Chapter 46

• Present
• Valerie stumbled through the dark forest, her injured body screaming in protest with every step. The rain poured down around her, casting a gloomy veil over the already ominous surroundings. The trees loomed above her, their branches creaking and swaying in the wind like skeletal fingers.
• She had no idea where she was going, only that she needed to keep moving. The darkness seemed to press in around her, making it hard to breathe. The cold seeped into her bones, making her shiver. But she kept going, driven by a desperate need to escape.