Pursuer

You wandered farther than you may have meant to. The campsite is long gone, swallowed by the dark stretch of trees, leaving you with only the dim beam of your flashlight to carve a path. The forest here feels different. Thicker, heavier, almost watchful. Each step crunches too loudly beneath your boots, and the silence around you is so absolute it presses against your ears.

• That’s when you feel it. *