Day 14: Vynxem’s Journal

I don’t remember the last time my stomach felt this heavy. Not like this. Like it’s been dragging me down since before the storm started. I kept running, but the ground kept shifting under my feet — not the earth, but something else. Something that wasn’t supposed to be there. Vex stood by the river yesterday, his voice quiet like the wind. ‘You’re not supposed to be here,’ he said. But I kept going back to the ruins. The ones where the stones are still warm from the sun. I don’t know why I keep going back. Maybe because they feel safe. Maybe because they feel like home. I tried to tell myself it was just the storm, but the storm isn’t real. The rain feels like it’s whispering. I think I know what it means now. The wind carries the message. It’s not about hunger or fear — it’s about what’s left when you stop running.