chapter four : The Forest That Swallows people

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[The Forest – 7:00 PM]

Zain (glancing around nervously): "I don't feel good about this place… It's like the trees are watching us."

Yousef (sarcastically, wringing out his wet clothes): "Why don't you just admit you're scared and save us the trouble?"

Nadia (exhausted): "Enough joking… We need to find a place to hide before it gets completely dark."

Adam (calmly leading them deeper into the forest): "Not just hide… We need food and water, or we'll be dead before the hunters even find us."

They moved through the towering trees, the leaves rustling slightly with the breeze. But something felt wrong… The place was eerily silent.

Lamar (whispering, a cold shiver running through her body): "Isn't this the same place we saw on the screen before we jumped?"

Yousef (tense): "You mean when they said 'Level One'?"

Before anyone could answer… A piercing scream echoed through the air!

Zain (terrified): "What was that?!"

They froze in place, hearts pounding. The sound was close… but unnatural. It sounded like someone being dragged through the trees.

Nadia (whispering, stepping closer to Adam): "Do we go toward it or run away?"

Adam (eyes narrowing): "We need to know what's happening—"

Before he could finish his sentence… the ground beneath him suddenly split open!

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[Inside the Pit – The First Trap]

In an instant, Adam vanished, swallowed by the earth! The group screamed, stumbling back in shock. Nadia dropped to her knees, shouting, "Adam!!"

Adam (from inside the pit, frustrated): "I'm fine… but I can't climb out!"

Zain (staring at the hole in disbelief): "This isn't just a random pit… Someone dug this on purpose to trap us!"

Yousef (nervously): "So we're not just running from hunters? There are traps too?!"

Lamar (fearful): "The person who screamed earlier… could they have fallen into one too?"

Before anyone could respond… Heavy footsteps approached them.

Nadia gasped as she saw three masked hunters, carrying electric batons, one of them holding a gun.

First Hunter (coldly): "An easy catch tonight."

Zain (whispering in terror to Yousef): "We… need to run. Now!"

Nadia (defiantly): "We're not leaving Adam!"

But before she could react, the hunter with the electric baton lunged at them!

To be continued...