The depths of the forest

I dashed through the forest, my palms slick with sweat. Branches whipped against my arms, the air thick with damp earth. Something was behind me—lurking, hunting—but I didn’t dare look back. My eyes darted wildly, sharp as a falcon’s, until they locked on something impossible: a pale orb of light, bleeding through the cracks of rotting wood. It pulsed, alive, faster than anything human. Suddenly, it all went silent. Not a footstep to be heard… and that was the moment I understood why no one ever came back from these woods.

1 year into the future

“Miss August Winslow?”
A therapist walked in as I opened my eyes groggily, my body sweaty, my palms wet. Was this all a dream?
I looked around and saw a girl my age sitting in the corner, a dimly lit candle trembling in her hands as she whispered over and over, “It’s coming for me.” I knew who she was. Nora — a girl who had arrived in this cell about a week ago. I had no idea what had happened to leave her like this, but I was certain something terrifying had.
I stared at her blankly, like she was a ghost… until the therapist spoke.
“We need more staff. Miss August Winslow is having hallucinations… or maybe she’s in a dilemma,” the nurse remarked, studying my reaction.
Should I have really stared at her? Was it rude? I quickly turned my gaze away, trying to distract myself from the problem. But when I tried to speak, my words jumbled like pieces of a broken puzzle, impossible to arrange...