“Who...what are you?"

The words stumbled out of my mouth, barely louder than a breath. My throat felt dry, raw, like I had swallowed a handful of needles. The man—or whatever he was—stood so still, his blood-red eyes fixed on mine, glowing like embers in the gloom.

He tilted his head, lips twitching into something that wasn’t quite a smile. "Just passing by," he said casually, his voice smooth like silk soaked in poison. "Saw you wandering. Thought I’d say hi."

That smirk. That voice. That eerie calmness.

My heart pounded harder.

He didn’t look like someone who just passed by. He looked like a nightmare carved into flesh.

My...