The small fire crackled softly at the lake's edge, its weak flames fighting against the freezing night. Shadows flickered across the damp ground, stretching and shrinking as the fire struggled to stay alive. My soaked clothes clung to my skin, heavy and cold, while the night wind cut through me without mercy.
Charlie sat cross-legged beside the fire, but he never once relaxed.
His head kept turning over his shoulder, eyes fixed on the distant mansion now swallowed by darkness. Every sound—the faint ripple of the lake, the rustle of reeds, even the whisper of wind—made his muscles tense as if he were expecting an attack at any moment.
I hugged my knees to my chest, trying to trap what little warmth remained in my body.
The book tucked inside my shirt pressed against my skin like a strange heartbeat—steady, unnatural, impossible to ignore.
"Charlie…" I finally whispered. "What happened to my family?"
He didn't answer.
"Charlie. Please."
I leaned forward, desperation clawing at my voice. "My father… my mother… my brothers… are they—"
His voice cut me off sharply.
"Young Master, not now."
"Why not!?" My voice wavered, sounding more broken than angry. "I deserve to know what happened!"
He drew in a slow, pained breath, the firelight reflecting faintly in his eyes.
"You do." He stared into the flames as if searching for words buried within them. "But right now, knowing won't help you survive."
A lump formed in my throat.
"So they're… gone, aren't they?"
Charlie's eyes tightened—just for a moment.
That tiny, subtle flinch told me everything he refused to say.
"Charlie," I tried again, softer now, "why are you helping me? Why risk your life for me?"
He then—really looked at me.
"Young Master…" His voice lowered. "I promised your father. But more than that… you are not just any child. You are the heir of the Reyes family. I cannot let anything happen to you."
"I don't understand," I whispered.
"You will," he replied quietly. "One day."
The wind shifted, carrying the sharp scent of lakewater mixed with smoke. The fire crackled again, and silence stretched between us—heavy, suffocating.
Then—
Voices echoed across the water.
Charlie stiffened instantly.
The shouts were faint at first, distorted by distance—but they were growing closer.
Fast.
Too fast.
"We searched the other side!"
"They couldn't have gone far!"
"Check the treeline!"
My blood ran cold.
Charlie reacted instantly, kicking dirt over the fire. The flames hissed and died, plunging us into darkness. Smoke lingered briefly before being swallowed by the night.
"Charlie…" I whispered shakily. "They're really coming for us, aren't they?"
"Yes," he answered without hesitation. "Those men will kill you if they find you."
The ground beneath me felt unsteady.
"Why!?" I asked, panic breaking through. "What did I do!?"
"It's not about what you did." Charlie grabbed my arm, grip firm and urgent. "It's about who you are."
The answer only deepened my confusion, but before I could question him again, his grip tightened.
"We have to move."
He pointed toward the towering, twisted trees behind us—the massive forest rising like a wall of black.
The Silent Forest.
Even from here, I could feel it.
The unnatural stillness.
The absence of insects.
The weight pressing down on the air.
No breeze stirred the leaves.
No bird called out.
Not even a branch creaked.
"Charlie…" I swallowed hard. "People say this forest is cursed."
He didn't deny it.
"Dangerous? Without doubt. Cursed? Possibly." His gaze hardened. "But there is no path left for us to turn back."
A beam of light flashed across the lakeshore behind us.
I flinched.
Charlie whispered urgently, "Young Master… do you trust me?"
My hand tightened over the book beneath my wet shirt.
I had no choice.
"I… I do."
He gave a small nod—the first trace of relief I'd seen on his face all night.
"Stay close. No matter what you hear, no matter what you feel… don't wander. And don't fall behind."
I took a shaky breath.
"Okay."
The strangers' voices grew louder.
"There's smoke here!"
"They were close—check the water!"
"Spread out!"
Charlie pulled me by the wrist.
"We're going in."
I looked back one last time at the lake, the mansion, the life I knew.
Then I stepped forward.
Into the darkness of the Silent Forest.
The moment we crossed the treeline, it felt like the entire world changed—
the air grew heavier,
shadows clung unnaturally to every surface,
and even the moonlight seemed afraid to follow us in.
The forest swallowed us whole.