CHAPTER 24: THE UNEASINESS

The forest wrapped around us like a living thing, its silence stretching tight. Every step we took felt heavier than it should, the damp earth swallowing our movements. Ahead, Class A’s camp flickered in the dim light, their fire barely a glow through the trees. Smart. They knew how to stay hidden.

"Both of you stay here." I said quietly to them.

Julien shot me a look. "Going solo?"

I nodded. "Less noise that way."

Mira didn’t argue. She simply melted into the shadows, watching our surroundings. Julien, for once, kept his mouth shut. That meant he understood how risky this was.

I moved forward, keeping low. The forest floor was damp, soft enough to muffle my steps. Class A’s camp was organized—tents arranged in a loose circle, their supply crates stacked near the center. Three students were awake. Two stood on guard at the edges, barely paying attention. The third sat near the fire, half-dozing.

Their supplies were practically unguarded.

Too easy.

I crouched behind a thick tree, waiting. The two guards barely moved. One yawned. The other lazily scanned the area, his stance relaxed.

This was doable.

I took a slow breath, then moved.

One step. Then another.

No reaction.

I reached the nearest crate, fingers closing around a sack of rations. Just as I turned to leave—

A rustle.

Not from me.

The sharp snap of a branch breaking.

One of their own.

I quickly activated my unique disposition called shadow step, It Temporarily blends me with nearby shadows, making me invisible for a brief period. Also enhances my speed for short bursts.

Darkness wrapped around me like a second skin. The moment my body blurred into the shadows, I moved. Swift. Silent. Gone before anyone could react.

The guard who had snapped the branch cursed under his breath. His partner tensed, hand tightening on his weapon.

"What was that?"

"Dunno. Thought I saw something."

The half-dozing student by the fire finally sat up, rubbing his eyes. "You guys are hearing things."

I was already slipping away. The sack of rations hung over my shoulder, weighty but manageable. I took a careful route around the tents, keeping to the edges of the fire’s glow.

A few more steps and I was clear.

Then—

Fwoosh.

The campfire suddenly flickered, its light dimming for a split second. The air went still.

The guards stopped talking.

A strange tension crept through the camp. Not fear—confusion. Like they all felt something was off but couldn’t explain why.

I didn’t stick around to find out. I bolted back toward Julien and Mira, stepping out of the shadows just as my ability faded.

Julien raised an eyebrow. "Smooth?"

"Got what we need. Let’s go."

Mira’s eyes flicked past me, back toward Class A’s camp. "Something happened, didn’t it?"

I didn’t answer. I wasn’t sure how to.

We moved fast, weaving through the trees until our camp came into view. The others were already awake, waiting. Wallace glanced at the sack I tossed onto the ground. "That was quick."

I exhaled. "Too quick."

Felix groaned. "What does that even mean?"

Mira crossed her arms. "Something spooked Class A while we were there."

Leo frowned. "Another group?"

"No." I shook my head. "Nothing was there. But they felt something."

Garrick cracked his knuckles. "Then it’s not our problem."

Except it was.

Because I had felt it, too.

Silence settled over our camp, heavier than before. The sack of rations sat untouched, a small victory overshadowed by the strange feeling lingering in my gut.

Julien broke the tension with a sigh, rubbing his temple. "Alright, let’s break this down. Either Class A suddenly developed paranoia, or something actually messed with them."

Mira leaned against a tree, eyes narrowed. "It wasn’t paranoia. They were relaxed before it happened."

Felix crossed his arms. "And you felt it too?"

I hesitated. I didn’t want to sound like an idiot, but lying wasn’t worth it. "Yeah. Right before their fire flickered. The air... changed."

Leo let out an exasperated groan. "What does that even mean? Did the wind shift? Did some ghost brush past you?"

"Ghosts aren’t real, idiot," Wallace muttered, poking at the sack of rations. "We should focus on what is real—like the food we just got."

Garrick nodded. "If Class A was spooked, they won’t come looking for trouble. That works in our favor."

It made sense, but that didn’t shake the feeling creeping under my skin. Class A wasn’t stupid. If they felt something unnatural, there was a reason for it.

I looked at Mira. "Did you notice anything while I was in their camp?"

She shook her head. "Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. Even the wind felt... off."

That sealed it.

Something had happened.

Julien ran a hand through his hair. "Whatever it was, it’s over now. And we have food. That’s what matters."

He wasn’t wrong.

"Let’s get some rest," I finally said. "We still have a long way to go in this damn exercise."

Everyone muttered their agreement. One by one, they drifted off to sleep, but I stayed awake.

Watching.

Waiting.

Listening.

And in the dead of night, when the forest should’ve been filled with the rustle of leaves and distant sounds of nocturnal life...

There was nothing.

Just silence.

Too deep. Too unnatural.

And I knew then—whatever had happened at Class A’s camp, whatever it was...

It hadn’t left.

The hours crawled by. I lay on my back, staring up at the dark canopy, ears straining for anything—wind, distant voices, the snap of a twig. But the silence held.

Not the peaceful kind. The wrong kind.

A weight pressed against my chest, the type of unease you only get when someone’s watching you. I shifted, scanning the treeline. Nothing.

Then—

A flicker.

Not light. Not movement. Just... a shift. Like the space itself bent for a fraction of a second.

My fingers curled around the dagger at my waist. My breathing slowed.

Something was out there.

I sat up, careful not to disturb the others. Mira slept with a knife in her grip, Julien’s breathing was even, and the rest were sprawled out, dead to the world. None of them had sensed it.

Just me.

I exhaled slowly, pushing to my feet. Every instinct screamed at me to do something. But what? I couldn’t fight an unknown.

I took a cautious step toward the edge of our camp. The trees loomed, their twisted shapes more menacing in the half-light.

Then, just as suddenly as the shift had come—

It was gone.

The pressure. The watching sensation. The wrongness.

Vanished.

I stood there, jaw tight, every muscle wound up like a spring. My grip on the dagger didn’t loosen.

Whatever it was, it had left.

For now.

But I had the sinking feeling it would be back.

I didn’t sleep. Not really. I sat with my back to a tree, dagger resting across my knee, watching the darkness.

Morning came slow, dragging itself over the horizon in dull streaks of gray. The others stirred one by one, groggy and stiff from sleeping on the forest floor.

Julien stretched with a groan. "Ugh. I feel like I got trampled."

"You always look like that," Mira muttered, rubbing her eyes.

Felix yawned. "Please tell me we’re eating before doing anything else."

Wallace was already rummaging through the sack of rations. "Not much, but it’ll keep us moving."

I barely heard them. My focus remained on the treeline, scanning for any signs of—what? The thing I thought I felt?

No footprints. No snapped branches. No proof it had ever been there.

Maybe I was being paranoid.

"Lucian."

I turned. Mira was watching me, sharp-eyed. "You’re tense."

"I didn’t sleep much."

"Why?"

I hesitated. I could brush it off, but Mira wasn’t stupid.

"...Something was here last night."

That got their attention.

Leo groaned. "Oh, come on. First, Class A gets spooked by nothing, and now you think something was lurking around?"

I ignored him, looking at Mira. "Did you feel anything?"

She was quiet for a moment, then shook her head. "No. But that doesn’t mean you’re wrong."

Julien frowned. "Alright, let’s assume something was watching. Do you think it was another group?"

"No," I said immediately. "No footsteps. No disturbances. Whatever it was..." I exhaled. "It wasn’t normal."

Silence.

Then Garrick snorted. "You’re being dramatic."

Mira ignored him. "Do you think it’ll come back?"

I didn’t have an answer.

Wallace clapped his hands. "Alright, well, spooky forest ghost or not, we need to move. We’ve got a test to survive, remember?"

He wasn’t wrong. Dwelling on it wouldn’t help.

"Eat quickly," I said. "Then we head out."

The group fell into their usual rhythm—bickering, eating, preparing for another long day. But as we packed up and started moving...

I couldn’t shake the feeling.

Whatever had been here last night—

It hadn’t left us alone.

We moved in silence, the forest stretching endlessly around us. Sunlight trickled through the canopy, but it didn’t do much to ease the unease pressing against my spine.

Julien walked beside me, chewing on a dried strip of meat. "So, what’s the plan?"

"Find a good position to settle," I said. "We don’t want to move too close to the central zone yet. That’s where the real fights will start."

Garrick smirked. "What, you don’t think we can handle a little action?"

"You can’t handle a little action," Mira shot back.

Felix groaned. "Can we not fight each other before we fight everyone else?"

I ignored them, keeping my focus ahead. We had to be careful—other groups would be on the move by now, and I didn’t want to stumble into another camp unprepared.

The terrain shifted, the trees thinning as we reached a small clearing. Wallace pointed ahead. "That ridge looks decent. Good visibility."

It was a rocky outcrop, elevated just enough to give us a view of the surrounding forest. A good temporary base.

"Let’s check it out."

We climbed carefully, moving over uneven ground. As we reached the top, I scanned the area—nothing unusual. No footprints. No disturbances. It looked safe.

But I still felt it.

That nagging, persistent wrongness.

Mira was the first to speak. "Lucian."

I followed her gaze. She was staring at a tree at the edge of the clearing.

At first, I didn’t see it. Then—

A single mark.

Thin. Almost invisible. But there.

A scratch, running along the bark like something had brushed past.

Not a blade. Not an animal.

Something else.

Julien frowned. "That’s nothing. Probably just a—"

The wind shifted.

The forest went still.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose.

No sound.

No birds.

No rustling leaves.

Just silence.

Deep. Hollow. Wrong.

Mira’s hand hovered near her weapon. "Lucian..."

I didn’t answer.

Because in that moment—

I knew.

We weren’t alone.