The forest had stopped sounding alive.
That was the first thing Aubrey noticed.
Not because it had become quiet.
Because the noises had changed.
Boots no longer pounded through the snow behind them.
Branches weren't snapping.
Nothing crashed through the undergrowth anymore.
Instead…
There were footsteps.
Measured.
Patient.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Always somewhere just beyond the trees.
Always matching theirs.
Never getting closer.
Never falling behind.
Aubrey wiped the sweat from beneath her beanie with the back of her sleeve and immediately regretted it. The sleeve was stiff with dried blood.
Some of it hers.
Most of it wasn't.
Her lungs burned from the cold.
Her wrists burned worse.
The rope marks had split open again after climbing over the fallen tree, leaving thin streaks of blood running into her gloves.
She barely noticed anymore.
"How long have we been walking?" Terri asked quietly.
Nobody answered.
Not because they didn't know.
