For a long moment, the forest said nothing.
Rehan's breath came slow now, like he was forcing himself not to panic. Ayaan crouched beside him, eyes scanning the silence around them. It was the kind of quiet that felt... chosen. Like everything—wind, birds, insects—had been paused by something watching them.
"You okay now?" Ayaan asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Rehan gave the smallest nod, his jaw still tight.
They stood slowly, dusting themselves off, trying not to make noise—though the silence seemed so thick it swallowed every sound anyway.
"Whatever happened back there..." Rehan finally said, "it's not done with us."
Ayaan didn't argue. Because he felt it too.
Not behind them.
Not ahead.
All around.
---
Meanwhile, back in the city...
Naira stared at her phone, eyes dry and burning from lack of sleep. Danish had finally dozed off, curled on the couch beside her, but her mind kept replaying the last time she saw Ayaan and Rehan.
They just left.
No explanation. No message.
And now, two full days without a single word.
A notification buzzed suddenly, making her heart lurch—but it was just another meme in the group chat.
Her fingers hovered over the call button.
But she knew it wouldn't connect.
Network was fine. Battery was full.
Still, calls to Ayaan went straight to some kind of dead zone. Rehan too.
And worst of all… she was starting to dream of the forest.
Dreams that didn't feel like dreams.
Dreams where she could smell the damp moss, hear the crunch of leaves—see something moving behind tree trunks she'd never stepped past.
She stood up restlessly.
And nearly screamed.
A shadow passed across the living room window.
Just one blink—and it was gone.
Her hand trembled as she pulled back the curtain.
Nothing.
But she locked the door anyway.
---
Back in the forest...
There stood a wooden frame, tall and splintered, half-swallowed by vines. Not a house. Not a gate. Just a frame. Like someone had once tried to build something but stopped halfway through.
Ayaan stepped forward, frowning. "That wasn't here before, was it?"
Rehan didn't answer.
Because just as he was about to, he noticed something behind the vines.
A carving. Shallow. Faded.
But unmistakable.
A symbol—one they had seen once, years ago.
Etched on the old library's forbidden archives wall. Back when they were kids and broke into that backroom on a dare.
Neither of them had ever spoken of it since.
"I don't like this," Rehan muttered. "We shouldn't be remembering things that weren't even important."
"But what if they were?" Ayaan said. "What if... we forgot them on purpose?"
---
As the evening crept in, light faded fast, the trees around them seemed to lean just slightly, like they were listening.
Or waiting.
Rehan turned to say something but froze.
Because behind Ayaan—just for a second—he saw someone.
No, something.
A tall figure.
Not dark. Not solid.
Glitching.
Like reality itself was struggling to hold it in place.
Rehan blinked.
Gone.
But the goosebumps on his arms stayed.
"Let's keep moving," he said, his voice cracking for the first time in hours.
Ayaan didn't ask.
He just walked.
And behind them, somewhere in the forest's deeper gut, something shifted.
Like the earth itself just took a breath.