Rehan grabbed Ayaan's arm...
"Don'tmove," he whispered.
But the sound behind the tree grew louder—closer. No longer just footsteps, but breathing. Heavy. Ragged. Not like an animal's.
"Onthree," Rehan whispered. "Werun."
Ayaan's throat was dry. He nodded.
"One…"
The shadow moved.
"Two…"
A stick cracked.
"Three!"
They bolted.
Branches slapped their faces. Roots clawed at their feet. They didn't look back—not even once. Just ran. Ran like the forest was alive and chasing them.
But the deeper they went, the stranger it got.
The trees began to change—thicker trunks, darker bark. No birds. No wind. The light faded unnaturally fast, like the sky itself had stopped caring.
"Wait—" Ayaan gasped. "We're… noton the trail."
Rehan looked around, eyes wild. "Where are we?!"
Every direction looked the same.
They were lost.
Truly lost.
---
For the next hour, they wandered. Or thought they did. Because every few minutes, they'd see the same twisted tree. The one with the three-pronged branch that curved like fingers.
"We passed that already," Ayaan muttered. "We definitely passed that tree already."
Rehan's voice trembled. "What if… what if we never left?"
"What?"
"What if this place—this whole area—isn't normal? Like it bends?"
Ayaan tried to shake the thought, but the forest did feel wrong. The air was thick. Sticky. Like it didn't want them to leave.
They sat down under the tree to catch their breath.
And that's when they heard it.
A ringtone.
Muffled. Distant.
Sameer's ringtone.
Ayaan stood. "That's his phone."
Rehan's face went pale. "But it's in your backpack."
They froze.
The ringtone moved—shifting from one direction to another, like it was circling them.
And then it stopped.
---
Without warning, something snapped in the distance.
Not a branch.
A scream.
A muffled, broken scream. Choked off mid-breath.
Both boys jumped to their feet.
"Runwhere?!" Rehan shouted.
"We need higher ground! Somewhere we can see—anything!"
They scrambled up a hill covered in loose soil and roots. Ayaan slipped twice, his palms torn. Rehan pulled him up.
At the top, there was no view.
Only mist.
Dense. Gray. Silent.
No sky. No sun.
Just the forest stretching forever.
And then—
A figure.
Down below.
Still. Watching.
Not moving.
Just watching.
It looked like a man.
But it wasn't Sameer.
It wasn't even human.
Rehan whispered, "Tell me you see that."
Ayaan didn't answer.
Because the figure raised its arm.
And pointed.
At them.
---