CHAPTER 30: PURPLE SMOKE

We ran.

The trees blurred past, their twisted limbs reaching out like bony fingers. The ground was uneven, covered in gnarled roots that seemed way too eager to trip us.

Felix was sobbing. Mira was cursing. Leo was just straight-up screaming.

Julien? He was laughing like we were on a joyride.

I was about to commit murder.

Then the shadow moved.

It didn’t chase us—oh no, that would be too normal.

Instead, it shifted.

One moment, it was by the trees. The next, it was ahead of us. Waiting.

Felix screeched. "IT TELEPORTS—"

I grabbed his collar and yanked him sideways. "CHANGE COURSE!"

We veered off the path, crashing through the underbrush like a bunch of drunk deer.

Somewhere behind us, the whispering started.

Faint. Distant.

Then closer.

"Stay."

Nope. Nope. Nope.

I wasn’t interested in staying. Not now. Not ever.

After what felt like hours, we stumbled into a small clearing.

I collapsed against a tree, panting.

Felix threw himself on the ground. "I hate this place. I hate this trip. I hate everything."

Mira flopped beside him. "Seconded."

Leo glared at the sky. "I’m not even tired. I’m just angry."

Cassandra was eerily calm as usual. Wallace was writing another research entry, because apparently, he had time for that.

Julien dusted himself off. "Okay, but hear me out—"

Felix shot up. "If you say ’that was awesome,’ I will personally bury you here."

Julien grinned. "...That was awesome."

Felix lunged.

I caught him by the hood and tossed him back down. "We are not fighting right now."

Julien smirked. "He’s just mad because I was faster."

Felix pointed a shaking finger. "I will haunt you."

I sighed, rubbing my face. "Alright. Since we’re all alive—"

A distant thud echoed.

We fell silent.

Slowly, we turned toward the forest.

The trees swayed, as if something massive was moving between them.

Leo whispered, "No. Absolutely not."

Mira groaned. "What now?"

Cassandra tilted her head. "It’s watching us."

Felix whimpered. "Stop saying things like that."

The ground trembled.

A deep, grinding noise rumbled through the clearing.

Then we saw it.

A pair of massive glowing eyes, peering through the trees.

Julien blinked. "Oh. That’s new."

Felix started hyperventilating. "It’s big. It’s so big."

Mira exhaled. "Professor. Plan."

I stared at the glowing eyes.

Then I did the only logical thing.

I grabbed a rock and chucked it.

It hit something solid.

The ground shook.

The trees bent.

And the eyes narrowed.

Leo groaned. "Great. You made it mad."

Julien snickered. "Bold move."

Felix shrieked. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?!"

The forest lurched.

I turned. "RUN!"

We bolted. Again.

The forest was a blur of shadows and chaos. Branches clawed at us, roots tripped us, and somewhere in the distance, something roared.

Wallace panted. "What is that thing?!"

Cassandra, still eerily composed, said, "An apex predator."

Felix gasped. "What does that mean?"

Mira snapped, "It means it’s at the top of the food chain."

Felix wailed. "I DON’T WANT TO BE AT THE BOTTOM."

A tree snapped behind us.

I risked a glance back.

Yup. Bad idea.

A massive, hulking silhouette was pushing through the forest. Its shape was wrong—too many limbs, too many shifting parts.

Julien whistled. "That is ugly."

Leo growled. "Less talking, more running."

Mira glanced at me. "New plan?"

I exhaled. "Find a cave. A cliff. A hole—something it can’t chase us into."

Felix sobbed. "WHY IS YOUR SOLUTION ALWAYS JUMPING OFF CLIFFS?!"

A rock tumbled past us.

We turned.

And there it was.

A sheer drop.

Julien gave me a side glance. "You planned this, didn’t you?"

I grinned. "Absolutely not."

Felix wailed. "We’re going to die."

Leo gritted his teeth. "Better than getting eaten."

Cassandra nodded. "Agreed."

Felix turned. "WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?"

The creature roared.

The ground shook.

I didn’t wait.

I grabbed Felix and jumped.

The others followed.

We hit the ground hard, rolling into a shallow ravine. The creature skidded to a stop at the edge, letting out a low, guttural growl.

It stared at us.

We stared back.

Then, slowly, it backed away.

Mira panted. "Is it leaving?"

Wallace adjusted his glasses. "No. It’s waiting."

Felix shuddered. "Waiting for what?"

Cassandra exhaled. "For us to climb back up."

Silence.

Leo groaned. "So we’re trapped."

Julien shrugged. "At least we’re not dead."

Felix curled into a ball. "I hate this place."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Alright. We camp here."

Mira groaned. "In a hole?"

I gestured around. "Do you see other options?"

Felix whimpered. "I wanna go home."

Julien grinned. "Oh, come on. This is fun."

Felix turned on him. "Shut. Up."

As the night fell, the forest watched.

I exhaled.

Yeah.

This place was a scam.

The night was quiet. Too quiet.

Not the normal peaceful kind—the suspicious kind.

The kind where the predators have already agreed that you are the next meal, and they’re just debating who gets the first bite.

Felix sat huddled against the rock wall, wrapped in his cloak like a miserable burrito. His eyes darted around, twitching at every rustling leaf. "Professor," he whispered. "I think something’s watching us."

I poked the fire with a stick. "Oh, definitely."

Felix whimpered.

Leo groaned. "Great. Just what I wanted. A sleepless night in a haunted forest."

Julien smirked. "Technically, all forests are haunted if you think about it."

Felix pointed a shaky finger. "I swear to the gods, if you don’t shut up—"

"Enough," I muttered, tossing another branch into the fire. "We need to stay focused."

Mira pulled her knees to her chest. "So... any ideas on how to get out of this pit of despair?"

I glanced up. The walls were steep, but not impossible to climb—if we didn’t mind getting shredded by the jagged rocks. The problem was the thing waiting for us at the top.

I exhaled. "First, we need to figure out if our friend up there is still hanging around."

Cassandra tilted her head. "I’ll check."

Before I could stop her, she vanished.

Felix grabbed my sleeve. "Professor! She just disappeared!"

I patted his head. "That’s her thing."

Felix whimpered. "I hate her thing."

Leo crossed his arms. "If it’s still waiting, what’s the plan?"

I looked at the fire. "We burn the forest down."

Felix’s scream was instant. "WHAT?!"

I rolled my eyes. "It was a joke."

Mira smirked. "I don’t know, Professor. You say a lot of things that aren’t jokes and then make us do them."

Julien grinned. "Like that time he made me fight blindfolded."

Felix threw his hands up. "That was different! You enjoy suffering!"

Julien gave a thumbs-up. "It builds character."

Wallace sighed. "We’re getting off track."

Cassandra reappeared, standing directly behind Felix.

Felix shrieked.

Cassandra ignored him. "It left."

I raised an eyebrow. "It just... left?"

She nodded. "For now."

Leo groaned. "That means it’ll come back."

Mira stretched. "So, do we climb?"

Felix’s voice cracked. "That’s a horrible idea! What if it’s tricking us?"

Julien smirked. "Then I say we race to the top."

Felix looked ready to combust. "You are a menace."

I stood up, dusting myself off. "We move at dawn."

Felix curled into a tighter ball. "I’m never leaving this hole."

___

Dawn.

Felix was forced to leave the hole.

We climbed in pairs, Mira and Wallace first. Cassandra moved like a shadow, scaling the rocks with eerie silence.

Felix clung to the wall like a cat avoiding a bathtub. "I hate this. I hate this. I—"

A rock crumbled under his foot. He let out an ungodly scream.

Julien caught his collar and hauled him up. "Relax, I got you."

Felix gasped. "I hate you."

Julien smirked. "You’d be dead without me."

Felix hissed. "And I’d be at peace."

I reached the top first and crouched, scanning the area. The forest was still.

Too still.

And then I saw it again.

The purple smoke.

It drifted through the trees like mist, curling and twisting in ways that smoke shouldn’t. It didn’t rise or spread—it flowed, like ink in water.

No one mentioned it.

Felix would’ve been screaming if he saw this.

That meant... I was the only one who could see it.

I clenched my fists. Not now. Not here.

Cassandra appeared beside me. "It’s hiding."

Of course it was.

I turned to the others. "Move fast. If it comes back, we run."

Felix wheezed. "I am so tired of running."

Leo muttered, "I think I forgot what walking feels like."

We set off.

The trees loomed over us, their branches swaying even though there was no wind. Every now and then, I swore I saw something shift in the corner of my vision, but when I turned, there was nothing.

Except for the smoke.

It slithered through the air, wrapping around trunks and trailing over the ground. Watching.

I didn’t tell them. No point scaring them.

Mira muttered, "This place is wrong."

Wallace adjusted his glasses. "I’ve been recording our surroundings. The patterns... they aren’t normal."

Felix groaned. "Great. We’re in a cursed forest. Love that for us."

Cassandra stopped.

We all froze.

She turned her head slowly, staring into the trees. "...It’s not the same forest anymore."

Silence.

Julien scratched his head. "Uh, what?"

She pointed. "That tree wasn’t here before."

We followed her gaze.

A massive, twisted tree stood at the center of a clearing. Its bark was cracked like dry skin, and veins of deep red pulsed beneath it.

Leo whispered, "That tree is breathing."

Felix let out a strangled noise.

I exhaled. "Alright. New rule. We don’t go near that."

Mira crossed her arms. "And what if we have to?"

Julien grinned. "Then we throw Felix at it and see what happens."

Felix lost it. "WHY AM I ALWAYS THE SACRIFICE?!"

Julien smirked. "Because you scream the best."

Felix inhaled. "I—"

The ground shook.

Every instinct screamed at me.

"MOVE!" I yelled.

A shadow lunged from the forest.

It was different this time. Bigger. Hungrier.

Felix shrieked. "I KNEW IT WAS A TRAP!"

Julien grabbed his arm. "Less screaming, more running."

We tore through the trees, the creature’s thundering steps shaking the earth behind us.

The smoke thickened.

It curled around my ankles, reached for my arms, brushed against my face.

It didn’t do anything.

It just... existed.

Cassandra’s voice was eerily calm. "It’s pushing us."

I gritted my teeth. "Toward what?"

Then the trees ended.

A massive, gaping pit stretched before us.

Mira gasped. "Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me."

Felix wailed. "AGAIN WITH THE CLIFFS?!"

The creature roared, closing in fast.

I glanced at my students.

They looked at me.

Felix started shaking his head. "No. No. No, I refuse."

I grinned. "Jump."

Felix screamed.

And we jumped.

Again.