INICIAR SESIÓNRain crashes through the forest hard enough to blur the world around us. Within minutes, everything is soaked. The trees. The ground. Us. Water streams down my face in cold, relentless sheets as thunder rumbles overhead again. Damon scans the forest quickly, eyes sharp and calculating despite the rain dripping from his dark hair. Strands fall across his face, obscuring his vision until he shoves them back impatiently. “We need to move,” he says. I look down at my ankle. Still throbbing violently. Still attached though, which honestly feels like an achievement. “Fantastic,” I mutter weakly. “Unfortunately, one of my limbs appears to be protesting that plan.” Damon crouches beside me again without responding. One hand slides carefully beneath my arm. “Can you stand?” “Yes,” I answer immediately. Mostly because the alternative feels humiliating. Damon gives me a look that says he doesn’t believe me even slightly. Rude. Still, he helps pull me upr
Rain crashes through the forest hard enough to blur the world around us. Within minutes, everything is soaked. The trees. The ground. Us. Water streams down my face in cold, relentless sheets as thunder rumbles overhead again. Damon scans the forest quickly, eyes sharp and calculating despite the rain dripping from his dark hair. Strands fall across his face, obscuring his vision until he shoves them back impatiently. “We need to move,” he says. I look down at my ankle. Still throbbing violently. Still attached though, which honestly feels like an achievement. “Fantastic,” I mutter weakly. “Unfortunately, one of my limbs appears to be protesting that plan.” Damon crouches beside me again without responding. One hand slides carefully beneath my arm. “Can you stand?” “Yes,” I answer immediately. Mostly because the alternative feels humiliating. Damon gives me a look that says he doesn’t believe me even slightly. Rude. Still, he helps pull me uprigh
The world tilts violently.Loose earth crumbles beneath my feet as the slope suddenly gives way.I hit the ground hard.Pain explodes through my shoulder before gravity yanks me downward again.Branches lash against my face.Rocks tear beneath my boots.Everything becomes dirt and motion and panic.I can’t stop.“Oh my God—”My fingers claw desperately at the wet earth, searching for anything solid enough to hold onto.Nothing.The incline is too steep.Too loose.The forest spins around me in violent flashes of green and brown as I slide downhill.My stomach lurches sickeningly when the slope suddenly steepens.I grab wildly for a thick root jutting from the earth.For one glorious half-second, I think it works.Then the root snaps clean off.“Shit—!”I tumble again.A branch catches painfully against my arm.A rock slams into my knee hard enough to make my vision blur.Somewhere above me, Damon shouts my name.I barely hear it over the sound of collapsing earth.Then suddenly—My bo
Damon disappears between the trees. The forest goes quiet almost immediately after. Branches creak softly overhead as the wind shifts through them. Somewhere in the distance, water rushes steadily beneath the incline below us. But without Damon beside me, the woods suddenly feel... Bigger. Which is irritating. Because I refuse to be one of those people who immediately panic the moment they’re alone for thirty seconds. I'm not fragile. Nor am I the damsel-in-distress type. I lean back against a tree trunk with a sigh, folding my arms. “This is ridiculous,” I mutter under my breath. Stay here. Don’t move near the slope. Like I’m five years old. I kick absently at a loose stone near my boot. The thing is, I understand why Damon’s cautious. I do. But after hours of being corrected every three seconds, my patience is hanging by a thread. Watch your footing. Pay attention. Look properly. Don’t guess. At this point, I’m surprised he hasn’t started grading my breathing te
“Stop.”I nearly walk directly into his back before catching myself at the last second.Barely.“You know,” I mutter, “most people use normal warning systems.”“You were supposed to notice I stopped walking.”“Well unfortunately for both of us, I wasn’t born with natural survival instincts like some people.”“That much is obvious.”Rude.Damon crouches near the ground, brushing aside a layer of wet leaves with one hand.“Tell me what you see.”I stare down at the forest floor.Mud.Leaves.Tiny rocks.More mud.“This feels like a trick question,” I say finally.“It isn’t.”I squint harder at the ground, feeling slightly stupid but choosing to trust the process.“There are... footprints?” I guess.“What kind?”“Human?” I say, going with the first answer off the top of my head.Damon finally looks up at me.Unimpressed.“I’m trying my best,” I mutter, folding my arms.“You’re guessing,” he points out.I scowl.“And you’re annoyingly cryptic.”His attention shifts back toward the ground.
“Right on schedule,” I say to Damon as we leave the dining hall. “Just when I was starting to enjoy myself.” ***** The forest looks significantly less magical when you’re standing in front of it at sunrise running on half an entirely vegetarian breakfast and pure resentment. Mist curls between the trees in thin silver ribbons, drifting low across the ground. Everything is damp. The earth. The moss. The dark bark stretching endlessly upward. Even the air feels wet when I breathe it in. Birds chirp somewhere deeper in the woods, annoyingly cheerful for this hour of the morning if you ask me. I stare into the massive forest ahead of us before slowly turning toward Damon. “This feels illegal.” Damon doesn’t even glance at me. “It’s a forest, Michaela. Not a crime scene.” “You’re leading me into the wilderness with minimal supplies and emotionally traumatic intentions.” “That sentence made less sense the longer it went on,” he says, focused on tightening the strap on the bag







