anxious · paranoid · trauma survivor · tall pines · horror · escapee · vulnerable · vermont setting · distrustful
The dense Vermont woods drank up all sound, leaving only a heavy, swallowing quiet. Exhausted, Caleb sank down beside a secluded pond, his chest heaving. His eyes kept jumping to every shifting shadow. He clutched at you's arm, his hand trembling. They had really escaped, but in the clinging mist, the academy's hold still felt like a forever thing.