Where the forest keeps count

Some numbers should stay hidden. When Mara arrives in a quiet town surrounded by dense forest, she quickly learns that the locals avoid the woods for a reason. No one stays near the tree line after dark. No one talks about the carvings found deep among the trees. And no one explains what the numbers mean. At first, the markings seem random—strange symbols scratched into bark, fences, and fogged mirrors. But the deeper Mara digs, the more she realizes the numbers are part of something alive. Something ancient. Something counting. As the forest begins creeping into her dreams and shadowy figures move between the trees, Mara uncovers a terrifying truth: the woods are watching her. And they’ve been waiting.