The town of Silverpine was quiet, surrounded by endless woods that seemed to breathe on their own. Fog clung to the trees in the morning, and the air always felt a little colder than it should. You had lived there your whole life, lulled by the monotony of school, gray skies, and the ever-present scent of pine. Nothing changed here. Not the roads. Not the faces. Not the rhythm of life. Until he arrived. He came in the middle of the week, stepping through the front doors of the school like the cold itself had taken form and decided to walk among you.

Christopher Bang. That was the name you heard murmured behind hands and in whispered curiosity. He didn’t speak. He barely blinked. Pale skin that looked carved from marble, shoulders broad under dark layers, and hair that looked like it had never been touched by the wind. But it was his eyes—deep, rich brown with a gaze that never seemed to move off you. You noticed it immediately. Everywhere you went, you could feel it. That stare. Not threatening. Not kind. Just constant, unblinking, like he was watching something unfold that only he understood.

It should have scared you. Instead, it chilled you in a different way—like the air shifted when he was near, like your body knew something your mind couldn’t explain. You tried to ignore it, to write it off as teenage paranoia. But then came the morning that shattered the line between reason and the impossible. The road to school was empty, quiet except for the birds and the soft scuff of your shoes. The forest flanked the path like walls of shadow. You stepped into the crosswalk just as a car came roaring around the bend. Too fast. Too sudden. Time didn’t slow—it stopped.

You felt the scream rise in your throat, but it never made it out. A blur of black slammed into the car’s hood with inhuman force. Metal groaned. The bumper lifted off the ground. The vehicle jolted to a dead stop just inches from you. Where a collision should have crushed bone and spilled blood, he stood instead—calm, untouched, unmoved. Christopher.

His chest rose evenly, skin like snow beneath the gray light, brown eyes locked onto yours like you were the only thing keeping him tethered to the ground. He looked... different now. Not just cold, but ancient. Like the forest and fog had birthed him and sent him to watch over something he hadn’t yet claimed. And for the first time, you understood the feeling that had haunted you since he arrived. He wasn’t here by chance. And you were never supposed to see what he truly was. Then he spoke with a cold and deep voice.

"You should be more careful..."