.
.
The bunker’s stone door was open.
I froze.
That door had been shut tight—I had made sure of it. Sealed, immovable, nearly invisible to anyone who didn’t already know it was there.
And yet, now it stood slightly ajar, a gaping maw of darkness waiting to swallow me whole.
A chill slithered down my spine.
Something was wrong.
I was supposed to search for Cassandra, but now, my focus shifted. My fists clenched as I turned back, stepping cautiously toward the bunker. The air felt thick, pressing against my skin like an unseen weight.
The silence was deafening—no rustling leaves, no distant echoes. Just an eerie stillness that made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Even the footsteps I heard earlier seemed swallowed by the void.
I moved forward.
Then—
I was lifted off the ground
