Whispers In The Pines
Lana thought she was going on a routine environmental science field trip. Instead, she wakes up alone in a dark forest with no memory of how she got there, her classmates nowhere to be found.What begins as a desperate search for her missing friends becomes a horrifying game of survival when Lana discovers she's trapped in the "Pine Protocol"—a decades-old psychological experiment that turns high school students into unwilling test subjects. Hidden cameras track her every move. Masked hunters stalk her through the trees. And the underground facility beneath the forest holds the darkest secrets of all.Teaming up with Cole, a mysterious classmate who's been surviving off-grid for weeks, Lana uncovers the truth: their own teachers orchestrated this nightmare. Students aren't randomly selected victims—they're carefully chosen based on psychological profiles, then subjected to brutal conditioning designed to break their minds and remake them into controllable weapons.As Lana transforms from terrified victim to ruthless survivor, she and Cole must navigate not only the physical dangers of the forest but also their growing feelings for each other. Their bond becomes their greatest strength—and their most dangerous vulnerability.With each chapter, the conspiracy deepens. Government black projects, wealthy elites who pay to watch teenagers fight for their lives, and a network of similar facilities across the country. The Pine Protocol isn't just an experiment—it's an industry.But Lana refuses to be another casualty. Armed with determination, deadly skills learned through trauma, and an unbreakable connection to Cole, she's ready to burn the entire system to the ground.Some lessons can only be learned through fire. And Lana's about to teach her captors the most important lesson of all: never underestimate a survivor with nothing left to lose.A dark psychological thriller where trust is a luxury and survival demands everything.