I barely got any sleep that night.
It wasn't the cold. I'd dealt with worse. It wasn't even the ground digging into my back or the way my leg kept throbbing every time I shifted.
It was everything else.
The woods never really went quiet. There was always something moving. Branches snapping in the distance. Leaves shifting like something was dragging itself through them. Sometimes it was nothing. Sometimes it wasn't.
Either way, it kept me awake.
A moment passed.
Then—
Nothing.
The forest had gone quiet in a way that didn't feel natural.
I noticed it before I heard anything else, my whole body tensing.
Naomi had been crouched near the edge of the clearing, scanning through the trees while adjusting the strap of her bag. Lila stood a few steps behind me, too close for comfort, her presence lingering like something I couldn't shake.
No birds. No insects.
Just wind brushing through branches.
"You hear that?" Naomi said.
"I hear nothing," I replied.
"Exactly."
