In The Pines の小説・ストーリー

The road into Black Hollow narrowed the farther Evelyn Hart drove, until the asphalt itself seemed to hesitate, curling into the dark woods like a reluctant traveler. Towering pines pressed in from both sides, their needles whispering in the wind, and for a moment she wondered if she had taken a wrong turn somewhere past the county line. Her GPS had given up an hour ago, screen flashing with the cruel taunt: No signal.

I take a shaky step away from Theo, collecting myself, trying to regain my composure. He takes my hand and my mind goes to mush again. “C’mon,” Theo breathes, a devilish grin on his lips. He starts forward, tugging me with him. I finally snap out of my haze, drinking in my surroundings as we walk toward a drop-off, an incredible view of the forest spread before us below. “Is this…” I ask quietly. “Yeah,” he sighs. “Pine Mountain.” I can see why he’s been wanting to take me up here, why he likes coming here so much. It’s beautiful. The view stretches on for miles- lush green trees, sprawling landscapes, a winding river threading through. It’s so peaceful, serene.

“It’s me.” Everyone turned around and saw a tall, handsome man in a suit approaching them quickly. One of the girls who knew him gasped. “Oh, so it was Mr. Pine.” “Who’s Mr. Pine…?” asked another girl who did not know him quietly. “You just returned to the country, so you wouldn’t know. His family isn’t very wealthy, but they’re the Brooks’ dedicated lawyers. They’re no small-fry either. Marcus Pine is already a barrister at his age, so he’s an elite member of society!”

“We should take a break, rest here for thirty minutes before we continue.” “Thats not possible, it seems like you guys keep forgetting what we’re doing and who we’re with. We’re not stopping until we reach the end of Pine’s creak. Its only a matter of time before they realize that she’s gone. Its a good thing that they’re in a bit of choas, so it makes the timing spot on and everything a little less difficult that before.” How did they know of what was happening inside the pac-

Pines’ opinion. Kino raised his brow at me and grinned. God! I hate my cousin. I want to strangle him right now, if I could only! “What do you think, Mr. Sloane?” Mr. Pines asked my cousin. Kino’s grin got wider. “Of course, Mr. Pines. I would want to be with my cousin to visit the Beach House. After all, I think it has held onto one of the better parts of Kinsella’s life.”

he says simply. I can’t believe it. Whispering Pines—our place. The tiny, quaint town nestled in the wild northern territories—where there are no countries or cities, but rather individual pack lands, just like the old days—that Arthur and I used to escape to. It’s the place where we fell deeper in love with each passing visit, far from the pressures of Ordan society. Where we kissed under the stars and where I painted next to waterfalls and where we were happy and free.

“Deal.” The pines whispered in the night wind outside. Chainsaws were silent for now. Inside the bunkhouse, the fight wasn’t over. It had just changed into something neither of them wanted to walk away from.

The storm arrived the way old debts do—slow at first, then all at once. It stacked itself over the ridge like a bruise deciding where to settle. The pines leaned into it, whispering in that language needles use when wind makes them tell the truth. Word carried through the Holdfast that we would run. Not for spectacle. Not for sport. For the business of reminding the line it still had a spine.

“Then we’ll make sure we get to.” Outside, the wind picked up. A howl echoed through the pines—far off, but real. And the scent of ash rolled in with the dark.

Jade's POV ​The dawn didn’t bring warmth; it brought a flat, clinical light that turned the frozen landscape into a high-contrast nightmare. The skeletal branches of the pines were etched in charcoal against a sky the color of unpolished zinc. Behind us, the smoke from the lodge was a thin, grey needle stitching the earth to the clouds.