(Chapter 2)

**_Image source: Created with Meta Ai in WhatsApp Application._** * * * The fog grew thicker. The faint sound of gamelan could be heard, coming from nowhere. The four of them stood frozen, none daring to move. Nisa held Ardi's arm tightly, her body trembling violently. "I told you… I told you we were being followed." Ardi stared at Reno with red eyes. "Are you satisfied now, Ren?! If we had gone the official route, none of this would have happened!" Reno fell silent, his face pale. He wanted to argue, but his tongue was tied. Maya covered her mouth with her hand, tears welling up. "I don't want to be here… please, let's just go back. I'm so scared." The child had disappeared with the fog, but the cold still bit. It was as if someone was lurking behind every tree. Reno finally forced his voice. "We… we shouldn't panic yet. If we run haphazardly, we'll get lost. It's better if we gather together, make a fire, and wait for the fog to clear." Ardi snorted harshly. “Making a fire?! You think it’s easy to start a fire in fog like this? The leaves are all wet, Ren!” “So what do you want?! Walk? Back? Straight? We’ll just go around here and there, Di!” Reno snapped back, his voice cracking. Maya immediately screamed. “Stop fighting! Didn’t you see what we just saw?!” There was silence. Only their breaths were labored. Ardi glared at Reno hatefully. “You have to take responsibility. I came along because I trusted you. Now we’re trapped. If anyone dies, it’s all your fault.” Reno closed his eyes, his jaw clenched. “Enough, I was wrong. But we have to think about how to survive first.” Nisa suddenly whispered softly, her eyes blank. “He’s… still here.” “Who?” Maya immediately panicked. Nisa pointed at the fog. Her hands were shaking. “That tall figure. He didn’t leave. He was waiting for us.” Ardi shook Nisa’s shoulder. “Nis! Wake up! Don’t ramble!” But Nisa was crying. “I can hear him… his voice is in my head… he said… ‘You guys can’t go home…’” Maya immediately covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back her screams. “Don’t say that! I can’t take it!” Reno hurriedly reached into his bag and pulled out a tattered compass and map. His hands were shaking. The compass needle was spinning erratically. “The compass… is broken,” Reno muttered softly. Ardi laughed dryly, half angry, half desperate. “Great! It’s complete. The map is messed up, the compass is crazy, the route is unclear. Where else are you taking us, Ren? To the grave?!” Reno slammed the compass to the ground. “Shut up, Ardi! I’m thinking too!” The fog grew thicker. The wind blew, carrying the stench of iron. Like the smell of blood. Maya cried hysterically. “I don’t want to die here… please.” Ardi looked at Reno once more, then lowered his head. “I don’t care anymore. I’m going down now. Whether you come with me or not is up to you.” “Are you crazy?!” Reno quickly held him back. “The fog is this thick, where are you going?!” “I’d rather try to get down than stay here waiting for the devil to pick me up!” Ardi roughly slapped Reno’s hand away. Nisa remained sitting, trembling violently. “Don’t… don’t separate… if we separate… he’ll take them one by one.” Ardi stared at her, then looked away. His heart was hesitant, but anger clouded it. “I don’t care what you say. I don’t want to be a victim,” he said coldly, then started walking toward the path that was faintly visible through the fog. Maya screamed. “Ardi! Don’t leave us!” Reno took a step forward, holding his breath. “If you go alone, it’s suicide. Please, don’t be selfish.” Ardi paused for a moment. His shoulders heaved with heavy breathing. He turned his head with a vengeful gaze. “Selfish? Who’s been selfish all this time, huh?! You, Ren! You’re the one who led us down this cursed path! You’re the one who brought us together… whatever it was! If I die, I don’t want to die because of you.” Silence. Those words hit Reno hard. Ardi took another step, plunging into the fog. His silhouette slowly disappeared. “Ardi!!!” Maya shouted, her voice hoarse. Reno froze, wanting to chase after him but hesitant. Nisa was still curled up, crying. Maya stared at Reno with a look filled with anger and fear. “If anything happens to Ardi, I won’t forgive you, Reno.” The silence returned. Only the faint sound of gamelan music could be heard, as if accompanying their separation. Amidst the fog, the three of them realized… night hadn’t come yet, but darkness had already engulfed them. The fog never cleared. The cold air grew more biting, piercing to the bones. From a distance, the sound of the gamelan remained faint, replaced by a low hum like a gong being gently struck. Maya stood still, staring at Ardi, who had vanished into the mist. "Ardi! Don't go alone!" Her voice cracked, mixed with tears. Reno grabbed her shoulder. "Maya, calm down." "Calm down?! How can I calm down?!" Maya slapped his hand away roughly. "You saw it yourself, right? Ardi's angry because of you! If he doesn't come back—" "Enough!" Reno snapped, his face tense. "Do you think I didn't think about that?!" Maya stared at him with red eyes, her body trembling. “You’re selfish, Reno. You insisted on going this way from the start. Ardi was right, this is all your fault.” Reno fell silent. Maya’s words cut deeper than the cold air. Meanwhile, Nisa sat curled up, hugging her knees. Her lips trembled silently, her eyes blank. “He… went with Ardi… he won’t come back.” Maya turned her head quickly. “Nisa, please don’t say that! Don’t scare me!” Nisa looked up slowly, staring at them with an unusual look in her eyes. “I can hear his voice. He’s so happy… because Ardi is walking alone.” Reno swallowed, his throat dry. “What do you mean?” “He said… one goes… one disappears. Whose turn is it now?” Nisa whispered softly. Maya immediately ran towards Reno, hiding behind his back. “Reno! I can’t take it anymore, I swear! I don’t want to be here!” Reno struggled to maintain his sanity. She took a deep breath and looked around. White fog obscured everything. There was no path, no landmarks, just a forest that felt increasingly foreign. “Listen to me,” Reno’s voice was hoarse but firm. “We’ll stay here until the fog clears. We’ll wait for Ardi to come back.” “If he doesn’t come back?!” Maya replied quickly, tears streaming down her face. Reno clenched his jaw. “If he doesn’t come back… we’ll look for him.” Maya covered her face with both hands, her shoulders shaking violently. “I hate you, Reno. I swear, I hate you.” Silence. The words cut deeper than a scream. Reno just stared at the ground, his chest tight. Suddenly CRACK! The sound of a twig breaking came from the same direction Ardi had walked. Maya looked up quickly. “That… that’s Ardi, right?!” Reno turned on the flashlight and shone it into the fog. A faint silhouette could be seen, limping closer. “Ardi!” Maya shouted, half relieved, half panicked. She stepped forward. But Reno grabbed her arm. “Wait…” The silhouette became clearer. A tall, thin body. His clothes were tattered. His head was lowered. His steps were slow, as if dragging his feet. “Ar… Ardi?” Maya’s voice trembled. The silhouette stopped. Slowly, he looked up. It wasn’t Ardi’s face. His eyes were pitch black, smiling widely. Maya screamed hysterically, falling to her knees. Reno quickly pulled her back. Nisa only whispered softly, as if resigned. “I told you… he went with Ardi. Ardi is gone.” The silhouette laughed softly, its voice like an echo from the bottom of a well. Then… it vanished, swallowed by the mist. The silence returned, but it was more tense. Maya struggled in Reno’s arms. “You saw it yourself, right?! That wasn’t Ardi! That wasn’t Ardi!!” Reno held his head with both hands, almost going crazy from the pressure. "I don't know what else to do... I swear I don't know..." Nisa covered her face, whispering desperately. "We'll never get home from here." And night slowly descended, adding darkness to the already dense fog. TO BE CONTINUED