GENEVIEVE'S POV
I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, lungs seizing with every gasp, breath catching in my throat like barbed wire. My heart thundered against my ribs, a frantic, primal drumbeat that drowned out everything else. Branches tore at my clothes, slapped at my face, but I didn’t slow down. Couldn’t. The forest blurred around me in streaks of green and gold, the setting sun piercing through the trees in long, sharp shafts like golden knives slicing through the shadows.
Each step sent sharp pain shooting through my feet bare, bruised, and scraped raw by rocks and hidden roots. My legs trembled, not just from exertion, but from the fear chasing me like a second skin. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. Because if I did, I was afraid I might see him again.
But something made me glance over my shoulder.
Nothing.
He wasn’t there.
Just trees. Just fading light. Just silence.
But that silence felt wrong unnatural, like the forest itself was holding its breath. No birdsong. No scurry
