Something Is Wrong With Her

I can barely handle the pain in my leg. Most of my body feels numb, though I blame that on the freezing temperatures surrounding us.

We still haven’t found anything that suggests we’re close to an exit, and I haven’t been able to recognize any part of the path the guys and I took yesterday.

I’m starting to get scared.

Getting lost would just be the final blow in what’s already been a disastrous day. And with nightfall creeping closer, I don’t think we have much time left.

I’m worried…

The girl with me—her injury looks bad. Really bad. My stomach twists every time I glance at it.

And yet, she acts like it’s nothing. Like it doesn’t hurt. Like it doesn’t matter at all.

Honestly… it looks like something bit her.

That thought alone has me on edge—tense, restless, unable to shake it. I keep trying to piece together what might have happened to her, even though I know it’s only making things worse.

I can’t stop looking.

At her. At the torn, blood-soaked flesh on her leg.

It sends a chill down my spine every time. Being this close to her still feels deeply unsettling, and the thousand questions spinning wildly inside my head are only making my anxiety worse.

What kind of animal could have done that to her?

And if it really was an animal… how the hell did she manage to survive on her own?

I can’t stop the spiral of thoughts, and I can’t stop fearing the conclusions my mind keeps drawing.

Her silence—her refusal to even look at me—only makes everything more confusing. Because, to begin with… I don’t even understand what the hell she’s doing out here.

Who the hell is she?

I’ve never seen her before.

I’m not even sure she’s from town. I would’ve noticed her—I’m sure of it. Hardly anyone lives there, and she’s… different.

There’s no way I would’ve forgotten someone like her if I’d seen her around Beacon.

Oh, damn…

A chill runs through my entire body as I’m violently dragged back into reality.

The guys…

Are they okay? Did they make it out?

Every part of me aches with the need to know they’re safe—that they found the girls and Marcus, that they all made it out alive.

Because back where I got stuck… there was no sign of them.

Nothing.

Except for the unsettling presence of this strange girl who’s now walking beside me.

Shit.

What the hell was she even doing out here alone? And what happened with that fire?



We’ve been walking for over an hour and a half now, taking this so-called shortcut that turned into a longer route. I had no choice—the other path was completely blocked by flames.

I don’t know if we’re anywhere close to finally reaching an exit, but I’m hoping with everything I have that we are… because I don’t think I can keep going much longer.

My strength is fading. Exhaustion is creeping in.

And this heavy, suffocating silence between the girl and me? It’s starting to make me seriously uneasy.

I want to ask her everything. Every single question clawing inside my head. I need to know what happened to her—I can’t keep all these doubts bottled up anymore.

But she hasn’t even looked at me again.

Hasn’t tried to speak. Not once.

Seeing her like this—so serious, so distant, almost like a machine—makes me feel… off. Small.

Now she just grips my shoulder tightly as we keep moving forward.

I don’t fully understand this sense of alarm I feel around her.

Maybe it’s the way she hides behind silence.
Maybe it’s because I still can’t process finding her out here like that.
Or maybe it’s because…

She might be the most unsettling—and strangely captivating—person I’ve ever met.

“Y-you can… we can stop for a minute if you need to rest.”

I almost want to punch myself for stuttering, but I had to break the silence somehow.

She finally looks at me.

I can’t read her expression. She looks… annoyed. Confused.

“Keep walking.”

The sharpness in her voice catches me off guard. Her cold, firm response throws me completely off balance.

Her gaze sends another chill down my spine. I swallow hard before forcing myself to speak again.

“But that wound—it looks bad. You need to rest, at least for a minute, or—”

“I’m fine!” she snaps. “I said keep moving, kid!”

“Just let me check how bad it is.”

I start to crouch down to look at her blood-soaked leg, but she stops me before I can get close—her hand clamps around my arm, tight and painful.

I flinch.

A cold wave rushes through my veins as I meet her eyes again.

There’s something wrong with them.

They look… different.

Wider. Darker.

And filled with something terrifying.

How is that even possible?

“Don’t you ever try that again, kid… or you’ll regret it.”

She shouts it—and I freeze instantly at the sheer force of her reaction.

What the hell is wrong with her now?

“I-I just want to see how bad it is…”

“There’s nothing you can do for it here! Stop wasting time and focus on getting out of here as fast as possible—and don’t try to touch me again!”

“W-what?! I wasn’t trying to—”

I cut myself off, forcing my nerves to settle. I can’t believe she still thinks the worst of me… but arguing is pointless. It’s just wasting time.

I let out a breath and, after standing up straight, rub my face with my freezing hands. This pounding headache is unbearable.

When I look at her again, I’m surprised to find her doing the same thing.

Her eyes dart away immediately—but it’s too late. I already caught it.

A strange curiosity.

She was looking at me like she was trying to recognize something… in me.

And somehow, that unsettles me even more—because standing in front of her makes me feel small. Fragile.

I don’t understand how someone like her can be this intimidating.