Chapter 108

The Prey

The roaring sound jolted me awake and an insistent vibration sent my heart racing before my eyes even fluttered open. I clutched the sheets, disoriented, my breath uneven as I tried to place the source of the noise. It wasn’t a storm, nor the ocean crashing against the shore—it was mechanical, rhythmic, and loud enough to rattle the walls.

A helicopter?

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I pushed off the bed and stumbled to the window, the cold floor biting against my bare feet. Pulling aside the heavy curtain, I stared out into the stark, white expanse, blinking against the brightness of the snow. And there it was—a sleek black helicopter ascending into the wintry sky.

It felt impossibly close, as though it had taken off from just above my head. My fingers gripped the windowsill, knuckles whitening. Who was inside? My stomach clenched as I leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse of the passenger, but the reflective glass betrayed not