Ella Adams

Atlas’s voice vanished into the trees, fading like smoke. One moment, it was there. The next, swallowed by the dark.

Then came the silence.

A suffocating, unnatural stillness that settled over us like a shroud. Leaving only the sound of Emily's erratic breathing beside me.

“They took him,” she whispered, barely forming the words. “H-He’s gone. They took him.”

"Emily." My voice wavered as I tried to ground it. I had to stay calm, if not for me then for her. "We need to keep it together. Atlas is strong. He’ll find his way back."

But I didn’t believe it. Not fully. Doubt twisted in my gut like a knife.

Then Amelia’s voice broke through the haze. “Stay close. No matter what. Do not let anything separate us.”

We huddled tighter around the dying embers, our circle shrinking instinctively. 

Then, like a cruel reminder, the laughter returned.

Mocking and Distant, like too many voices overlapping in high, almost gleeful tones. It echoed through the forest like a chorus of nightmares.

Snap!

The sharp sound of one of Atlas’s traps springing to life as we all whipped around, twords the source.

There, between the trees, a tall figure stood watching.

Henry’s voice wavered. “Atlas?”

Hope flickered across my face as my heart skipped a beat.

Is he back?

But something about it was wrong. The thing stood too still. 

If it were Atlas, he would have made a sound at least? Wouldn't he? 

But the thing just stood there… completely silent and motionless, as if waiting.

“Atlas,” Amelia called out. For the first time, her voice shook. “Say something.”

The figure didn’t respond as it slipped back into the dark without a sound.

Panic rose in my throat like bile. Emily began sobbing beside me, her body trembling so hard I could feel it through her grip. “What was that?” she gasped. “Why didn’t he answer?”

 “I don’t think it was him.” Henry stammered.

More laughter. Louder now, more erratic. Like it was circling us, tightening the noose. Shapes flickered at the edges of my vision, fast and impossible to follow. Every time I turned, they were already gone.

Something brushed my shoulder.

I spun, breath caught in my chest. Nothing. Just the whisper of leaves shifting in the breeze that hadn’t existed a moment ago.

“Did you feel that?” I asked, eyes scanning the dark. I hated how fragile I sounded.

But before anyone could answer. Crack!

Above us. The branches overhead rustled with violent force. We flinched as leaves rained down, and I looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of something small with a silver glint to it before it slipped away into the canopy.

"They're everywhere," Amelia muttered. Holding her gun like it was the only thing anchoring her sanity.

Then silence…

Emily's frantic breathing – the one thing I hadn’t realized I’d been listening to was suddenly gone. The absence was deafening.

"Emily?" My voice cracked. I turned, expecting to see her next to Henry like she had been just seconds ago. But there was Nothing. "Emily!?" Hysteria threatened to override my logical thinking.

I need to go find her. I need to rescue her. 

"Emily! Answer us!" Amelia’s voice rang out in rising desperation.

Then, off to the side, a whisper sounded so close I could feel it.

Words I couldn’t make out were whispered through the wind.

“They’re playing with us,” I breathed, the truth sinking into my bones. “They’re picking us off one by one.”

As if to prove me right, I caught a flicker of movement in my periphery. A figure just outside our subtle firelight, moving when I moved, mimicking me.

Then Henry shrieked as A pebble bounced off his leg. "Stop!" he shouted into the darkness, voice cracking.

The forest responded with a chorus of whispers, rising and falling like waves – coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Leaves rustled underfoot, but there was no wind.

"We need to move," Amelia said, her voice taut with urgency. "We can’t stay here."

Snap!

Off to the side, another trap sounded, and from the shadows emerged a tall but familiar figure.

Relief tore through my chest. "Benjamin!" I cried out, stumbling a step toward him.

But then it moved. When it took a step forward, its leg bent inward, causing it to stumble. And then its mouth opened.

Water spilled out in a thick gurgling, flooding down its chin and chest. The sound it made was wet and wrong, like a bubbling drain.

Amelia finally snapped.

BANG!

The shot cracked through the trees like a lightning strike.

The laughter died instantly, as the form of the mimic fell to the ground in a slash of leaves and water.

Even the jungle held its breath.

Then a storm of movement.

Scurrying. Dozens, maybe hundreds of tiny footsteps burst into motion, rustling through the underbrush and vanishing into the dark.

And just like that, they were gone.

The laughter was no more. Only the jungle remained, its distant, alien calls echoing faintly, as if none of it had ever happened.

Atlas Mercer

Consciousness returned in fragments.

The first thing I felt was the weight of leaves landing on my chest. One. Two. Then a soft rain of them, brushing across my face like feathers. My body ached. My head throbbed with dull, rhythmic pain that pulsed behind my eyes like a second heartbeat.

I groaned, breath shallow, and forced my eyes to open.

The world spun.

Shapes twisted and blurred in the dark. My ears rang faintly, and for a moment, I couldn’t tell which way was up. I blinked hard, trying to ground myself, the taste of dirt and moss thick in my mouth. Disoriented, I pushed myself upright with a sharp inhale.

Then something moved.

I caught the briefest flash of motion as something darting through the underbrush just beyond my feet. 

I wasn't alone.

One of them didn’t move fast enough.

Bathed in faint moonlight filtering through the canopy, a figure stood at the edge of the clearing. Its body was that of a small child with a Slender build. Its skin shimmered like liquid silver, almost translucent. Long ears twitched upright, and two enormous blue eyes locked onto mine, reflecting the glow of a drifting bioluminescent insect above it.

For a long, breathless moment, we just stared at each other.

I didn’t move.

Neither did it.

Then, like smoke in the wind, it vanished into the shadows.

“What. The. hell…” I murmured. My grip tightened on the knife, its worn hilt grounding me.

A split second later, a gunshot cracked through the jungle like a scream.

I flinched hard. The sound echoed wildly off the trees. Then came the chaos: scurrying shapes, the snap of twigs, and the rustle of frantic retreat. Dozens of small, unseen bodies scrambled away in every direction.

And then… silence.

I stayed still for a long moment. Until I finally managed to gather my bearings and climb to my feet. Pain bloomed through my ribs, and every muscle screamed in protest, but I forced my body to move. I staggered forward, pushing through tangled branches and clawing roots, navigating by instinct alone.

"Amelia?" My voice came out weak, almost hoarse, barely audible to even my ears. I forced myself to raise it louder, urgency pushing past exhaustion. "Amelia? Ella? Henry?"

Branches whipped against my face as I hurried through the dark, following the direction of the gunshot. My heart raced, a panicked rhythm fueling each step. Just as a sense of disorientation started to overwhelm me again, I burst through a thick cluster of leaves and into a clearing.

Instantly, the cold metal barrel of Amelia’s gun was aimed straight between my eyes. My breath caught, hands shooting up instinctively.

"Wait! Amelia. It’s me!" I said quickly.

For a tense second, the gun remained trained on me. Then Amelia let out a shaky breath, lowering the weapon and stepping back. "Atlas," she whispered. "Thank God you're ok, but where’s Benjamin?"

"I don’t know," I admitted bitterly.

Ella stepped forward cautiously, eyes wide with fear. "Emily’s gone, too."

My gut twisted in dread. We couldn’t lose anyone else tonight. "We need to find them.”

Amelia nodded sharply, motioning everyone closer. "Stay close and keep your eyes open."

We moved carefully through the dense vegetation, our collective breathing the only sound besides the distant, unsettling rustle of unseen creatures. Every shadow seemed to hold something sinister, every snap of a branch sent chills down my spine. Despite it all, we kept pushing forward.

"Emily?" Ella called softly as if not to attract too much attention. "Emily, please answer!"

Just then, a soft sobbing reached our ears, a trembling cry just ahead. Ella ran forward, nearly tripping as she rushed toward the sound. I followed closely, pushing through tangled bushes until we found Emily huddled tightly in the underbrush, her arms wrapped around herself, shaking uncontrollably.

Ella immediately knelt beside her, placing a gentle hand on Emily’s shoulder. "Emily, it’s okay. We're here."

Emily flinched at first, startled, before recognizing us. Tears streaked down her pale, dirt-smudged face, her body trembling violently. "They... they were everywhere," she whispered brokenly. "I-I couldn't get away."

"We’ve got you now," I reassured her. "You're safe."

Amelia stood close, eyes fixed on the surrounding darkness, her grip on the gun tightening with every second. “We’re still missing Owen and Benjamin.”

Before I could respond, distant shouts cut through the night—Owen’s voice, though too garbled to make out.

 “Owen?!” I yelled back.

The yelling grew louder until Owen stumbled into the clearing, breathless, with a very perplexed, mud-smeared, and leaf-covered Benjamin in tow.

He just stumbled forward, breathless as he looked at us with wide, almost manic eyes. 

“Thank God you’re all alright,” Amelia exhaled, stepping forward to pull both of them into a hug. They stayed there for a moment before Ella’s voice broke the silence.

“What happened to you two?”

Benjamin glanced at each of us, his expression uncertain, then cast a wary look around the trees. “I’ll tell you on the way, but first, let's get out of here.”

We gathered our gear and whatever food we could carry, then set off through the forest, and didn't stop till we were far into the morning. As we walked, Benjamin explained that after being dragged away, the things had held him down with what he described as living water, covering him in leaves and dirt—but always leaving him room to breathe. They never hurt him. In fact, he said, they were almost gentle as they carried him off.

Lucky bastard, I couldn't help but think back to how I was treated. My ribs and head still throbbed from the way they’d handled me, and I found myself absentmindedly massaging the forming bruises. According to Benjamin, once Owen arrived, the creatures had scattered—laughing—right up until the sound of the gunshot.

Eventually, the confusion of that night faded into the background, replaced by the steady rhythm of moving forward. As we pushed deeper into the jungle, the chaos didn’t follow us. Instead, the world ahead seemed… still. Almost too still. Distant hoots from monkey-like creatures echoed overhead, sharp and evenly spaced, like sentries calling to one another from the safety of the trees.

But just when it felt like we might finally catch a breath, we stumbled upon the first corpse.

Its flesh hung in sagging folds, darkened and discolored as if rotting for weeks – yet its eyes were still glossy, staring blankly skyward. Blood pooled beneath it, bright and wet, soaking into the leaves as if it had died minutes ago.

The whole sight was unnerving to say the least, but despite everything, no one spoke of it as we just moved on, too tired to do anything else. 

A while later, we found a narrow hollow tucked beneath the massive roots of an ancient tree. Its trunk rose like a pillar into the canopy, roots coiling around it in thick, tangled arcs that carved out pockets of space just large enough for us to hide from the world outside.