Emily hadn't slept.
After the ritual shattered, she hadn't even closed her eyes. Every time she tried, she saw Devon—bound by bark, shadowy eyes blinking behind him, the ancient hunger waiting to slip through cracks they didn't even know existed. She heard the whispers still—soft and wet, like voices formed of mud and teeth.
It wasn't over.
It had never been over.
Emily sat at her window now, watching the treeline in the gray predawn light. The forest no longer slept. Something pulsed in its core. Something vast. And she could feel it watching her.
Waiting.
The game is starting again.
But how? They'd escaped once. Devon had sealed it. The Lockbox had closed. The Watchers were supposed to be silent. Wasn't one sacrifice enough?
A soft knock broke her thoughts.
She turned.
It was Ava, pale and disheveled.
"I couldn't stay in my house," Ava whispered. "It's back. I heard… laughing. Under the floor."
Emily nodded silently and stepped aside.
They sat on the bed without speaking for a long moment. Then Ava pulled something from her coat pocket.
A folded piece of paper.
She smoothed it on the bed.
It was a hand-drawn map—scrawled lines, tree symbols, and red circles that marked specific areas in the woods.
Emily blinked. "Is that…?"
"I traced our steps from the first game," Ava said. "Mapped where each of us hid. Where we heard the whispers. Where Devon disappeared."
"And this?"
She pointed at a new red X, marked near the center of the map.
"That," Ava said quietly, "is where the energy's coming from now. I've been tracking it since the ritual broke. It's spreading outward from that point."
Emily stared at the paper, her throat dry. "We're not just part of the game anymore. We're in the sequel."
They met Marcus near the edge of the woods. He carried his journal and a flashlight, face grim.
"I had a dream," he said without preamble. "Not like before. This one… it told me where to go."
Emily raised a brow. "The forest's sending you invitations now?"
Marcus didn't laugh. "It wasn't the forest. It was Devon."
They stared at him.
"He said the game's changed," Marcus said. "The Lockbox is fractured. The seal is bleeding. And now the Watchers don't just want children. They want players."
"Players?" Ava echoed.
Marcus nodded. "We were tagged. Marked when we played the first time. Now, the forest's opening the next level—for us. And this time, it wants more than just hide-and-seek."
Emily shivered. "What's the new game?"
Marcus looked at them with haunted eyes.
"Tag."
The three of them stepped into the woods together.
Not a single bird chirped.
Even the wind felt like it held its breath.
As they moved deeper, Emily noticed something strange. The trees weren't just old—they were rotting. Their bark peeled in long strips. The leaves were dull and riddled with holes. Everything smelled faintly of decay.
"Did it always look like this?" she asked.
"No," Ava said. "It's sick. The forest's changing again."
They reached the first red circle on the map—a clearing with a strange stone in the center.
Carved into its surface were stick figures. Children.
Running.
One had red paint smeared over its head.
Ava knelt beside it.
"It's a game board," she muttered. "And that one with the red mark… it's 'It.'"
Marcus backed away. "Okay, nope. Nope. That's not okay."
Before they could react, a sound split the air.
A loud, wet SNAP.
They spun toward the noise.
A figure emerged from the trees.
Small. Barefoot. Limbs too long. Skin cracked like old paper.
Its face was pale, mouth curled in a terrible grin.
A child.
But not a child.
Emily's heart seized.
"It's the Seeker," she whispered.
Ava grabbed her arm. "Run."
They didn't ask questions.
They turned and ran.
Branches tore at their clothes.
The forest twisted around them, warping with every step.
Paths moved. Roots shifted. Time itself seemed to stretch.
Emily could hear the creature behind them—laughing, a broken sound like a music box melting in fire.
Then she felt it.
A sudden, searing pain across her shoulder.
She screamed and fell.
The creature had touched her.
She was "It."
She scrambled to her feet, clutching her shoulder.
The pain faded quickly—but something else filled her.
An energy. A heat.
She turned—and her vision blurred. Shadows sharpened. The air glowed red.
Everything felt… fast.
She saw Marcus and Ava ahead, running.
Instinct took over.
Tag them.
Her breath hitched.
"No," she whispered, clutching her head. "No no no—"
The forest pulsed.
And the hunger surged inside her.
Emily tackled Marcus from behind.
They crashed to the ground, both screaming.
A light flickered around them.
The energy passed from Emily to him like static. Marcus convulsed, eyes rolling back, and then stilled.
Emily gasped.
The hunger left her.
Marcus sat up slowly.
His eyes glowed red.
He was "It."
They rested in a collapsed cabin, breathing heavily.
"What the hell is this?" Ava snapped, pacing. "What kind of twisted version of tag is this?"
"It's a curse," Marcus said, shaking. "Whoever's 'It'… they get the forest's power. Sight. Speed. Strength. But it changes you."
"It tried to take me over," Emily whispered. "I almost couldn't stop."
Marcus looked down. "I couldn't stop at all."
Ava slammed her palm on a rotting table. "This isn't a game anymore. It's a trial. The forest's feeding on us again—testing how far we'll go. And if we give in…"
"We become Watchers," Emily finished.
They all went silent.
Ava took out the last tool in her backpack—a small, silver compass.
"I picked this up from an antique shop," she said. "After the first game. It never worked right. But when we were in the ritual realm… it spun like crazy."
She held it up now.
It pointed north.
Not true north—forest north.
Toward the X on the map.
"We follow this," she said. "Find the source. Burn it, break it—whatever it takes."
Marcus stood. "Before one of us gets tagged again."
Emily picked up a large branch and snapped it into a makeshift club.
"Then let's finish what Devon started."
The forest felt alive now.
It pulsed with breath.
Eyes watched from the dark. Whispers followed their steps.
But the three of them walked together—wounded, tired, angry.
The path narrowed.
Ahead, a gate stood where no gate should be.
Wooden. Woven from vines. Covered in childlike carvings.
Stick figures again.
But this time… there were three of them.
Running toward a door.
And behind them, a massive, grinning shadow with outstretched arms.
Emily stepped forward.
The compass vibrated violently in Ava's hand.
"We're here," Ava said. "The game's heart."
Emily touched the gate.
It creaked open.
Inside, the forest waited.
And the final round began.