Chapter 883 - 885
Behind them, Emma and Lucy emerged next, followed by Stella and Sophie. Then one by one, the rest appeared, Zoey, Susan, Natalie, Scarlett, Serena, Amelia. Each came armed in their own way, knives, bows, crude spears, walking sticks. No one spoke of fear. But Jude could see it in their eyes. Not the kind of fear born from monsters or blood. This fear was older. The kind that grew from not knowing whether you were still yourself.
Jude raised his hand to signal them, and together they crossed the boundary of their camp, heading toward the arch.
The jungle swallowed them quickly. The sunlight dimmed. The path narrowed. Trees leaned in from both sides, thick roots twisted over the ground like ancient veins. The silence here was deeper, broken only by the occasional rustle or the far-off cry of some unknown bird. Jude led them carefully, eyes scanning for movement, for the flicker of blue smoke, for anything that would break the illusion of stillness.
The arch came into view after nearly an hour of walking. It wasn’t a true arch, not built by hands, not carved or placed. It was formed from the bones of the jungle itself. Two massive, moss-covered stones stood upright, their surfaces etched with strange grooves, natural or not, it was impossible to tell. Between them grew a tree twisted into a curve overhead, its roots hanging like vines, its bark darker than anything around it. The moment they stepped within sight of it, the air changed. It felt heavy, humid, like they were breathing through water.
Jude stopped just short of the arch. The others gathered behind him. For a long moment, no one spoke.
"This is where you saw it?" he asked Stella.
She nodded, stepping forward until she stood beside him. "Just there," she pointed, "to the left of the stones. I looked away for a second and when I looked back, it was gone. But I felt it watching."
Jude turned his head slowly. The forest beyond the arch was darker still, impossibly thick. The trees there looked older, stranger, with bark that seemed to shimmer slightly under the filtered light. The roots bled into the path like fingers reaching outward.
"I don’t think it wants us to come closer," Susan said behind them.