_Chapter Begins_
Inside the dense bush, William and Elsa were just sitting and… waiting.
Waiting for their literal death to arrive.
William had decided he'd rather face an entire cult than surrender to the police.
And Elsa, for some reason, had chosen to stick by his side.
Which, obviously, made William very wary and paranoid.
All kinds of thoughts crossed his mind.
What if Elsa had been part of the cult the whole time? That would explain a lot of her strange behavior…
But it didn't take long for William to dismiss that theory.
Up until the moment William had mentioned the church and his missing fifty dollars, Elsa had never once tried to lead him there—or to any other place that might've been a cult hideout.
So it just didn't add up.
Still, Elsa's behavior was the least of his concerns right now.
At some point, when night fell, he and Elsa were going to have to face twenty cultists.
William usually had a plan for everything… but this time, it really did seem like he was doomed.
Which, if he was being honest with himself… he was kind of fine with.
He was a complete rat—someone who had used and manipulated everyone around him.
He'd done terrible things to people… including his own family.
So in his mind, he deserved death.
He who lives by the sword, dies by it.
Though in William's case, the phrase was a bit different:
He who lived like a rat, shall die like one.
Hiding in a bush while predators waited outside for the night to begin—so their feast could begin as well.
While William was having these grim thoughts, he suddenly felt something.
The feeling of being watched.
Well, of course—there were cultists outside, obviously keeping an eye on him, so it made sense he'd feel like he was being watched.
But… no. This felt different.
When he was being watched by the cult, his body screamed at him to run.
But this time?
It was something else entirely.
It felt like his very soul was pushing him—begging him—to get away from whatever was watching him from afar.
William looked around, trying to see if maybe a new cultist had joined the waiting game outside the bush.
But no.
All the cultists were still there, in the same exact spots.
And yet… he just couldn't shake off this dread that was gnawing at his soul.
He turned to Elsa, hoping to maybe catch a clue from her expression.
He didn't expect much—Elsa was a master at hiding her emotions.
But this time… it was different.
A deep scowl was carved into Elsa's face.
And she was gritting her teeth slightly.
William's dread doubled in an instant.
If Elsa—the one person who never let her emotions show—was also feeling this unnatural fear...
Then just who in the hell was exerting such a terrifying aura… without even being seen?
_Chapter Ends_