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The hike started out kinda fun. Like, "field trip with slightly mysterious strangers" kinda fun. The boys chatted among themselves at first, mostly about trail stuff, legends about the mountain, and who packed what snacks. I didn't really jump into the convo yet. I was too busy pretending I wasn't dying inside every time my shoe slipped a little on the muddy path.
After an hour or so, though, the trees started getting denser, and the sunlight had to work a little harder to get through. The cold didn't feel cute anymore, it felt personal. My scarf was doing the most, and my fingers were already threatening to go numb.
"Here," Manu said out of nowhere, tossing me a spare pair of gloves. Still barely talked, but I guess he wasn't heartless.
"Thanks," I mumbled, slipping them on. "You're a lifesaver."
He didn't answer, just nodded and kept walking like some forest cryptid with social anxiety.
Harshad slowed down to walk beside me. "So, what exactly made you wanna climb this mountain? Like, it's not even the prettiest one."
I blinked. Quick, believable reason. "My great-grandmother used to talk about it. Said it was magical. And kinda spooky. I figured that makes for good blog material, right?"
"Ooooh, a spooky blog girl," he teased. "Nice. Love that vibe."
Vihaan snorted from ahead. "Just don't romanticize it too much. A lot of people have gotten hurt up here."
Yeah. That wasn't comforting.
We hiked a few more hours. Every now and then, the trail would split into smaller paths, and Vihaan would check his notes before we kept moving. I asked once what he was writing, and he just said, "Observations." That guy was definitely hiding some main character secrets.
We stopped for lunch in a small clearing with a fallen log and a tiny stream running nearby. The boys unpacked their food, and I just awkwardly took out the snacks Miss Kaur had stuffed in my bag.
"Hey, Ojaswi," Harshad said mid-chew, "You brought any stories with you? You look like someone who's got a weird story or two."
I smiled, trying to play along. "Maybe. You guys believe in curses?"
Vihaan froze.
Harshad laughed. "Okay wait, this just got interesting."
Manu stared at me like I'd just grown horns. Even the trees around us seemed to go quiet for a sec.
"You're serious?" Vihaan asked slowly.
I shrugged. "Just a story passed down in my family. Nothing big. Just… someone long ago had a fight with something that wasn't human. The story goes that they sealed it up here, and if anyone from the bloodline ever came near, weird stuff would start again."
I watched them carefully. Their expressions weren't just amused anymore. They were concerned.
"Wait," Harshad said, face half-serious, half-smiling, "Your family's connected to that whole Thread of the Forest myth?"
"Thread of the what-now?" I blinked, pretending not to know.
Vihaan looked around nervously before lowering his voice. "It's just a legend, probably made up by some old priest, but it says there's a red thread hidden somewhere in these mountains. Said to be cursed. Anyone who finds it either gains insane power or… goes completely insane. Or dies. Depends on the version."
"Fun," I said. "Totally normal hiking stuff."
Harshad looked spooked but tried to hide it. "I mean, that's probably just a scare tactic to keep kids away."
Manu, still silent, gave me another look. Like he was trying to figure me out.
We didn't talk much after that.
By sunset, we found a half-sheltered area with big stones and a flat enough patch to set up our sleeping bags. Vihaan set up a little campfire while Harshad got water. I helped where I could without seeming like I'd never camped in my life (even though, uh, yeah never).
As we sat around the fire, sipping warm tea Vihaan brewed, Harshad pulled out a harmonica and started playing. Badly.
"Stop that," Vihaan groaned, tossing a small pebble at him.
I laughed. For a moment, things actually felt… normal. But that didn't last. Because sometime deep into the night, after everyone had knocked out, I heard it. Rustling. Leaves. Something or someone, moving outside the fire's reach.
I sat up slowly, my heart doing full-on gymnastics in my chest. The forest was dark, way darker than it should've been. The fire was dying. I glanced around, the boys were still asleep.
And then… a whisper.
Very faint. Like breath.
"...Ojas…"
Nope. Nope nope nope.
I grabbed my flashlight and stood, stepping out past the stone wall and scanning the trees.
Nothing.
The cold suddenly got way worse. My breath came out like fog. My fingers started shaking. But I couldn't move.
Something was watching.
I took one shaky step forward… and that's when I saw it.
A faint glimmer in the distance. Like a thread of silver swaying gently between the trees.
It disappeared the second I blinked.
My breath caught in my throat.
Then, a voice. Right next to my ear.
"Welcome back."
I turned, but there was nothing.
Just forest.
I bolted back toward the camp, crawled into my sleeping bag, and pretended to sleep until morning.
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I woke up feeling like I'd only slept for five minutes. The guys were already packing up. Vihaan gave me a glance but didn't say anything. Harshad tossed me a granola bar and smiled.
"Hope you slept well, forest princess."
"Mm. Like a log," I lied.
I kept my mouth shut about the whispering and the red thread. No way they'd believe me. Or worse, they would.
We hiked deeper that day, and everything felt… off. Birds flew in weird patterns. The air smelled like metal sometimes. Vihaan's compass spun once and then just gave up. Even Manu was tense now, his eyes scanning the trees constantly.
At one point, we passed by an old stone pillar covered in vines. Vihaan stopped, scribbled something down, then muttered, "It's moving faster than I thought."
"What is?" I asked, casually.
He looked up, clearly startled when I heard him. "Nothing. Just… erosion patterns."
Yeah, right.
I was beginning to suspect I wasn't the only one hiding something.
Later that afternoon, we reached an old bridge, wooden, frayed, and definitely one step away from collapse. Harshad tested it.
"It's wobbly, but should hold if we go one by one."
I let the boys cross first. Just as I was about to step on, a shadow moved in the corner of my eye again.
This time, it wasn't just a shadow.
It was a figure.
Wearing old, tattered robes. Standing completely still. No face. No sound. Just… watching.
I blinked.
Gone.
My hands were shaking again, but I crossed the bridge. I didn't say anything. I couldn't.
Because deep down… I knew we were being followed.
Not by animals.
Not by people.
By something tied to me.
Something that knew the truth.
And the deeper we went…
The closer it was getting.
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