"The Woods Don't Forget"

After years of walking on eggshells, Mara is making a desperate run for her life, tearing through the unforgiving woods to escape her abusive husband. Every shadow is a threat, and the sound of his boots is a death knell. Her only refuge is an abandoned cabin—a horror movie cliché—but running into it is safer than facing her husband unarmed. Now, Mara is caught between the monster she married and a mysterious stranger who just handed her an axe. To survive, she must finally stop running and make the one choice she’s always avoided: predator or prey. A dark and twisted short story about survival, revenge, and the monstrous choices made in the deepest shadows of the woods.