The stone swallowed them whole.
The light from the forest behind faded fast, until only the weak glow of Tarun's flashlight guided their way. Their footsteps echoed with every step—crunching on gravel, brushing loose pebbles, boots scraping stone.
The cave walls closed in tight, then widened unexpectedly.
No one spoke much.
Even Rix had stopped making jokes.
The air grew colder with every step.
Not like cool evening wind—this was deep-earth cold, a kind that seemed to breathe on its own. It wrapped around Arjun's bruised skin and made the hairs on his neck stand up.
Rana took the lead, knife in one hand, flashlight in the other.
"Stay close," he said.
Bhavna glanced over her shoulder, making sure Kittu hadn't followed them. Thankfully, the little gremlin had stayed back, possibly digging another juice box from his pocket.
They kept going.
And then—they heard it again.
"AAAAARJUUUN!"
Maya's voice.
But it was closer now.
Echoing, but not far.
"She's nearby!" Arjun shouted, already pushing forward.
The tunnel forked—one side curved left into a low corridor, the other opened wide and sloped downward.
The scream came again. Same voice. Same pitch.
"ARJUUUN! HELP ME!"
They moved as one toward the deeper tunnel.
Arjun's heart pounded in rhythm with the echo.
They descended carefully—rocks crumbling beneath their feet, walls dripping with wet moss. The passage narrowed briefly, then opened into a massive hollow chamber.
Their flashlights swept across the space.
And stopped.
A pit yawned in the center. Wide. Deep. Round like a sinkhole. Its edge was ringed with loose stones, and beyond that... darkness.
"Her voice came from there," Bhavna whispered.
Everyone stepped cautiously closer.
And then—
It screamed again.
"AARJUUUN!"
Louder.
From inside the pit.
But something was wrong this time.
Too loud. Too long. The echo didn't bounce like a normal voice—it carried through the air like a tape recording on the wrong speed.
"That's not her," Tarun said quietly.
Another scream.
"Aaaarrjjjuuunnn… HEEEEEELP MEEEE…"
It was Maya's voice again. But... distorted. Too deep at the start. Too high at the end. Like someone—or something—was trying to get it right.
Then they heard it move.
A massive, slow scraping sound from inside the pit. Like claws on stone.
Bhavna grabbed Arjun's arm.
"Back up," she whispered. "Back up. Now."
Rix took a slow step back. "Tell me I'm hallucinating this."
Arjun stepped closer to the pit edge.
And then—
It climbed out.
A hand first.
No—a claw. Each finger long as a sword, curved, dripping.
Then another.
Then—the head.
It was the shape of a human skull, but stretched—elongated and melted. The skin was dark grey, but wet and twitching. Its mouth opened too wide. No lips. Just rows of flat teeth, like stone tiles.
Its body pulled upward—huge. Easily three times the size of a person.
Its arms scraped the edge of the pit as it rose, massive and too smooth, muscles moving in ways that didn't look natural.
And from its gaping mouth—
"AAARRRJUUN!"
Maya's voice.
Only her voice.
Exactly her scream.
It didn't roar.
It didn't growl.
It just kept screaming in her voice.
The team froze.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Rana raised his gun slowly. "What the—"
"Don't," Arjun whispered. "Not yet."
The creature tilted its head. The voice stopped.
It stared at them.
Breathing. Waiting.
Arjun whispered again, "It's watching us."
"Or learning us," Bhavna said.
Then—
It moved.
Fast.
It lunged toward the nearest wall and disappeared—climbing sideways like a shadow, vanishing into a crack too narrow for its size.
Gone.
Silence returned.
But the horror did not leave.
Rix swallowed hard. "Tell me someone else saw that."
Tarun muttered, "That wasn't Maya. It was pretending to be Maya."
Bhavna nodded. "It wants us to come closer. It's using her voice."
Arjun stepped away from the pit.
And whispered something that chilled the rest of them:
"It wasn't just using her voice."
They looked at him.
"It knows her voice."
The silence returned.
Not peaceful silence—waiting silence.Heavy, watching, filled with questions no one wanted to ask.
No one moved.
Bhavna was still holding her breath.
Rana finally took a step back from the pit, breathing hard. His fingers tightened on the grip of his gun like it could give him courage.
"That's it," he said. "We're leaving. This is beyond us."
Rix blinked. "What?"
"We go back. Right now," Rana growled. "This thing isn't human. It's not natural. We stay, we die."
Tarun nodded quickly. "I… I agree. I mean, did you see it? I don't think bullets even scare it."
Bhavna looked between them and Arjun. "But Maya might be in here. She could still be alive."
"She's gone," Rana said flatly. "Or worse."
That hit Arjun like a slap.
He stepped forward, limping, blood drying on his jeans. "Say that again."
Rana didn't blink. "She's gone, Arjun."
"No," Arjun said. "She's alive. You heard her scream."
Rix rubbed his arms. "Yeah, but it wasn't really her, bro…"
Arjun looked at him. "Then where's the real Maya?"
No one answered.
"I'm going in," Arjun said.
Bhavna moved toward him. "Wait, please, you can't just—"
"I have to," he said. "You guys can go. I'm not stopping you. But I'm not leaving her here. Not when I know she's still breathing."
"You're injured," Tarun argued. "You need rest. What if you go in and collapse? You won't help anyone like that."
"I'll crawl if I have to," Arjun snapped.
Rana exhaled through his nose. "You're being emotional."
"Damn right I am," Arjun said. "She's my wife."
He limped past them, toward the tight corridor where the monster had gone.
"Arjun," Bhavna called. "Please. We're just trying to be practical."
He turned back, one last time. His voice was low, calm, final.
"You're trying to be safe. I'm trying to be right."
He paused, and added, "You guys are scared. I get it. But don't drag me into your fear. I'm not leaving without her."
No one had anything left to say.
Bhavna lowered her eyes.
Rix rubbed the back of his neck, then muttered, "You're a crazy dude. But… a solid one."
Rana turned. "We're wasting time. Let's go."
And just like that—
They left.
One by one, the group turned back.
Their footsteps faded.
The silence returned.
And Arjun was alone.
He took one deep breath, shifted his weight to his good leg, and stepped toward the tunnel the creature had disappeared through.
Each footstep echoed.
The walls grew tighter. The air heavier.
He didn't know what was ahead.
He didn't know what Maya had seen.
But he knew one thing—
He wasn't turning back.