ELWIN'S ENCOUNTER

The sounds outside the woods were growing louder and more violent.

The wind howled like a wounded beast, whipping through the trees and rattling the branches against each other like bones. Leaves danced in spirals of panic. The night sky had darkened to a deep charcoal, the moon nearly swallowed by rolling clouds.

Marie ran down the dirt path, her shawl flying behind her like a broken wing. Her boots pounded against the soft ground, her breath coming in short.

She could hear it now, the growls, Heavy thuds. The unmistakable snap of bone or wood. Something was fighting in those woods. Something terrible.

She reached the front steps of the cabin and stumbled against the door.

It didn’t budge.

She pushed again harder.

Still nothing.

She couldn't bear it any longer

“No… no, not now…”

She slammed her fists against the wood. “Alina! Alina!”

The door remained unmoved.

It felt... held. Like something or someone was keeping it shut from the inside.

Her throat tighten