Chapter 1211

They left the cavern before the spiral could stir again. Every step back through the waterfall felt heavier, like the air was thickening behind them. Jude carried Susan in his arms, her weight light but unsettlingly still. She didn't speak, didn't open her eyes, but her body pulsed with shallow heat, like she held something inside her that couldn't burn out or escape.

The forest outside was darker than it should've been. No wind moved the trees. Even the river nearby, usually alive with insect chatter and splashes, flowed in unnatural silence.

Emma was first to break it. "We don't go back to the same houses. It's not safe"

"Why?" Natalie asked softly, glancing over her shoulder.

"Because that thing still sees us through her," Emma said, motioning to Susan in Jude's arms. "Maybe through others, too. We split into two groups tonight - set up at different ends of the forest. Smaller circles. No one's ever alone."