Description
When Mark Dixon accepts a year-long position as a fire watcher deep in the remote wilderness, the isolation feels like a welcome escape. Perched high above the endless forest in a creaking wooden tower, his only job is to watch for smoke on the horizon. No distractions. No visitors. No one for miles. But from his first night, an unshakable unease takes hold. The stillness feels staged. Shadows move at the edge of the tree line where no wind stirs the branches. At night, the radio crackles with whispers too soft to trace - voices that seem to know his name. As the days pass, the forest begins to change. Shapes appear in the mist. Footsteps circle the base of the tower, always stopping before he can catch sight of them. His only contact, a fellow watcher named Peters, suddenly falls silent. And with each sleepless night, Mark realizes the truth: whatever's out there isn't waiting for a fire. It's waiting for him. A slow-burn descent into paranoia and dread, Ash Between the Pines will make you question every shadow and wonder if some silences aren't meant to be broken.
Chapter 1: Arrival
