The Silent Watcher

Morning came faster than expected. As the first light of the sun shone through the trees, Kai woke up suddenly, his body sore from a restless night. The dream still clung to him, its unsettling images clear in his mind. The woman's eyes, glowing like burning coals, and the cold, strong hands that had grabbed him felt real, as if they had never left. It was like the dream had become a part of him, deep in his bones. Even now, he could still hear the distant sound of drums, a steady beat that seemed to come from the ground beneath him.

Kai rubbed his face with a groan, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep and the oppressive feeling that had followed him into the waking world. The sky outside their camp was a dull gray, and the forest seemed just as quiet as the night before, eerily still. No bird calls, no rustle of leaves, just a quiet that made Kai's skin crawl. It was as though the entire forest was holding its breath, waiting for something—or someone.