Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1093

Chapter 1093: Chapter 1093

Neither of them spoke at first. The silence wasn’t peace, it was waiting. Watching. Listening for footsteps that no longer sounded right.

Emma was already awake, standing just beyond the hut, motionless, staring into the woods. She held the sharpened stick like it was an extension of her arm, like it had grown from her hand overnight. Jude stepped out quietly and joined her, glancing toward the spot where Rose had disappeared with Natalie.

"She didn’t scream," Emma said without turning her head.

"I know."

"I waited for it. I waited all night."

"I know."

Emma exhaled slowly. "I think she wanted it. Whatever Rose is offering... she wants it."

He looked down at his feet. "I think they all did. After a point."

Emma finally looked at him. "You think she’s still in there? Natalie?"

"I hope so."

Jude turned and walked toward the edge of the trees, where the trail had gone dark the night before. But the path was gone. The underbrush had grown over it, new roots curling like veins across the dirt. The island wasn’t hiding things, it was swallowing them.

Behind him, Sophie and Emma joined him without a word.

By midday, they’d checked the river, the old fishing spot, the hollow near the red moss-covered stones, and the eastern slope. There were no signs of Natalie. Or Rose. Or Layla. Or Zoey. Grace and Lucy were back at camp, silent and graceful like synchronized dancers, moving around each other in perfect rhythm. They barely blinked.

"We’re running out of time," Emma said. "They’re turning them."

"It’s not just Rose," Sophie whispered. "There’s something bigger. She’s just the voice."

Jude nodded. "We have to find the source. Cut it off."

Sophie looked at the sky. "We need Susan. If she’s still, herself."

They returned to camp late in the afternoon. The sun was low, casting long shadows through the trees. Susan was seated on a log near the fire pit, her hands clasped in her lap. She looked up and smiled, warm and calm.

"Looking for Natalie?" she asked.

Sophie hesitated. "Did you see her?"

"She came by earlier," Susan said, brushing her fingers over her knee. "She said she found something beautiful. But I haven’t seen her since."

Jude crouched in front of her. "Susan. We think something’s wrong. With Rose. With the ones she’s... close to."

Susan’s expression didn’t change. But her eyes narrowed just slightly. "I know."

Jude waited. But she didn’t elaborate.

"Then why didn’t you say anything?" Emma demanded.

"Because saying it out loud makes it worse," Susan replied softly. "It gives it power. The thing inside her... it listens."

Jude leaned in closer. "Have you seen it?"

Susan nodded. "In the river. Right after Rose fell. It was watching us from the shallows. When I blinked, it was gone. But I felt it. I still do."

Emma lowered her voice. "Do you still feel like yourself?"

Susan smiled faintly. "Most days. I fight it. But I dream of her. Of Rose. Every night. And sometimes I wake up humming and I don’t know why."

Sophie touched her hand. "You’re still here. We’ll help you hold on."

Susan glanced at the trees. "Then we need to go now. Before it takes me too."

They set out before dusk, leaving Grace and Lucy behind. Emma didn’t trust them to follow. Jude led with a steady pace, flanked by Sophie and Susan, while Emma kept the rear, her stick now sharpened at both ends.

Susan guided them through a section of the forest none of them had dared explore before. The trees here leaned in unnaturally, their bark slick with greenish moisture, the air damp and thick like breath from a beast’s mouth. Every footstep sounded muffled, as if the ground were swallowing sound.

"This is where I saw it," Susan whispered. "I felt it even before we got here."

They reached a clearing encircled by curved trees, their branches arched overhead like a cathedral canopy. In the center stood a stone monolith, pale and cracked, etched with spirals and symbols none of them understood. Moss grew in thick veins around its base, and small bones, animal or otherwise, were scattered near its foundation.

"Holy shit," Emma muttered.

The hair on Jude’s arms stood straight up. He stepped closer to the stone. The air buzzed faintly, a low vibration humming through his chest and teeth. He touched the surface, and his mind flashed with images, Rose’s face smiling, then melting; the forest upside down; red eyes in the river.

He stumbled back.

Sophie caught him. "What did you see?"

"I don’t know," he gasped. "I don’t know."

Susan stepped forward and touched it next.

Nothing happened.

She stared at it, frowning. "It doesn’t want me anymore."

Emma looked around. "We need to destroy it."

"With what?" Sophie asked.

Jude pulled the hatchet from his belt. He raised it and brought it down hard onto the stone. The metal clanged off with a high-pitched ring and bounced from his grip. The hatchet hit the dirt and snapped in two.

They all froze.

The monolith didn’t even scratch.

Suddenly, a rustle.

They spun around.

Rose stood at the edge of the clearing.

She wasn’t alone.

Layla stepped forward beside her. Then Zoey. Then Natalie. All of them barefoot, their dresses damp, hair loose around their shoulders, smiles identical.

"You shouldn’t be here," Rose said, her voice silk over knives.

"We’re taking them back," Jude said, stepping in front of the others.

Rose tilted her head. "Back where? To fear? To denial? We’re happy now, Jude. You can be too."

Emma hissed, "Don’t come closer."

Rose stepped forward anyway. Slowly. Deliberately.

But then she stopped.

Because Susan was humming.

Softly, steadily, a melody none of them had heard before. But the others reacted immediately, Rose flinched, Layla blinked, Zoey twitched like something had snapped inside her skull.

Natalie whimpered.

Susan’s voice grew louder, steadier. The hum became a song, low and ancient, sung in no known language.