It didn't take much after that.
Steve and Tonya journeyed through the forest, quiet but determined. Though some time had passed since he'd walked this path, Steve had no trouble retracing his steps.
The trees, the broken twigs, the subtle prints in the soft earth—it all guided him back like echoes from earlier hours.
The sun sank slowly beneath the horizon, painting the sky in shades of gold and lavender.
The forest changed with the fading light, growing cooler, quieter. As the hours crept by, night fell at last, shadows stretching long between the trees. Still, they moved forward.
Eventually—finally—they reached the place.
The clearing where Steve had first found her.
Sarah.
And there she still was.
Curled at the base of the same tree, her body slumped, her breath shallow. Her face was pale and smeared with dirt, her limbs bruised and still. But she was alive. Somehow, she had held on.
Steve exhaled in relief. Without hesitation, he and Tonya rushed to her side.
