Chapter 7
The night after discovering the underground temple chamber was restless.
The jungle felt different now.
Not peaceful.
Not welcoming.
It felt… watching.
Rajveer sat near the fire he had just lit again. The flames danced slowly, lighting the small shelter he and Meera had built from bamboo and large jungle leaves.
Meera was sitting opposite him, quietly watching the fire.
For the first time since they reached the island, she was silent.
Rajveer noticed it.
"That's strange," he said with a teasing smile. "The jungle must be ending soon."
Meera frowned.
"Why?"
Rajveer leaned back against a tree.
"Because the girl who talks non-stop is suddenly quiet."
Meera picked up a small stick and threw it at him.
"Shut up."
Rajveer laughed.
"There she is."
But Meera's smile faded again.
She looked toward the dark jungle.
"Rajveer… did you feel it?"
"Feel what?"
"That temple…"
She hesitated.
"It felt like it knew me."
Rajveer looked at her carefully.
He remembered what happened earlier.
When Meera touched the ancient stone symbol inside the temple… the glowing vines reacted.
And the strange energy in the air changed.
He tried to act casual.
"You're imagining things."
Meera crossed her arms.
"Oh really?"
"Yes."
"You saw the glowing vines!"
"That could be… jungle fungus."
"Jungle fungus?"
Rajveer shrugged.
"Scientific explanation."
Meera rolled her eyes.
"You are impossible."
Rajveer smirked.
"Still better than you."
Meera gasped dramatically.
"Better than me?"
"Yes."
"You nearly fainted when that snake appeared."
"I did NOT faint."
"You screamed."
"I was strategizing!"
Meera burst out laughing.
"You jumped behind me!"
Rajveer pointed at her.
"Excuse me, I was protecting you."
"Oh really?"
"Yes."
"You used me as a shield."
Rajveer paused.
"…Temporary shield."
Meera laughed harder.
For a moment, the fear of the jungle disappeared.
Just two people.
Laughing in the middle of nowhere.
The Storm Arrives
Suddenly the wind changed.
The leaves began shaking.
Rajveer looked up.
"Uh oh."
"What?"
"Storm."
Thunder rolled across the sky.
Within minutes, the rain began pouring.
Heavy.
Wild.
The jungle became chaotic.
Rajveer quickly stood.
"Inside the shelter!"
Meera rushed with him.
The rain hammered the leaves above their shelter.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
For a moment the jungle looked terrifying.
Huge shadows.
Moving trees.
Unknown sounds.
Meera hugged her knees.
"I hate storms."
Rajveer looked at her.
"You're afraid?"
She glared.
"I'm not afraid."
Thunder cracked loudly.
Meera jumped closer to him.
Rajveer smiled.
"You're sitting very close for someone not afraid."
Meera realized and quickly moved away.
"I slipped."
Rajveer chuckled.
"Of course."
Another thunder crack.
Meera instinctively grabbed his arm.
Rajveer didn't say anything.
But he didn't move away either.
For a few seconds… neither spoke.
Then Meera slowly let go.
"Sorry."
Rajveer shrugged.
"It's okay."
Then he smirked again.
"Next time you want to hold my arm, you don't need a storm."
Meera's face turned red.
"Shut up!"
She hit him again.
Rajveer laughed.
Jungle Awakening
Suddenly Meera froze.
"Rajveer…"
"What?"
"Do you hear that?"
The jungle had gone quiet.
Too quiet.
Then—
A low growl.
Rajveer stood instantly.
"Tiger."
Meera's eyes widened.
The growl came again.
Closer.
Rajveer grabbed a burning stick from the fire.
"Stay behind me."
Meera frowned.
"You're not fighting a tiger with a stick."
Rajveer whispered.
"I'm distracting it."
"That's a terrible plan."
"It's the only plan."
The tiger stepped out from the shadows.
Huge.
Golden eyes glowing in the firelight.
Meera's heart pounded.
Rajveer slowly stepped forward.
"Hey… big cat…"
The tiger growled louder.
Then something strange happened.
The jungle vines around Meera began moving.
Softly.
Like they were alive.
Meera looked down.
Her hand was glowing faintly green again.
The same energy from the temple.
Rajveer didn't notice.
He was focused on the tiger.
The tiger crouched.
Ready to attack.
"Rajveer…" Meera whispered.
"Not now."
The tiger leaped.
But suddenly—
VINES shot out from the ground.
They wrapped around the tiger's legs.
The animal crashed to the ground, confused.
Rajveer stared.
"What the—"
Meera raised her hand instinctively.
The vines tightened.
The tiger roared angrily.
Then finally broke free and ran back into the jungle.
Silence returned.
Rajveer slowly turned toward Meera.
"…You want to explain that?"
Meera looked at her glowing hands.
"I… don't know."
Rajveer stared at her.
"You controlled the vines."
"I didn't mean to!"
Rajveer blinked.
"Meera…"
"Yes?"
"You might actually be a jungle witch."
Meera hit him again.
"I am NOT a witch!"
Rajveer rubbed his arm.
"Well… vine queen then."
Meera sighed.
"This is serious!"
Rajveer nodded.
"Yes."
Then he smiled.
"But also very cool."
Meera rolled her eyes again.
"You're unbelievable."
The Truth Begins
Later that night, the storm stopped.
The fire burned quietly.
Meera looked at Rajveer.
"Can I ask something?"
"Depends."
"Answer honestly."
Rajveer hesitated.
"Okay."
"What do you do in real life?"
Rajveer looked at the fire.
This question again.
He couldn't tell her he was a billionaire CEO.
Or that his family had secrets connected to the temple.
So he lied again.
"I run… a small business."
Meera nodded slowly.
"What kind?"
"Export."
"Export what?"
Rajveer paused.
"…things."
Meera narrowed her eyes.
"You're lying."
Rajveer smiled nervously.
"No."
"You are."
"You just saved me from a tiger and you're interrogating me?"
Meera crossed her arms.
"Fine."
Then she looked down.
"My parents were killed."
Rajveer's expression changed.
"Meera…"
"My uncle took everything."
"Everything?"
"Our empire."
Rajveer froze.
Empire?
"Now I live with my grandmother in a small village."
Rajveer felt a strange guilt.
She was telling the truth.
And he was lying.
"Why did you come on the trip?" he asked softly.
"My friend forced me."
Rajveer smiled slightly.
"Same."
She looked at him.
"For someone with a 'small business' you don't act poor."
Rajveer smirked.
"And for a village girl you fight tigers."
Meera laughed softly.
"Fair."
The Jungle Temple's Secret
Morning came.
Golden sunlight filled the jungle.
Rajveer stretched.
"Today we go back to the temple."
Meera nodded.
"I want answers."
They walked through the jungle.
Birds flew overhead.
The air smelled fresh after the storm.
When they reached the temple ruins…
Something had changed.
The stone door to the underground chamber was open.
Rajveer frowned.
"That wasn't open yesterday."
Meera stepped closer.
The air felt strange again.
The glowing symbol on the wall suddenly lit up.
Then a deep voice echoed through the chamber.
"THE HEIR HAS RETURNED."
Rajveer and Meera froze.
The stone floor began glowing.
Ancient carvings lit up across the walls.
Meera's hand glowed again.
The vines around the temple began moving.
The voice echoed again.
"THE BLOOD OF THE GUARDIAN FAMILY… HAS COME BACK."
Rajveer's heart stopped.
Guardian family?
The voice continued.
"THE SECRET OF THE JUNGLE… BELONGS TO YOU."
Rajveer whispered slowly.
"…What does that mean?"
But the temple suddenly shook violently.
The chamber began collapsing.
Meera grabbed Rajveer's arm.
"We need to go!"
They ran out of the temple just as the entrance collapsed behind them.
Both stood there breathing heavily.
Meera looked at Rajveer.
"Guardian family…"
Rajveer stared at the ruins.
A terrible thought forming in his mind.
"What if…"
He whispered.
"…my family knew about this place?"
Meera's eyes widened.
But suddenly—
Footsteps.
Voices.
Human voices.
Rajveer turned sharply.
Someone else was in the jungle.
And they were coming toward the temple.
Meera whispered nervously.
"Rajveer…"
"Yes?"
"I don't think we're alone on this island anymore."
Rajveer looked into the dark jungle.
And for the first time…
He felt something worse than wild animals.