Run: 2026-02-20-01KHY8JW1K3RMV9MBHW4KYFDAA

The wrought iron gate creaked open like a rusty jaw, and Rory slipped into Richmond Park after dusk. Streetlights hadn't reached this far in. She walked along the paved path, its smooth surface a stark contrast to the crunch of gravel she expected, until she hit the overgrown track leading toward the copse of ancient oaks everyone called the Fae Grove. Her boots sank into the damp earth. She hadn’t wanted to come back. Not after… well, not ever, if she had a choice. But Eva insisted. A new spike in readings. The Heartstone pendant warmed beneath her sweater, a low thrum against her skin. It hadn't pulsed like this in weeks. The air changed, dropping several degrees as she neared the standing stones. A scent like overripe fruit, almost cloying, hung heavy. It wasn't unpleasant, just…wrong. Wrong for a London park in November. Each oak, gnarled and thick, felt like a silent, watchful figure. “Lovely, isn’t it?” she murmured to herself, hoping the sound of her own voice would settle the prickle on her neck. She stepped between two of the stones. The world tilted. Not physically, but… perceptually. The shadows lengthened, twisting into shapes that resolved themselves into nothing when she blinked. Deeper within the grove, wildflowers bloomed in impossible colors – a violet deeper than amethyst, a scarlet that vibrated. It was beautiful, unsettlingly so. She pulled out the small device Eva built, a jumble of wires and salvaged tech Eva claimed could detect “flux.” The screen flickered, displaying a chaotic mess of static. “Come on, you overgrown paperweight.” The static lessened, coalescing into a pulsing waveform. The closer she went toward the center of the grove, the stronger the signal became. It wasn’t a stable pulse, though. Erratic. Panicked, almost. “Something's definitely here.” A twig snapped behind her. She whirled, heart hammering, prepared to tell off some late-night dog walker. Nothing. Just the trees. Just the too-bright wildflowers. “Hello?” Silence. Then, a rustling in the undergrowth to her left. A small animal, she figured. A rabbit, maybe. Still, she scanned the darkness, her hand instinctively reaching for the small, utilitarian knife she kept in her pocket. The Heartstone warmed again, the pulse now insistent. She glanced down at it. The faint crimson glow seemed brighter tonight. “Right. Let’s get this over with.” She pushed further into the grove, following the erratic signal on Eva’s device. The air grew heavier, thicker. Breathing felt like wading through water. The scent of fruit intensified. A high-pitched whine, just at the edge of hearing, began to burrow into her skull. She stopped. No rational explanation for it, but the hair on her arms stood on end. She couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Not by an animal. Not by a person. Something *else*. “Eva, you sure about this?” she spoke into the comms clipped to her jacket. Static. “Eva? Can you hear me?” Only static answered. She fiddled with the device, checking the connection. Full bars. It should be working. “Bloody technology.” She continued forward, each step deliberate. The ground felt…soft. Too soft. Like walking on a layer of moss thicker than it should be. She bent down, pushing aside some of the foliage. Beneath the moss was dark, loamy earth. And something else. Something pale and glistening. She didn't touch it. The whine in her ears increased in volume, becoming a piercing shriek. She clamped her hands over her ears, but it didn’t help. It felt like the sound was *inside* her head. A flicker of movement caught her eye. At the periphery of her vision, between two trees. She spun around, knife drawn. Nothing. “Okay, this is getting ridiculous.” She told herself it was fatigue, the late hour, the creepiness of the place playing tricks on her. But the feeling of being observed intensified. She could almost feel the weight of unseen eyes boring into her back. “Show yourself.” Her voice sounded small, weak, even to her own ears. The forest held its breath. The Heartstone practically burned against her skin, radiating heat. The device in her hand buzzed furiously. The waveform had gone wild, spiking and plummeting like a seismograph during an earthquake. And then she heard it. A sound that wasn’t the wind. Wasn’t an animal. A soft, rhythmic…humming. It seemed to emanate from the very ground beneath her feet. The humming swelled, resolving into a melody. Distorted. Unearthly. A lullaby sung in a language she didn’t recognize, yet somehow understood. A song of loss. Of longing. Of something ancient and profoundly sad. She lowered her knife, her grip loosening. The humming wrapped around her, pulling at something deep inside. A forgotten memory. A buried grief. “Stop it,” she whispered, but it came out as a breath. The wildflowers began to glow with an internal luminescence, bathing the Grove in an eerie, pulsating light. And in that light, she saw them. Shapes. Shifting. Fluid. Not quite human, but vaguely humanoid. Tall and spindly, with limbs too long and faces obscured by shadows. They weren’t moving toward her, not yet. They were simply…watching. One of them raised a hand. And in that hand…something shone. A pale, ethereal light. The device in Rory’s hand died. The screen went black. The Heartstone pulsed violently, almost painfully. “Eva?” she tried again into the comms. Still nothing. The shapes began to drift closer. Not walking. Floating. Silent. A voice, not spoken but *thought*, echoed in her mind. *Welcome.*