Liam took the shortcut home. He always did.
The narrow trail ran behind the post office and stretched through a wooded area, eventually opening back onto the road just a block from his house. It was shaded, quiet, and—most of all—empty.
That's why he liked it.
That's why they chose it.
He didn't hear them until it was too late.
A sharp yank on his backpack pulled him off-balance. He stumbled, barely catching himself. Before he could turn, hands grabbed him—rough, fast, practiced. A fist shoved into his side. Another at his back. Someone clamped a hand over his mouth.
His shout was swallowed by the trees.
He was dragged off the trail and into the underbrush—deeper, darker, where the noise of the street couldn't reach.
Just up the road, hidden behind a row of dense hedges, a sleek black car sat parked on the edge of a narrow service lane.
The windows were tinted. The engine was off.
Inside, a figure sat motionless, watching.
Their eyes followed the path where Liam had vanished. They didn't reach for the door handle. They didn't reach for a phone.
They just observed.
"Hold him down," Adam barked.
Liam was forced to his knees, his arms pinned by Oliver and Jeremy. His breathing came in quick, ragged gasps. Leaves and dirt clung to his shirt. Blood trickled from a scratch on his cheek.
Harper stood nearby with her phone, camera already recording. Jessica giggled as she adjusted the angle.
"You really thought you'd get away with it?" Adam crouched in front of him. "Talking to Peterson. Making us look weak."
"I didn't," Liam gasped. "I swear—"
"Liar." Jessica's voice snapped like a whip.
Adam's fist slammed into Liam's stomach.
Liam crumpled forward, choking. Jeremy yanked him back upright.
"This is what happens when losers forget their place," Adam said, raising his hand again.
Oliver laughed. "Should've kept your head down, man."
Another blow.
Liam groaned, his arms trying to shield his face. The world spun.
From the corner of his swollen vision, he saw Harper pan slightly to catch a better angle. "Get his face this time."
But then—something shifted.
Adam paused mid-swing.
His brow furrowed.
"Do you feel that?" he muttered.
Oliver looked up. "What?"
"I don't know. Like… someone's watching."
They all turned.
The woods had gone still.
No birds. No rustling. Just silence.
Jessica lowered her phone. "It's just a squirrel or something."
"No," Adam said slowly. "It's something else."
Behind them, trees stood like statues. Unmoving. Unnatural.
Jeremy swallowed. "Let's just finish this."
Adam hesitated.
His fist clenched.
He stepped forward—
Back on the road, Mr. Peterson was heading home from the school office, cutting through the neighborhood behind campus. He was walking quickly, head down, thoughts still on Liam.
Then something caught his eye.
A single notebook page fluttered across the sidewalk near the shortcut entrance.
He stepped closer.
A torn strap. A broken glasses frame.
And then—Liam Cooper's school ID, half-buried beneath a shoe print.
His breath caught.
He scanned the tree line.
A barely-visible trail of crushed grass and dragging footprints led into the woods.
His pulse surged.
He dropped his bag and ran.
The brush tore at his sleeves. Branches whipped his face. But he didn't stop.
Then, through the trees—he saw them.
Liam crumpled on the forest floor.
Adam standing over him.
Phones out.
A fist raised.
"HEY!"
His voice crashed through the woods like thunder.
The group jerked around.
"What the—?" Oliver stumbled backward.
Jeremy cursed, fumbling his phone into his hoodie.
Peterson stormed into the clearing, face flushed with fury. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Jessica gasped and stopped recording. Harper froze.
Adam held his ground, but barely. "This isn't your business. We're off school grounds."
"You assaulted a student. You ambushed him. That makes it everyone's business."
"I didn't touch him—"
"I saw everything," Peterson snapped. He held up his own phone. "And I have proof."
He turned to Liam, kneeling. "You okay?"
Liam winced, nodding slowly. "Sort of…"
Peterson helped him sit upright, wrapping a hand around his shoulders.
Then he turned back to Adam.
"You're done. You hear me? Done."
Adam's mouth twisted. "My dad—"
"Can't buy your way out of this."
Silence.
One by one, the others stepped back. Jessica looked away. Jeremy disappeared behind a tree. Harper pocketed her phone.
Adam was the last to turn, fury burning behind his eyes—but this time, it was mixed with something else.
Fear.
They vanished into the trees.
Peterson sighed and looked at Liam. "You're safe now."
Liam blinked through tears. "I thought no one would come."
Mr. Peterson didn't say anything he looked at him with a kind smile, a storm brewing in his heart.
Back at the trail's entrance, the black car still sat.
Engine cold. Windows sealed.
The figure was back inside
Watching the trees in silence, an imperceptible emotion on their face
Then, without a sound, they turned the key and drove away—vanishing into the shadows just as Mr. Peterson emerged with Liam in his arms.