The group — Luna, Lisa, Max, and John — were searching for both Louis and Stephanie's parents.
They had been searching for half an hour but there was still no sign of them. They kept walking, calling out softly, hoping for any reply. After a while, Luna broke the silence.
"Just where is he?"
"We'll find him, Luna. Don't worry," Lisa said.
"I feel like we're going to be stuck here forever," Luna muttered.
"I'm sure we'll find him — and her parents too," John said reassuringly.
"Yeah, so don't worry," Max added.
"You two are just being too calm! All this happened because of you both!" Luna said in frustration.
"What do you mean by that?" John asked, frowning.
"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Max added.
"Weren't you the ones who suggested following that strange light and entering that old man's house?" Luna snapped.
John fell silent, but Max continued, "Hey, Luna, we know it's our fault. But fighting won't solve anything, you know? And don't forget — you all agreed too. We didn't force you."
"Well, you—"
Before Luna could finish, Lisa interrupted, "Can you two stop fighting? Don't you see we have a child here?"
They both turned to look at Stephanie. The little girl looked frightened and was clinging tightly to Lisa.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, Stephanie," Max said gently, patting her head.
"Well, I'm sorry too, sweetie," Luna said softly.
The girl slowly calmed down, and the group began walking again — searching for her parents and Louis.
______________________________________
Meanwhile, Louis and Luka were walking through the dark forest, still trying to find the others. Luka seemed distracted, still thinking about the strange voice he had heard earlier.
"Luka, are you okay?" Louis asked.
But Luka was so lost in thought he didn't respond.
"Hey, Luka!" Louis called again. When Luka didn't react, Louis placed a hand on his shoulder. Luka flinched and yelled, "Ghost!"
"Huh? What ghost?" Louis said in confusion.
Realizing what he'd said, Luka quickly replied, "Nothing, I was just… thinking."
"So you were thinking about ghosts?" Louis teased.
"No, I wasn't! I don't even believe in ghosts," Luka said firmly.
"Well, what if a real ghost did appear — what would you do then?" Louis asked playfully.
"I told you, ghosts aren't real. They don't just show up!" Luka replied, annoyed.
"Doesn't matter if you believe or not," Louis said with a grin. "What if they do exist, and one showed up right now?"
"Stop asking stupid questions and focus on finding the others," Luka growled.
Louis smirked. "You're scared, aren't you?"
"No, I'm not!" Luka shot back.
"Alright, alright," Louis laughed. "Let's keep looking."
They continued walking quietly. A few minutes later, Louis suddenly shouted, "Luka! Look — there's a head hanging from that tree!"
"Wha—where?! Where is it?!" Luka said, terrified.
Louis burst into laughter. "Relax! I was joking. You said you weren't scared, but your face tells another story!"
"Louis, I swear I'm going to kill you!" Luka shouted angrily.
"Okay, okay! I'm sorry," Louis said, still laughing. "I was just trying to lighten the mood. You seemed tense."
"This isn't funny, Louis," Luka grumbled.
"Alright, let's just focus," Louis said.
Luka glared at him but continued walking, both of them searching deeper into the jungle.
______________________________________
Elsewhere, Anna and Max were following the mysterious voice Anna had heard. They had been walking for ten minutes but found no one.
"Are you sure you heard it?" Max asked.
"Yes, I'm sure! I clearly heard someone calling me."
"But there's no one here. Whose voice could it be?" Max said.
"I don't know, but I know what I heard," Anna insisted.
"I really think it's just your imagination," Max said calmly.
"I said it's not my imagination! I really heard that voice!" Anna replied.
"Well… maybe it was something else," Max said.
"What do you mean 'something else'?" Anna asked nervously.
"Tell me first — was it an animal's voice or a human's?" Max asked.
"What kind of question is that, Max? Animals don't talk! So it must've been human!"
"Or… it could've been a ghost's voice."
"A g-ghost's voice?" Anna stammered.
"Yeah. Maybe a ghost was calling you. And now we're walking straight toward it. If we reach it, maybe it'll kill us," Max said teasingly.
"K-kill us?" Anna's face turned pale, and she began trembling.
Seeing her reaction, Max quickly said, "Hey, hey, I was just joking! Don't be scared!"
"You idiot! This isn't the time for jokes!" Anna snapped.
"Sorry! You were too tense. I just thought you needed a little distraction," Max said.
Anna sighed. "Maybe it was my imagination. I'm just worried, that's all. But I'm not scared."
"Yeah, right," Max said with a smirk. "Your face says otherwise."
"I said I'm not scared!" Anna glared.
"Okay, okay," Max laughed. "Let's just find the others."
They both continued walking quietly through the forest.
______________________________________
At the same time, the other group — Luna, Louis, Lisa, and John — were searching for Max.
"I wonder where he is," John said.
"I hope he's okay," Louis replied.
"I just hope he didn't run into a wild animal," Lisa said anxiously.
"Think positive, Lisa," John said.
"Sorry. It's hard not to think bad things in this situation," she replied.
"I know," Louis said. "But we'll find him."
"Why are you so quiet, Luna?" John asked.
"Yeah, you're not acting grumpy or frustrated like before," Lisa added.
"I'm just… lost in thought," Luna said softly.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Louis asked again.
"Yes, I'm fine! Why do you keep asking?" Luna replied.
"Because you seem worried. Did something happen?" Louis said.
"I said nothing happened!" Luna replied firmly.
"Did you see something when that light flashed on us earlier?" Lisa asked.
"Why would you think that?" Luna said quickly.
"Because you've been acting strange ever since," John said.
"Nothing happened, and I didn't see anything! Can you all stop interrogating me?" Luna snapped.
"We're not interrogating you. We're just worried," Louis said gently. "If something's wrong, you can tell us."
"And I told you — nothing's wrong!" Luna shouted.
"Listen, Luna—" Louis began, but before he could finish, a thick white mist began to surround them.
It spread fast, covering their eyes and ears. They couldn't see or hear each other anymore. The mist was cold, heavy, and unnatural.
After a few tense minutes, the fog began to fade.
But when they could finally see again, what they saw left them completely speechless.