Chapter 2
The first sound was subtle enough that he almost ignored it—a faint rustle somewhere outside the tent.
Andrew’s eyes opened, his body going still as he listened.
Another rustle. Closer this time.
He frowned slightly, pushing himself up onto his elbows. Probably just an animal. Something small, maybe. A raccoon or a deer brushing past.
He waited.
The sound came again, circling. It didn’t sound like a random movement.
“Relax,” he murmured under his breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
Nothing to worry about.
Animals moved. They investigated. As long as he didn’t have food lying around outside, it should lose interest and move on.
Except it didn’t.
The rustling continued, slow and steady, moving around the perimeter of the tent. Leaves shifted. Something brushed against the ground, then paused.
Andrew’s grip tightened slightly on his sleeping bag. He held his breath. “Go on,” he said quietly. “Nothing here.”
For a moment, the forest went still.
Then something brushed the side of the tent. It wasn’t hard or aggressive, but just enough to make the fabric flex inward.
Andrew froze. That wasn’t a small animal.
His pulse picked up as he listened for the next sound.
It came a second later.
A low, dragging movement along the outside of the tent. Something with weight behind it. Something that pressed against the fabric again, slightly harder this time.
A cold shiver slid down his spine. “Okay,” he whispered, barely audible. “Shit…”
Stay calm. Think. Think.
It was a bigger animal. That was all. Something curious. Maybe it smelled something. Maybe it was just passing through?
It would move on. It had to.
Another shift. This time, the tent gave a sharper shake.
Andrew flinched. His breathing tightened, shallow now, controlled but faster than before. The darkness inside the tent suddenly felt smaller, thinner, like it wasn’t much protection at all.
Then came the sound that broke whatever calm he had left.
A sudden, hard rattle against the side of the tent. The entire structure shuddered.
Andrew didn’t think. In one motion, he shoved the zipper open and bolted out into the night.
Cold air hit him immediately, sharp against the skin of his face and arms. Luckily, he had fallen asleep with his clothes and shoes on.
The forest stretched around him in deep shadow, broken only by pale streaks of moonlight filtering down through gaps in the canopy. It wasn’t enough to see clearly, but it was enough to move. That was all he needed.
Branches snapped under his boots as he pushed forward, instincts taking over. Distance. That was the only thought in his head. Put space between himself and whatever had been outside that tent.
He didn’t look back and didn’t stop.
The trees blurred past him, dark shapes closing in and opening again as he weaved between them. The ground was uneven, shifting underfoot, but his body compensated automatically—years of hiking kicking in just enough to keep him upright.
For a few seconds, it worked. Then reality caught up.
This was a mistake!
The thought hit him hard and fast, cutting through the panic.
His gear. His supplies. His only shelter. He’d just left it behind.
“Shit,” he muttered, breath ragged now. He slowed slightly, just enough for the thought to take hold.
What the fuck am I doing?
Running blind in a forest he was already lost in, in the dark, away from the one place he had any kind of safety.
Stupid. Really stupid.
For all he knew there could be dozens of whatever had pushed against his tent closing in on him right now.
He started to turn, trying to reorient himself, trying to remember which direction he’d come from—
His foot caught on something, and his balance vanished instantly.
He went down hard. The impact knocked the breath out of him as his body slammed into the ground, momentum carrying him forward. His shoulder hit first, then his head snapped down against something solid.
Pain flared—sharp and immediate.
The world tilted.
“…damn it…” The word barely formed.
Darkness crept in from the edges of his vision, closing fast. The last thing he saw was the faint outline of the towering trees above him, their branches blotting out the sky.
Then everything went black.