The Next day came with a shiver.

  A cold wind drifted through the trees, dry and thin, carrying the scent of blood and old bark. The rain had stopped in the early hours, but its memory lingered in soaked clothes, muddy pathways, and the sullen moods of the camp. Their drenched forms a reminder of their poorly constructed lean-tos. Most go hungry in the morning, a handful of berries is usually the best one can expect, as anything caught during the day is eaten at night.

  Miriam had planned to use the lake as a fishing source, they had some rope, so they would just need to fashion a hook and some bait. And it would present as a rudimentary fishing rod. Though the news of something large in the water dampened that thought.

  Alex woke stiff, the bear’s horned head still fresh in his mind. Even now, the image of it plummeting over the rocks stuck with him. It had been too close. Though there only option at the time, one of them would have died to it, they had no chance fighting it.

  He stretched; shoulders sore from hauling the head back. His boots squelched as he stepped out from under the lean-to, constructed from mainly wood, meaning gaps in the structure. Across the camp, Yusuf was already up, sipping something from a steaming wooden bowl, his expression unreadable.

  “Morning,” Yusuf said.

  “Barely.” Alex crouched by the fire and held his hands toward the heat. “You sleep?”

  Yusuf shook his head. “Not much.”

  “Excited?”

  “Yeah man, I think I’ve settled on a choice now”

  Yusuf raised an eyebrow “What’s it gonna be?”

  “You’ll find out”

  “Well fuck you then, not telling you my choice either”

  Miriam stood at the map tree with Theo, marking down updated tracks from the stream and the glade near the old garden site.

  “We need to stop assuming the perimeter means anything,” she said. “The fencing that’s been done may even be a liability, preventing us from seeing whatever’s stalking us. I feel like it won’t even slow it down. If it’s something like that bear that Alex brought back, we’re fucked.”

  Theo nodded slowly. “We’ve seen more tracks. Wider spacing. Something’s pacing the east edge. Clawed footprints, but too heavy for goblins.”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “More like the thing that left the gouges near the lake?”

  “Worse,” Theo said. “Longer stride. Deeper prints. Could be ogres. Or something we don’t have a name for.”

  Miriam’s jaw tightened. “We need to prepare for a breach. I want patrols rotating every hour. Jake’s working on a signal system. Get it in place by tonight.”

  By midmorning, a new unease had crept into the camp.

  Li and Marcy were boiling water with added tree bark to stretch the flavor. Even the younger survivors—like quiet Dev and the group of three engineering students—had begun checking knives, reshaping spears, whispering among themselves.

  A scream broke the silence.

  It came from the south trail, close enough that it felt like it echoed inside the clearing.

  Everyone froze.

  Camila was already sprinting before anyone else reacted, blade drawn, Yusuf and Alex on her heels.

  They found Wren at the tree line, her back pressed to a trunk, eyes wide, hands slick with blood.

  Vin was on the ground, his thigh torn open, teeth clenched as he writhed. His breathing came in short, panicked gasps.

  “It came out of nowhere,” Wren stammered. “It wasn’t a goblin. It—it stood like a man, but taller. Pale. Black eyes. It grabbed him and threw him like—like nothing—”

  Camila dropped to Vin’s side, pressing her cloak against the wound. “Hold him still,” she snapped. “Where did it go?”

  Wren shook her head. “I think... I think it just vanished. It moved fast. Too fast.”

  Yusuf swore under his breath. Alex was already scanning the tree line, but the shadows were thick. Too thick.

  They carried Vin back on a makeshift stretcher. Jared and Miriam met them halfway.

  “Shit,” Jared muttered, looking at the torn flesh. “That’s definitely not a goblin.”

  Miriam was already at work, cutting strips of clean cloth. “Whatever it was, it made it through the perimeter.”

  “At least Vin’s alive.” Alex said. Jared with the few other medically trained individuals got to work trying to treat the wound with what little they now had, they still had some alcohol, and even honey that Jared had thought tooth and nail to stop others from eating.

  That night, the camp was quiet again—but not from calm.

  A second fire was lit. More eyes scanned the woods. Fewer people laughed. Camila and Yusuf took first watch, joined by Jared and a quiet girl named Hana who had barely spoken since they arrived.

  Vin rested beneath the lean-to, breathing shallow. Wren hadn’t left his side.

  Jake updated his notes. “Something new,” he muttered. “Not a beast. Not a goblin. Intelligent maybe... or territorial.”

  Ellie approached Alex near the second fire. Her hands were clasped together for warmth.

  “You’re going to choose?” she asked.

  “Yeah” Alex nodded to Yusuf who was heading to the Obelisk, walking towards it himself.

  --

  Miriam sat with Jake, watching “Finally. With the number of sacrifices others have been doing I can only imagine that there are quite a few others close as well. Sacrificing their phones, watches, jewellery”.

  “Yeah, I’ve got a number based on the information you’ve given me and from what I’ve seen. I expect tomorrow we may have many more joining you, Camila and David”

  “How is David? How’s his training coming since getting Haki Awareness.

  “Not well, he already is aware of the powers in One Piece, and he’s been trying to develop it, seen him walking around camp blindfolded to unlock observation.”

  “From what you’ve told me Observation would be good, especially considering this new creature, from what I’ve heard it may as well be a fucking ghost.”

  They both grew quiet as Alex and Yusuf reached the Obelisk.