Chapter 1153
Bent forward slightly, as if its body were being pulled toward the ground by some invisible weight.
It had no face.
But it stared.
Sophie’s fingers found Jude’s without needing to search. "That’s not a hallucination."
"No," he said.
The shape tilted its head. Not jerky like a creature. Smooth. Intimate.
Jude stepped forward, and the thing vanished behind a tree, without a sound. They waited, breath held. But it didn’t return.
"What is it?" Sophie whispered.
"I don’t know," Jude said. "But I think it’s the reason we’re not sleeping."
They returned to the camp, but the mood had shifted. By dawn, the others began waking, and one by one, he saw the same realization on their faces. They all knew. They had seen it. Rose didn’t speak at all. She sat by the fire with her knees drawn to her chest, watching the woods. Layla walked slower than usual. Zoey glanced toward the trees every few seconds. Lucy pretended nothing was wrong, but her hand shook when she passed Jude a bowl of fruit.
By midmorning, the silence became unbearable.