Desor

Four Days Earlier

Fog rolled off the ridge, catching the red and blue flashes of the police cruisers below.

It was late afternoon, and the trailhead was still crowded with sheriff’s deputies, search-and-rescue crews, and volunteers, though some teams had already begun packing their equipment into trucks.

Near the back of a K-9 vehicle, a German shepherd stopped several feet from the trail.

Its handler gave the leash a gentle pull.

“Come on.”

The dog wouldn’t move.

Its ears flattened against its head as it stared toward the thick wall of trees ahead.

The handler tried again, but the shepherd backed away.

At first, it looked stubborn. Then its entire body began to tremble.

Its claws scraped against the gravel as it threw its weight backward, a frightened whine rising from its throat.

“Easy,” the handler said, shortening the leash. “Easy, boy.”

A few yards away, a tracking hound reacted the same way. The moment its handler tried to lead it toward the trail, the dog twisted against its leash and scrambled backward toward the vehicles.

One of the deputies looked over.

“What the hell’s gotten into them?”

The hound’s handler crouched beside the trembling animal and ran a hand along its neck.

“Damned if I know.”

The dog barely acknowledged him. Its attention remained fixed on the trees.

A state trooper who had been watching from nearby finally spoke.

“That’s the third one.”

The shepherd’s handler glanced over. “Today?”

“Since yesterday.”

The trooper nodded toward the trail.

“Sheriff brought two of his dogs out yesterday. Same damn thing. Soon as they got close to those woods, they wouldn’t go another step.

“They pick up a scent?”

“Nope.”

The trooper spat into the dirt and looked toward the trees.

“Wouldn’t track. Wouldn’t search. Hell, we couldn’t even get ’em across the treeline.”

The shepherd whimpered again.

For a moment, no one spoke.

The men stared toward the forest.

Nothing moved among the trees.

“Could be wildlife,” one of the handlers said.

The trooper squinted at the woods.

“Could be.”

His tone said he didn’t believe it.

The shepherd suddenly pulled backward again.

“Easy, boy.”

The handler steadied him, but when the dog began trembling harder, he stopped trying.

“All right. That’s enough.”

He turned the shepherd around and led him toward the truck.

The hound followed willingly.

Neither dog looked back.

Two days later, after nearly a week without a new lead, the sheriff’s office suspended the large-scale ground search.

The investigation remained open.

The tourists were still missing.

But the search activity around the woods gradually began to thin out. The drones stopped flying overhead. Search-and-rescue crews packed their equipment, and one by one, the trucks pulled away from the trailhead.

The investigation remained open, but the large-scale ground search was over.

Covenant Ridge Campground remained closed to the public.

And somewhere within Desor woods, an entire group of tourists was still missing.

Present Day

[Viv’s POV]

By the time we made it back to the campground, the sun was already sinking behind the trees.

We’d been searching since shortly after sunrise, and every part of me hurt. My boots were caked with mud, my shoulders ached from carrying my backpack, and a thin scratch burned along my forearm where a branch had caught me earlier.

After all that, we’d found nothing.

Not a single clue that told us where the missing tourists had gone or what had happened to them.

“I’m done.”

I glanced over my shoulder.

Deion stood several feet behind Jack and me, bent forward with his hands braced against his knees.

“You said that an hour ago,” I told him.

“And I’m sayin’ it again. I’m done.”

Jack laughed. “We’re almost there.”

Deion slowly straightened and gave him a look.

“Man, you’ve been sayin’ that for the last two miles.”

“Because we’re almost there.”

“Nah. Don’t do that.” Deion pointed at him. “Every time you say we’re almost there, I look up and see more damn trees.”

I laughed.

He looked at me. “Don’t laugh. This your fault.”

“My fault? How?”

“You the one who wanted to come out here.”

“You agreed to come.”

“Yeah, ’cause I knew you two were gonna come whether I did or not.”

Jack glanced back at him. “So?”

Deion stared at him for a second.

“So I’m not lettin’ y’all disappear in the woods too. The hell kind of question is that?”

I smiled. “Aw. You care about us.”

“Don’t start.”

Jack laughed.

“I’m serious,” Deion said. “A whole group of people goes missing out here, and y’all decide the logical thing to do is walk into the same damn woods looking for ’em.”

“We’re part of a search team,” I said.

“Uh-huh.”

He adjusted the straps of his backpack.

“And I’m part of the team that’s making sure y’all don’t end up being the next people they gotta search for.”

“You watch too many horror movies.”

“Nah.” He shook his head. “Y’all don’t watch enough.”

Jack laughed again.

Deion kept walking.

“Soon as we get back, I’m taking a shower, eating something, and laying my ass down. Ain’t nobody bothering me till morning.”

The trail widened ahead of us, and the first cabin appeared between the trees.

Deion stopped.

For a second, he just stared at it.

Then he lifted both hands toward the sky.

“Thank you, Jesus.”

I laughed. “You’re dramatic.”

“Nah, I’m grateful. Big difference.”

He started toward the campground.

“And if either one of y’all asks me to go back in those woods tonight, the answer is no.”

Jack grinned. “What if somebody needs help?”

Deion looked back at us.

“Then I’m praying for ’em.”

Jack laughed. “You’re terrible.”

“I’m alive,” Deion said. “That’s what I am.”

We stepped off the trail and into Covenant Ridge.

During the day, with volunteers moving around and search teams coming and going, the place hadn’t seemed quite so isolated.

Now it did.

The sun was sinking behind the treetops, casting long shadows across the clearing. A handful of old cabins stood scattered among the trees, worn down by years of weather and neglect. Paint peeled from the wooden siding, porch steps sagged beneath their own weight, and patches of moss clung to some of the roofs.

They weren’t completely abandoned. Mr. Robert had gotten permission for us to use the cabins while we searched, and we’d done what we could to make a few of them livable.

Still, there was no mistaking how old they were.

Beyond the clearing, Desor Woods surrounded us on every side.

Someone had already started a fire near the cabins. A few volunteers sat around it while others slowly returned from their assigned search areas.

Deion spotted our cabin and let out a breath.

“Man, I don’t even care no more. Just give me somewhere to lay down.”

Jack looked at him. “You complained about the bed all night.”

“And?”

“And now you don’t care?”

Deion gave him a tired look. “Jack, I’ve been walkin’ around these damn woods all day. That mattress could be on the floor right now. I’m gettin’ in it.”

I laughed. “What about the spiders?”

He stopped.

“Why would you bring that up?”

“You were worried about them last night.”

Deion stared at me.

“Viv, don’t play with me.”

I laughed harder.

“Nah, ’cause now I gotta check the whole damn bed again.”

“You would’ve checked it anyway.”

“Exactly. So why you over here speakin’ stuff into existence?”

Jack shook his head, laughing.

Deion pointed at both of us.

“Keep laughin’. Something crawl across one of y’all tonight, don’t wake me up.”

“You’d get up.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Yes, you would.”

Deion started toward the cabin.

“I’mma pray for you from my bed.”

“You’re so full of it,” I called after him.

He raised one hand without turning around. “And I’m still not checking your bed.”

Jack laughed under his breath.

We didn’t make it far before Mr. Robert called from across the clearing.

“Don’t get too comfortable. We’re meeting by the fire in ten.”

Deion stopped.

His shoulders dropped.

“You gotta be kidding me.”

Mr. Robert either didn’t hear him or chose not to.

I smiled. “Thought you were going to bed.”

“I was.”

“You still have ten minutes.”

Deion looked at the cabin, then at the fire, like he was genuinely weighing whether ten minutes of sleep would be worth it.

“Nah. If I lay down, I ain’t gettin’ back up.”

Jack slapped him lightly on the shoulder as he passed. “Smartest thing you’ve said all day.”

Deion watched him walk away.

“See, that’s why I don’t like his ass.”

I laughed and followed Jack toward the fire.

By the time everyone had made it back, the sun was almost gone.

Volunteers gathered around the fire with whatever they could find to sit on. Some took the old folding chairs we’d brought with us. Others sat on coolers or the steps of the nearest cabin.

Someone passed around bottled water and sandwiches wrapped in foil.

I took one and sank into an empty chair beside Jack.

Deion dropped into the chair on my other side with a groan.

For once, he didn’t have anything to say.

That alone told me how tired he was.

Around us, conversations stayed quiet. Most people were eating or staring into the fire. We’d all spent the day searching different parts of the woods, and judging by everyone’s faces, nobody had come back with good news.

Mr. Robert waited until the last search team had checked in.

Then he stood.

“All right, everybody. Before y’all turn in, I need a few minutes.”

The conversations died down.

Mr. Robert looked around the circle.

“First thing, everybody made it back. That’s what I care about most.”

A few people nodded.

“As for the search, we didn’t find anything today that we can confirm belongs to the missing group.”

My stomach sank a little, even though I’d already expected it.

Mr. Robert continued.

“Tomorrow morning, we’ll cover the remaining sections assigned to us. Same rules as today. Nobody goes out alone. Stay with your partner or your team, keep your radio on you, and don’t wander outside your assigned area because you think you saw something.”

He paused.

“If you do find something that might be evidence, don’t pick it up. Don’t move it. Mark the location, back away, and radio me. I’ll contact the sheriff’s office.”

A man across the fire leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Robert.”

Mr. Robert looked at him.

“It’s been eight days.”

The fire cracked between them.

The man glanced around the circle before continuing.

“If the sheriff’s department couldn’t find these people with dogs, drones, and all the manpower they had out here, what makes you think we’re gonna find ’em?”

Nobody answered.

I looked down at the sandwich in my hands.

I’d wondered the same thing more than once that day.

Mr. Robert was quiet for a moment.

“I don’t know that we will.”

A few people shifted in their seats.

“But the sheriff suspending a large-scale search doesn’t mean these folks aren’t still missing.”

He looked around the fire.

“Resources get reassigned. Searches get scaled back. That’s the reality of it. Their families don’t get to clock out and go home just because the official search changed.”

The man across from him lowered his eyes.

Mr. Robert’s voice softened.

“I’ve seen people found alive when everybody thought the odds were against them. I’m not promising that’s what happens here. I’m saying that as long as we can keep searching safely, and there’s still somewhere useful for us to look, I’m willing to keep going.”

Nobody argued.

Mr. Robert checked his watch.

“One more thing. I want two people awake at all times tonight. Two-hour shifts.”

Deion slowly turned his head toward me.

I pretended not to notice.

Someone across the fire frowned. “Why?”

“Precaution,” Mr. Robert said. “We’re a long way from town, and we’re sleeping in the middle of the woods. Keep the fire going. Keep a radio with you. If somebody comes into camp, one of the missing people somehow finds their way here, or anything else happens, wake me.”

He looked around the circle.

“And nobody goes into the woods after dark. Whatever we don’t cover today will still be there in the morning.”

Beside me, Deion quietly muttered, “Ain’t gotta tell me twice.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

Mr. Robert looked around.

“Who wants first watch?”

Silence.

Nobody moved.

I looked from one exhausted face to another.

Then, before I could talk myself out of it, I raised my hand.

“I’ll do it.”

Deion’s head snapped toward me.

Jack spoke before he could.

“I’ll stay with her.”

I turned to him. “You don’t have to.”

“I know.”

“You’ve been walking all day too.”

“I know.”

I stared at him.

Jack took another bite of his sandwich.

“What?”

Before I could answer, Deion leaned forward and looked past me at him.

“Nah, let me understand this.”

Jack raised an eyebrow.

Deion pointed toward the dark woods.

“We just spent all day in there. We finally get back. This man says we can go to sleep, and both of y’all volunteer to stay awake?”

“I volunteered,” I said. “Jack volunteered himself.”

“That don’t make it better.”

Jack laughed.

Deion sat back and shook his head.

“See, this exactly what I’m talkin’ about. Y’all make bad decisions together.”

I smiled. “Good night, Deion.”

“Oh, I’m going to bed.”

He stood and picked up his backpack.

“I’m not arguing with y’all. I done said what I had to say.”

He looked at me, then at Jack.

“Don’t come waking me up over no raccoon either.”

Jack grinned. “What if it’s a bear?”

Deion stared at him.

“Then that’s between you and the bear.”

He turned toward the cabin.

“I’ll see y’all in the morning.”

He turned toward the cabin.

“I’ll see y’all in the morning.”

“Good night,” I called after him.

Deion lifted a hand without looking back and disappeared inside.

A few seconds later, the door shut behind him.

Jack watched him go.

“You think he’ll actually sleep?”

“He could sleep through a tornado.”

“True.”

I settled deeper into my chair and stretched my legs toward the fire.

Around us, the campground slowly went quiet. One by one, the other volunteers headed back to their cabins until only Jack and I were left outside.

The fire had burned lower, but it still gave off enough heat to fight the chill settling over the clearing.

Beyond it, the old cabins sat quietly beneath the trees.

I checked the time.

11:17.

I groaned and slipped my phone back into my pocket.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

Crickets chirped somewhere in the woods. Wind moved softly through the trees, stirring the branches overhead. Every now and then, something small rustled through the leaves.

Normal sounds.

The kind I hadn’t paid much attention to during the day.

At night, I noticed every one of them.

I stared into the flames.

“You think they’re still alive?”

Jack’s expression changed.

He didn’t have to ask who I meant.

“I hope so.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“I don’t know, Viv.”

“It’s only been eight days.”

“I know.”

“People have survived longer.”

“I know that too.”

I looked at him.

“Then what’s bothering you?”

Jack was quiet for a moment.

Then he looked toward the woods.

“All of them.”

“What?”

“A whole group disappears.”

He rubbed his hands together.

“Maybe one person gets lost. Maybe somebody gets hurt. But all of them?”

“They could’ve stayed together.”

“That’s what bothers me.”

I frowned.

Jack continued.

“If they stayed together, how has nobody found anything? And if they didn’t, you’d think at least one of them would’ve made it back.”

I looked toward the trees.

He was right.

I hated that he was right.

“There has to be an explanation.”

“Probably.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

Jack gave me a small smile.

“Neither do you.”

I looked back at the fire.

He had me there.

A log shifted in the flames, sending a spray of sparks into the air.

After a while, Jack stood.

“I’ll be right back.”

I looked up. “Where are you going?”

“Bathroom.”

I glanced toward the old restroom building beyond the cabins.

“Want me to come with you?”

Jack looked at me.

“To the bathroom?”

“Mr. Robert said nobody goes anywhere alone.”

“He said nobody goes into the woods alone.”

“Same difference.”

“No, it’s really not.”

I smiled. “Fine.”

Jack picked up his flashlight.

“I’ll be two minutes.”

“Take the radio.”

“Viv.”

“Take it.”

He sighed, but clipped it to his belt.

“Happy?”

“Very.”

Jack shook his head and started across the clearing.

“And Jack?”

He turned.

“If you see a bear—”

“I know.” His mouth twitched. “That’s between me and the bear.”

I laughed.

“Exactly.”

He disappeared past the cabins, and I turned back toward the fire. For the first time that night, I was alone.

I pulled my jacket tighter around myself. It was fine. Jack would be back in a minute.

The fire crackled while the wind moved through the trees. Crickets chirped beyond the clearing, and I stared into the flames as a few seconds passed.

Then a few more.

I don’t know what made me look up. There hadn’t been a sound, at least not one I’d noticed, but my eyes drifted toward the treeline.

Nothing. Just trees.

I turned back to the fire.

Then I noticed it.

The crickets had stopped.

I lifted my head. The wind still moved through the branches, but the woods had gone quiet. Completely quiet.

I sat a little straighter. “Jack?”

No answer.

I glanced in the direction he’d gone. He’d only been gone a minute, maybe less. When I turned toward the trees again, something moved.

My breath caught.

It was there and gone so quickly that I wasn’t sure I’d actually seen it. I stared at the same spot, waiting for it to happen again.

Nothing.

Probably an animal.

“Get a grip, Viv,” I muttered.

The fire popped behind me, and I jumped.

“Jesus.”

I pressed a hand against my chest and let out a breath.

Then I heard it.

A faint ringing.

I froze.

It was barely there, high and thin, almost too soft to notice. I rubbed my ear, and the sound stopped.

For a few seconds, there was nothing.

Then it came again.

A little louder.

I frowned. It didn’t sound like it was coming from the woods or from anywhere around me. It felt closer than that, like it was inside my head.

I stood. “Jack?”

Still nothing.

The ringing grew stronger as my eyes drifted back toward the trees.

And that’s when I saw them.

Two pale blue eyes stared back at me from between the trunks.