Chapter 4 — The Shadow Emerges

Valoria

The phone buzzes on my desk, jittering against my pencil case and shattering the fragile quiet of my bedroom. The sound punches through the air, too loud, too sudden. My heart stutters, slamming into a panicked rhythm as I glance at the screen. The number is unfamiliar, unlisted.

My stomach twists into a knot so tight I can feel it pressing against my ribs. The phone keeps buzzing, each vibration a pulse of dread that crawls up my spine. My fingers, smudged with charcoal, hover over the pencil I’ve been using to sketch a crumbling tree trunk. The jagged lines spiral inward, fragmented and tense, like cracks in a frozen lake. I should let the call go to voicemail—like I always do with unknown numbers. It’s probably just a telemarketer, some cheerful voice offering a discount I don’t need.