Chapter 4: The Shadow That Knows My Name
We didn't stop running until we reached the outskirts of town. By then, my lungs were on fire, my legs screaming for rest. Zoey, however, didn't even seem winded.
We ended up in the park—the one no one really visited anymore. The playground was rusting, the swings creaking in the wind. The once-bright mural on the nearby wall was faded and cracked, the paint peeling away like old memories.
Zoey finally let go of my wrist. I stumbled back, gasping for breath.
"What the heck was that?" I demanded.
She didn't answer right away. She was staring at the tree line, her shoulders tense. Like she was listening for something.
When she finally spoke, her voice was steady—but there was something underneath it.
"I don't know exactly," she admitted. "But I know it's been following me since I came back."
I ran a hand through my hair, trying to process everything.
"Why didn't you say something sooner?" I asked.
Zoey turned to me, her green eyes shadowed.
"Would you have believed me?"
I opened my mouth. Closed it.
No.
I wouldn't have.
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I don't know what it is, but it knows you saw me," she said. "It knows that you believe now."
A sickening realization settled in my gut.
"It was watching me before, wasn't it?" I asked.
Zoey hesitated. Then nodded.
I swallowed hard.
The air felt heavier now, the weight of something unseen pressing against my chest.
"So what do we do?" I asked.
Zoey's jaw tightened.
"We find out what it wants."
Her voice was calm, but there was something behind it—something that made my stomach twist.
Like she already knew the answer.
And whatever it was—
It wasn't good.