Run: 2026-02-20-01KHXPYZ21BSTEKW9REDD2FDG2

Aurora Carter, or Rory as her friends called her, stepped into the grove, her breath misting in the chill night air. The Heartstone pendant around her neck pulsed faintly, its warmth a stark contrast to the cold surrounding her. She had come here for a reason, though she couldn't quite remember why. The grove was supposed to be empty, a hidden clearing in Richmond Park, but the air hummed with an unsettling energy. The ancient oak standing stones loomed around her, their gnarled branches twisting like skeletal fingers against the moonlit sky. Wildflowers bloomed in an unnatural riot of colour, their sweet scent cloying and overpowering. Rory's boots crunched on the frost-kissed grass, the sound too loud in the silence. She pulled her jacket tighter around her, her bright blue eyes scanning the shadows between the trees. Something felt off. The silence was too heavy, too complete. No rustle of leaves, no distant call of an owl. Just the faint, rhythmic pulse of the pendant against her skin. A twig snapped somewhere to her left. Rory froze, her heart pounding in her chest. She turned slowly, her eyes searching the darkness. Nothing moved. No shape, no shadow. Just the endless night and the silent trees. She took a step forward, then another, her eyes never leaving the spot where the sound had come from. The pendant pulsed again, its warmth spreading across her collarbone. She reached up, her fingers brushing against the smooth surface of the gemstone. It was warm, almost hot to the touch. A whisper of movement caught her eye. A shadow detaching itself from the darkness, slipping between the trees. Rory's breath hitched, her fingers tightening around the pendant. She took a step back, then another, her eyes never leaving the shadow. It moved like a living thing, a dark stain against the pale bark of the trees. It didn't walk, didn't run. It flowed, a dark river of nothingness, slipping between the trees with an eerie grace. Rory's heart pounded in her ears, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps. She turned to run, her feet slipping on the frost-kissed grass. The shadow was faster. It was everywhere, a dark tide swallowing the light, the sound, the world. She stumbled, her hands reaching out to break her fall. Her fingers closed around something cold and hard. A branch, gnarled and twisted, lying on the ground. She grabbed it, her fingers tightening around the rough bark. The shadow was upon her, a dark wall of nothingness. She swung the branch, her heart pounding, her breath ragged. The branch connected, a solid thud echoing through the night. The shadow recoiled, a dark wave of nothingness rippling away from her. Rory didn't wait to see if it would return. She turned and ran, her feet pounding on the frost-kissed grass. The grove was a blur of darkness and light, the trees a twisted maze of shadows. She ran, her breath ragged, her heart pounding, the pendant around her neck pulsing with a fierce, steady rhythm. She didn't stop until she reached the standing stones, their ancient bark rough and cold under her fingers. She leaned against them, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps, her eyes scanning the darkness behind her. The shadow was gone. The grove was silent, the night still. But Rory knew, with a cold certainty, that she was not alone. Something was out there, something dark and hungry and alive. And it was watching her. She turned away from the grove, her feet crunching on the frost-kissed grass. She didn't look back. She didn't dare. The pendant around her neck pulsed faintly, its warmth a stark contrast to the cold fear gripping her heart. She walked quickly, her eyes scanning the darkness, her ears straining for any sound. The grove was behind her, the standing stones a silent sentinel in the night. She didn't know what she had encountered, what she had disturbed. But she knew one thing for certain. She would not be coming back. Not to this grove. Not to this place. Not ever.