Chapter 12
Ethan's Hysteria
Ethan's anxiety peaks. He sees fleeting figures in the shadows, hears phantom footsteps. His overactive imagination or are his fears finally manifesting the reality of their situation?
Ethan’s breath hitched, a ragged sound that tore through the otherwise still night air. He’d been trying to convince himself that the rustling was just a squirrel, that the snapping twig was a deer, that the prickling sensation on his neck was just the cold seeping through his thin jacket. But the woods were no longer just woods. They were a vast, breathing entity, its shadowed lungs exhaling a chilling unease that seeped into his very bones.
He huddled closer to Leo, the warmth of his friend’s presence a meager shield against the encroaching dread. Leo, usually so steady, seemed to vibrate with a nervous energy of his own, his eyes darting into the impenetrable darkness that pressed in on their small, fire-lit clearing. Sam was gone. Noah was gone. And Hubert… Hubert, who only ever uttered his name, was a silent, unmoving statue beside the dying embers of the fire.
“Did you hear that?” Ethan whispered, his voice trembling. It wasn’t a whisper meant for comfort, but a plea for confirmation, a desperate grasp at shared reality.
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