They crouched behind a fallen tree trunk, both gasping for air after another desperate sprint through the darkness. This time they'd managed to put some distance between themselves and their pursuer, but Aryan knew it was only temporary. She would find them again—she always did.
"This is insane," Varun panted, wiping sweat from his forehead despite the cool night air. "We can't keep running forever. I mean, we have to do something before we really die out here."
Aryan felt the same crushing sense of helplessness. Without proper weapons, without knowing the place, without any advantages at all, what could they possibly do against someone who seemed to have supernatural type tracking abilities?
That's when the memory hit him. it's random and unexpected, but suddenly vivid.
He'd been getting ready for work, rushing around in his home trying to find bike keys, when he'd glanced at the TV where his little sister Kaya was watching some nature documentary.
"What are you watching?" he'd asked absently, still searching for keys.
"They're showing how to catch rabbits," Kaya had said, completely absorbed in the program. "See? They make a that's called a snare trap with a bent sapling. When the rabbit steps in the loop, it triggers it and yanks the rabbit up into the air by its leg. And the most amazing thing is the more it struggles, the tighter it gets."
He'd barely paid attention at the time, more focused on getting to work than on survival techniques. But now, hiding in this unknown jungle with death stalking them through the darkness, every detail of that casual conversation came flooding back.
"Varun," he said suddenly. "She's been hunting us with that bow the entire time, right? Always keeping her distance, never getting close."
"Yeah, so?"
"Then maybe... maybe she's somewhat weak in close combat. Think about it, she's completely focused on long-range attacks. What if we could get her close, where the bow is useless?"
Varun's eyes widened as he caught on. "You want to set a trap?" A hint of excitement flickered in his eyes.
"A snare trap. We find a young tree that we can bend down, tie a loop of vine or rope to it, and when she steps into it-"
"Then BOOM, she'll gone for good, right?" Varun interrupted.
"No, it will yanks her up off her feet. She will become helpless, hanging upside down."
"Ohh, That's actual sounds cool too." Varun approved, then raised his eyebrow "Do you actually know how to make one of those?" He asked
"I have some idea. The basics seemed simple enough." Aryan looked around desperately. "We need a flexible sapling, something for rope, and a way to create a trigger that will release when she steps on it."
It took them precious minutes to find the right materials. A young tree with a trunk thick enough to support a person's weight but flexible enough to bend. Several long vines that they twisted together to create a makeshift rope. Some fallen branches to construct a simple trigger mechanism.
"This is really fucking crazy," Varun muttered as they worked, but he helped anyway, following Aryan's hurried instructions as they bent the sapling down and rigged the snare.
"Watch your language," Aryan said automatically.
Varun paused in his work and stared at him. "What?"
Aryan blinked, realizing what he'd just said.
The habit of correcting people's language around his little sister had kicked in without thinking. But she wasn't here. She was back home, probably sitting by the window waiting for him to return, just like he'd imagined earlier.
"It is just... habit. Sorry," he said quietly, feeling a pang of homesickness so sharp it almost took his breath away.
"We need bait," Aryan realized, forcing himself to focus on their immediate survival. "Something to draw her to this exact spot."
Varun didn't press and pulled off his jacket. "Use this. And I'll make some noise over there, like we're setting up camp or something. Her obsession with tracking us might make her overconfident. she'll want to get close enough for a clean shot."
They positioned the jacket in the center of their trap area and scattered some debris around it to make it look like they'd stopped to rest. Varun moved to a spot about twenty yards away and began rustling through the underbrush, creating the sounds of someone trying to move quietly but failing.
Aryan hid behind a cluster of thick bushes just five feet from the trap, his heart hammering so hard he was sure it would give him away. This was either going to work, or they were both about to die.
The waiting was agony. Every shadow seemed to move, every sound could be her approach. But their pursuer had been patient all night. would she be patient enough to study the trap before walking into it?
Then he saw her. A dark silhouette moving between the trees, bow held ready, approaching their makeshift campsite with predatory caution.
She was focused entirely on Varun's position, where the rustling sounds continued, but she had to cross directly over their snare to get a clear shot.
Aryan held his breath as she stepped carefully into the trap area, her attention fixed on her target.
One more step. Just one more step.
His sister's documentary hadn't mentioned how terrifying it would be to actually use the knowledge.
She moved like a ghost through the shadows, her bow raised and ready as she approached their makeshift camp. Aryan could see her clearly now—focused, predatory, completely absorbed in hunting her prey.
She stepped into the bait zone, moving toward Varun's jacket with careful, measured steps. Aryan's heart pounded as she got closer to the trigger point.
Then she stopped.
Just one step short of the rope loop, she froze. Her head tilted slightly, like a predator sensing something wrong. Aryan watched in growing horror as she began to back away, her instincts warning her of danger.
He had one chance.
Without thinking, Aryan burst from his hiding spot and rushed toward her. The sudden movement caught her off guard. She spun toward him, bow coming up, but it was too late. Aryan slammed into her with his full weight, sending both of them tumbling into the trap zone.
The impact threw her off balance just as her foot caught the trigger mechanism. The bent sapling snapped upright with violent force, the vine loop tightening around her ankle and yanking her into the air.
She made a desperate grab for Aryan as she was pulled upward, trying to drag him with her, but he threw himself flat against the ground. Her arrows scattered from her quiver as she swung upside down, the wooden shafts clattering across the forest floor.
She still had her bow clutched in her hand, but hanging inverted made it impossible to use effectively. The more she struggled against the snare, the tighter it became around her ankle, just like the documentary had shown.
"Let me down!" she snarled, her face twisted with fury as she thrashed helplessly in the air. "You have no idea what you're doing! If you try anything, I'll—"
"Well, well, well," Varun's voice cut through her threats as he came back from his spot, practically swaggering with newfound confidence.
"Look who's the hunter now, and look who's the hunted. Seems like the tables have turned, doesn't it? I mean, who's the boss now, huh?"
He was practically glowing with triumph, acting like he'd single-handedly won a war instead of just helped set a trap.
Aryan stood up slowly, brushing dirt from his clothes. "You were the one trying to kill us," he said, his voice steady despite the adrenaline still coursing through his system. "We were just trying to survive."
The girl stopped struggling for a moment, her pale eyes fixing on his with startling intensity. "I was surviving too," she spat. "Just like everyone else in this place who's tried to kill me. Just like you would do if you listened to what this place wants you to become."
There was something in her voice, not just anger, but a deeper pain, a recognition of something terrible. For a moment, she almost sounded human again, not like the cold predator who had been hunting them through the night.
"It is the whispers again." Aryan said quietly.
Her expression hardened again. "I barely survived them. And I survived everyone who came after me because of them. That's what this place does. It turns people into killers, and the ones who don't become killers become victims."
She might be right. This unknow place thrown them with fragmented memories to each other to kill each other. With only one rule.
Survive by killing or killed in the process.
She resumed her struggling, the vine creaking ominously as it supported her weight. "So congratulations. You caught me, yay. Now what? Are you going to kill me, or leave me here, hanging like this to die?"
The question hung in the air like a challenge, and Aryan realized they hadn't thought this far ahead. They'd been so focused on stopping her that they hadn't considered what came next.
What do you do with someone who sees you as prey in a place where survival might require becoming a predator?