Chapter 42: The thing in the woods

“This is just the beginning,” Maya said quietly, still staring at the claw marks on the door.

Her voice made everyone freeze. The air in the room felt heavier now, like even the shadows were listening.

Lyra broke the silence first. “What do you mean the beginning? Peter’s back from the dead, what’s worse than that?”

Maya rubbed her temples, her eyes dark with worry. “You don’t get it. When the dead rise, they never come back the same. Whatever he is now… it’s spreading.”

Jack stepped back, his face pale. “Spreading? You mean like an infection?”

Maya nodded. “Exactly. If Peter turned into that thing, it’s possible others might too.”

Damien looked from one face to another. “So what do we do? Sit and wait for it to come back?”

Maya turned toward the window, staring out into the cold night. “No. We find where this started. Peter’s body was dropped at our doorstep for a reason.”

Lyra crossed her arms. “You think someone’s controlling him?”

“I think something is,” Maya said.

There was silence again. The fire crackled softly in the corner, but no one moved.

Finally, Damien spoke, his voice low but steady. “Then we find that place. Wherever Peter first changed.”

Maya looked at him, her eyes sharp but tired. “That would be the woods. Behind the old cemetery. That’s where his scent first vanished before he died.”

Jack frowned. “You want us to go there? At night?”

Maya grabbed her jacket. “If we wait till morning, it might be too late.”

Lyra sighed and picked up her crossbow. “Fine. But if I die, I’m haunting all of you.”

Despite the fear in the air, that made Damien give a small, weak smile. “Deal.”

The woods behind the cemetery were cold and silent. The moon hung low, half-hidden behind gray clouds. Every step they took crunched on dead leaves.

Damien led the way, his flashlight shaking slightly in his hand. “Maya, are you sure this is the spot?”

Maya nodded. “Yes. Peter used to come here to train. This was his area before he went missing.”

Jack looked around. “Yeah, well, now it’s his grave.”

Lyra nudged him. “Don’t say that. We’re standing in the middle of it.”

The deeper they walked, the stranger the air felt heavy, like breathing through smoke. Then Damien noticed something ahead. “What’s that?”

They stepped closer. A tree stood in the center of a small clearing, its bark burned black. Symbols were carved all over it circles, lines, and a spiral that looked alive.

Maya knelt beside it, touching the marks with her fingers. “These symbols… I’ve seen them before.”

“Where?” Damien asked.

“In the book,” she said softly. “The one from the library. They mean resurrection or rebirth.”

Lyra frowned. “So Peter came back from here?”

Maya nodded slowly. “Maybe not by choice.”

Jack walked around the tree, shining his light. Then he stopped suddenly. “Uh, guys… you might want to see this.”

They turned. Behind the tree, half-buried in dirt, were three shapes. Bodies.

Damien’s heart skipped. “No…”

Maya covered her mouth. “They’re… blue,” she whispered.

Just like the ones killed by the illusionist. Their skin was pale, veins glowing faintly under the moonlight.

Lyra took a shaky step back. “This isn’t just Peter. Something else is killing people.”

Maya stood, her voice trembling. “No… these people didn’t die. They were transformed.”

Jack blinked. “Transformed into what?”

Before anyone could answer, a branch snapped behind them.

Everyone turned.

The flashlight beam caught movement ,something crawling on all fours just beyond the trees.

“Did you see that?” Lyra hissed.

Damien raised his light again, but the thing was gone. The forest went silent.

Then a growl came from the dark, low, wet, and angry.

“Run,” Maya whispered.

They ran. Through the trees, over the roots, the sound of footsteps chasing them fast, very fast.

Lyra turned and shot an arrow into the dark. A loud shriek followed, and she gasped. “I hit it!”

“Keep running!” Damien shouted.

They didn’t stop until they reached an old broken shed near the edge of the woods. They slammed the door shut and leaned against it, breathing hard.

Jack coughed. “What was that?”

Maya shook her head, her eyes wide. “That wasn’t a wolf. That was something else.”

Lyra checked her crossbow. “I swear, I saw its face. It had Peter’s eyes but the rest of it was like a shadow.”

Damien pressed his hand against the door, heart still racing. “He’s changing. Or worse, he’s multiplying.”

Maya reached into her bag and pulled out the ancient book. She flipped through the pages until she stopped on one with a dark sketch, a human figure with red eyes and twisted limbs.

“There,” she said, pointing. “That’s what I saw on the tree. It’s called a Revenant Wolf. A soul that returns after death, feeding on life to stay alive.”

Jack frowned. “Feeding? You mean it eats people?”

Maya nodded slowly. “Not just people… anything that once had a soul. Wolves. Humans. Even us.”

Lyra’s eyes widened. “So if Peter’s one of these things…”

Damien finished for her. “Then he’s not coming back.”

Maya slammed the book shut. “No. But we might still stop him. The markings mean he was summoned. Someone used a ritual to bring him back.”

Jack looked around. “Who would do that?”

“Someone who wants to destroy Damien,” Maya said.

Damien looked down at his hands, his chest tightening again. “He came back because of me.”

Lyra placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, don’t start that again. We’ll fix it.”

The wind howled outside. The trees creaked.

Maya looked out through the broken window, her face pale. “We need to leave now. Before that thing finds us again.”

Jack grabbed the flashlight, but just as he turned it on, the light flickered then died.

In the darkness, a voice whispered.

“Leaving so soon?”

It was Peter’s voice.

Everyone froze.

Maya whispered, “He found us.”

The door creaked slowly open on its own. The smell of decay filled the shed.

Damien clenched his fists, his heart hammering. “Show yourself.”

But there was nothing there, just the cold wind.

When the door slammed shut again, Peter’s voice echoed one last time, soft and cruel.

“This is my forest now.”