his fingers twitching like they missed the weight of a blade.
Zoey looked up, smiling sweetly. "You two slept late."
Jude forced a smile. "Didn’t get much rest."
Rose rose to her feet, brushing invisible dust from her thighs. She wore nothing more than a cloth tied around her hips and her long dark hair loose, cascading down her chest. "We missed you." Her eyes slid to Sophie and lingered there before returning to Jude. "Co eat."
He didn’t answer. He sat down beside Emma instead, taking the piece of fruit she offered him. Sophie did the sa, keeping her expression neutral, calm.
As the al went on, Jude noticed the circle tightening. Not physically, but emotionally. The ones who had changed, Rose, Layla, Zoey, Grace, now Susan, they moved as one, laughed in sync, eyes flickering to each other as if passing silent ssages. They didn’t act strange. They acted too perfect. Too in love. It was seductive, yes, but chilling.
After breakfast, Sophie caught Stella’s hand. "Want to help gather mushrooms?"
"Sure!" Stella kissed her cheek. "It’s nice to do sothing simple."
Jude turned to Emma. "Co with . I need help checking the snares."
She nodded, grabbing a spear and swinging it over her shoulder.
They split from the group in pairs, but Jude and Sophie locked eyes for a heartbeat before they parted. It was an unspoken promise. If anything happened, they’d co back for each other.
As they walked deeper into the woods, Emma chatted idly, but Jude kept his focus sharp. The snares were intact, one of them had even caught a wild rabbit. As they worked, he brought up the shard again.
"I need to show you sothing," he said once they reached a quiet spot.
Emma arched a brow. "That sounds dangerous."
He pulled the shard from his belt pouch, wrapped in cloth. He unrolled it slowly, letting her see the pulse, the faint throb that seed to resonate like a heartbeat.
"What the hell..." She leaned closer, then recoiled. "That’s not right."
"I found it near where Rose fell."
She frowned, reaching out again. "It feels... alive."
"It’s connected to them. To what they’ve beco."
Emma looked back the way they’d co. "Are you saying Rose brought sothing back with her?"
"She brought sothing. And now it’s spreading."
Emma exhaled shakily. "We need to show Sophie. Now."
Back at the camp, Sophie and Stella returned with baskets full of herbs and mushrooms. Susan kissed Sophie’s cheek as they passed, lingering for a mont too long. Sophie smiled gently, but her eyes were alert.
Jude found her the mont they both had an opening, slipping behind one of the house walls as if to check repairs. He showed her the shard, letting her hold it this ti.
"It’s pulsing," she whispered. "Like a calling."
"I think it’s tied to the creature."
Sophie nodded, her jaw set. "Then we need to track it down. Before they do sothing irreversible."
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