The truck rumbled down the bumpy road, its headlights barely piercing through the thickening dusk. The sun had long begun its descent, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. Yet, home was nowhere in sight. 

Vicky checked his phone—no signal. He sighed, leaning back against the truck’s side, exhausted. 

“How much longer?” Mihir groaned, stretching his legs. 

The truck driver, chewing on a beedi, shrugged. “Bas thoda aur. Shaam hone wali hai, raat tak pahuncha dunga.” (Just a little longer. You’ll reach by night.) 

The group exchanged uneasy glances. It was already evening.

Ritvik yawned. “Man, I just want a bed. A real bed. And food. A real meal, not another round of stale biscuits and chai.” 

Ishan shook his head. “You should’ve eaten more at the dhaba instead of dancing like a monkey.” 

“Excuse me? My performance saved you from washing dishes!” Ritvik shot back. 

As their banter continued, the temperature started dropping. The once sweltering air now carried an eerie chill. 

Ashok, hugging himself, muttered, “It’s cold all of a sudden.” 

It wasn’t just the cold. Something felt… off.

The truck chugged along a lonely, deserted road. The headlights illuminated nothing but an endless path, surrounded by dense trees on both sides. 

No houses. 
No streetlights. 
No sign of life. 

Raunak, who rarely worried, finally voiced it. “Are we even going in the right direction?” 

Rajeev gulped. “I don’t like this. It’s giving me flashbacks to the jungle.” 

Vinay nudged the driver. “Bhaiya, yeh kaunsa raasta hai? Itna sunsaan kyun hai?” (Brother, what road is this? Why is it so deserted?) 

The driver smirked, his teeth stained from tobacco. “Yeh shortcut hai. Main jaldi pahunchane ke liye idhar se laaya.” (It’s a shortcut. I took this way to get you there faster.) 

Silence. 

The word "shortcut" didn't sit well with anyone. 

Siddharth, usually calm, narrowed his eyes. “Kitna door hai?” (How far now?) 

The driver tapped the steering wheel. “Do-teen ghante aur.” (Two to three more hours.) 

The group collectively groaned. Three more hours? In the middle of nowhere?

Then, suddenly— 

THUD! 

The truck lurched. 

The driver cursed loudly, slamming the brakes. The entire vehicle shook violently. 

“What the hell was that?!” Mihir shouted, gripping the side for balance. 

The truck skidded to a stop. The engine stuttered… and died. 

Silence. 

The only sounds were their heavy breathing and the distant rustling of leaves. 

Vicky looked around. Pitch darkness. Only the truck’s dim lights provided some visibility. 

The driver got out, muttering curses. “Lagta hai kuch aa gaya neeche…” (Looks like something got under the truck…) 

Ishan exchanged glances with Ritvik. “Please don’t say it was a body.” 

The driver ignored them, walking ahead with his flashlight. The beam of light wavered, barely illuminating the ground. 

A few seconds passed. 

Then… 

A loud, blood-curdling scream.

The friends froze.

The driver came sprinting back, his face drained of all color. “Chalo! Gaadi chhodo! Humein bhaagna hoga!!” (Leave the truck! We have to run!!) 

“Wait, WHAT?!” Raunak exclaimed. 

But before they could get any answers— 

A guttural growl echoed from the darkness. 

Something… or someone was out there. Watching. 

And it wasn’t friendly.

The growl sent a shiver through the entire group. Their bodies froze in place, their minds racing for explanations. 

“What the hell was that?” Ritvik whispered, his voice barely above a breath. 

The truck driver was visibly shaking, his beedi falling from his lips. “M—mujhe nahi pata… par hum yahaan nahi ruk sakte!” (I—I don’t know… but we can’t stay here!) 

Vicky, always the rational one, forced himself to stay calm. “Driver, batao kya dekha?” (Driver, tell us what you saw.) 

The driver gulped, his hands trembling. “Lambi si parchayi thi… insaan jaisi, par zyada badi… aankhein laal thi!” (A tall shadow… human-like, but bigger… its eyes were red!) 

The moment he said red eyes, an eerie silence followed. No one laughed. No one mocked.

Because they had seen something like that in the jungle.

Raunak took a deep breath. “Okay. If it’s an animal, we can stay inside the truck.” 

Before anyone could agree— 

THUD! 

Something slammed against the side of the truck. Hard.

Ritvik yelped, clutching Ishan’s arm. “Nope. Nope. I vote for running.” 

Vicky quickly assessed the situation. If the truck wasn’t starting, staying inside was dangerous. But running aimlessly in the dark? Equally stupid. 

Siddharth checked his phone. No signal. Again. 

Then, another sound. 

Scraping. 

Like claws against metal. 

Mihir, his face pale, pointed. “W—window… look.” 

Everyone turned toward the front windshield. 

For a moment, they wished they hadn’t. 

A tall, shadowy figure loomed outside, its silhouette barely visible against the truck’s weak headlights. Its eyes glowed a deep, menacing red. 

The driver screamed. “Bhaago!” (Run!) 

Without thinking, the group pushed open the truck doors and bolted. 

Into the night. 
Into the unknown.
Into another nightmare. 

The dense trees surrounded them like a never-ending maze.

Branches slashed at their skin as they ran blindly. The chilling night air burned in their lungs, but no one dared to stop. 

Ishan tripped over a root, crashing to the ground. Rajeev quickly pulled him up. “Move, move, MOVE!” 

Behind them, something was moving. 

Fast. 

A guttural snarl cut through the silence. It was chasing them. 

Vinay’s voice cracked. “Where are we even running?!” 

Vicky, still sprinting, gritted his teeth. “Anywhere but back there!” 

The red eyes were getting closer. 

The rustling leaves, the snapping twigs—it was gaining on them.

Then— 

A light. 

Not red. Not eerie. But warm. Flickering. 

A fire? 

“Go there!” Siddharth pointed, changing direction. 

Their feet screamed in protest, their bodies exhausted. But the sight of hope made them push forward. 

As they neared, they realized— 

It wasn’t just a fire. 

It was a house. 

A small, dimly lit wooden cabin stood in the middle of the wilderness. The only sign of life. 

“Inside! Now!” Raunak yanked the door open. 

The group rushed in, slamming the door behind them.

Panting. Sweating. Terrified. 

Silence. 

Nothing chased them inside. 

For now. 

.....,...

As their breathing slowed, they took in their surroundings. 

The cabin was old, but intact. Wooden furniture, a few dusty chairs, and a fireplace still burning. 

Mihir exhaled, trying to process. “Okay. First question. Who lit that fire?” 

Before anyone could answer— 

A voice. 

“You shouldn’t be here.” 

Every muscle in their bodies tensed.

Slowly, they turned. 

Sitting in the corner, next to a wooden table, was an old woman. 

Dressed in traditional clothes, her wrinkled hands stirred a steaming pot of tea. Her milky-white eyes looked past them—as if she was blind.

Yet, she knew they were there. 

Rajeev swallowed. “W—who are you?” 

She didn’t answer. She just sighed. 

Then, in a whisper, she said— 

“You brought it with you.”

Her words hung in the air like a curse. 

"You brought it with you." 

A chill spread through the group. No one dared to speak. 

Then— 

“Wait… where’s Vinay?” Mihir’s voice shook. 

The realization hit them like a truck. 

They frantically looked around. Checked every corner. Called his name. 

No response. 

“He was right behind me!” Ishan panicked. “I—I swear he was running with us!” 

“But he’s not here now,” Siddharth’s face was grim. 

Vicky’s jaw clenched. “Damn it! We left him out there!” 

Outside, the night stretched endlessly. The dense forest was an abyss of darkness. 

No sounds. No footsteps. No screams. 

Nothing. 

Raunak took a shaky breath. “Maybe he found another way?” 

The old woman, still stirring her tea, let out a bitter chuckle. “Another way?” 

They all turned to her. 

“You don’t leave this place,” she whispered. “It lets you think you’re leaving, but you never do.” 

Her words sent a fresh wave of terror through the group. 

Rajeev, his face pale, mustered courage. “What do you mean? Where is our friend?” 

She stopped stirring. Her cloudy eyes lifted toward them.

“He is with it now.” 

A stunned silence followed. 

An invisible weight pressed down on their chests. 

“No.” Ritvik shook his head, refusing to believe it. “We have to go back! We have to look for him!” 

The old woman sighed. “Go, if you wish.” 

Then she added— 

“But if you step out… you may not come back either.”

The woman’s words sent a chill down their spines. No one moved, no one breathed. 

“We can’t just sit here!” Ritvik’s voice cracked with desperation. “Vinay is out there alone!” 

“Or worse…” Rajeev muttered under his breath, but the others ignored it. 

Vicky took charge. “We go back. We search for him. No one gets left behind.” 

“But what if—” Ashok hesitated, looking at the old woman’s face. 

Mihir grabbed his arm. “Don’t even say it! He’s our friend, and he’s waiting for us. I don’t care about whatever creepy stories she’s telling. We are getting him back!” 

The old woman only smirked, as if amused by their determination. “Go then. The night is still young.” 

Her voice sounded almost mocking. 

Raunak swallowed hard. “We stick together. No splitting up.” 

With their heartbeats racing, they grabbed the few torches they had and stepped into the night. 

The jungle loomed over them like a dark, breathing entity. 

Crunch. 

A sound behind them. 

They spun around—only to find nothing.

The path they had taken earlier was gone. No footprints. No sign of ever walking that way before. 

“What the hell?” Ishan whispered. 

Ritvik pointed to the ground. “Our tracks… they vanished?” 

“This is impossible,” Siddharth exhaled sharply. 

Then— 

A scream. 

Vinay’s scream. 

It came from everywhere and nowhere. Echoing through the trees, fading in and out like the wind. 

“RUN!” Vicky shouted. 

They ran blindly, pushing through branches and thick roots, following the sound of their missing friend. 

Then suddenly— 

The scream stopped. 

And so did they. 

Panting. Sweating. Hearts hammering. 

They stood in a clearing. And there, under the pale moonlight— 

Vinay stood in the middle.

His back was to them. He wasn’t moving. 

His arms hung limply by his side. His head tilted unnaturally. 

“Vinay?” Mihir called out, voice trembling. 

No response. 

Raunak stepped forward. “Bro?” 

Vinay’s shoulders twitched. Then slowly—too slowly—he turned around. 

His eyes were wide open. His pupils, pure black. His lips curled into a smile that wasn’t his. 

And then— 

He whispered something. 

A sound so low, so distorted, it didn’t belong to him. 

The words sent an icy terror down their spines— 

“You should not have come back.” 

.......

To be continued...