Smoke in the Trees
By the time the sun rose again, the wind had shifted.
Adrian woke to the scent of burning wood. It wasn't the gentle smell of a fireplace or campfire—it was sharper, thicker, laced with something unnatural. Smoke.
He stepped outside the shed, eyes scanning the horizon. In the far distance, just beyond the tree line, smoke curled upward between the evergreens like a hand reaching out of the ground.
"It's not a wildfire," Niko said behind him. He had been up for over an hour, sitting watch, crossbow across his knees. "It's controlled. Directed. Someone's signaling. Or covering a trail."
Eva joined them a moment later, still tying her jacket. Her face was pale, her eyes wide.
"It's Marek," she whispered, voice hollow.
They didn't ask how she knew. She just did.
Marek was a creature of habit. He liked control. And he never left a trail unless he wanted it found. The smoke wasn't a mistake—it was a warning.
They packed quickly. Their bags were always half-full, ready to go. They had already planned where to run next if things got too hot. An old hunter's shelter halfway up the mountain ridge. Adrian's father had used it years ago. It had no signal, no road, no light—but it had a roof. And right now, that counted for something.
As they moved through the forest, the snow crunched under their boots. The sky had turned a pale gray, and the wind whispered between the branches like voices they couldn't understand. Every gust of wind seemed like a breath being held, and every creak of the trees sounded like footsteps.
Eva walked close to Adrian. Her gloved fingers brushed his every so often. He didn't say anything, but he noticed. It meant something.
"You think he'll come at us directly?" Adrian asked Niko as they crossed a narrow frozen stream. The ice cracked beneath their feet but didn't break.
"No," Niko replied, looking around carefully. "He'll try to separate us. Make us panic. That's how he wins. That's how he always wins."
Adrian nodded. But not this time.
This time they were three. They were prepared. And they had the truth.
As they moved deeper into the forest, they found more signs—broken branches, a crushed soda can, even a spent cigarette on a log near the trail. Adrian crouched beside it.
"Still warm," he muttered. "He's close."
They moved faster. Niko took the lead, navigating off old memories and instinct. Adrian kept Eva in the middle. His eyes never stopped moving. Every birdcall made him flinch. Every echo made his pulse jump.
When they finally reached the shelter, it felt like stepping into a moment from the past.