The group — Louis, Lisa, and John — were searching for Luna, who had suddenly disappeared, and for Max. They walked through the jungle, calling their names, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find a single clue about them.
"Just where are they?" Lisa said in a slightly trembling voice.
"I don't know, but we have to find them. It's our only option," Louis replied.
"I agree with him. We have to try," John added.
"Yeah, you guys are right. We can't just give up," Lisa said.
The group continued searching for Luna and Max, hoping to find them.
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Meanwhile, the next group — Luna, Lisa, John, Max, and Stephanie — were also walking through the jungle. It had been quite a while, yet they still hadn't found the others.
"I'm so close to giving up right now," Luna said.
"Hey, don't give up. Giving up isn't a solution," John added.
"He's right, Luna. We can't just give up," Max said.
"Ugh…" Luna sighed loudly in annoyance.
"I just hope Anna and Luka are okay," Lisa said.
"Oh, now that you mentioned them, I wonder what they're doing," Max said.
"I just hope they're okay in the van and didn't try to come looking for us," John said.
"But we've been gone too long. Do you really think they're still waiting for us?" Luna asked.
"I think so. You know how Luka is — there's no way he'd leave the van, and he'd definitely stop Anna from coming after us," Max said.
"Yeah, you're right," Lisa replied.
"Well, let's focus on the problem here. We can think about them later — they're probably fine," Luna said.
"Hmm, we still need to find Louis and her parents," Lisa said.
"Then I have a better suggestion," Luna said, stopping suddenly.
The group stopped walking and turned to her.
"What's your suggestion?" John asked.
"I really think we should split up," Luna said, crossing her arms.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Luna," Lisa said.
"Yeah, I don't want to split up and get lost," Max added.
"Are you going to leave me alone?" Stephanie asked softly.
"No, sweetheart. You'll be with me, so don't worry. We won't leave you alone until we find your parents," Lisa said gently.
"I think you should really rethink your idea, Luna," John said.
"Well, if you think about it, splitting up might be better. We can cover more ground and find them faster," Luna replied.
"But I don't like the idea of being alone in this jungle," Lisa said.
"Then how about we split into two groups?" Luna suggested.
"Two groups?" John repeated.
"Yeah. There are five of us here, including the child. The adults can split into two groups, and one group can take the child," Luna said.
"Your idea isn't completely wrong," John admitted.
"You're agreeing with her now?" Lisa said.
"I'm just saying it's not the best idea, but maybe we should try it," John said.
"I guess splitting up might not be that bad," Max said.
"But what if we don't find each other again?" Lisa asked.
"If that happens, we'll wait until morning. Once daylight comes, finding everyone will be easier," Luna said.
"Fine," Lisa said quietly, realizing everyone agreed with the plan.
"So, how do we split up?" Max asked.
"Leave it to me," Luna said after a short pause. "Lisa, Max, and Stephanie will be in one group. That leaves me and John. Is that okay?"
"Sure, that's fine with me," John said.
"Okay," Max added.
"Fine," Lisa said in a slightly low tone.
"Alright then, let's go find them," Luna said.
At her words, the group split into two and started walking in opposite directions, hoping to find their missing friend and the little girl's parents.
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Meanwhile, Louis and Luka were running toward the strange sound. Luka had a bad feeling, but Louis seemed confident. After running for ten minutes, Luka stopped and said,
"We've been running for a while now — where the hell did that sound come from? We still haven't reached it."
"Are you tired already?" Louis teased.
"We've been running nonstop, of course I'm tired!" Luka growled.
"But you're right. We've been running, and there's still no one around," Louis admitted.
"That's what I'm saying. When we heard that sound, it felt so close — but now, nothing. I think something's really wrong with this jungle," Luka said.
"Yeah. We need to hurry, find the others, and get out of here immediately," Louis said.
Luka nodded, and the two began walking again, hoping to find everyone.
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Meanwhile, Anna and Max were following the crying voice. The sound was getting louder as they moved closer, but they couldn't find anyone.
"Just where is this voice coming from?" Anna asked in frustration.
"Right? We've followed it for so long, but there's no one here," Max agreed.
Then, suddenly, the crying stopped.
"Where did it go?" Anna said, her voice trembling slightly.
"I don't know, but I think we need to get out of here immediately," Max said.
"Yeah, let's go," Anna agreed.
Just as they began walking, a childlike laughter echoed around them — loud and chilling, as if a young child was laughing right beside them.
"What the heck…" Max whispered.
"I'm scared, Max," Anna said, clutching his arm tightly.
"Don't be scared, Anna. I'm here with you," Max said — though he was hiding his own fear too.
"What do we do now, Max?" Anna asked.
"Anna, just hold my hand. We have to leave this place, okay?"
Anna gripped his hand tightly, and together they walked faster, trying to escape the eerie laughter that followed them deeper into the jungle.