Run: 2026-02-17-01KHNFCMMFC6RWYCZGQ34R1T9N

The air in Richmond Park smelled of damp earth and rotting leaves as Aurora Carter stepped off the gravel path. Her breath fogged in the moonlight, and she pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders. The Heartstone pendant rested cool and heavy against her collarbone—no telltale warmth yet, but then, she wasn't close enough to the Grove. At least, she shouldn't be. Her boots sank into the mud as she trudged toward the treeline. Silas had been adamant: "Don't go alone. Not when the veil's this thin." But Eva had texted that cryptic, urgent message—Meet me at the Grove. Now—and Rory knew better than to ignore it. Eva didn'tt use all caps unless something was wrong. A twig snapped somewhere to her left. Rory froze. The park was closed at this hour; no one should be wandering this deep. She turned slowly, her pulse jumping in her throat, but saw only the sway of branches. Just wind, then. The tree cover thickened as she pressed forward, the moon casting jagged shadows across the ground. It was getting darker. That didn't make sense; the Grove was supposed to be brighter near the boundary, the wildflowers glowing under starlight. Instead, the trunks here seemed to crowd closer together, their gnarled roots twisting up from the soil like grasping fingers. Another sound—a wet, sliding noise, too deliberate for an animal. Rory's hand flew to her pendant. Still cold. She swallowed and kept walking. Something flickered at the corner of her vision. A shape, too tall to be human, lurching between the trees. She spun toward it. Nothing. Just branches rustling in the breeze. Her phone buzzed suddenly in her pocket, making her jump. Eva's name flashed on the screen: Where are you? Rory typed back with numb fingers: Walking toward the stones. The reply came instantly: No you're not. The blood drained from her face. She stared at the message. Then: Look behind you. Her breath hitched. No. This was a trick. Had to be. Eva wouldn't— A low, guttural chuckle rippled through the trees. Slowly, Rory turned. The forest had changed. The dark pressed claustrophobic against her skin, the tree trunks now leaning inward, closing off the path behind her. They hadn't been that close before. And between them, half-hidden in shadow, stood a figure. Not Eva. Taller. Wrong. Its limbs bent at unnatural angles, joints too many, too sharp. The face—if it was a face—was a blur of shifting shadows beneath a tangle of black hair. "You're late," it said, in Eva's voice. Rory took a step back. The pendant at her neck flared abruptly with heat, its crimson glow casting frenzied red light across the figure's hollow-cheeked grin. The Grove wasn't supposed to have teeth. She bolted. Roots erupted from the earth, tripping her. She stumbled, caught herself, eyes burning as she raced toward where the standing stones should be. Behind her, the thing gave chase, its footsteps a sickening wet slap against the ground. The trees groaned as they bent to block her path. Rory skidded left, ducking under a low branch, her lungs screaming. The pendant burned hotter, the chain searing her skin. She risked a glance back— And saw the thing inches away, reaching. She threw herself sideways. Its fingers grazed her wrist—ice-cold—before she rolled and came up sprinting again. The stones. Had to find the stones. But the path twisted and folded in on itself, familiar landmarks now horribly wrong. The trees dripped something dark. The ground shuddered. And then, up ahead—the oak standing stones. In the Grove proper, time slipped and slid, but at least here, the rules were firm. She lunged for the nearest one, slapping her palm against the rough bark. The world twisted violently. Silence. Rory gasped, kneeling in the sudden stillness. The true Grove stretched around her now, the wildflowers glowing faintly under a clear night sky. No sign of the thing. Her wrist ached. She looked down. A crescent-shaped scar—just like the one from her childhood—glowed an angry red where the creature had touched her. But she'd had this scar for twenty years. From behind her, a voice that was almost Eva's, but not quite: "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" The pendant pulsed once, twice—then went dark. Rory turned. The thing stood at the edge of the clearing, its smile stretching impossibly wide. And the stones behind her— Were gone. The Grove exhaled, and the ground opened its mouth.