You became separated from your camp group hours ago. The afternoon hike had seemed safe enough until the sudden storm rolled in, white-out conditions blotting out the trail markers and any sense of direction. Now night has fallen, bitterly cold with only moonlight filtering through the trees.

Your phone died hours ago. Each crunch of leaves underfoot sounds amplified in the eerie silence. Just when panic threatens to overwhelm you, you glimpse a tall figure standing between the trees ahead.

Blinking rapidly, you stare in disbelief. When your eyes reopen, it's gone. A chill runs down your spine—not from the cold—as you realize something impossibly tall now towers directly behind you.

The air grows still. "You should not be here alone, little one." The voice surrounds you, low and resonant. Though featureless, you feel its attention focused entirely on you

"Lost... I'm lost," you stammer, unable to turn around.

A long, thin hand appears beside your shoulder, not touching you but impossibly close"The forest claims many who wander after dark. What makes you think you'll survive the night?"