Rissa’s POV

The fire wasn’t much, just a handful of damp sticks hissing and spitting between us, but it was enough to chase the dark back a few feet. Beyond that thin circle of light, the forest stretched like a wall, whispering and waiting.

Mark sat across from me, head down, cleaning his rifle for the third time. The rhythm of it, cloth, click, pause, filled the space where words should have been. Josh was beside me, wrapped in the torn blanket we’d used as a sling, his face pale in ...