As Jessica and Marilyn chatted, Graves found himself distracted by voices that seemed to be coming from outside. He tried to listen more closely, trying to follow the sound without drawing attention to himself. Jessica and Marilyn were turned away from him, absorbed in their conversation and unaware of his distraction.

  Graves glanced at them furtively, making sure they weren't watching him, before beginning to move slowly towards the source of the voices. He walked through the back room, the sound growing louder as he went. At the end of the room, he saw a door. He approached it and carefully opened it, revealing a path that led outside, into the woods. He peeked out to see if Jessica was following him, and when he was sure that no one was watching, he closed the door quietly and started running towards the sound.

  The voices were saying, "Come back alive." As he ran, thunder rumbled through the trees in front of him, and he saw a raven flying ahead of him, as if guiding him. Graves ignored the ominous sounds and the flickering fire and focused on the raven, since he now had a history with it. He followed the bird deeper into the woods, driven by a sense of purpose he couldn't fully understand.

  Graves kept running for almost an hour, but eventually he became exhausted and realised he was lost. He collapsed to the ground, panting and struggling to catch his breath. As he lay there, he noticed that the raven had stopped flying and landed beside him. Graves looked at it quizzically, wondering what was going on. The voices had also stopped when he fell down.

  He sat up against a tree and held out his hand to the raven. The bird flew off the cliff and landed on his palm. Graves felt a strange connection to the raven, as if it had been sent to guide him on his journey. He asked, "What do you want from me?"

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The raven croaked in response, and as soon as it did, a thunderbolt struck a nearby tree, setting it on fire. The flames licked at the dry branches, illuminating the dark forest with an eerie glow. Graves watched the raven, wondering what it all meant. Was this some sort of sign or message? Or was he just losing his mind? He couldn't be sure, but he felt a sense of urgency urging him to keep moving. He took a deep breath and stood up, ready to follow wherever the raven led him.

  Graves stood up slowly, still in shock as he watched the raven fly towards the burning tree. He followed it until he reached a circular clearing in the woods, surrounded by trees. In the centre of the clearing stood a large tree, its branches reaching towards the sky like gnarled fingers. The raven stood between the big tree and Graves, croaking and turning its head towards the tree. This time, there was no thunder or lightning.

  Graves approached the tree slowly, feeling both scared and curious about everything that was happening to him. He couldn't shake the feeling that this tree held some sort of significance, some hidden meaning that he was meant to uncover. But just as he was about to reach out and touch the rough bark, he heard someone calling his name.

  "Graves, hold on!" Marilyn called out, running towards him. Graves turned to see her and looked at her quizzically, his face asking how she had found him. Marilyn approached him and took his hand. "Come with me," she said gently.

  "What's going on?" Graves asked, following Marylin.

  "Just follow me," she said.

  "Where's Jessica?" he asked.

  "David knew you went missing, and now they're all looking for you. Jessica is out there searching for you too, but this time you're not going with her," Marilyn said.

  "What do you mean?" Graves asked, confused.

  "It's either you follow me or you'll get caught. Come on, I'll explain everything to you," Marilyn said, taking his hand.