Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women

Jude's breath hitched. Because he did feel it. The weight in his chest wasn't just fear. It was something else , something that whispered in the back of his mind, urging him to step forward, to let go of the part of himself that was still resisting. The knowledge terrified him in a way nothing else ever had.

"I don't want this," he said through clenched teeth.

The man's expression didn't change. "That doesn't matter."

The entity pulsed again, its shape shifting in and out of reality, and Jude could feel the pull intensify. He clenched his fists tighter, nails biting into his palms, forcing himself to resist the whisper that was curling around the edges of his thoughts.

"What does it want from me?" he demanded.

The man's gaze darkened slightly. "What all sleeping things want when they wake."

Jude's stomach twisted. "Freedom."

Another violent tremor shook the chamber, and this time, the cracks in the stone beneath them widened. The glowing symbols that had been trying to hold the entity back flickered dangerously, struggling to keep their form. Whatever barrier had been in place before, it was failing. And fast.

Jude gritted his teeth. "Then tell me how to stop it."

The man was quiet for a long moment. Then, finally, he said, "You can't."

Jude's blood ran cold. "That's not an option."

The man exhaled slowly. "You misunderstand me. You can't stop it. But you can decide what it becomes."

Jude stared at him, his heart pounding against his ribs. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

The man turned back to the entity, his expression unreadable. "It's waking because of you. Which means it will follow you."

Jude's breath caught in his throat. "Follow me where?"

The man finally looked at him again. "Wherever you choose to lead it."

A heavy silence stretched between them, broken only by the deep, resonant pulsing of the entity before them. Jude could feel his own heartbeat sync with it, could feel the way it was waiting, expecting, as if his very presence had shifted something fundamental in the fabric of its existence.

"You're saying I have control over this thing?" he asked slowly.

The man's expression remained steady. "Not control. Influence."

Jude swallowed hard. "And if I don't make a choice?"

The man's eyes darkened. "Then it will decide for itself."

Jude didn't need to ask what that meant. He could feel it in his bones, in the very air around him. If he didn't act, if he didn't take hold of whatever fragile tether connected him to this thing, it would break free in ways that no one could predict. And if that happened, there would be no stopping it.

His fingers twitched at his sides. Every instinct in him screamed to run, to break away from whatever this was. But deep down, he knew that wasn't an option. He had crossed the threshold the moment he had stepped into this place. He had become part of it the moment it had recognized him.

He took a slow breath. "How do I lead it?"

The man's gaze remained locked onto him. "You already are."

Jude exhaled shakily, closing his eyes for the briefest moment, forcing himself to listen ,to really listen ,to the thing that had been calling him since the moment he arrived. And when he did, he understood.

It wasn't just waiting for him to move.

It was waiting for him to accept it.

The realization sent a deep shudder through him, but he didn't resist it this time. He let the awareness settle into his mind, into his bones. And when he opened his eyes again, the entity before him shifted.

Not violently. Not aggressively.

But intentionally .

Jude took a step forward.

And the thing followed .

The silence in the chamber stretched long and heavy, wrapping around Jude like an unseen force. The entity before him pulsed in response to his movement, its form shifting in ways that weren't natural, weren't possible , yet were happening all the same. He felt the pull of it deep in his bones, something beyond comprehension, beyond language, beyond even thought. It wasn't just waiting. It was watching. Expecting. Jude could feel its attention pressing into him, testing the limits of his resolve, waiting for him to make the next move. His fingers twitched, though whether in anticipation or fear, he couldn't quite tell. The man beside him ,still, composed, unreadable ,had said this thing would follow him. But what did that even mean? What did he mean in relation to it?

Jude took another step forward, slow and measured. The entity did the same. It was not movement in the way a body moved. It didn't shift toward him so much as reality itself twisted to place it in alignment with him. The effect was disorienting, a ripple in the fabric of existence, like the world itself was adjusting to accommodate the thing's presence. His pulse hammered in his throat. He should have been terrified. Maybe he was . But there was something else beneath the fear, something deeper, something that had been waiting just beneath the surface of his mind. It wasn't pulling him in. It wasn't forcing anything on him. But it was there . And it knew .

The man's voice cut through the oppressive silence, calm and steady. "You're beginning to understand."

Jude didn't look at him. His eyes remained locked onto the shifting mass before him. "No," he said, voice hoarse. "I don't think I do."

The man let out a quiet breath. "You will."

Another ripple passed through the chamber, and the flickering symbols on the walls dimmed slightly, their energy warping. The boundaries of this place were fraying. Jude could feel it, the fragile threads unraveling, the barrier between what was and what should never be coming undone. And yet ,he wasn't fighting it. He wasn't resisting . Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should be. But something else, something instinctive, told him that resistance was the wrong approach. This wasn't a battle. It wasn't a war. It was something far more intricate.