Chapter 6
David didn't rest.
He pulled a folding shovel from his bag and did a sweep around the house.
Then he boarded up the small window tight.
Finally, he padlocked the door from the inside.
Only after all that did he finally let out a breath.
David walked over and sat down beside me.
"We're safe for now," David said.
"For now?" I echoed, the word catching my attention.
He nodded. "This place is just a temporary hideout. We can't stick around for too long."
"Why?" I asked.
He replied, "Because the rules don't stay put.
"We escaped from that place, but we carry the mark with us now.
"It's like lighting a candle in the dark.
"It's barely noticeable, but sooner or later, they will pick up on it."
His words made my heart, which had just started to settle, leap back into my throat.
We were like two walking infections, spreading trouble wherever we went.
"So, what are the rules, really?" I finally asked the most important question.
David looked at me, his expression hard to read. He hesitated for what felt like ages.
"Remember when I told you not to look back?" he asked.
I nodded.
He went on, "That's one of the rules.
"It's formless, shapeless.
"But once you become aware of it, and try to spot it, to search for it...
"That's when it marks you.
"Once you're marked, you're its prey.
"It will find you, and then... erase you. And everyone close to you who might have learned your secret."
A chill ran down my spine.
"So, someone in that place broke the rules?" I asked.
"Yes," David replied, his voice grave. "I have no idea who did it, or what exactly they saw, but I got the alert.
"Our team has a warning system.
"Whenever the rules get triggered in a place, the system sends out an alert.
"Once that happens, we've only got a tiny window to make our escape.
"We have to get out of there before it finishes its eradication."
"What about Ward and Linda, the couple who disappeared next door?" I asked.
The kind old couple flashed through my mind again.
David shook his head.
He said, "I don't know. Maybe they managed to escape, just like we did. Or maybe..."
He didn't finish his sentence. But I knew exactly what he meant.
Maybe they'd already been erased.
An eerie silence swallowed the room.
Outside, it was pitch dark.
We could hear all sorts of weird bugs chirping out in the forest.
We didn't turn on the lights.
We sat there, munching on cold bread, with only faint moonlight leaking in through the crack under the door.
My stomach was in knots. Still, I made myself choke it down.
Because I knew the escape wasn't over yet. I needed all the energy I could get.
Once we'd eaten, we crashed onto the bed without even bothering to change.
We lay there with our backs to each other, and neither of us spoke.
I thought I'd be too scared to sleep, but the sheer exhaustion pulled me under, and I drifted off almost instantly.
I didn't know how long I'd been sleeping when I was jolted awake by a strange sound.
It was a low, muffled thud. It sounded like it came from right outside the door.
I snapped awake. David was awake, too.
We held our breath, straining to listen.
Then another thud sounded. This time, it was unmistakable.
Someone was knocking on the door.
There was just one knock. Only one. Dull, but powerful.
In the dead silence of the remote, uninhabited woods, something was knocking on the door of our safe house.
For a moment, my heart froze in my chest.
David was even more frozen than me.
He clamped a hand over my mouth, and his other hand motioned for silence.
His eyes were wide as saucers, fixed on the flimsy wooden door.
Fear flooded the cabin like icy water, drowning everything in its chilling grip.
Another thud echoed through the room. Distinct, heavy, and deliberate.
Every thud landed right in our chests, making our hearts skip a beat.
Who was it? Or what was it?
Was it a person, or... something else?
My mind was in total chaos.
We were out in the middle of nowhere, deep in the woods, not a soul for miles around.
We'd trekked for hours before we finally found this spot.
No one else could possibly know about this place.
Unless... Unless it was one of the people from David's team, the group he mentioned?
But if it really was someone from David's team, why would they just knock and not say a word?
David crept off the bed, inch by inch, moving slowly.
His movements were so light. He was careful not to make even the slightest sound.
He crouched low, moving like a stalking predator, inching his way toward the door.
He placed his ear against the wooden door, straining to catch any sound from outside.
I held my breath, barely daring to breathe.
Right then, it felt like time stood still.
Outside, a silence as deep as the grave settled over everything.
The knocking never came again.
Even the constant buzz of insects had disappeared.
It felt as if the entire forest had suddenly gone lifeless.