Dust drifts through the dim air like pale ash, turning slowly in the cold violet light. Jason stands motionless among the silent shapes surrounding him. The creatures have not moved since he noticed them. They stand scattered along the edge of the clearing beyond the cabin, crooked shapes half-hidden between the dark trunks of the surrounding trees, their tall narrow frames bent forward while their long arms dangle so low their fingers nearly brush the leaf-covered ground.
Jason swallows.
"They haven't moved," he murmurs.
The clearing takes his voice without returning anything.
A slow wind drifts across the open clearing outside the cabin, slipping between the trees and brushing over the creatures' thin bodies, making the strange markings on their skin tremble faintly under the shifting air. That is when he sees it.
The faint glow.
Purple.
Jason narrows his eyes. The colour traces lines across their bodies like scars beneath translucent flesh. The markings curl and bend into repeating circles, looping again and again.
The same shape.
The same cycle.
Jason leans forward slightly.
"The same thing she kept talking about."
His voice drops to a whisper.
"The loops."
The glowing lines twist in the cracks stretching across the creature's chest in a perfect spiral before folding back into themselves. The pattern repeats along its arms and ribs.
Jason rubs the back of his neck.
"Same cycle that keeps people trapped," he mutters.
The glow pulses faintly.
A breath.
Another pulse.
Jason blinks.
"Did that just… move?"
He steps closer to the nearest creature. His shoes scrape softly against the dirt.
The purple marks brighten.
Jason's eyes follow the lines.
Loop after loop.
Mental drag. Delay. Friction.
The same patterns that haunted his mind.
"I understand," he mutters.
Behind him, something shifts.
Jason turns quickly.
Nothing.
The creatures stand where he first saw them, tall frames bent slightly forward in the quiet clearing.
Jason narrows his eyes.
Something feels off.
One of them is not quite where it was a moment ago.
The difference is small, barely a shift in distance, as if the ground itself has nudged it forward while he wasn't looking.
He frowns and rubs his temple.
"I swear one of you moved."
The wind stirs again. Dust brushes across his cheek.
Jason exhales slowly, trying to calm the tightness in his chest.
"Relax," he tells himself. "They're just standing there."
His attention drifts back to the glowing patterns.
The loops pulse again.
Jason leans closer.
"That's the same rhythm," he whispers.
His brow furrows.
"Like breathing."
The purple glow brightens.
Jason inhales.
The light strengthens.
He blinks.
"Wait…"
Jason holds his breath.
The glow dims.
His eyes widen.
"You're reacting to me."
Behind him, something slides forward across the dirt.
Silent.
Jason doesn't notice.
His gaze remains locked on the glowing loops etched into the creature's chest.
"I knew it," he whispers.
Another slow breath leaves his lungs.
The purple lines flare again.
The pulse matches the rise and fall of his chest exactly.
Jason's throat tightens.
"No, that's not good."
He straightens slowly, forcing himself to focus.
"Think."
The violet glow dims as his breathing steadies.
Jason clenches his fists.
"Okay," he mutters quietly. "Stay calm."
The creatures stand frozen again.
At least, that is what it looks like.
Jason glances sideways.
The nearest one seems slightly closer.
His brow creases.
"I didn't step that far forward."
A slow breeze moves across the open clearing, brushing past Jason and stirring the loose dirt underfoot. It carries the faint, dry smell of dust, cold enough to raise a thin shiver along his arms.
Jason inhales slowly through his nose.
The purple glow fades.
He nods to himself.
"Right… focus."
His voice steadies.
"I control the rhythm."
He exhales carefully.
Nothing moves.
Jason lifts his chin slightly.
"See?" he says under his breath. "You don't get to mess with my head."
The silence stretches.
Then Jason's thoughts slip for half a second.
Just long enough to wonder what those loops really meant.
The nearest creature slides forward.
Jason freezes.
His eyes dart back to it.
It has moved nearly two feet.
"What,"
He sucks in a sharp breath.
The purple lines flare bright again.
Jason forces his lungs to slow.
"No… stay calm."
He plants his feet firmly.
The creature stops.
Jason stares hard at it.
"You only move when I drift."
His voice trembles slightly.
"Right?"
The creature does not answer.
Jason exhales slowly.
The glow dims again.
He lets his eyes drift upward, scanning the sky above the clearing.
Branches arch overhead, tangled and skeletal. Slivers of pale sunlight slip through the gaps, casting shifting patterns across the grass and dirt around him.
"Okay," Jason murmurs.
"I'm figuring this out."
He wipes sweat from his forehead.
"Focus."
Jason breathes out again.
But the breath comes too fast.
Too sharp.
The glow bursts bright.
The creature moves.
This time Jason sees it clearly.
One silent step.
Another.
Jason's heart hammers.
"No."
He stumbles backward.
The wind swirls through the clearing.
Dust lifts from the ground in spiraling clouds.
Jason forces another breath.
The creature stops instantly.
His voice drops to a shaky whisper.
"You're tied to my attention."
The purple loops pulse faintly.
Jason swallows.
"Which means if I lose focus,"
A soft scrape sounds in front of him.
Jason slowly raises his head.
The creature stands directly in front of him now.
Close enough that its cold violet light brushes his face.
Close enough that if he lifted his hand…
He could touch it.