Chapter 1
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Chapter 1: The Warning
The last message on Lina's phone was sent at 11:58 p.m.
> "Something is following us... If you find this, don't come into the forest."
After that...
Her phone was never used again.
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Three days earlier...
The bus stopped in front of a small village hidden between mountains. Maya smiled as she stepped outside.
"This place is beautiful," she whispered.
Lina stretched and laughed. "Best vacation ever!"
The village was peaceful, but something felt... wrong.
No children played outside.
Every window was shut.
Even the birds were silent.
As they walked toward the guesthouse, an old woman suddenly grabbed Maya's wrist.
"You're strangers," she said with frightened eyes.
Maya nodded politely.
The old woman's voice shook.
"Whatever happens... do not enter the forbidden forest."
Lina laughed.
"Is this some tourist prank?"
The old woman didn't smile.
"Thirty-two people have entered that forest."
She paused.
"Only seven came back."
A cold breeze swept through the village.
Maya felt goosebumps.
Lina rolled her eyes.
"They're just trying to scare visitors."
That night, the two friends heard strange sounds outside their window.
Knock...
Knock...
Knock...
Maya looked outside.
Nothing.
Only the dark outline of the forest standing beneath the moonlight.
Then she noticed something impossible.
The trees...
...were moving.
Not from the wind.
They were slowly bending toward the village.
Toward them.
Lina smiled instead of feeling afraid.
"I have to see what's inside."
Maya's heart sank.
She had a terrible feeling that the forest had already noticed them.
End of Chapter 1...
Next: Chapter 2 – "The Forest Chooses."
