Buried in the Woods Below

Prologue

One dead body.

Two.

The bedroom blurs. The sharp scent of copper. A knife gleaming in the moonlight. Twisted bedsheets. Pajamas soaked in dark crimson.

This is a nightmare.

It has to be. Wake up, Charlotte.

But it’s not.

I know from the cold sweat on my skin, the sickness rising in my throat, the crack splitting my heart in two.

My eyes sweep the bedroom, desperate for an explanation. Someone to tell me this isn’t real. That this isn’t what it looks like. That I can turn back time.

Who could do something like this?

An icy breeze slides through the open window. Is this how they got in, or how they escaped, or…are they still here?

The thought paralyzes me.

A creak.

A footstep bending hardwood, bending my insides. Someone’s coming.

I don’t breathe. I don’t think. I run.

Out of the lake house, through the yard, and into the woods. My feet fly across the forest floor, broken twigs jamming into my bare skin.

Behind me, the patio door slams open. His feet pound the steps like a bass drum, heavy, relentless.

My lungs burn. My thoughts splinter. The crickets shriek in my ears. He’s gaining ground. I veer off the trail, into a thicket. Branches whip my face. Burrs cling to my legs. My foot smashes into a tree root, nearly taking me down.

He tears through the underbrush behind me.

Close.

Closer.

I won’t last much longer.

Then I see it. The amusement park carousel—tilted, forgotten, spinning, alone, just like me. It shouldn’t be here, and neither should I. I drop low beside it, chest heaving, rain pinging against rusted steel. Why is this happening?

Footsteps crunch closer. He smells me, senses me. Does he see me?

Lightning flashes, illuminating the forest. The moment slows, and we lock eyes. He’s twenty feet away.

A gasp catches in my throat. I recognize him…barely. But he looks through me as if I never existed.

I bolt, but he has the angle. The air hisses behind me. The steel misses by inches.

He stumbles, and for one blissful second, I think I’m free. Then—

He catches my wrist, yanking me back.

We crash into the mud, sliding hard.

My breath punches out of me. Before I can scream, he’s on top of me, blade raised, expression blank.

I close my eyes.

And wait for the end.