Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1211

Chapter 1211: Chapter 1211

They left the cavern before the spiral could stir again. Every step back through the waterfall felt heavier, like the air was thickening behind them. Jude carried Susan in his arms, her weight light but unsettlingly still. She didn’t speak, didn’t open her eyes, but her body pulsed with shallow heat, like she held something inside her that couldn’t burn out or escape.

The forest outside was darker than it should’ve been. No wind moved the trees. Even the river nearby, usually alive with insect chatter and splashes, flowed in unnatural silence.

Emma was first to break it. "We don’t go back to the same houses. It’s not safe"

"Why?" Natalie asked softly, glancing over her shoulder.

"Because that thing still sees us through her," Emma said, motioning to Susan in Jude’s arms. "Maybe through others, too. We split into two groups tonight - set up at different ends of the forest. Smaller circles. No one’s ever alone."

"I’ll stay with Susan," Jude said, voice low but resolute.

"I’m with him," Sophie added instantly.

Zoey nodded. "Then I want Layla and Grace with me. I’ll watch them."

Lucy gave her a glance but nodded. "I’ll take Stella and Natalie."

That left Rose, still fragile and trembling, unsure of where to stand. She hadn’t spoken since they’d left the cavern.

When she looked up at Jude, her expression held guilt and something deeper - fear.

"Let me stay close," she said quietly. "If it tries to come back through me, I want you to stop me."

Jude hesitated. Sophie stared at Rose hard.

But then she nodded. "We keep her where we can see her."

The group moved in silence after that, splitting as planned. Sophie, Jude, Susan, and Rose veered toward the southern grove - a small, densely wooded spot where the trees bent over like sheltering arms. They cleared an area quickly, lighting a fire low, wrapping Susan in spare blankets. Her face was still flushed, breath ragged but even. Whatever force lived in her now... it slept. For now.

Rose sat near the fire, knees pulled to her chest. Jude watched her quietly, his thoughts knotted. He wanted to believe she was fully back. That the river hadn’t taken some permanent part of her. But that calm serenity - the way she moved now, spoke now - wasn’t quite the same. Even guilt wore her differently.

Sophie sat beside Jude, brushing hair from his face, watching the flames dance. "You okay?" she asked softly.

"No," he answered. "Not even close."

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Same."

Rose’s voice came softly across the fire. "I think it’s testing us."

Jude looked up. "The spiral?"

She shook her head slowly. "Whatever woke up inside the wall. The spiral was... contained. A cycle. That thing broke the cycle. It unwound it."

Sophie’s brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Rose looked at the fire. "The spiral offers surrender. Peace. Seduction. That thing ? It offers nothing. No promises. No illusions. It consumes. It was inside the spiral until we cracked it. And now it’s loose."

"And it went into Susan," Jude said quietly.

"For now," Rose said. "But it’s not done."

Sophie reached over and took Jude’s hand tightly. "Then we find a way to trap it again. Or destroy it."

Rose’s lips quirked. "If it can be destroyed."

Jude looked down at Susan. She stirred slightly, moaning in her sleep. Her lips moved soundlessly, and for a heartbeat, Jude swore she mouthed "Run."

His breath caught.

Sophie saw it too. "Did she just - ?"

Jude nodded. "She’s in there. She knows it’s not over."

Behind them, the forest creaked unnaturally.

Jude rose instantly, his body tense. "Did you hear that?"

Sophie and Rose stood too, scanning the trees. The fire flickered low.

Then, far off, a scream.

It was Zoey.

Jude didn’t hesitate.

He ran.

The forest blurred around him as he darted through the undergrowth, Sophie and Rose close behind. Another scream echoed - Emma this time. Urgent. Painful.

They broke through the brush and into the northern clearing, where Zoey’s group had camped.

And chaos had already taken root.

Lucy stood at the edge, holding a dagger slick with dark, pulsing fluid. Her eyes wide, blood down her cheek. Grace lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious or worse. Layla knelt beside her, rocking, whispering something to herself.

Stella was clutching her head, screaming through her teeth.

Natalie knelt over her, trying to hold her down. "She’s burning up! I don’t know what’s happening!"

Emma ran to them. "What happened?!"

Zoey pointed toward a stone just outside the clearing. "Something came through the trees . Not a person. Not an animal. It moved like a shadow but - spoke - like it had our voices. It touched Stella. Just touched her - and she collapsed!"

Rose went pale. "It’s spreading."

Jude moved to Stella and dropped beside her. Her skin was scorching hot, sweat pouring down her temples. Her eyes darted wildly beneath her lids.

She gasped suddenly, locking eyes with Jude.

And smiled .

But it wasn’t her smile.

It was Susan’s.

And it was Rose’s before that.

"Oh no," Lucy whispered. "It’s not just moving through us anymore."

Sophie shook her head slowly, horror dawning. "It’s splitting. "

Jude backed away, pulse thundering. Stella lay motionless again, the smile fading.

Zoey looked up, panic rising. "If it can multiply... we’re not just fighting a possession. We’re fighting an infection."

Jude met her eyes. "And it’s using our love to carry itself."

Rose knelt beside Grace, brushing her fingers over her brow. "It chooses the ones most loved. Most touched. It spreads like fire through bonds."

Lucy’s eyes went wide. "That means Jude - "

But before she could finish, a low voice spoke behind them, from deep within the trees.

Not loud.

Not screaming.

Just a whisper in the exact tone of Susan’s voice, layered with Stella’s and Layla’s.

"You’re already mine."

The trees shifted.

The clearing plunged into shadow.

And the spiral, fractured and broken miles away, pulsed once more.

As if laughing.