Chapter 62 62
The car hurtled downhill through the pitch-black forest, completely out of control.
Sofía squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could, as though sheer will might rip her out of this nightmare and drop her somewhere safe. Somewhere far away from the terror clawing at her chest.
Then
The impact came.
The car slammed violently into a massive tree, the sound deafening as metal crumpled and glass exploded. The windshield shattered into countless shards, spraying forward as their bodies lurched hard against their restraints. If not for the seatbelts, they would have been flung straight out of the car.
“Hey… Ana?”
His voice reached her through the ringing in her ears, faint and strained.
Pain throbbed through her body as sensation slowly returned. She groaned, blinking rapidly as she forced her eyes open, struggling to focus. A heavy arm was stretched across her chest, pinning her securely against the seat.
“Ana? Are you okay?”
This time his voice was clearer tight with worry.
She felt his large hand cup her face, grounding her. She flinched when his thumb brushed her eyebrow, a sharp sting slicing through the fog in her head. She must have been cut there.
Her gaze finally lifted to his face.
And she froze.
A horrified gasp tore from her lips.
Blood streamed down from a deep gash on his forehead, staining the side of his face and trailing down his neck. The sight made her stomach drop violently.
“You’re hurt,” she cried, panic flooding her voice.
He shook his head dismissively, as if it were nothing.
He stepped out of the car and hurried to her side, carefully helping her out. The ground sloped steeply downward, slick and uneven. Fernando steadied her as they moved farther down the hill together.
Only then did she notice the blood on his arm as well.
He was badly injured. He needed medical help now.
“You need aid,” she said softly, fear thick in her throat.
But Fernando didn’t slow. He kept walking deeper into the woods, his grip on her hand firm almost possessive.
“I’m fine,” he replied gruffly.
Something was off.
They should have been heading toward the highway but instead, he was leading her straight into the forest.
Suddenly, he stopped.
His arm shot out in front of her, a silent barrier as though shielding her from something unseen.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“Shh.” He pressed a finger to his lips.
A low, menacing growl echoed behind them.
Before she could react, Fernando shoved her hard to the side.
A massive bear lunged at him.
Sofía hit the ground, pain jolting through her as she stared in sheer horror at the beast now attacking Fernando. The bear reared up, towering over him, its claws flashing in the darkness.
A scream ripped from her throat when the bear slashed across Fernando’s chest, blood spilling instantly as fabric shredded and fell away.
It felt like her insides were being twisted apart.
“Fernando!” she screamed, scrambling to her feet.
But she stopped dead when a sound unlike anything human erupted from him a deep, vicious growl that sent terror crashing through her veins.
Her eyes widened impossibly as she watched his hands change bones shifting, fingers elongating into lethal claws.
Before she could even comprehend it, he lunged.
With brutal force, he tore into the bear’s throat.
Blood sprayed as the animal collapsed, lifeless, its massive body hitting the forest floor with a heavy thud.
Silence followed.
Sofía stood frozen shaking, dizzy, unable to breathe.
This wasn’t real.
It couldn’t be.
Her mind was playing tricks on her.
She squeezed her eyes shut, dragging in shaky breaths, trying to convince herself it was all a hallucination.
“Ana… you okay?”
She flinched violently when his hand brushed her cheek.
Her eyes flew open and met his cold green gaze.
His touch felt grounding. Real. Like water to someone dying of thirst.
Her heart raced.
Her eyes immediately dropped to his hands.
They were normal.
Human.
Relief flooded her lungs in a shaky breath.
She had hallucinated.
“You’re bleeding,” she whimpered, staring at the vicious claw marks across his chest.
Her heart ached at the sight. The wounds dredged up old nightmares, memories she had buried deep scars that never truly healed.
“It’s going to rain soon,” he said flatly, as if the injuries didn’t exist.
He grabbed her hand again and began walking.
But she couldn’t stop herself from glancing back at the bear’s body three times his size. And yet he had killed it in seconds.
Something twisted uneasily inside her.
Her gaze traveled up his broad back, then down to the hand holding hers.
Something was wrong.
With her.
And definitely with him.
Fernando suddenly stopped.
Ahead of them stood a broken, decaying cottage old, crooked, and unsettling nestled deep within the woods.
If he hadn’t been beside her, she would have been terrified out of her mind.
“Let’s go,” he said.
She wanted to protest. The place radiated danger. But she swallowed her fear and followed him.
Her body buzzed with unease.
He pushed the door open easily.
It creaked loudly, the kind of sound that sent chills straight down her spine like the opening of a haunted house no one was meant to enter.
She grabbed his wrist desperately. “W-we shouldn’t go in,” she whispered.
But he was already pulling her inside.
The darkness swallowed them whole. She couldn’t see a thing. Dust hung heavy in the air, the scent screaming abandonment this place hadn’t been touched in years.
When he let go of her hand, panic surged violently through her.
“Come back, please,” she pleaded, fear rising as she lost sight of him. Even knowing he was only steps away didn’t help. Without his touch, she felt exposed. Vulnerable.
A flicker of light appeared.
A lighter.
Then a lantern glowed softly, illuminating the space. She had no idea how he’d found it in total darkness when she couldn’t even see her own hands.
He returned and placed the lantern on a dusty table in the corner.
“Come here,” he ordered.
She rushed to him without hesitation.
He cupped her face, his hands warm and steady. Her heart softened instantly, her body humming with something she didn’t understand.
“This place is safe,” he said calmly. “You stay here. I’ll get help.”
Thunder rolled loudly overhead, and rain began pouring down outside.
“You can call someone,” she suggested shakily.
He sighed. “There’s no network here.”
He met her eyes. “You stay here, Ana. I’ll be back. But you have to promise me you won’t step outside this cottage.”
His tone was firm. Cold.
She swallowed and nodded, even though the thought of being alone here terrified her.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
Then he left.
The door shut behind him.
Her skin tingled where his lips had been. Her body ached with the sudden absence of his warmth.
She felt wrong.
Feverish.
Drawn by something she couldn’t explain, Sofía moved toward the broken window beside her.
Her heart stopped.
Rain poured down, thunder lighting the forest and there he was.
The rain washed over him… washing away blood that should have been there.
Her breath caught painfully.
There were no wounds.
No gash on his forehead.
No claw marks on his chest.
Fernando was standing there completely unharmed.
Fernando was like him.
And in that moment, her world shattered completely.