<h4>Chapter 1141: Chapter 1141</h4>


    Jude met her gaze and gave the smallest nod.


    Sophie’s face tightened.


    Scarlet moved through the camp like nothing had changed. Sheplimented Grace on her braids, kissed Natalie’s cheek in passing, and whispered something in Zoey’s ear that made herugh with her head tilted all the way back.


    No one said it aloud. But they knew.


    Scarlet was gone.


    And something else had taken her ce.


    Byte afternoon, the tension in the camp had turned sharp. Not chaos, just unease so thick it hung in the air. Sophie stayed near Jude. Emma grew more silent. Susan watched Zoey’s every move like a hawk. Grace and Natalie stayed close to each other. But the others, Rose, La, Zoey, Scarlet, they were inseparable.


    Like petals of the same flower.


    That night, they announced a walk.


    "Just to the de," Rose said sweetly. "We want to bathe in the moonlight."


    Jude’s jaw clenched.


    "No one goes alone anymore," he said, eyes flicking to Sophie, who gave a small nod in agreement.


    "We’re not alone," Zoey said with a wink. "We’re together."


    The four of them, Rose, La, Zoey, and Scarlet, left together, hips swaying, voices drifting in harmony.


    Sophie grabbed Jude’s arm as soon as they vanished.


    "She’s taking them one by one," she said. "And no one else sees it."


    "We see it," Emma said quietly.


    Lucy stepped closer. "And we stop it."


    They didn’t sleep that night either.


    Instead, they waited by the fire, hearts pounding, nerves frayed.


    Until, just before dawn, the four of them returned.


    All smiling. All soaked in dew.


    But this time, they weren’t alone.


    Natalie was with them.


    And she was smiling too.


    Natalie’s hair was damp, clinging to her neck in dark curls, and her eyes sparkled in the low light of dawn as she stepped out of the trees. She moved between Rose and Zoey like she belonged there, no hesitation, no awkwardness. Her tunic clung to her body like she’d bathed in the river or perhaps simply walked through the morning mist with no concern for the chill. But it wasn’t her clothing that drew everyone’s eyes.


    It was her smile.


    Not radiant like Natalie’s usual grin when she made a clever joke or helped Emma fix something broken. Not shy like when Jude once caught her sketching in secret. This smile was too smooth, too rehearsed. Familiar.


    Jude felt Sophie tense beside him, and he knew she saw it too.


    The camp had already begun to stir. Lucy rubbed sleep from her eyes. Grace yawned and stretched, blinking slowly as she reached for Susan’s hand. Ste sat up fully, her gaze snapping to Natalie’s face, then flicking to La and Rose with suspicion just barely hidden behind sleepy confusion.


    Natalie walked directly to the fire pit, where Emma crouched, coaxing a me fromst night’s embers. Without a word, Natalie dropped beside her and ced a hand on her shoulder. Emma looked up, startled.


    Then froze.


    Just for a second.


    Then, slowly, she smiled too.


    But it wasn’t the same.


    Emma’s smile was tight. Controlled. And it didn’t reach her eyes.


    Jude made a move toward them, but Sophie grabbed his arm gently. "Wait," she murmured.


    Natalie leaned in and said something low into Emma’s ear. Whatever it was, Emma nodded, but her eyes flicked to Jude and Sophie, quick and sharp. A signal. A warning.


    Rose, meanwhile, was twirling a berry between her fingers and smilingzily. "The de was perfect this morning," she said aloud. "You should all join us next time. The moonlight was... delicious."


    "Was it?" Lucy asked cautiously, sitting up straighter. "Didn’t think the moon was edible."


    Rose gave a slow, amused chuckle. "Oh, everything’s edible if you’re hungry enough."


    Zoey let out augh that sounded like water hitting stone. "Natalie tasted it. Didn’t you?"


    Natalie turned to the group and nodded slowly. "It was beautiful."


    But something in her voice didn’t belong.


    Grace looked away.


    The rest of the morning passed in a fog of tension. Jude and Sophie stayed close, trying not to let their worry show. They pretended to go about the day as usual, checking the perimeter traps with Emma and Lucy, gathering water with Ste and Susan, and preparing food with Grace. But no one missed the way Rose, La, Zoey, Scarlet, and now Natalie began doing everything together,ughing more, brushing against each other, moving in eerie harmony.


    During a lull after lunch, Jude and Sophie finally managed to steal a quiet moment alone in the treehouse.


    "She’s taking them," Sophie whispered, voice shaking. "One by one."


    "She touched Natalie," Jude said, pacing. "Just a hand, just a smile, and now she’s..."


    Sophie shook her head. "It’s like they’re all her now. Rose was the first, but it’s not just Rose anymore. She’s spreading through them. Like they’re vessels."


    "Then we cut the link."


    Sophie frowned. "What?"


    "If there’s something connecting them," Jude said, thinking fast, "some kind of thread, some possession... there has to be a way to break it. Maybe through watcherscript, or, "


    "Jude," Sophie interrupted. "You saw what happened thest time we tried watcherscript."


    He exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know."


    Sophie stood and crossed the small space to wrap her arms around him. He held her tightly, burying his face in her hair.


    "I don’t want to lose anyone else," she whispered.


    "You won’t," he promised.


    They didn’t kiss, not right then, but the closeness was enough. The warmth of her skin, the press of her heart against his, reminders that they were still themselves.


    For now.


    When they returned to the clearing, the others were gathered again, this time in the shade of therger tree by the river path. It looked casual at first: Rose lounging against the trunk, Labing her fingers through Scarlet’s hair, Zoey whispering into Natalie’s ear. But as Jude and Sophie approached, they saw it.


    They were drawing something.


    In the dirt.