Nope. Absolutely not. I didn't like that.
"Uh, Professor?" Felix's voice cracked. "Did that—did that thing just smile at us?"
"Yes."
"Are things in the forest supposed to do that?"
"No."
"Great. I'll just go ahead and die now."
Julien smacked him on the back. "Not before me, coward."
The thing in the woods didn't move. It stood just beyond the tree line, its features obscured by the shadows, except for that smile—wide, unsettling, too many teeth.
Mira was already gripping her dagger, her posture tense. "So… what's the plan?"
I considered our options. One: We run, screaming, into the nearest house like terrified villagers in a bad folktale. Two: We engage and risk fighting something we don't understand. Three: We pretend we never saw it and hope it respects personal space.
None of those options seemed great.
I took a breath. "We don't move yet."
"Yet?" Leo repeated, voice barely above a whisper. "What do you mean yet?"
"We don't know what it wants."
