Chapter 181: CH 181: Rescue party (Edited)
After being released by Dave, Tasha wasted no time slipping away into the outskirts of the city. The first light of dawn stretched across the sky like a slow breath, painting the clouds in soft strokes of pale gold and lavender. A low mist hovered over the fields, curling between the blades of grass as if trying to cling to the last remnants of night.
She moved briskly along a narrow dirt path, the air crisp and cool against her skin. Each step sent a soft crunch through the silence, gravel and twigs breaking beneath her boots. Tall grasses flanked both sides of the trail, swaying gently in the morning breeze like watchers whispering secrets in the dim light.
She had been walking for hours now, the terrain growing lonelier with each mile. The road twisted through pockets of trees and sloped hills, with not a single soul in sight. And yet... she felt eyes on her.
A presence.
The invisible weight of someone tracking her prickled against the back of her neck. She didn’t look back, not once. She knew better. Turning around too soon might confirm suspicion, might trigger a reaction she wasn’t ready to face.
Her fingers curled tightly around the edge of her cloak. Whoever was behind her moved like a shadow, silent, constant, calculated. But Tasha didn’t panic.
She had a theory.
It has to be Dave. she thought. He said he’d be behind me... watching.
Her stomach tightened at the memory of that void, cold, endless, suffocating. The place he had trapped her in with a flick of his will. A place without light, time, or escape. She didn’t want to end up there again. So she played along, obedient, careful, cautious.
But she also had something important to do. Something Dave mustn’t find out.
As she approached a large tree standing tall at the bend of the path, its thick roots twisting above the soil like gnarled fingers, Tasha slowed her pace. Her eyes flicked around briefly before she clutched her abdomen and winced, feigning discomfort.
"Damn it," she muttered aloud for good measure, staggering slightly toward the tree’s shadow. "Need a moment..."