what can we do?

The air was still. Not a leaf rustled. Not a whisper of breeze moved through the trees.

Jai slowly turned the flashlight back toward the remains of Harley—what was left after the lion had vanished into the woods. The yellowed beam flickered faintly, weak now, but still strong enough to land squarely on the pile of bloodied bones resting near a scorched patch of earth.

As the light hit the skeletal frame, something disturbing happened.

The bones, already brittle and broken, began to collapse inward.

One by one, joints loosened. The ribs fell sideways. The spine gave a soft cracking noise and curled like a dead branch snapping under pressure. The skull rolled a few inches away, its empty sockets facing the sky.

Rita gasped, stepping back with a hand over her mouth. Swathi let out a muffled cry. Ravi turned his face away completely.

Jai remained still, holding the light like a man watching a nightmare get worse every second.

The jungle, once again, offered no answer.

---

A short while later, the four sat quietly in a tight circle, just a few feet from where Harley's remains now lay, covered with a large dark towel pulled from the supply box. None of them spoke at first. The crackling fire had died down, leaving only faint orange embers glowing softly in the pit.

They weren't just in shock—they were paralyzed.

The scent of blood hung in the air like smoke, impossible to escape. It clung to their hair, their clothes, even their tongues. The silence between them was thick—punctuated only by the occasional, unwilling breath.

Swathi broke it first.

"We need to inform the principal… the cops…" Her voice was low, almost mechanical. "They need to know. Harley is… dead. Killed. We can't just sit here."

Ravi exhaled sharply, frustrated. "And how? You see any signal here?"

Jai took out his phone again, more from habit than hope. The screen was black. No signal bars. No Wi-Fi. No service.

Rita whispered, "Still nothing. I've checked five times."

"And no petrol left in the jeep," Swathi added grimly. "We only had a little left. Harley was going to fill the rest after we left this place."

Ravi sat back, rubbing his forehead. "And the main road is too far. Two to three hours walk at least—in daylight. Through this forest? With that lion still nearby?"

"No," Jai said. His voice was firm. "We're not risking it now. Not at night."

"But we've got torches," Ravi insisted, lifting his own flashlight. "We can leave before something else happens."

Swathi shook her head. "Torchlights won't last all the way. You saw what happened tonight. These lights attract attention—warmth, movement… that lion may not be alone."

No one spoke for a long moment.

Finally, Rita slid closer to Jai and leaned her head slightly against his shoulder. "Let's wait till morning," Jai said gently. "First light. We'll start walking then. Until then, we stay together. In the jeep."

Everyone agreed. There wasn't much choice.

They slowly gathered their belongings, avoiding even a glance toward the towel-covered figure nearby, and walked toward their vehicle. Ravi made sure the back doors were locked from inside. Jai turned off all the exterior lights. They left only one dim overhead bulb on inside the jeep—just enough to see each other's faces.

As they all settled into their seats, tension still filled the vehicle. They didn't sleep—not really. But exhaustion eventually weighed down their limbs. One by one, their eyes closed under the pressure of fear and fatigue.

---

Jai drifted.

Darkness folded around him like mist.

He saw it again—the lion.

Only this time, it wasn't chasing Harley.

It was watching him.

A jungle clearing stretched before Jai in the dream. The lion stood still beneath the moonlight, its eyes locked onto his, golden and fierce. Blood dripped from its mane. The same bones he had seen earlier lay scattered all around.

Then its mouth opened—not in a roar, but in whispers.

"You were warned."

Jai jolted awake.

The inside of the jeep was quiet. Dim gray light filtered through the cracked windows. Morning had come—still early, but the blackness had lifted.

Rita was sleeping lightly beside him. Swathi was curled in the front passenger seat. Ravi, however, sat upright—eyes open, scanning the outside like a guard dog in a panic.

"You okay?" Jai asked, his throat dry.

Ravi nodded silently, but his face showed the same haunted look from before.

Jai slowly opened the jeep door and stepped out, stretching his stiff legs. The ground was cold with morning dew. He scanned the area around the jeep—no signs of movement. The towel on Harley's body remained undisturbed, but the image underneath still burned in his mind.

Rita stepped out next, followed cautiously by Swathi. Ravi was the last to climb down, his eyes still flicking nervously between the trees.

Suddenly—a noise.

Something soft hit the jeep's roof.

Ravi yelped and jumped back, instinctively covering his head. "What was that?!"

Everyone looked up.

On the roof of the jeep, a monkey sat calmly, staring at them with round, curious eyes. A baby monkey clung to its chest, peeking over its shoulder.

"Just a monkey," Jai muttered, breathing out. "Nothing dangerous."

Rita half-laughed, half-cried. The tension cracked slightly. Even Ravi sighed with relief.

But none of them missed the fact that their reactions were different now.

Even a harmless monkey now sent panic into their bones.

---

As the sun rose higher, they began exploring around the campsite, phones in hand, holding them up at awkward angles, hoping for signal bars. Jai climbed a small rock for better elevation. Swathi walked near the fire pit. Rita walked around the back of the jeep.

Still… nothing.

"No signal yet," Jai said after ten minutes of trying.

"Maybe if we head uphill, we might get some," Swathi suggested.

Jai looked toward the dense part of the forest leading up a slow incline. "We'll try in pairs. No one goes alone. We stay close, keep moving. Until we find help."

He paused.

"And until then, nobody splits up. Not even for a second."

They all nodded.

But as Jai turned back toward the trees, a strange glint caught his eye—something near the edge of the bushes.

It looked like a metal coin. Strange. Old. Partially buried in the soil… right near where Harley had last stood.

Jai stepped toward it, unaware that the next clue in this nightmare was just beneath his feet.