Flashlights bobbed as they crossed the open fields leading to the treeline. Samantha stumbled through the grass, her breath tight with urgency. Every rustle, every distant cry made her flinch. Juniper could be anywhere—or nowhere. The not knowing scraped at her nerves like glass.
Inside the forest, the world shifted. Thick roots curled from the ground like bones. Samantha leapt over them clumsily, searching under dense bushes, craning her neck toward the branches overhead, desperate for a glimpse of white fur or a flash of movement. Her hands were scratched, her knees muddy, but she didn’t care.