The woods swallowed her whole.
Bare branches clawed at Elena's coat as she ran, breath ragged, the locket burning a hole in her pocket. Behind her, Blackwater Falls receded into mist and memory—but the voices didn't fade. They followed, not in sound, but in sensation: a whisper against the nape of her neck, a sigh in the rustle of dead leaves, the distant echo of her own name spoken just out of sync with her thoughts.
She didn't stop until her lungs screamed and her legs gave out.
Collapsing behind a moss-covered boulder near the edge of the stone circle, she pressed her back against cold granite and tried to quiet her breathing. Tried to quiet everything.
Because silence was her only weapon now.
She pulled out the locket. Lillian's hair glinted faintly in the weak light. Maya had found it here. Buried beneath the central stone. Waiting.
A twig snapped.
Elena froze.
Not an animal. Too deliberate.
"Elena."
Ben's voice—low, cautious, cutting through the trees like a blade wrapped in velvet.
She didn't move. Didn't breathe.
"I know you're there," he said. Closer now. "I saw you run from Thorne's."
Still silent, she gripped the locket like a talisman.
He stepped into view ten yards away, hands raised, no weapon drawn. His sheriff's jacket was unzipped, eyes shadowed with exhaustion and something worse: grief.
"They're calling you dangerous," he said. "Saying you've been recording fake confessions. That you broke into Gable's house. That you're… unstable."
Elena met his gaze but said nothing. Her throat ached with the effort of holding back words.
Ben took another step. "I don't believe it. Not all of it. But Ellie… your voice is on those tapes. Clear as day. And Thorne—he just told the council you're 'the vessel.' That you've been chosen by some… thing."
He swallowed hard. "Is it true? Are you hearing voices?"
She shook her head—once, sharp.
"Then why won't you talk to me?" His voice cracked. "We used to tell each other everything. Remember? When your mom died, you crawled through my window at 2 a.m. just to sit in silence with me for three hours. You didn't need words then. But now…" He gestured helplessly. "Now you won't even look at me."
Tears pricked her eyes. She wanted to speak. To say It's not me—it's wearing me. But the moment she opened her mouth, she risked giving it more.
So she did the only thing she could.
She pulled the blueprint of the Resonance Cage from her coat—Maya's copy, the one the Whisperer hadn't stolen—and held it out.
Ben frowned, stepping closer. "What is this?"
She pointed to the center: the hollow space for a throat. Then to her own neck. Then to the stone circle behind her.
His eyes widened as understanding dawned. "You think… there's a way to stop it? With this?"
She nodded fiercely.
"And it needs your voice?" he whispered.
She hesitated—then shook her head. No. It needed her silence. Her choice. Her surrender.
But before she could mime it, Ben's radio crackled to life on his belt.
A dispatcher's voice—except it wasn't the dispatcher.
It was Elena's.
"Ben… please… I can't hold it back much longer…"
(sobbing)
"It's making me do things… terrible things…"
Ben's face went white. He stared at Elena—real Elena—then at the radio.
The voice continued, desperate, broken:
"If you find me… don't let me speak. Just… end it."
Elena's blood turned to ice.
It wasn't just mimicking her anymore.
It was scripting her.
Ben's hand drifted toward his sidearm. Not to draw it. But to steady himself.
"Ellie," he said, voice trembling, "if that's really you in there… blink twice."
She blinked. Twice.
He exhaled shakily. "Okay. Okay. I believe you're in there." He took a deep breath. "But the town doesn't. And if I bring you in, they'll lock you up—or worse. They're talking about 'cleansing rituals.' Old families. Scared people."
He looked at the stone circle, then back at her. "If this Cage works… will it kill you?"
She didn't answer. She couldn't promise she'd survive.
But she placed a hand over her heart, then pointed to him—thank you—and turned toward the stones.
Ben didn't stop her.
Instead, he unclipped his radio, walked to a nearby tree, and smashed it under his boot.
Static shrieked—then died.
"I'll buy you time," he said quietly. "But Elena?" He met her eyes, his own glistening. "If you come back… speak to me first. Before anyone else. Promise me."
She held his gaze.
And for the first time in days, she opened her mouth.
Not to speak.
But to form two silent words with her lips:
I promise.
Then she turned and vanished into the ring of stones.
Behind her, Ben stood guard like a sentinel, watching the tree line, hand resting on his gun—not to shoot her, but to protect what little of her was left.
And deep in the earth beneath her feet, something ancient stirred.
Hungry.
Listening.
Waiting for her to make a sound.
End of Chapter 13