Chapter 80. The Thing In The Woods

It ran off immediately and it saw Ryder.

It was a nightmare come true at one point with snarling teeth and a body composed entirely of compressed shadow.

The air smelled of damp earth and something rotten like old meat and crackled with its aggression. I could remember that my feet were firmly planted on the forest floor as it lunged, freezing me. Then a moment later, it was stumbling back letting out a guttural sharp cry of pain before it scurried off and disappeared between the trees skeletal dark fingers.

The

silence felt strange—too oppressive as if the world had lost it’s ability to breathe. I couldn’t breathe either.

The sound of my heart beating against my ribs was so loud that I thought the entire forest could hear it. Then he stood before me.

He didnt move a foot. He didn’t run or come over. He was there in an instant, a solid wall of warmth and rage.

“Are you insane?” His voice wasnt raised but it was far worse than shouting .