Kia shrugged.
"The way you guys were walking is most likely right."
Her voice was calm, casual—too casual.
"I only walked about halfway through the forest, and it just kept going deeper. It didn't feel like an exit was anywhere close."
She stretched her arms slightly, shaking off the cold. "So I figured, why waste time? The other path makes more sense."
She smiled. "So I came back."
Ethan's mind was spinning, analyzing.
Was that a lie?
Or was it the truth?
The worst part was—he couldn't tell.
He didn't know Kia well enough.
Did she seem like the type of person to walk halfway through the forest and then decide to turn back?
Maybe.
But then again—she shouldn't even be here.
The scream.
The fear in her voice.
He had heard it.
And yet, here she was, standing in front of them, talking like nothing happened.
It didn't make sense.
But so far… everything looked fine.
Kia let out a small breath, glancing around.
"Shall we continue?" she asked. "I don't think we should waste too much time. I'll explain everything as we keep walking."
She smiled, shifting her weight onto one foot, waiting for them.
Waiting for them to move forward.
Ethan hesitated.
His suspicion hadn't fully faded, but something about her… it felt real.
Wait… am I actually paranoid?
His grip on his thoughts loosened.
Maybe he had been too on edge.
Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him.
Maybe—
As Ethan stood there, still lost in thought, Lena passed by him.
She didn't say anything.
She just gently patted his shoulder.
A silent way of telling him—calm down.
It didn't help much, but it was something.
Ethan let out a slow breath, watching as the others moved ahead.
Milo, Riley, and Kia were already walking together, talking about the blizzard, complaining about the cold.
Ethan, still feeling a lingering unease, forced his body to move.
He started walking too.
But deep down—
Something still felt wrong.
Ethan walked forward, his mind still fogged with uncertainty.
For a moment, he had thought they were making progress.
That he had figured out the right path.
That he had saved his friends.
But now?
Now, he felt like he was back at square one.
Nothing made sense.
Kia had survived. That should be a good thing.
They had found the right way. That should make him relieved.
But deep down—he didn't like it.
He didn't like that she had lived.
And the fact that he felt that way?
Disgusted him.
He clenched his fists, forcing himself to shove those thoughts aside.
When he finally caught up with the group, he put on a smile.
A small, effortless one—one that meant nothing.
Kia glanced at him, noticing it immediately.
"You should smile more often," she said lightly. "You look better in it."
Ethan chuckled softly, giving her a brief nod.
And then, he let the conversation move past him.
Milo let out a dramatic groan, stretching his arms. "Man, I swear, if we don't find a bed or something soon, I'm gonna just lay down on the road and accept death."
Kia smirked. "What, the great Milo can't handle a little discomfort?"
Milo placed a hand over his chest, faking offense."Excuse me, I am a fragile soul, Kia. I require warmth and luxury."
Milo shot her a playful glare. "Oh, okay, let's not pretend you weren't crying about the cold earlier."
"I wasn't crying. I was suffering with style."
Milo grinned. "Right, right. So stylish, stumbling through a blizzard like a lost penguin."
Kia rolled her eyes but smiled."You're just mad because I made it back before you froze to death."
Milo mockingly gasped."Kia Mascow, are you flexing survival skills on me? That's it, I take back my offer to share my hypothetical luxury tent with you."
Kia pouted dramatically. "Damn, and here I thought we had something special."
Milo smirked. "We did. But now it's over."
"Tragic."
Lena laughed, shaking her head. "I swear, you two sound like you've known each other forever."
Milo nudged Kia lightly. "Told you I'm easy to get attached to."
Kia smirked, tilting her head slightly. "Hmm, we'll see."
Milo grinned, clearly enjoying the little exchange.
Lena rolled her eyes but smiled. "I hate to say it, but you two together? Dangerous energy."
Kia chuckled. "Oh, absolutely."
Riley, who had been quiet, finally spoke. "As long as neither of you talk too much, I think we'll all survive."
Milo threw an arm over Riley's shoulder. "Come on, man, admit it—you'd miss my voice if I was gone."
Riley shoved him off. "Not even for a second."
The conversation flowed naturally, easing the tension that had been building for hours.
And for a brief moment—it almost felt normal.
Kia sounded normal.
Real.
Like she was actually here—like she had never left at all.
Hearing her joke with Milo, seeing the way she interacted with Lena and Riley, seeing how she fit so naturally into the conversation—
It put Ethan's mind at ease.
His paranoia, the fear that had gripped his chest so tightly, started to fade.
She had to be real.
Maybe he had been too tense. Maybe he had let his mind get the better of him.
He let out a slow breath.
For the first time, he let himself believe it.
He accepted Kia.
But—
A small doubt still lingered.
He turned his head slightly, his voice casual—too casual.
"Hey, Kia."
She looked over her shoulder at him, still walking.
Ethan's gaze didn't waver. "Didn't you scream when you walked into the forest?"
Kia blinked.
Then, as if just remembering, she facepalmed.
"Oh yeah, yeah, I did!"
They kept walking, the casual conversation loosening the tension that had been gripping Ethan's mind.
But a small doubt still lingered.
So, he decided to test her one last time.
He forced a small chuckle, trying to match the teasing energy between Milo and Kia.
"Why did you scream?" he asked. "Did you get hurt or something?"
Milo, instantly picking up on the teasing, grinned.
"Aww, little princess was hurt?"
Kia laughed softly, shaking her head. "Shut up, Milo."
For a moment, it felt lighthearted.
But then—
Her expression shifted.
Her smile faded, just slightly.
Ethan noticed immediately.
She wasn't joking anymore.
She looked back at him, her pace not slowing, but something in her eyes darkened.
And then she spoke.
"I actually saw a dead body."
The words cut through the air like ice.
Ethan's heart skipped a beat.
The others stopped in their tracks.
"A human's. He was dead."
Her voice was steady, but something about it felt heavier.
And then—
She added the part that made their stomachs drop.
"That was the real reason I came back. Because then, I knew it was the wrong path."
Silence.
Pure, suffocating silence.
The warmth that had finally returned after the blizzard?
Gone.
Replaced by something far colder.
Something worse.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
The group walked on.
The weight of the blizzard, the exhaustion, the endless walking, it had worn them down, made them forget.
Forget that Kia's words didn't make sense.
Forget that something was terribly wrong.
But Ethan—
Ethan never forgot.
He didn't slow down.
His pace remained steady.
His heartbeat even.
And as the others remained distracted, he let his hand drift toward his bag.
Fingers wrapped around cold metal.
The weight of the baton felt right in his grip.
Smooth. Solid.
He pulled it out, silently.
Kia didn't notice.
She was too engaged in conversation with Milo, laughing lightly, her voice blending into the night.
Ethan's grip tightened.
He exhaled.
And then—
TANG!!!!
The sickening, metallic impact echoed through the silent night.
The baton slammed into Kia's skull with brutal force, the sound of bone cracking and splitting ringing out like a gunshot.
Her head snapped back violently.
Her body whipped backward like a ragdoll, feet nearly lifting off the ground from the sheer force.
A piece of her skull—shattered—flew into the air, dark liquid spraying against the road.
The way her neck bent, unnaturally twisted for a split second before her body crumpled, sent a primal wave of horror through the group.
Blood—**dark, thick, warm—**spattered across Ethan's hands, dripping from the cold steel of the baton.
For a moment—nothing moved.
And then—
"ETHAN, WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Milo's shocked scream broke the silence.
Riley and Lena stumbled back, eyes wide, faces pale, staring at Kia's twitching, broken form on the ground.
Milo rushed forward, hands still shaking, eyes darting between Ethan and Kia's bleeding, motionless body.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Kia's body shuddered, her fingers twitching, like something was still alive inside her.
Lena gasped, her hands covering her mouth, unable to comprehend what just happened.
And Ethan—
Ethan didn't let them process it.
"ARE YOU GUYS FORGETTING THE ECHO EFFECT?"
His voice boomed, filled with rage and desperation.
The group froze.
"SHE SAID SHE SAW A DEAD BODY."
"BUT NONE OF US FELT IT."
"IF SOMEONE DIED IN THIS PHASE, THE TOWER WOULD HAVE MADE US FEEL IT."
His breath was heavy.
His grip on the bloodied baton tightened.
"MEANING—"
"SHE LIED."
"SHE NEVER SAW A BODY."
"BECAUSE SHE ISN'T KIA."
The words sank into their skulls like ice.
Their stomachs twisted.
The fear in their eyes shifted.
It wasn't Ethan they were terrified of anymore.
It was the thing that lay in front of them.
Because—he was right.
There was no dead body.
If there had been—
They would have felt it.
But they hadn't.
Because it never existed.
And Kia—
Not Kia, The Shape Shifter had lied.
Milo, who had been about to yell at Ethan again, stopped mid-breath.
Riley took a slow step back, his heart pounding in his ears.
Lena's hands trembled.
They all slowly turned their heads back to the body lying on the ground.
And then—
The Shape Shifter twitched.
And smiled.