Run: 2026-02-19-01KHTQQSNXMMSDN0CYS3NDD2R4

Aurora Carter moved cautiously through the thick shadows of Richmond Park, her footsteps muffled by damp, mossy earth. The Heartstone Pendant—a small crimson gem on a silver chain—hung against her chest, faintly pulsing with an inward glow that made her fingertips tingle. The sky above was a cloth of patchy black, stars barely visible through the tangled branches. She'd been told the Grove was supposed to feel peaceful, an untouched escape where time bent and stretched. Instead, her skin prickled with the static of unease. She crouched beside the ancient oak, its gnarled roots twisting like the fingers of a buried giant. Terrence had told her to meet him here. He’d sounded urgent, alarmed even, when he called earlier, voice rough with panic. She’d come, thinking maybe this time she’d make sense of something—anything—beyond the constant fog of doubt that cloaked her mind. Taking a breath, she scanned the perimeter, eyes darting between the standing stones at the grove’s boundary. They looked wrong tonight. Normally, they stood silent and imposing, shadows that seemed fixed in time. Tonight, one of the stones flickered faintly, shimmering like a mirage. If she hadn’t seen it herself, she’d believe her eyes. Noises floated from the woods. Not the usual rustle of branches or distant birdcall, but a hollow, unnatural sound—something like breathing, deep and laboured. She froze and strained to listen, but the forest absorbed the sound as if swallowing it whole. Still, she felt it lingering just behind her ears, an echo of something not quite right. “Terence,” she whispered, voice sharp with suspicion. She looked around, but the figures that should have been waiting seemed absent, the clearing empty except for her. She clutched the pendant tighter, the faint glow strengthening as her palm pressed into her chest. A flicker of movement caught her eye—just at the edge of her vision, a sway of dark shapes. She spun around. Nothing. The trees remained still, shadows undisturbed. Her heart hammered irregularly, pushing her toward the boundary stones, her senses prickling. The air grew colder, a chill that seeped into her bones. She exhaled, seeing her breath form a ghostly cloud. The silence stretched, thick like syrup. Then, from nowhere, a whisper slithered through the trees, so faint she couldn’t tell if it was her mind or something else. "You're not supposed to be here," it hissed. Aurora spun again, resolve hardening. “Terence?” she called softly, voice trembling just enough to betray her. The words sounded hollow, swallowed by the oppressive quiet. The trees remained silent, branches swaying as if in response to a breeze she couldn't feel. Her eyes flicked to the flickering stone. It blinked, once, then steadied. The strange, shimmering glow of the standing stones beckoned, but now they seemed to pulse with a malevolent beat, like a heartbeat echoing through the dark. A faint scraping noise emerged behind her, barely perceptible. She whipped her head around. Nothing. The grove held its secrets tightly tonight, static shadows hiding what lurked just beyond remembrance. Gritting her teeth, she stepped closer to the boundary, peering past the stones into the woods. Shadows danced between the trees, silent and wrong. She caught glimpses of movement—an unnatural flicker or perhaps a trick of the eye, but something was shifting just at the perimeter of her vision. The pendant's glow pulsed faster. She tugged it lightly, feeling its warmth like a heartbeat against her skin. She clutched it tight, trying to ground herself. She thought of the Fae realm, of stories her childhood ears had devoured, each whisper of wildflowers blooming in the perpetual night. That’s when she saw it. A figure, motionless, standing just beyond the boundary—half-hidden behind the towering oak at the grove’s edge. Tall, elongated, with limbs that seemed too thin, too sharp. Its silhouette flickered strangely, as if it was a shadow cast by flickering candlelight on a broken lantern. “Who’s there?” she demanded, voice sharp but hesitant. No answer. Just the faint rustle of leaves. Her hand trembled, but she refused to back away. Instead, she took a slow step forward, trying to make sense of the distortions. The figure moved—not with a deliberate stride, but a slow, jerking lurch, like a puppet half-dangled from its strings. Aurora’s breath hitched. Her heart pounded louder, filling her ears with a drumming that drowned out the whisper behind her, louder now, more insistent. “You shouldn’t be here,” it crooned again, the voice a rasp that seemed layered with a thousand other echoes, all tangled and unresolved. She spun around, eyes darting in every direction. The woods seemed to warp, trees stretching and contorting, branches reaching like grasping fingers. Somewhere deep inside her, a flicker of instinct screamed to run, but her legs refused to move. A sudden, sharp clang resonated through the grove. She instinctively looked down. The ground beneath her flickered, a ripple distorting the moss and soil, revealing something underneath. A glimpse of shimmering silver, something metallic, something unfamiliar. Her pulse kicked up again, the pendant pulsing rapidly now, heartbeat echoing it. “Terence?” she called again, voice cracking. The shadows flickered around her, flickering at the edge of visibility like something trying to reassert itself into her world. From the corner of her eye, she saw it—the figure at the boundary shift, bending in unnatural ways, limbs elongating, head tilting at an impossible angle. Its eyes glinted—glowed even—small points of crimson that flickered like dying embers. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as the whispering intensified, swirling into a chorus of voices, voices that slithered into her mind like coils of smoke. The pendant vibrated against her chest, a faint, almost rhythmic pulse that didn’t cease. Aurora’s breath grew ragged. She could feel something unseen watching her, waiting, and it was awake now. Not just in the shadows, but inside her. It was wrong—so wrong she couldn’t quite reconcile her senses. A faint shimmer appeared at her feet, rippling outward across the ground. Something was trying to breach her reality, and she sensed that once it did, nothing would be the same. She backed slowly, eyes fixed on the changing shape beyond the stones. The whispering grew louder, more urgent but indistinct. Whatever this was, whatever hunter lurked in the darkness, it knew she was here. And tonight, there would be no escaping its gaze.