Chapter 1: The Fall
Chapter 1: The Fall
The last thing Victoria Hayes remembered was the fog.
Thick.
Cold.
Endless.
And the words whispered into her ear moments before she was thrown from the cliff.
"Greetings from your husband."
Then nothing.
No screams.
No pain.
Only darkness.
Thirty meters below, the rocks waited.
At least, that was what the three hired thugs believed.
They stood at the edge of the cliff for several seconds, watching the white fog swallow Victoria's body.
One of them spat onto the ground.
"That should do it."
Another laughed.
"For that amount of money, I'd throw her twice."
The third pulled out his phone.
"Call the husband."
A few moments later, Victoria's husband answered.
"Is it done?"
"She's gone."
A long silence followed.
Then a relieved sigh.
"Good."
The thug smiled.
"No witnesses. No problems."
The call ended.
The men exchanged grins.
Easy money.
All they had left to do was climb down and make sure there was a body.
After all, the husband wanted proof.
The descent took nearly twenty minutes.
The terrain was steep and dangerous.
Loose stones slid beneath their boots.
Branches scratched against their jackets.
Eventually they reached the bottom.
The fog was even thicker there.
Visibility was barely a few feet.
The leader switched on a flashlight.
Its beam cut through the mist.
They searched the rocks.
The bushes.
The ravine.
Nothing.
The smile vanished from his face.
"Where is she?"
The second thug frowned.
"Maybe she landed farther down."
They spread out.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Still nothing.
No body.
No blood.
No torn clothing.
Nothing.
The leader's confidence began to crack.
"That's impossible."
A fall from thirty meters should have left something behind.
But the ground looked untouched.
As if Victoria had never fallen at all.
Then they heard it.
A sound.
Soft.
Faint.
Behind them.
A woman's voice.
"Looking for someone?"
All three men froze.
Slowly...
they turned around.
And their blood ran cold.
Standing in the fog was Victoria.
Alive.
Perfectly alive.
Not a scratch on her.
Not a drop of blood.
Not even a torn sleeve.
The flashlight slipped from one thug's hand.
"No..."
Another staggered backward.
"That's impossible."
Victoria smiled.
But there was something strange about that smile.
Something unsettling.
Because she wasn't smiling like a terrified victim.
She was smiling like someone who had expected this moment.
"I've been waiting for you."
The leader felt his stomach twist.
"What are you?"
Victoria took a step forward.
The fog seemed to move around her.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
As though it obeyed her.
The men exchanged nervous looks.
For the first time in years, they felt fear.
Real fear.
Victoria tilted her head.
"Tell me."
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
"How much did my husband pay you?"
No one answered.
Another step.
"Ten thousand dollars?"
Silence.
"Twenty?"
The leader finally found his voice.
"Stay back."
Victoria laughed softly.
The sound echoed strangely through the ravine.
"You pushed me off a cliff."
Another step.
"And now you're afraid of me?"
The men instinctively backed away.
Something wasn't right.
Something was terribly wrong.
Then the youngest thug noticed something in the fog behind Victoria.
A shape.
Tall.
Motionless.
Watching them.
Then another.
And another.
His face turned white.
"What the hell is that?"
Victoria didn't turn around.
She already knew.
Because whatever was hidden in the fog...
was standing behind her.
Waiting.
Watching.
And judging.
The wind suddenly died.
The entire ravine became silent.
Victoria's smile slowly disappeared.
Her eyes locked onto the three men.
And when she spoke again, her voice sounded different.
Colder.
Older.
Almost as though another voice was speaking through her.
"You should have left when you had the chance."
The three men stared into the fog.
And for the first time since accepting the job...
they realized they might not be the hunters anymore.
May you like
They might be the prey.
TO BE CONTINUED...
