"Good, looks like we are in the clear."
Nobody answered immediately after Marcus said that.
Not because they disagreed.
But because nobody inside the Black Hawk fully trusted the Forest of No Return anymore.
The helicopter continued pushing forward over the endless canopy, rotors cutting steadily through the cold upper air while the dark sea of trees stretched beneath them.
Minutes passed.
Then more.
Still nothing followed.
No vultures.
No movement beneath the canopy.
No giant tree monsters ripping themselves out of the forest floor.
Just silence.
The co-pilot slowly leaned back in his seat.
"…I think we actually made it."
The pilot didn't relax yet.
"Don't jinx it."
Marcus kept watching the forest below through the open side.
The pressure that had been sitting in the cabin earlier was fading now. Not completely gone, but weaker than before. Whatever awareness the forest had seemed to stop at its borders.
Good.
