đź“– Chapter 34: Shadows in the Mist
Location: Island Perimeter – Dawn, Day 7
The boat slowed as it neared the island.
The first orange slivers of dawn barely cut through the dense mist that clung to the jungle.
The soldiers—trained, armed, brutal—stood at the edge of the deck, peering into the fog.
And then...
They saw it.
A figure.
Barely visible.
Moving like smoke. Like a ghost.
Lurking just beyond the tree line.
It didn't run.
It watched.
"Is that a survivor?" one soldier asked.
Another scoffed, "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it."
The moment they jumped off the boat to chase the phantom, it vanished—gone in a blink, swallowed by the trees.
They scanned the area—
Nothing.
Then, the sounds began.
From everywhere.
Voices. Screams. Whispers. Footsteps.
Circling them.
Shouts from the left.
Laughter from the right.
Old songs. A distant radio crackle. Footsteps running. Stopping. Starting again.
"What the hell—?" a soldier spun around.
They were surrounded by sound.
Confused. Uneasy.
Some whispered one word—
"Ghosts."
Panic set in.
Their leader shouted, "They're not ghosts! It's just a trick! Split up! Search in all directions! MOVE!"
---
🎛️ Inside the Bunker – Main Control Room
Three teachers watched it all unfold on the screens.
Infrared sensors. Motion detectors. Heat tracking.
The chaos had begun.
Sid's eyes were sharp, locked onto the shifting dots on the map.
He tapped his headset.
"Positions. Now."
Akash and Shiva nodded, grabbing their gear.
"This is it," Sid said. "Operation Invader Execution begins."
He switched channels.
"Old Man, do you read?"
Krishnan's voice crackled in reply.
"Loud and clear."
"Lead them. They've split. Time to strike."
---
🌲 Jungle – Northern Trail
A team of four soldiers crept through the trees.
Behind them… nothing.
But in front of them…
A shadow moved.
An axe gleamed.
They turned—
Too late.
Old Man Krishnan charged out like a storm, eyes burning with rage.
Not an old man now—
A warrior reborn.
Like a living Parashurama.
His axe arced through the air—clean, brutal.
The first two never saw it coming. Their heads fell together.
The next one tried to aim—but his hand was gone before he pulled the trigger.
The last turned to run—
But Krishnan's throw ended it mid-step.
Four lives.
Gone.
No mercy. No time.
---
🌫️ Eastern Gully
Shiva adjusted the sound frequency and location.
"Sending the whispers to Sector C now."
He tapped keys.
Two soldiers nearby, confused by the voices, crept toward the source.
Their boots hit soft ground.
Click.
Gone.
A scream—and then silence.
They dropped into a hidden pit of sharpened spikes.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
Two down.
Shiva exhaled slowly.
---
🪖 Western Ridge
Later , Four more soldiers chased movement through the trees.
They saw something.
Or someone.
A figure—Krishnan again?
They raised their rifles, unsure.
A tiny sound ticked through the air.
Ping.
Something small landed near them.
A landmine pin—triggered by a long wire in the old man's hand.
They didn't even get to scream.
BOOM.
The forest shook.
---
âš“ Back at the Shoreline
The remaining fourteen soldiers paused, now fully alert.
They regrouped.
"The control bunker. That's where this is coming from. They're monitoring us."
They knew now—
This wasn't a ghost story.
It was a trap.
And they were inside it.
They were being hunted.
Their leader barked, "We move now. Hit the command center. No more games."
They began their march.
Fourteen killers.
Marching toward the last stronghold.
---
🎙️ Narrator Voice:
> The island woke with fire.
The defenders—once teachers, now warriors—had turned shadows into weapons.
Old ghosts now walked beside the living.
And the land remembered who it belonged to.
> But the enemy still came.
Bloodthirsty. Trained. Angry.
> Fourteen left.
And they're coming for the bunker.
> The question now was no longer about survival.
It was about the last stand.
> Can three teachers and one old lion defend the heart of the island?
> The answer waits in the next chapter...