No Choice

"Why does it always feel like the world's closing in when you need it most?" Sarah's voice was barely audible, her words laced with fear, but her gaze locked onto Alex as though searching for answers that wouldn't come.

Alex swallowed hard, the weight of the question pressing down on them like a boulder. "Because when you're hunted, you stop seeing the world as safe." They tore their gaze from Sarah, scanning the shadowy depths of the forest through the small, grimy window. The trees loomed ominously, their twisted branches reaching toward the house like skeletal hands. "They're coming, Sarah. We both know that."

Ryan groaned weakly from the couch, his breathing shallow but steady for now. Every sound—every rustle of the wind, every crack of a twig—sent Sarah's heart racing. She paced across the room, her eyes darting to every corner, every dark shadow that seemed to shift and morph under the flickering light.