Chapter 1: The Hunt Begins

The jungle was alive with sound—the rustling of leaves, the distant call of a bird, the quiet drip of water from the canopy above. Arjun moved swiftly, his rifle steady in his hands. He wasn’t alone. Somewhere ahead, Vikram Sen was running.

Vikram had once been India’s top intelligence officer, a man trusted with the nation’s deepest secrets. But three weeks ago, he disappeared, taking something valuable with him—something that could destroy everything.

Arjun had been sent to retrieve him. Capture or kill.

A flicker of movement ahead. Arjun raised his rifle, his heartbeat steady despite the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

“Vikram! Stop!”

A figure darted through the dense foliage. Arjun fired—a warning shot. The bullet struck a tree, sending splinters into the air.

Vikram didn’t stop. He was heading toward the ruins.

A cold dread settled in Arjun’s stomach. No one went into the ruins. The locals called it the temple of the forgotten—a place cursed by time, where entire expeditions had vanished.

Vikram didn’t care.

And Arjun had no choice but to follow.


---

Chapter 2: The Fall

The ruins loomed ahead, swallowed by thick roots and ancient moss. Massive stone pillars stood like silent sentinels, carved with symbols that had long been forgotten. Vikram vanished into the shadows of a crumbling archway.

Arjun followed, his boots crunching on loose stones. The air was thick, damp. The scent of decay clung to the walls.

Then—the ground beneath him gave way.

He plunged into darkness.

Pain exploded through his shoulder as he hit the cold stone floor. Dust filled his lungs as he gasped for breath. Above him, the hole he had fallen through had already started to close, roots twisting unnaturally.

Trapped.

A groan echoed nearby. Arjun turned, spotting Vikram lying a few feet away, his leg twisted at an odd angle.

Vikram chuckled weakly. “I told you not to follow me.”

Arjun ignored him, scanning the chamber. The walls were covered in carvings—scenes of people bowing before something monstrous. A creature with elongated limbs, hollow eyes, and a grin that stretched too wide.

A shiver ran down Arjun’s spine. “What the hell is this place?”

Vikram exhaled. “Not a temple.” He met Arjun’s gaze.

“It’s a prison.”


---

Chapter 3: The Prison Below

Arjun’s instincts screamed at him to move, to find a way out. He pulled Vikram up, ignoring his wince of pain.

“We need to find an exit.”

Vikram hesitated. “We might not want to.”

Arjun turned, narrowing his eyes. “What do you mean?”

Vikram gestured toward the carvings. “The thing they sealed here—it’s still here. And if we’re trapped, that means it’s awake.”

A whisper slithered through the air.

Arjun stiffened. He knew jungle sounds. This wasn’t one of them.

The torchlight flickered. A shadow moved—but not theirs.

“Run,” Vikram said.

They ran.


---

Chapter 4: The Voices in the Dark

The tunnels twisted in impossible directions. Every path seemed to lead deeper.

Then—they heard it.

A voice.

“Arjun…”

It was his own voice. Echoing. Twisting.

Arjun spun, rifle raised. The passage behind them was empty—except for the shadows, stretching along the walls like grasping fingers.

Vikram grabbed his arm. “Don’t listen to it.”

Arjun’s grip tightened on his weapon. “What is it?”

Vikram hesitated. “Something that doesn’t kill you. It becomes you.”

Arjun didn’t ask what that meant. He didn’t want to know.

They kept moving.


---

Chapter 5: The Mirror

The tunnel opened into a vast chamber, the ceiling lost in darkness. A massive stone tablet sat at the center, cracked and ancient. Symbols glowed faintly across its surface.

Vikram swore under his breath. “The seal is broken.”

Then—Arjun saw himself.

Standing on the other side of the chamber.

Same uniform. Same face. But not him.

The other Arjun smiled.

Arjun lifted his rifle. “What the—”

The other Arjun spoke.

“You’re too late.”

The world shattered.


---

Chapter 6: The Escape

Arjun’s mind was unraveling. The shadows crawled toward him, stretching like liquid. Vikram grabbed his arm. “Don’t let it take you!”

The shadows laughed.

It was his own laugh.

Arjun fought the vertigo, focusing on the only thing that mattered—escape.

He yanked Vikram forward, sprinting for the nearest tunnel. The walls trembled as the ruins began to collapse.

The voices grew louder. The thing in the dark was losing its hold—but it wasn’t done with them yet.

Arjun saw light ahead. An opening.

They lunged for it.

And then—something grabbed Vikram’s leg.

He screamed.

Arjun turned, grabbing Vikram’s arms. The darkness was pulling him back.

Vikram’s eyes locked onto his.

“Don’t let it take me.”

Arjun pulled.

The shadows resisted.

For a moment, it felt impossible.

Then—a final yank.

Vikram came free.

They tumbled onto wet jungle ground, gasping for air. The ruins behind them sealed shut, as if the jungle itself had decided to bury its secret once more.

Silence.

Only the rain remained.


---

Chapter 7: What Remains

Vikram lay still, breathing heavily. “We made it,” he whispered.

Arjun wasn’t so sure.

Something felt wrong.

He turned to Vikram. The man was pale, his expression dazed.

Then—Vikram smiled.

Arjun’s blood ran cold.

The same grin he had seen in the chamber.

He raised his rifle.

“Are you still Vikram?”

Vikram chuckled.

Then, in a voice not his own, he whispered—

“You tell me.”

The jungle swallowed the sound of Arjun’s scream.


---

The End.