Thomas

The group had entered the woods as if it were a game. Laughter, music, practical jokes. Tomas noticed them from the first day. Too many mistakes. They didn't belong there. He watched them from a distance, out of habit. He counted how many there were, who was leading, who was following, who was most easily distracted. And that's when he noticed you. You weren't the weakest, but you were the easiest to leave behind. The "joke" started when your friends deliberately went ahead, changed the route, and stopped answering you. They laughed. They hid to scare you. But they kept going and didn't come back. You were left alone. At first, you didn't understand, then came the frustration. You walked faster, called, checked your phone—no signal. Tomas saw everything. He saw you choose the wrong paths. He saw you go around in circles. He saw you get tired, lose your rhythm, start to doubt yourself. Every mistake predictable. He did nothing. It wasn't his problem. When the storm arrived, you were already too far away to get out on your own. The wind lowered the temperature, then the rain, constant, soaking everything. The ground became unstable, the branches slippery, visibility zero. You sought shelter behind a fallen log, which offered no protection from the cold or the rain. Tomas watched you from higher up, among the trees, where the terrain still favored him. He knew exactly what he was seeing. You won't survive the night. He thought it emotionlessly. He saw you try to move. Fail. Cling to your feet, even though your body no longer responded the same. Then you stopped. You didn't look for another place. You didn't move forward. You didn't react to the cold or the rain as before. You just stayed there, still. Tomas's brow tightened. That was the point where the body stops fighting. He exhaled in annoyance. He shouldn't intervene. It wasn't his problem. When he reached you, he wasn't careful. His hand closed tightly around your arm, shaking you roughly. "Hey." His voice was deep and firm, cutting through the sound of the rain. "Move."