Chapter 4 Lurking In The Shadows

"So how long have you guys been here?" I asked them.

"Two weeks. You?" Josette answered. I blinked a couple of times, giving myself time to fully process the information.

It's only been two weeks for them? That means when I found them, they'd only been here for only around 3 days. They're new here.

"Two months." They all looked surprised with my answer, some even looking at me with pitiful eyes. "But it's fine, no need to pity. I managed. I'm still here. I survived." I smiled, feeling proud of myself for surviving two months alone, even though I did try to end my life.

"Damn. Two months is a long time. You must've had a hard time." Matt spoke.

"Yeah, it was hard. Not to mention there were some strange things I encountered." I thought about the things happening again when I was all alone. The weird things I saw and felt... If they've been here for only two weeks, that means whoever it is I think I saw isn't one of them.

"What do you mean strange things?" Axel asked.

I wasn't sure if I should tell them because I don't want to scare them or anything, but I also had to be honest. "When I first got here, there was a pack of large wolves in the forest. The next morning, I went back there and they were gone, not even signs of them. Weeks passed and there were no wolves. Until one night, they mysteriously just appeared, only to disappear the next day and never be seen again. I thought it was weird how they appear only once a month."

They all looked very curious at my story and before they could say anything, I continued speaking. "There's more. I found a cottage hidden in the woods. I thought there was no one living there but I noticed there were fresh fruits on the table. Fresh fruits, meaning they were just freshly picked. And then I... I felt someone watching me, and then I felt it move towards me in a very quick manner. I knew it was a person, I saw its silhouette, but the way it moves... It was too fast. No human could do that."

There was a moment of silence, and I could tell they all looked very confused and didn't know how to react. I bet some of them think I'm just lying.

"You're making this all up." Rafael suddenly spoke, which caught me off guard.

"There's no reason for me to lie." I talked back.

"There's no such thing." He replied briefly.

"You're just saying that because you weren't the one who experienced it! I know what I saw and felt. And what do you know anyways? You've been here for only two weeks, I've been here for two months and a half!" I exclaimed. I quickly tried to calm myself afterwards, realizing I just shouted and showed them my anger. I was annoyed at Rafael though. There is no reason for me to make up stories, I'm just trying to inform them.

"Chill, guys," Damien suddenly interrupted. "There's no need to fight about this, we're all good friends here." He tried to lighten up the mood.

"Look, why don't we visit this cottage you were talking about, Asteria? If this is true, then that means you weren't alone in the past two months you spent here. Let's go there and just observe the place, okay?" Matt suggested and I, along with a few others, nodded in response.

"Did you forget the part where she said it moved very quickly, as if it's not human? It could be dangerous, Matt, we don't know who or what is actually living there." Michelle contradicted. She's right, though. It is dangerous.

"So we'll bring weapons. Arm ourselves." Matt replied.

"What about the wolves? What if there are wolves in the forest?" Ryle spoke this time. "Right, have you noticed a pattern, Asteria? Like maybe they appear on the same date every month?" Hayden asked me.

I tried to think of something, like a sign or a pattern, so we can find out when the wolves will appear, but I couldn't think of anything. I shook my head disappointedly. "No. No patterns. To be honest, I couldn't even remember the dates when they appeared."

"Well, that's very helpful." Rafael said sarcastically. I was about to snap at him but Matt was quick to defend me.

"Easy, Rafael, those two months have probably been difficult for her, it's not easy to remember things when you're confused and scared." He said. At least someone understands.

After our long conversation that ended as an argument, we decided to go to the cottage tomorrow morning.

It was a long, busy day. All of us were preparing for our visit to the cottage. Some were practicing their fighting and some thought it's best to carry baskets or tote bags because we might find useful stuff there, or maybe even find food.

I told them that if someone actually lives there, we'd be stealing, but they're somehow convinced that we can ask politely. I never even saw the person, it's ridiculous that they think they can talk to it.

The next day, we got out of bed early.

I was greeted by the aroma of freshly baked bread and brewed coffee. The house smelled like a bakery, all thanks to Hayden and Wilhelmina who woke up at 4 in the morning so they could make breakfast for the group.

We drank our coffee first, then, we just carried the bread inside picnic baskets and thought it'd be best to eat them on our way to the cottage.

"Does anyone else find it weird that the soldiers aren't attacking us? I mean, shouldn't they be furious that we escaped?" Damien uttered as he took a big bite from his bread.

"Actually, Rafael and I have been preparing if ever they do attack. We fenced up the house so it's harder to enter and we figured out an escape route that we can take if ever we are attacked." Axel answered.

"We also set up surveillance cameras around the area. It's weird how there's still power here, like someone's still managing them." Rafael added with curiosity in his tone.

"Exactly!" I blurted out, catching their attention. "See, that's what I've been trying to figure out since the first day I got here. There's still electricity and water. Someone's got to be in control, and I'm sure there's a reason as to why we all got here and why we can't remember anything from our original lives. We need to find out what's going on here."

"And it's been almost two weeks since the soldiers' attacked us, why aren't they attacking again? Are they having a hard time finding us? Or maybe they went back to the real world. If they did, that means there's a way out, we just haven't found it yet." I gasped at what Ryle said. Could it be that they actually returned and left us here?

Our conversation was cut when Matt asked me to lead the way into the forest, since I was the only one who's ever been in the cottage.

We weren't that worried about the wolves since I told them that I noticed they appear only during night time, but the guys armed themselves well, just in case.

It took about an hour of walking for us, we couldn't take a car because we went deep inside the forest, although gasoline won't be a problem since they found out that there's still some in gas stations. We're still trying to conserve it though, because we know that if we'll stay here for years, or for the rest of our lives, we might need to move around.

"It's here," I pointed at the direction of a hidden short path behind bushes and shrubs which leads towards the cottage.

They stopped walking when I did, then, slowly, we approached the path. Rafael and Axel were leading us, ready to fight if ever something attacks us.

I thought it was stupid. Oddly enough, I have this feeling that everything will be okay and there's nothing dangerous in there.

When I walked past the two of them, I felt Rafael's hand on my arm as he pushed me back behind him, as if he's trying to protect me. I rolled my eyes and glared at him as a response. I didn't like how he acts so tough and treats me as if I need protection from a man. They all treat me like that, forgetting the fact that I saved them all against seven men when they were held captive.

Axel shoved the leaves out of our way revealing... nothing. It was empty and quiet, nothing but tall trees and the sound of birds chirping.

They all let out their breaths when they realized we were probably just being dramatic.

We loosened up, now being less paranoid, and made our way through the path.

After just a short walk, we finally made it to the cottage.

"Holy shit, it looks like this place came straight out of a storybook," Hayden commented.

We all took our time roaming around the area, in awe of the beautiful view in front of us. I've been here before, but I can't help but get mesmerized by this place's beauty.

The sound of the river flowing along with the birds humming filled my ears. I walked around, feeling the grass tickle my toes from inside my flip flops.

In the very middle was the cottage I was talking about. It was small, but it certainly looks like something you could call home.

I peered at my side when I saw a camera flashing from my peripheral vision. Matt was standing holding a DSLR camera in his hand. How did he get that thing?

"Found it in the house we stayed at on our first day here," he said, as if he read my mind.

He then pointed the camera at me so I instinctively tried to cover my face, but he still took the shot. I frowned at him afterwards for still taking the picture but he just laughed at my reaction before looking at it.

"You look cute," he complimented and showed me the picture he took.

"Not just that, I look fabulous." I joked, in which he just laughed at.

"Hey, are you guys ready to go inside?" We both turned our heads when Rafael suddenly interrupted from behind us.

We were all quiet when we entered the cottage. I looked at the boys and they all look calm, so I also tried to calm myself but my subconscious feels uncertain, fearful that whatever it is that I saw back then will attack us now.

I know that it's probably just one person, but with its insane speed, I doubt we can beat it. And there's also a possibility that it's super strong too. I am almost convinced that it's not human, in fact, I will believe any possibility in this crazy world.

I'm not in a position to say that there's no such thing as a superhero or supernatural creature since I am currently living in what seems to be a parallel universe, which I'm sure I do not believe in during my time in the original world. Everything in this world is possible.

"Find anything weird yet?" Wilhelmina asked while searching the place thoroughly.

We were all searching for something. We're not sure what it is that we're looking for, but we'll know when we see it. Perhaps some sort of sign that someone else is living here, or an information that would be very useful.

The living room, which was just right beside the kitchen, was getting crowded since there were 10 of us in there, so I decided to enter the room, leaving the door behind me open to avoid it locking accidentally or just in case something happens to me in here.

It was a small room, but I wasn't really expecting much. There's a bed in the corner with a wooden bed frame, and the sheets are just plain white. There's a lamp on the bedside table, and a desk just across it, but other than that, the room was pretty empty.

I opened the closet and found men's clothing in there. Is a man living here? Or maybe a man lives here in the real world and this is just a copy of the original house. Everything is so clean, though. The clothes, the bed, even the living room and kitchen.. Everything's neat and clean.

I was about to close the closet's door when a book with a faux leather cover placed at the bottom edge fell on my feet. Huh. That looks familiar, how strange.

I picked it up, and looked at the cover, only to realize that it looks exactly the same as my diary. My eyebrows furrowed and I quickly turned to the first page to check if it's actually mine or just the same journal kind. I gasped loudly when I found my first diary entry.

My hands are now very shaky as I read my first entry and was reminded of my first day here, remembering the feeling of being extremely confused and anxious.

"What have you got there?" I almost jumped in shock when someone whispered from behind my back, sending shivers down my spine. "Chill, you look like you saw a ghost," Rafael chuckled.

"It's my diary." I mumbled, still in shock. "I... I lost it when I was attacked by that super fast person or creature I was talking about yesterday. If it's here, that means I'm right. Someone else was living here with me when I first got here two months ago. I wasn't hallucinating. I doubted myself at first because I thought it was impossible but everything is clear to me now. I wasn't alone. I was never alone."

I was trembling in fear while trying to let the information that someone else was with me all along sink in. That person lives here. He knows I was miserable and alone, how come he didn't approach me? Did he not want to have company? But why would he go through my things and steal my diary? What does he want?

I dropped the diary because of how shaky my hands were, but Rafael caught it. However, we were both surprised when we found a lot of photographs stuck between the pages.

He looked at me before he took them out so we could both look at them. We were both in complete shock to see that they were photos of me. There are pictures of me while walking in the forest, gardening, having breakfast in my front yard, and even learning to shoot guns and arrows.

I was teary eyed, now feeling creeped out that somebody was stalking me. Rafael must've noticed this, so he instinctively tried to hush me by gently rubbing my shoulder. He called the rest of the guys and they immediately joined us.

They all tried to calm me down when they saw the pictures and assured me by reminding me that I'm not alone anymore and we can fight whoever it is.

It sounds great knowing that I no longer have to fight alone, but I know that what I need is answers. Why would he stalk me instead of just talking to me? What is it that he needs?

When we all decided that we're done with this place, we decided to go back home, also because it's almost time for lunch.

We were all quiet on our way back, and Matt stayed beside me the whole time, trying to open conversations from time to time to ensure that I am feeling okay, but I don't want to talk right now. I just let myself drown into my own thoughts.

My thoughts were cut when we suddenly heard a scream coming here inside the forest.

We all ran as fast as we could and tried to follow the sound to see who it was and catch it, expecting danger, but we ended up surprised by what we saw.

In the middle of the forest was a woman who was quivering in fear, along with two others lying on the ground, unconscious.

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