Radio to the heart

Alistair's intrigue 

The edge of the forest loomed like a dark, yawning mouth. I stood at the threshold, where the fading light barely reached, casting long, twisted shadows from the trees that seemed to stretch toward me, as if beckoning me into their grasp. The air was cool, damp with the scent of moss and earth, and the distant call of owls mingled with the rustling of unseen creatures. My chest tightened with the weight of indecision, the fear of what lay ahead warring with the determination that burned low but steady in my gut.

I had to go in. I knew that much. But every fiber of my body wanted to turn and run back to the safety of the clearing, where the light was just a little less cruel. I swallowed hard, my feet rooted to the ground, refusing to budge even as my heart pounded against my ribs.

The shadows between the trees stirred, almost imperceptibly. Had I known he was watching me then, I might have run after all.

Alistair lingered just beyond my sight, his presence as much a part of the dark as the forest itself. I couldn't see him, but I could feel the weight of eyes on me, a sense of something-someone-near, even if I couldn't place it. He watched, concealed in the shadows, a silent observer of my hesitation.

*What makes her stand there, just shy of danger?* I didn't know it then, but his thoughts were not unlike my own. He was curious about me, even as I wavered on the edge of something I couldn't name. *Is it fear, or defiance?* His voice would have been low and thoughtful had I heard it, echoing in the silence that stretched between us. There was something in me that had caught his attention, something that stirred in him the need to protect.

My breath came shallow as I stared ahead. It wasn't that I didn't feel fear-oh, I did-but something else had gripped me harder, deeper. The need to move forward, to face whatever lay within the darkness. I couldn't turn back. Not now.

I took a step.

The cold air from the forest wrapped itself around me as if in warning, chilling me to the bone. I bit my lip, refusing to let it stop me. Another step. The light behind me faded, the weight of the night pressing in as I ventured deeper into the woods. The branches overhead tangled into a web, hiding the last traces of the moon.

From the shadows, Alistair followed, his steps silent on the forest floor. He moved like a predator, slipping between trees with ease, but his gaze never left me. There was something in the way I pushed forward, despite the fear, despite the cold creeping into my bones, that made him pause. He leaned against a tree, eyes narrowed in quiet admiration.

*She doesn't know when to quit.* His words whispered through the dark, unheard by anyone but himself. *That's... something.*

I wasn't aware of him then-his presence, his thoughts-but something in me stirred, a fleeting sense of being watched. But I pressed on, deeper into the night, deeper into whatever awaited me.

The forest opened into a clearing, bathed in the pale glow of the moon. Tall, ancient trees circled the space like sentinels, their gnarled branches weaving an oppressive canopy overhead. The clearing felt otherworldly, a place hidden from time itself. The air was heavy, thick with the kind of silence that only existed in places untouched by the world outside. My heart was still pounding from the journey through the trees, but the eerie beauty of the clearing calmed me just a little.

I knelt by a small pool of water in the center, the surface glistening like a sheet of glass. My reflection stared back, the moonlight casting an ethereal glow over my face, making me appear almost ghostly. The water was freezing, biting at my fingers as I dipped my hand into its depths, but I welcomed the distraction. I needed something to pull my focus away from the unease twisting in my stomach.

As I swirled the water with my fingers, something shifted in the air. It was subtle, a change in the wind, the kind that raised the tiny hairs on the back of my neck. But I didn't look up. Not yet.