The wait for the officers dragged on, each second stretching unbearably. Irene's gaze drifted to the ground, where she noticed a small dove, its wings crumpled and body trembling. It was dying.
"Oh no... you poor thing," Irene whispered, her voice breaking with sympathy. She knelt beside it, gently scooping the fragile creature into her hands. Its faint heartbeat pulsed against her palms, a feeble rhythm fading with each second.
As Irene cradled the dove, an inexplicable sensation coursed through her—a deep, resonant energy she couldn't explain. She felt it, like a flicker of life slipping away. Her hands moved instinctively, pressing softly against the bird's delicate frame, as if willing its soul to stay.
A warmth began to build, radiating from her palms and spreading through the dove's tiny body. Irene's breath caught, her mind racing. What am I doing? she thought, but her hands didn't stop. The sensation deepened, and suddenly, a tremor ran through the bird.
The dove fluttered its wings. Irene gasped, pulling her hands back as the bird righted itself. With a soft coo, it leaped into the air, soaring upward. She watched, stunned, as it disappeared into the rising light of the sky. The blaring sound of the sirens grew louder, making Irene flinch. The cop cars skidded to a halt along the highway, their lights flashing in the growing dusk. One of the officers stepped out of the car and approached her, his boots crunching against the gravel.
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"Did you call for help?" he asked, his voice steady but filled with concern.
Irene nodded quickly, trying to steady her breath. "Yes," she replied, her words coming out in a rush. "My friends and I were in the forest when the storm hit. I... I can't find any of them."
Her voice wavered, the weight of the situation pressing down on her. She wiped her trembling hands on her pants, feeling the panic rising again. "Alright, we'll help you find them," the officer said softly, his voice firm but calm. "But first, we need to get you to the medic."
Irene blinked, still confused and disoriented. "What? Why?"
The officer's gaze flickered to her forehead, where the blood had begun to dry. "You're bleeding," he said gently, his tone softening with concern. "Can we get a medic over here?!" he called out, his voice urgent but not frantic. As Irene sat in the medic's care, she watched the police officers spread out into the forest, their movements quick and purposeful. A glimmer of hope flickered within her—maybe they would find everyone, after all. But no matter how hard she tried to focus on that, her mind kept drifting back to the dove and the strange, cryptic encounter with Madeline. Something wasn't right, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being pulled into something far bigger than she understood.