Whispers of the Forgotten Pines

Ethan's breath hitched as the world around him shifted. The trees swayed, not with the wind, but as if something beneath them was moving. The ground pulsed under his feet, the earth rising and falling like the slow inhale of a sleeping beast.

The thing in front of him—not Lillian—stood completely still, her hollow eyes locked onto his. That twisted, unnatural smile never wavered.

Then, she spoke again.

"You don't belong here."

Her voice was layered. Like a chorus of whispers, too many voices speaking at once.

Ethan swallowed hard. Run. His instincts screamed at him. RUN.

But something deep inside told him not to turn his back.

He clenched his fists, his pulse hammering. "Where am I?"

The thing tilted its head. Wrong. Again, that movement was too slow, too deliberate.

"Nowhere. Everywhere."

The whispers in the air grew louder. Closer. Ethan could feel them against his skin, like icy fingers brushing over his neck.

"You opened the door," the thing continued. "And now it cannot be closed."

Ethan took a step back. The ground beneath him sank slightly, like stepping on damp earth. He looked down—

And nearly screamed.

The ground wasn't solid anymore.

Dark, gnarled hands—dozens of them—were reaching up from the dirt, their fingers grasping, clawing toward his ankles.

Panic surged through him. He stumbled back, barely avoiding their grasp. His breath came in ragged gasps.

This isn't real. This isn't real.

But the cold fingers brushed against his skin.

He turned back to the thing wearing Lillian's face. "What do you want from me?"

It didn't move.

But the whispers did.

They slithered through the trees, weaving around him, curling inside his ears.

And then, they spoke.

Not in a language he understood. But he knew what they meant.

They were calling his name.

A gust of icy wind howled through the trees, and just for a second, Ethan felt it.

Something huge. Something watching.

The trees weren't trees.

The shadows weren't just shadows.

Something was inside them.

And it was waking up.

He turned to run—

Too late.

The ground beneath him gave way.

And Ethan fell.

Where has Ethan fallen? What lies beneath the forest? And who—or what—truly controls Whispering Pines?