Chapter One – The Road That Vanished
Auren had always been the quiet one in the crowd—the kind of soul who walked silently while the world raced ahead.
Two years had slipped by since his graduation, and with each passing day the weight of rejection letters pressed heavier on his chest. Jobs came and went, but none ever came to him. Each "We regret to inform you…" was like another brick added to the wall separating him from the future he imagined.
While his batchmates chased promotions and mapped out their paths, Auren remained in the same small rented room, surrounded by hope and rusting ambition. The walls, once painted with dreams, now seemed to close in tighter with every passing night.
Now his graduation batch was planning one last trip—a final celebration before adulthood claimed them fully. Laughter filled the group chats, memories were relived, itineraries finalized.
But for Auren, none of it mattered. No one remembered him. No one invited him.
Except for one.
Maya—his girlfriend of five years—was going. She asked him gently to come along, but he declined. The idea of traveling with people who never truly saw him felt suffocating. "I'm going home," he told her, his voice flat, tired. His heart ached at her disappointment, but the weight of invisible isolation was heavier.
So he packed his bag, left the city behind, and boarded a local bus heading toward his remote hometown.
The road stretched ahead, flanked by swaying trees. The air smelled of damp earth and leaves, a quiet contrast to the chaos he had abandoned.
By the time the bus entered the forest, the sun was already dipping. Shadows stretched long and heavy across the narrow road.
The silence was almost too peaceful. Auren's mind drifted—between the failures behind him and the blank canvas of a future he couldn't paint.
Then, a flash of color. Two brightly painted tourist buses roared past, filled with noise and music. His college batch. One bus for the boys, the other for the girls. He searched the windows desperately for Maya, but couldn't spot her. A pang of loneliness twisted inside him. He turned away quickly, forcing his gaze back to the fading road.
As if mocking him, his bus shuddered to a dead stop.
The driver cursed under his breath and stepped out to check the engine. Passengers muttered complaints. Auren exhaled, his frustration blending with resignation. Another failure. Another delay.
He stepped outside, stretching stiff muscles. The forest loomed on either side, the shadows reaching like dark fingers.
That's when he saw it.
A dog—or something that only looked like one. Black as coal, its body thin and stretched too long, its stance wrong. Its eyes caught the dim light and glinted, not with curiosity, but with hunger.
Auren froze, his stomach tightening. Every instinct screamed at him. The way it watched him was wrong.
He took a step back. The creature didn't move. Another step. Still nothing.
Then he ran.
Branches tore at his arms, roots clawed at his shoes, but he kept running. Breath ragged, chest burning, his heart hammered as if trying to break free. Behind him, though silent, he felt the creature's gaze burning hotter than fire.
He didn't stop until the silence became unbearable.
When he finally slowed, the road was gone. The bus was gone. The world he knew had disappeared.
The forest here was different—denser, older. The trees stretched impossibly high, their crowns blotting out the sky. The air was heavy, choked with the scent of moss and damp soil. Twilight lingered unnaturally, as though time itself had slowed.
There was no path. No voices. No hint of civilization.
He was lost.
Alone.
And whatever that creature was… it might still be watching.
A chill ran down his spine. He swallowed, his voice trembling as he whispered into the silence:
"What is this place…?"
But the forest gave no answer. Only shadows. Only silence. Only unseen eyes.