Meanwhile, Louis and Luka were walking through the jungle, searching for their friends. They called out their names again and again, checking every corner — but no matter how much they tried, there was no reply.
"Just where the heck is everyone?" Louis grumbled.
"I wish I knew," Luka sighed.
"How much longer do you think we'll have to keep walking in this jungle to find them?" Luka asked.
"Until we actually find them," Louis said firmly. "We're not leaving, Luka — and we're definitely not leaving them behind."
"When did I say we should leave them behind? I'm just asking how much longer we're going to keep going," Luka muttered.
"Like I said, we'll keep searching. If we can't find them now, the morning is near — we'll find them by sunrise," Louis replied.
"Do you have any guarantee we'll find them when the sun comes up? What if we don't?" Luka asked.
"No, but I'm certain we will," Louis said confidently.
"Here we go again — just baseless assumptions. You never have any guarantees," Luka said, annoyed.
"Yes, you're right, Luka," Louis replied with a small smile.
Luka sighed, and the two of them continued looking for their friends in silence.
_____________________________________
Meanwhile, Anna and Max had barely escaped the eerie, childlike laughter. They had reached a part of the jungle where the laughter could no longer be heard.
"I'm so scared, Max. What the hell was that?" Anna said in a trembling voice.
"I don't know either. Something's not right about this jungle," Max replied.
"What do we do now, Max?" Anna asked.
"We need to find our friends as soon as possible and get out of this jungle," Max said.
"But I don't think I can keep going after that," Anna murmured, sitting down on the damp grass.
"We can't give up, Anna," Max said gently.
"I know, but how can we find them when those voices won't leave us alone?"
"Don't worry, Anna. Let's rest here for a bit. Once you feel better, we'll start searching again," Max said, sitting beside her.
"Yeah… I think I need a moment to rest," Anna whispered.
Max smiled softly, and the two of them sat together, staring up at the dark sky for a long time.
_____________________________________
Meanwhile, Luna and John were walking deeper into the jungle, hoping to find Louis and the missing parents of the child.
"Do you really think this was a good idea?" John asked.
"What idea?" Luna said.
"Splitting up," John answered.
"Yes, I think it was the best choice. Why? You don't like the idea?" Luna asked.
"Well… I'm not so sure anymore. At first, it made sense — if we split up, we can cover more ground, but…"
"But what?" Luna asked.
"I just think… if we can't find Louis or Stephanie's parents, and we lose the others too…" John said nervously.
"Don't worry, John. I'm sure we'll find everyone," Luna said confidently.
"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about this," John admitted.
"Maybe you're thinking too much. Focus on finding them, not on worrying," Luna said.
"I guess so," John muttered — but deep down, he couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
_____________________________________
In another part of the jungle, Lisa, Max, and Stephanie were walking together, trying to find their missing friends and Stephanie's parents.
"Are you okay, Lisa?" Max asked, noticing the fear on her face.
"Yes, I'm fine. Why are you asking?" Lisa said.
"Because you don't look so good," Max replied.
"Well, because I don't like this idea," Lisa said quietly.
"I get how you feel. I don't like it either," Max admitted.
"Then why did you agree to it?" Lisa asked.
"Because of Luna, you know," Max said.
"Yeah… I understand," Lisa said softly.
"And John agreed with her too," Max added.
"So you agreed, and I had no choice but to follow," Lisa sighed.
"Maybe… maybe we'll find Louis and her parents sooner this way," Max said.
"Or maybe we'll lose everyone else instead," Lisa replied.
"That could be true," Max said, "but we can't lose hope until we find them."
Suddenly, they both froze — a faint sound echoed through the trees. It was distant but clear: a man's and a woman's voice, calling out a name.
"Stephanie! Where are you?"
"Where are you, my child?"
Stephanie's eyes widened. "That's my mom and dad!" she cried.
"Are you sure, Stephanie?" Lisa asked.
"Yes! That's their voices!"
"Then let's go find them!" Max said.
He lifted Stephanie into his arms, and the three of them ran toward the sound.
_____________________________________
Somewhere else in the jungle, a figure was running fast — pale-faced, trembling, terrified.
It was Luna.
She kept looking over her shoulder, praying that no one — or nothing — was following her.