Page 75 of Lost to the Woods

I cross my arms over my chest, but it doesn’t help. I feel exposed, raw, like I’ve been sanded down to nerve endings. I’m covered in cuts and bruises all over, dried blood, and a sticky layer of shame coating my skin. My face burns. I just want to disappear.

I glance up, and there he is. Sitting in a beat-up chair like he’s waiting for coffee and toast. All relaxed. Confident. Arms spread, legs wide, mask covering his face as always.

“Ghost,” I croak. My throat’s raw from all the screams and tears. “What the hell?”

He ignores that. Just nods toward a dented metal cup by the bars. “Drink some water.”

I open my mouth to tell him to go fuck himself. I want to. God, I want to. But my voice dies halfway up my throat. Because I don’t know who—what—I’m dealing with.

This thing looks like Ghost. Talks like Ghost. Walks like Ghost. He didn’t morph into any creature like the others. Didn’t grow fur or claws or those nightmare jaws. Didn’t go full horror movie in the woods. And maybe that’s worse. Maybe he is still Ghost. Which somehow makes it even more terrifying.

But there’s that desperate, delusional part of me that wants to believe he’s not himself. I felt that unnatural tongue inside me. And he did call those beasts his “brothers”, whatever that meant. My Ghost would never hurt me like he did…

Would he?

Something snores. Loud.

My whole body jolts at the sudden noise. I whip my head to the corner of the room—and holy shit.

There’s a bear. A goddamn brown bear, curled up like some designer doodle-mix “fur baby” brought along by a childless millennial couple on a camping trip. Its back leg twitches—probably dreaming about mauling someone.

“That’s Khalok,” Ghost says, casual as you please. Like we’re naming party guests.

Before I can process that, he points across the room. A huge mountain lion is just waking up, stretching. Its bones crack in a way that’s anything but normal.

“And Zhyra,” he adds.

“And Doruun,” another voice booms out of nowhere. Deeper than deep. Like bass cranked too high, rattling in my chest.

I turn toward it—and just… what the actual fuck.

I don’t even know what I’m looking at. My brain can’t process it. It’s like someone mashed a wood bison and a Greek myth together and decided that was a good idea.

He’s got this massive head with horns that curve up like grim exclamation points. Straight, dark brown hair hangs like an emo fringe over his brow, and a matching beard, pointed and precise, like he got it styled at the barber shop. And then there's this hump—a real one, not a posture issue—that slopes into a wide, upright back. His chest is covered in fur, but not… gross fur. It’s dense and woolly, but looks soft to the touch. And underneath it, he’s ripped. Like… aesthetically, terrifyingly jacked. His arms are human-ish, but his legs? Not even close. Thick, muscular, ending in cloven hooves. A tuft of fur covers his junk. And yeah—tail. Swishing behind him like this is all normal.

I just stare. He stares back.

He’s horrifying. But also almost looks regal. Stunning in a way. And I think I might throw up.

Behind him, gray fur flickers past the open door, and before I even blink, a wolf trots in. It stops, looks at me, then starts to shift.

Crack. Pop. Snap.

Bones rearranging. Muscles twitching. All happening in a blur, then suddenly there’s a half-man, standing upright on powerful hind paws. And he grins at me like we’re old friends with his deadly jaws.

“Hi, little rabbit. I’m Varekka,” he rumbles, voice smooth and mocking. “Pleasure finally meeting you properly last night.” He licks his mouth. I see the tail still wagging behind him. Like he’s pleased with himself.

He reminds me of Nate. A more confident version of him. If that Nate had been eaten by the big, bad wolf.

He probably was.

I can’t say anything. Can’t think. My brain is just screaming: “Too much! Too much! Too much!”on a loop.

They’re all quiet. Too quiet. But I feel it—they’re talking. Not with words. Some creepy, telepathic shit that’s making my skin crawl.

Then, like it’s no big deal, they all stand and head out. One by one. No goodbyes. No threats. Just… gone out the door.

Except for Ghost. He stays behind. With me.

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