Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1077

Chapter 1077: Chapter 1077

"I think we should keep moving," Zoey said, standing up and brushing off her legs. "Rose and Grace have been gone too long."

The group followed the stream upward, the woods tightening around them as the slope grew steeper. Jude led, his hand on the hilt of the makeshift blade he carried now everywhere. The trees grew gnarled and twisted, their trunks scarred with strange markings, some like symbols, some like claws. None of it was comforting.

They reached the top of a rise where the stream cascaded down a sudden drop. Water splashed over the rocks and fell into a dark pool below. There was no sign of Rose or Grace.

Then Zoey gasped.

Near the edge of the cliff, where moss grew in thick green blankets, a trail of wet footprints shimmered. Small, bare feet. Leading off the edge.

"Rose?" Sophie called out, voice cracking slightly.

No response.

Zoey moved first, stepping toward the edge and peering down. "I see something," she said, pointing. "Down there, by the rocks. I think it’s Grace."

They all looked, hearts pounding.

A pale figure lay curled near the water’s edge, barely moving. Jude didn’t think. He leapt first, sliding down the side of the slope and crashing through the underbrush toward the base. The others followed, stumbling and slipping down the rough path.

When he reached the pool, Grace was awake, but dazed. Her eyes fluttered open as he reached for her.

"I’m okay," she whispered. "She... she went in after something."

"Who? Rose?"

Grace nodded slowly. "There was something in the water. Something she said she needed."

Before Jude could ask more, the surface of the pool shifted.

And Rose emerged.

She rose slowly, hair clinging to her face and shoulders, water cascading down her dress. Her eyes were wide, fixed on something far away. She didn’t blink. She didn’t speak.

But she was smiling.

Sophie stepped back instinctively. Zoey moved protectively in front of her, watching Rose carefully.

Jude walked toward her, his voice calm. "What did you see?"

Rose looked at him, but didn’t answer. Instead, she turned toward the trees.

And something moved in the distance.

They all saw it this time.

A figure.

It shimmered like a mirage, half-hidden by the thick mist that was beginning to rise from the water. Its form was tall, elongated, barely human. Eyes like burning blue fire, glowing beneath a veil of smoke. It stood still, watching them.

Jude felt every hair on his body rise.

He stepped in front of Sophie instinctively. Zoey reached for Layla’s hand. Grace slowly rose to her feet beside Rose, who was still smiling like nothing in the world was wrong.

"Is that the same thing?" Zoey asked quietly.

"No," Layla whispered. "It’s something worse."

Jude took a step forward. "What do you want?" he shouted.

The creature didn’t move. But the mist pulsed, like breath.

Then, it vanished.

No one spoke. The silence was thick and suffocating.

Jude turned back toward Rose, but she had already started walking away, barefoot, dripping wet, humming something low under her breath.

They followed her without question. The path back to the camp was longer than it should’ve been. Everything felt different, like the woods had shifted again, subtly but unmistakably. When they finally reached the familiar trees near the clearing, Jude saw the campfire still smoldering, blankets half-tangled where they’d left them. Nothing had moved.

But everything felt wrong.

They settled in for the evening without speaking about what they saw. Sophie stayed close to him, sitting silently by the fire with her fingers brushing his. Layla draped herself against Zoey’s back, kissing her shoulder and whispering something into her ear that made Zoey laugh a little too loudly. Grace stayed beside Rose, following her movements like a shadow.

When night fell, they shared food in quiet. Bodies brushed, hands tangled, kisses passed between them like secrets. Jude felt the tension building beneath the surface, desire laced with dread. The others didn’t seem afraid anymore. Only he and Sophie were still watching closely.

Later that night, long after most had drifted to sleep, Jude sat awake by the fire with Sophie curled in his lap. He looked across the camp to where Layla, Zoey, and Grace slept tangled beside Rose, their limbs intertwined in ways that used to mean warmth and love, but now looked like vines pulling them inward.

"Did you feel it?" Sophie asked, voice low.

"Yes."

"Was it the same thing we saw before?"

"I don’t think so."

She shivered in his arms, and he pulled the blanket higher around her shoulders. "What are we going to do?"

"I don’t know," he said. "But we have to keep trying. We can’t let it take all of you."

Sophie lifted her head, her eyes glistening. She kissed him softly, sweetly, clinging to him like he was the last familiar thing in the world. He kissed her back, holding her face in both hands, grounding them in the taste of each other, in the rhythm of their breath.

When they finally fell asleep, Jude woke only once in the middle of the night.

Sophie was whispering.

Not words.

Just sounds.

Soft, rhythmic.

Like breath.

But wrong.

The morning sun spilled across the forest floor, soft and dappled, brushing against Jude’s skin like warm fingers. He sat on the edge of the wooden platform where the main hut rose slightly above the earth, sharpening the bone-tipped spear with smooth, rhythmic strokes. It had rained during the night. Everything smelled of wet bark and moss. Behind him, a gentle rustling announced Susan’s approach. She walked slowly, her steps deliberate, the breeze tugging playfully at her long dark hair.

She sat beside him without saying a word, her thigh pressed against his, warm and familiar. Jude leaned into her touch slightly. There were things he hadn’t spoken aloud yet, questions curling at the edge of his thoughts, but not now. Not while she looked at him like that, with those steady, grounding eyes.