I’ve been doing this same walk for years. Or at least it feels like it. I have the entire route down to a science. I know exactly how long it takes to complete. Two hours and twenty-five minutes. No more, no less. If I deviate from this, I won’t know who I am.

At first, it was just a tree—until it wasn’t. The bark rippled and the branches curled like fingers. His feet sank into the soft ground. A cold chill slid down his back. The wind cut out—absolute silence.