Chapter 3: Heat and Shadows

  Sarah’s room was a chaos of sheets, the cracked mirror throwing back warped shadows. She sat brushing her hair, humming softly, her tune at odds with the unease in her eyes. Jake lounged in the doorway, cap low, grin wide, swagger dialed high to mask the night’s tension.

  “Yo, Sarah, you and me,” he said, eyes glinting. “This trip’s our moment, right?”

  Sarah smiled, playful, brush pausing. “Jake, we’ve been friends forever. It’d be weird.”

  “Weird’s hot, babe,” Jake said, stepping closer, voice low. “One night, no strings. Come on.”

  She laughed, resolve buckling, eyes reckless. “You’re a mess. Fine, but don’t screw this up.”

  Jake kicked the door shut, smirk broadening. They collided—lips, hands, raw need. His shirt hit the floor, hers followed, skin gleaming under the flickering lamp. He pushed her to the bed, bodies tangled, moans rising, the mattress creaking in protest.

  “Fuck, Sarah, you’re fire, yo,” Jake whispered, breath hot on her neck.

  “Shut up and keep going,” Sarah said, laugh breathless, nails raking his back.

  Their rhythm pulsed, frantic, desperate, the night closing in. Outside, fog swaddled the clearing, branches hissing in the stillness. A soft crack neared the window, lost beneath their gasps.

  Sarah stiffened, pushing Jake off, chest heaving, skin slick. “Wait. You hear that?” she said, voice sharp.

  Jake laughed, drunk on her, hands roaming. “Just the wind, babe. Come back here.”

  Another crack—nails on wood, closer. Sarah sat up, clutching the sheet. “That’s not wind, Jake,” she said, voice tight.

  Jake sighed, tugging on jeans, torso shining. “Fine, I’ll check. Stay hot, yo,” he said, winking.

  “Be quick,” Sarah said, fear edging her words.

  Jake stepped out, barefoot, shirtless, into the dark, the door clicking shut.

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  In the living room, shadows pooled thick, Halloween frozen on the laptop, beer souring the air. Caleb and Maya looked up, faces taut, movie forgotten. “Where you going?” Caleb asked, voice low.

  “Heard noises outside our room,” Jake said, shrugging, cap low. “Prolly nothin’.”

  “Hold up, sugar,” Maya said, sharp. “Some creep named Elias was at the door earlier, askin’ for directions. Weird vibes. Don’t go out.”

  “Yeah, tried to get in,” Caleb added, knife ready. “Told him to fuck off. Might still be lurkin’.”

  Jake laughed, cocky, drunk, adjusting his cap. “What, some lost hiker? I can handle him, yo. Chill, I ain’t a pussy. Back in a sec.”

  Maya and Caleb swapped looks—this is bad. “He’s trashed,” Maya said, voice tight. “Hope he don’t regret this.”

  “We’re a big group,” Caleb said, eyes on the door. “He’ll be fine.”

  They restarted the movie, but their focus stayed on the dark beyond.

  Outside, fog drowned the clearing, pine needles sticky, rot thick in the air. Jake stumbled, flashlight slicing the mist, beam unsteady. The forest was mute, a held breath. He tapped Sarah’s window. “Yo, Sarah, it’s me.”

  Sarah opened it, relief tinged with tension. “Find anything?”

  “Nada,” Jake said, grinning. “Just fog and bad vibes. We’re good, babe.”

  “Get back in,” Sarah said, voice sharp. “This is freaking me out.”

  “One sec,” Jake said, cocky. “Gotta play hero, yo.”

  Sarah sighed, window half-open, breath fogging the glass. Jake circled the cabin, light sweeping. “Yo, Sarah, you hear me?” he called, voice echoing, blind to the eyes in the mist.

  At the clearing’s edge, the air turned razored, cold enough to sting. A crack snapped behind him. Jake spun, flashlight catching a figure—pale, thirties, long coat swaying, eyes piercing. The man’s presence was wrong, otherworldly, his smile too still.

  “Shit, man, where’d you come from?” Jake said, voice shaky.

  “The night carries me, Jacob,” the man said, voice soft, poetic, a nightmare’s lullaby. “I need your help. For my daughters, lost to the shadows.”

  “Who told you my name, creep?” Jake said, stepping back, light trembling. “Daughters? Where they at?”

  “Centuries ago, their light faded,” the man said, eyes hypnotic. “Their absence chains me to this world. I seek to mend that wound.”

  “If they’re dead, why you askin’ me?” Jake said, fear rising. “What you want, yo?”

  “A family, Jacob,” the man said, smile widening, voice silk. “A new, eternal one. You are strong, vibrant. You’ll be the first to join us, to weave a bond unbroken.”

  Jake backed off, heart hammering. “Fuck off, dude. You’re creepin’ me out.”

  “I mean no fear,” the man said, calm, mournful. “Only purpose. A home, for us all.”

  Jake turned fast, flashlight jittering. “Sorry, man, I can’t help you. Find someone else.”

  He spun, but the man was there, a blur, breath cold on Jake’s neck. Jake froze, skin crawling. The man seized his head, tilted it with brutal strength. Fangs flashed. He bit—blood sprayed, hot, wet. Jake screamed, thrashing, but the grip was steel. A crack, and Jake’s neck snapped. He crumpled, eyes blank, blood pooling, flashlight rolling away, its beam a dying flare in the fog.