6

I waited, what felt like an eternity, amid thick tears, while the noises grew louder around me.

The branches rustled with the wind, accompanying their movement with distant, raucous laughter and those voices that slowly merged into one—his cursed voice.

I felt a piercing pain in my leg, but I didn't bother checking if I had hurt myself in the fall.

I desperately wanted to protect myself, as I only feared him, and Jack wasn't there to save me from that nightmare. So, I curled up, embracing my trembling body, as if doing so would be of any use.

I whispered thousands of nonsensical things; I wanted him to leave, but the more I wished, the closer his voice seemed to approach.

He was there behind me; I could sense him without needing to turn around. I didn't want him to touch me, but he would, he would do everything I didn't want because he would force me to, because that's who he was.

"Lucy!" Jack called, standing in front of me, illuminating me from head to toe with his flashlight. "Wh