The Forest's Grim Message and a Heated Confession

My stomach lurched as I stared up at the body, the girl's lifeless eyes seeming to stare right through me. A message, Jaxon had said. This was a message for me.

"We need to get closer," I whispered, stepping out of Jaxon's protective embrace.

His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist. "Are you insane? Stay back."

I pulled against his grip. "I need to see what's carved on her chest."

The forest remained unnaturally silent around us, that sensation of being watched still prickling along my spine. But something else was taking over—a detached, analytical part of my brain that recognized this as evidence, as something I needed to document and understand.

"Jax, let go," I said, my voice steadier now. "Whatever's written on her could tell us who did this."