Page 87 of Silent Shadows

Which I understand, because lately, protecting her feels less like responsibility and more like reflex.

The sound stops. Silence crashes over the forest afterward. Not normal silence. The kind that presses against your ribs. Even the wind seems quieter.

Daisy’s fingers flex once against my jacket sleeve. “Miles.”

“I know.”

“You don’t know.”

“No,” I whisper. “I really don’t.”

Another beat passes.

Then somewhere far off downhill, ATV engines roar again. Fainter now. Still moving away.

The Ridgefield crew disappears deeper into the forest.

Absolutely reckless fucking idiots.

The knocks don’t follow them. That’s what unsettles me most.

The next sound comes from our left.

Close enough now that Daisy flinches against me.

I stand, considering our next course of action.

“Okay,” I whisper. “We’re moving. It’s getting dark, and we don’t have enough equipment to fully document this or camp tonight. So, there’s no use staying here.”

“What if it follows us?”

The question hits me right in the chest because not only does she believe something is out there, but she sounds genuinely scared now.

And weirdly, I feel calmer because of it. It makes me feel focused. Useful.

“We stay quiet,” I say. “We stay controlled. Fast movement triggers attention.”

“You’re saying things that sound made up.”

“They’re not made up.”

“You say that like you’ve studied Bigfoots in captivity!” Our whisper yells are comical at this point.

“No,” I admit. “But I know what not to do. And I know where we can go.”

Daisy finally quiets and nods. Because underneath all the conspiracy theories and weird niche obsessions, this part is real. Field work. Risk assessment. Reading environments.

I reach out and squeeze her hand once before letting go reluctantly.

“Stay close to me.”

Her eyes fix on mine. And even in the fading light, even terrified, she still looks devastatingly beautiful. Which feels unfair.

We move carefully through the trees now instead of running.

The temperature drops fast with the sun.

Cold air slides through the forest floor while shadows thicken around the canyon edges.