Chapter 34
"Kimberly, Kimberly, Kimberly!" someone whispered my name three times, barely loud enough for me to hear.
I rubbed my eyes, trying to figure out who was calling me. Slowly opening my eyes, I realized I wasn’t in a familiar place.
"Where am I?" I screamed, shooting up to my feet. My heart raced when I realized I was still in the woods where we had come to search for Hannah and Louis. My mind struggled to understand how I ended up back here.
"What’s happening? Why am I here? Where’s Damien? Is this a dream?" I kept asking myself, but there were no answers, only silence.
I looked down and saw I had been lying on the cold forest floor. I pinched my cheeks repeatedly, hoping to wake up if this were just some bizarre dream. But nothing changed. The forest felt too real, too vivid.
"Damien," I whispered his name, hoping he would appear. But the silence that surrounded me only made me feel more alone. As I stood there, my memory rushed back—being with Damien, feeling the warmth of his skin on mine—and then falling asleep in his arms. But now... now I was here, alone.
My mind spun with confusion. How did I end up here without him? I started pacing, desperate to make sense of it when I suddenly noticed an elderly man standing nearby. He was dressed in a white suit, his back facing me as he adjusted something.
My breath caught in my throat, and I stumbled over a small rock, barely managing to steady myself. "W-who a-are y-you?" I stammered, my voice trembling with fear.
Without turning around, the old man spoke, "Strange that you don’t recognize me. I’ve seen you around."
His voice was raspy, echoing through the woods. Each word seemed to bounce back, making his presence even more unsettling.
"If you know me, then show yourself!" I demanded, trying to sound braver than I felt. "Who are you, and why am I in this forest? What’s going on?"