Nothing’s there. My shoulders ease, just a fraction.
I set the camera down on the table and head into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water. The cap twists open with a sharp crack, and I take a long drink, letting the cool liquid settle me.
This is what I wanted. A place to breathe. A place to work. A place where no one knows me. No one’s watching. My grip tightens on the bottle. I lower it slowly, my gaze drifting back toward the front door.
Toward the windows.
Toward the dark beyond them.
The feeling creeps back in, quieter this time. Less sharp. More… certain.
Not panic. Not imagination. Awareness.
I set the bottle down on the counter and move toward the door, drawn by something I can’t explain. My steps are slow, measured, my pulse steady but heavy.
I unlock the door.
Pause.
Then pull it open.
Cold air rushes in, sharp against my skin. The porch stretches out in front of me, empty. The forest beyond is darker now, shadows swallowing the spaces between the trees.
I step outside.
The boards creak under my weight, the sound loud in the quiet. I wrap my arms around myself, scanning the clearing, the edge of the woods.
Nothing moves. Nothing breathes. Nothing?—
My gaze drops.
Footprints.
Just at the edge of the porch, pressed into the dirt. Not mine. I step closer, my breath catching as I crouch slightly, staring.
Boot prints.
They lead from the tree line, straight to the cabin.
My stomach tightens, a cold, heavy knot forming low in my gut. I look back toward the woods. Dark. Silent. Watching.
And suddenly, this place doesn’t feel like freedom anymore.
It feels like a trap.
Chapter 2
Maddie
The first thing I notice the next morning is that the light feels wrong.
It’s mistier this morning, filtered through the trees in a way that makes everything look more secretive. Shadows that linger a little too long.
I stand in the middle of the cabin, bare feet against the cool wood floor, and stare at my camera.
It’s not where I left it. I don’t move right away. Just stand there, arms crossed, eyes locked on the table. I set it down last night. Right by the edge. Strap hanging off the side.
Now it’s centered. Perfectly aligned with the grain of the wood like someone took the time to straighten it.
