Echoes of Fate

Chapter 02: A Race in the Dark

Evelyn's eyes fluttered open, struggling against the haze ofpain and confusion. The first thing she noticed was the dim light ofa crescent moon filtering through the dense canopy overhead. Themoon, just a sliver in the night sky, cast a feeble illumination,barely penetrating the thick layers of twisted branches and leaves. Afew stray snowflakes drifted down, their cold touch against her skinalmost shocking in the otherwise warm air. They vanished almostinstantly upon contact, leaving a fleeting chill that seemed to seepinto her bones. The sight of snow was jarring—it was late spring;there shouldn't be any snow at all.

Her head throbbed with a relentless ache, each pulse sending sharpjolts of pain through her skull. Her limbs felt leaden, and everyattempt to move was met with stabbing agony. As she struggled to pushherself upright, a wince betrayed how the effort only amplified herdiscomfort. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and she fought to steadyherself. The stark contrast between the unexpected snow and theoppressive darkness around her heightened her sense ofdisorientation.

Something was terribly wrong.

Glancing around she tried to make sense of her surroundings. Theforest seemed to breathe with a life of its own, the air thick andheavy with the scent of damp earth and moss that clung to her skinlike an unwanted shroud. The forest was eerily silent, broken only bythe occasional rustle of leaves and the faint, distant cry of anunknown creature. Her gaze wandered through the dimly lit forest, andshe realized, with a creeping unease, how profoundly different thesetrees were from any she had ever known. They towered around her,ancient and immense, their massive trunks and twisted branchesstretching into the night sky, obscuring the stars.

The bark was gnarled and twisted with age, deep grooves carvingpatterns that seemed almost alive, as if faces might emerge from thewood at any moment. The roots sprawled across the forest floor likeserpents lying in wait, their sinuous curves adding to the sense oflurking menace. Evelyn reached out tentativelyto touch the nearest tree, her fingers brushing against the rough,cool bark. The texture was strange, almost pulsing, as though thetree was somehow aware of her presence.

As she rose from theground, her mind struggled to piece together the scattered moments ofher memory. Each breath was sharp, ragged, as thoughthe air itself clawed at her lungs. Kyle...running after the car,fists clenched, wild eyes. Her hands trembled, reflexivelyreaching for something solid. The car wasn't fast enough, theengine sputtering. A whisper escaped her lips. "No...notagain."

Her heartbeat drummed louder in her ears, drowning out the soundsaround her. "Come on, come on!" The gas pedal unresponsivebeneath her foot, Kyle's voice screaming her name. Her chesttightened. She clutched at it, as though trying to keep the memoriesfrom spilling out.

The world swayed. She blinked hard, trying to focus. Thetruck's roar. Headlights blinding. Too close. Too fast. Herpulse quickened. Her legs felt weak, threatening to buckle beneathher.

The woods spun for a moment. She stumbled forward. Treesblurred past her, dark shadows in the night. The fog. It was thicknow, creeping in, suffocating. A cold sweat beaded on herforehead. She shivered, though the air wasn't cold.

Her hand instinctively reached for her stomach. "Please, beokay," she whispered, her breath catching. The baby...she had toprotect the baby. Her breathing hitched, her fingers grippingher sides as if to shield herself.