The couple sprinted forward. Five kilometers of cracked earth and withered trees vanished beneath their feet in the span of a single breath as if earth had shrunk under their feet. One moment they were at the forest's edge; the next, they stood where the green had died.
What had once been a beautiful forest—a place of tall oaks, dappled sunlight, and a well-maintained road winding through like a gentle ribbon—had become something else entirely. The trees stood there skeletal, their branches clawing at a sky choked with heavy clouds hanging above. No birds sang. No insects buzzed like normal forest should. No living soul stirred for miles. The silence was not peaceful; it was the silence of a tomb, ominous even.
