WHISPERS OF THE FORGOTTEN

Chapter 4: The Cursed Forest

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The night was thick with an unsettling quiet as Meera and Aarav drove deeper into the forest. The winding road seemed endless, the trees on either side growing more twisted and gnarled, their branches reaching out like skeletal hands. The darkness was oppressive, the headlights barely piercing through the gloom, casting eerie shadows that seemed to move and shift in the periphery of their vision.

Aarav's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he navigated the narrow, winding road. Every nerve in his body was on edge, as if the forest itself was watching them, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Beside him, Meera sat rigid, her eyes darting nervously between the road ahead and the dense forest that pressed in on them from all sides.

"I don't like this," Meera whispered, her voice trembling. "It feels like we're being watched."

Aarav nodded, his jaw clenched. "We need to keep moving. The sooner we get out of this forest, the better."

The car's engine hummed as it climbed a steep incline, the road barely wide enough to accommodate the vehicle. The forest seemed to close in even more, the trees forming a dense canopy overhead that blocked out the moonlight entirely. The air grew colder, and a thick mist began to rise from the ground, swirling around them like a living thing.

Suddenly, the car lurched to a halt. Aarav's heart skipped a beat as he pressed down on the gas, but the car wouldn't move. The tires spun uselessly, kicking up gravel and dirt.

"What happened?" Meera asked, panic creeping into her voice.

Aarav leaned forward, peering through the windshield. "I think we're stuck. The road must have given way underneath us."

He turned off the engine and stepped out of the car, the cold air biting at his skin. The forest was deathly silent, the only sound the crunch of gravel under his boots as he walked around to the front of the car. The mist was thicker here, swirling around his legs as he inspected the damage.

The car had indeed sunk into the ground, the front tires half-buried in the loose soil. It was as if the forest itself had decided to trap them, pulling them down into its depths. Aarav cursed under his breath and kicked at the dirt in frustration.

Meera joined him, her eyes wide with fear. "What do we do now? We can't just stay here."

Aarav looked around, trying to keep his own fear in check. "We'll have to try and dig the car out. If that doesn't work, we'll need to find another way out of here."

They both grabbed whatever tools they could find in the car-an old tire iron, a small shovel-and began digging around the tires. The soil was damp and heavy, and every movement seemed to take an eternity. The forest watched in silence, the mist swirling around them, thickening with each passing minute.

As they dug, the whispers returned, more insistent than before. They were faint at first, just on the edge of hearing, but they grew louder, more frantic, as if the forest itself was trying to communicate with them.

Meera froze, the shovel slipping from her hands. "Do you hear that?"

Aarav stopped digging and listened. The whispers were all around them now, echoing through the trees, growing louder with each passing second. They weren't just random sounds-they were voices, dozens of them, speaking in a language neither of them understood.

"We need to get out of here," Aarav said, his voice tight with fear. "We're not alone."

Meera nodded, her eyes wide with terror. "But the car..."

"Forget the car," Aarav snapped. "We'll have to leave it. We need to find another way out of the forest."

They grabbed their backpacks from the car and turned to face the dark, twisted path ahead. The road behind them had disappeared into the mist, the way forward barely visible in the thick fog. But they had no choice-they couldn't stay here, not with the whispers growing louder, more insistent.