NOTE:
(This chapter contains scenes that some readers may find disturbing )
Louis, Lisa, and John were sitting on the ground, resting for a while. After some time, Louis stood up and said,
"Hey guys, we need to look for them. Are you ready to search again?"
"I'm ready, but what about Lisa?" John asked, looking at her.
"I'm fine. Let's go look for them — but are you guys sure we can actually find them?" Lisa asked.
"I don't know, but we have to keep looking," Louis replied.
"Hmm… let's go then. I have a feeling we might find them," John said.
"Sure," Lisa sighed, hoping they'd finally find someone. They all started walking again, holding onto that small hope.
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Louis and Luka were searching for Luna where they had heard her voice earlier, but they couldn't find Luna — or anyone at all.
"I knew it. We're just hearing voices again," Luka grumbled.
"You're right. If we could find Luna, we'd have already met her by now. The voice sounded close," Louis agreed.
"Now what, Louis? We can't find them, and we don't even know where we are. Can we find them, or will we both get lost too?" Luka asked.
"Calm down, Luka. I'm sure we'll find them," Louis replied.
"How, Louis? How can we find them? And don't tell me you 'have a feeling,' because feelings don't solve anything," Luka snapped.
"I told you, if we can't find them, we'll wait until morning," Louis said.
"I don't know if you're right or not, but I've got a bad feeling about this whole situation. We don't even know how our van got here in the first place," Luka said nervously.
The two were still arguing when they suddenly heard a loud sound. Luka froze.
"Hey Louis… I know you'll say we should check that out, but honestly? I'm not going."
"But Luka, if we don't go, how will we find out what's going on?" Louis said.
"I don't care. I'm definitely not going," Luka insisted.
"But Luka, maybe—" Louis tried to say, but Luka cut him off.
"I know what you're gonna say — 'Hey Luka, maybe it's our friends!'" he mimicked.
"Oh come on, we have to look!" Louis urged.
"No!" Luka replied sharply.
"Fine. I'm going. Let's see how long you survive alone," Louis said as he turned and started walking.
Luka looked at him, sighed, and thought, I don't want to be alone.
"Wait, I'm coming," he said, catching up.
Louis smirked, and together they followed the direction of the loud sound.
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Meanwhile, Lisa, Stephanie, and Max were sitting on the ground, taking a short rest.
"How long are we just going to sit here? Let's go — we have to find them," Lisa said.
"Sure. I've rested enough, so I don't mind. But Stephanie, do you really want to start looking for your parents again?" Max asked, glancing at her.
"I do," Stephanie said softly.
"Alright, let's go," Lisa said, standing up.
They all stood and started searching again for her parents and Louis.
After a few minutes, Lisa whispered to Max so Stephanie wouldn't hear.
"Hey Max, are you sure we can find them?"
"I don't know, but we have to try," Max said.
"What if we can't find them?" Lisa asked.
"Then we'll wait until morning. Maybe daylight will help," Max replied.
"And what if we still can't find them?" Lisa asked again.
"Why are you asking me, Lisa? If we don't find them, we'll need to get help — somehow," Max said.
"Yeah… you're right," Lisa agreed.
Just then, the bushes nearby started shaking, as if someone was coming through.
All three froze in fear. Stephanie hugged Lisa tightly, and Lisa placed her arm protectively around her. None of them knew what was coming — a friend… or something else entirely.
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Luna and John were running toward the direction of Louis's voice, but no matter how far they ran, they didn't find anything.
"What the hell is going on?" Luna said, stopping to catch her breath.
"I don't know… maybe we're just hearing things," John said.
"I don't know if that voice was real or not, but we have to get out of here — quickly," Luna suggested.
"Yeah, before something bad happens," John agreed.
They started walking again. After a while, Luna said,
"Hey John, remember what I asked you earlier?"
"What did you ask?" John replied.
"Seriously? You don't remember?" Luna teased.
"No, I don't. That scream distracted me," John said.
"Okay, I'll ask again. The question was — how did you find Lisa?"
"Oh, that question. Why are you so interested?" John said, smirking.
"Just answer it," Luna said, rolling her eyes.
"Fine, fine. So, when we all got separated, I was wandering alone in the jungle when I heard a sound."
"A sound? What kind of sound?" Luna asked curiously.
"The sound of crying — soft crying. I couldn't tell who it was, so I followed it… and then I found Lisa," John said.
"Lisa was crying? Why?" Luna asked.
"I think she was scared. When she saw me, she hugged me tight. She looked so relieved," John replied.
"I'm glad she's okay," Luna said.
"Me too," John agreed.
They both fell silent and continued searching.
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Luna sat near a tree, resting for a moment, and thought to herself,
I need to get out of here and find help.
She started walking again, hoping to find someone — anyone.
After a few minutes, she heard voices — Louis, Lisa, and John calling her name.
When she heard their voices, she started running again, hoping they wouldn't find her. But no matter how far she ran, she kept hearing their voices again and again.
The faster she ran, the more distorted they became — the tones twisting into something dark and inhuman.
The voices were no longer her friends'.
They were something else.
The sound was so creepy that her whole body began to shake with fear. She wished that somebody — anybody — could find her and help her in this terrifying situation.
_____________________________________
Max and Anna were still staring at the tree that had caught Max's attention minutes ago.
They held their breath, frozen in terror. Their bodies trembled — they couldn't even move their feet.
Their eyes were locked on one spot.
They wanted to close them, but fear wouldn't let them.
Hanging from the tree was a body — covered in blood.
And the worst part… it had no head.
It hung upside down by the waist, swaying slightly in the wind.
Both of them were horrified. Anna screamed loudly, and that finally snapped Max back to his senses.
He grabbed her hand and started running as fast as he could.
Anna's screams echoed through the jungle as they fled, terrified by what they had seen —
and wishing someone, anyone, would save them.