The dense jungle of Chiang Mai province, Thailand. Twenty-one-year-old Arav had come for a weekend trek with his college friends. This part of Doi Suthep-Pui National Park wasn't very well-known to tourists.
"Arav! Come on, we're lighting the campfire!" his friend Som called out.
The night sky was filled with stars. The five friends played guitar, sang songs, and talked. But Arav's mind felt somehow restless. Strange sounds kept drifting from deep within the jungle.
Around eleven o'clock, everyone retreated to their respective tents. Arav was lying in his sleeping bag, listening to a Thai horror podcast on his phone, when he heard the sound of his tent's zipper opening.
"Who's there?" Arav sat up with a start.
"It's... me, Karan." His classmate Karan entered. His eyes and face looked somehow excited, abnormal.
"At this hour? Is something wrong?"
Karan knelt down in front of him. "Arav... I can't hide it anymore. I love you. Since first semester—"
"Karan, stop." Arav raised his hand. "You're my friend. Just a friend. I don't see you that way."
Karan's face hardened. "But... I've done so much for you! How can you—"
"Karan, please. We'll talk about this tomorrow, okay? Just leave now."
But Karan didn't back away. Instead, he moved closer, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "No. Give me a chance—"
He grabbed Arav's shoulder and tried to pull him.
*Smack.*
Arav's hand shot up in defense, his palm connecting with Karan's cheek. The sound of the slap echoed inside the tent.
Time froze for a moment.
Then Karan's face twisted with rage. "You hit me? How dare you—"
He lunged at Arav.
Acting on instinct, Arav unzipped the other side of the tent and rolled out. He got to his feet and ran into the dark jungle.
"Arav! Come back!" Karan's shout from behind.
But driven by fear, humiliation, and anger, Arav's feet didn't stop. He ran... and ran... no headlamp, no time to grab his phone's flashlight. Only the faint moonlight filtering through the trees.
Who knows how long he ran. Suddenly his foot caught on a root and he stumbled forward.
Lying face-down on the grass, when he lifted his head, the surroundings were silent. Terrifyingly silent.
No sounds from camp. No voices of friends. Only an owl's call in the distance and... something else.
Then he saw it.
In the darkness, about twenty feet away, two red eyes. Like burning coals.
The eyes were fixed on him. Not moving, but staring. Not at an animal's height... at a human's height.
*Drip... drip... drip...*
A sound. Like drops falling.
Then a voice. Deep, unnatural, each word echoing with pauses: "Why... are you... here?"
Arav's eyes widened. His breath caught.
The red eyes moved forward. One step. Two steps.
Moonlight fell upon the figure.
Tall. Extremely tall. But human-shaped. But not human... no... something was wrong... its body's proportions, its movements...
No scream came from Arav's mouth. Only a choked voice.
Then everything went black.