?Chapter 708:


    As they climbed the mountain, the sky turned gloomy and gray. It hadn’t started raining yet, but the higher they climbed, the colder it got. The strong wind made them both shiver.


    Ste pulled her jacket up and zipped it all the way to her chin.


    Sharon’s voice shook in the wind. As darkness fell, she sounded unsure. “Stel, are you sure this is the spot?”


    Doubt crept into her tone. It had been years, and the mountain paths were confusing. What if they couldn’t find the ce?


    “The map says it’s nearby,” Ste replied tensely. “This used to be the road back then.”


    Her words hung in the air, then got lost in the howling wind.


    Memories of her adoptive parents’ warm smiles shed through Ste’s mind, followed by the haunting image of them in the morgue. Ste felt a sharp pain in her chest, so strong it nearly took her breath away. William’s face shed in her mind too, mixed with everything Sharon had told her. It was all too much.


    Sharon looked up at the sky, then nced around. “It’s gettingte. And it might rain soon. Let’s find a ce to stay for the night.”


    Heading back down wasn’t realistic. They needed shelter fast. Sleeping out here in the cold was not an option.<fn6f6b> ???? ????s? ???????s ?? Find?Novel</fn6f6b>


    Ste nodded in agreement. “There’s a cabin near the peak,” she murmured. “At least, there used to be one.”


    She used to y there when she was little. Unless someone had knocked it down, it should still be standing.


    Ste and Sharon hiked toward the cabin, their boots crunching over the underbrush. Before long, Sharon let out a whoop, pointing ahead. “Stel, there it is! We found it!”


    The cabin was more of a rundown shack, half-eaten by the mountain. It looked like no one had set foot near it in years.


    As they drew closer, the weathered boards creaked in the wind, and a thick stench of mold and rot hit them like a p.


    Ste’s pulse quickened, old memories crashing into her without warning.


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    Sharon slipped an arm around her shoulders in quiet support.


    Their eyes met. Sharon gave a small nod, tightening her grip on her phone. Her other hand slipped into her bag, fingers curling around the pepper spray she had snuck along in case things went south.


    Ste inhaled sharply, forcing down the storm of emotions swirling inside her, and stepped up to the door. She eased it open slowly.


    The door let out a high-pitched squeak that cut through the silence like a scream.


    She nudged it open just a crack—and recoiled. A sharp, metallic stench of blood poured out like a wave.


    Both girls staggered back instinctively, their breath catching in their throats.


    How could a ce this deserted reek so strongly of blood?


    Sharon, her voice shaky, flicked on her phone’s shlight and swept the beam inside. “Yo… anyone in there?”


    Sharon liked to act tough, but even she was rattled. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, it felt like a scene straight out of a horror film.


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