Page 7 of Golden Star

My breath quickens, and I ground myself, trying to calm the panic rising in my chest.

Then, I hear it. A bubbling sound, like water flowing over rocks.

A stream.

Relief washes over me. If I follow the water, it should lead me out of here. Streams always lead somewhere, right? At least, somewhere that’s not a total circle?

Feeling more energized, I walk toward the sound of the water, picking up my pace.

Eventually, silver flashes in the distance.

A… tree? And in front of it, the stream.

I did it. That water will lead me home. Well, maybe not home, but at least out of the forest.

Hopefully. But given that it’s the only solution I have right now, I keep going.

As I approach, a woman steps out from behind the tree, bathed in a soft, ethereal glow. Her silver hair glints like the stars themselves, and her face is pale, almost translucent, with eyes that shimmer like galaxies.

“Hello?” I call out, relief flooding through me at the sight of another person. “Do you live out here? Can you help me find my way back?”

The woman says nothing. And, as I get closer, I realize that something about her feels…off. Unnatural. Like she’s there, but not entirely real.

I’m also not entirely sure it matters, given that she’s the only person who might be able to help me get out of these woods before I freeze to death.

I take a cautious step closer and hold up my hands,not wanting to scare her away. “I don’t have cell service,” I tell her. “But if you have a house nearby?—”

She moves, her feet silent against the snow, as if the night is moving with her.

I should back away. I should run. But I’m frozen, caught in the strange calm of her gaze, unable to move.

Her hand rises slowly, and before I can say anything, she touches me—a light brush of her fingertips against my forehead.

Pain shoots through my body.

It’s like fire and ice at the same time, burning and freezing me from the inside out. My vision blurs, and I fall to my knees, the world spinning around me as I fight with everything I have to stop myself from collapsing into the snow.

The glow around the woman intensifies, growing brighter, until it’s almost blinding. Spots dance before my eyes as the light creeps under my skin and becomes a part of me—consuming every inch of my being, all the way down to the marrow in my bones.

And then, just as suddenly as it started, the light goes out.

I collapse forward, catching myself on my hands as I gasp for air, my entire body trembling.

When I finally gather the strength to look up, the woman is gone.

Was she real? Or was I hallucinating from the cold?

Canpeople hallucinate from the cold?

I don’t know. But one thing is clear—I have to get out of here. I willnotpass out in the forest and freeze in the snow. Rejecting Matt’s proposal will not be my death sentence.

Pain rushes through me again. Searing hot pain that starts from my forehead and rages through the rest of my body.

I need to cool down.

I need water.

With shaky hands, I crawl toward the stream, every muscle screaming in protest. All I can focus on is the burning—this unbearable fire surging through my veins, eating me alive. I’ve never felt anything this agonizing in my life. Not even during the sledding accident with Zoey when I was ten, when I snapped my ankle and passed out.

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