Jake’s head throbbed painfully—he hadn’t slept at all. They were on a brief break from the ongoing search for Jasmin, the student who had vanished without warning. He rubbed his temples, trying to ease the tension, but the ache only deepened.

They still couldn’t trace the signal from Jasmin’s tracker.
All they found was the device—
abandoned deep in a part of the forest rarely visited.

But not Jasmin.
Not a single clue.

The sky was beginning to lighten—sunrise approaching—yet they had nothing. The entire night had slipped by with zero progress.

Earlier, Jake thought Ruth and Thalia had disappeared too. The idea of losing three students during a single school activity nearly broke him. His exhaustion was written clearly on his face.

Around him, a few teachers stood abruptly, alarm sharp in their movements.

“Sir Jake! Over here!” someone called.

Jake rushed toward the voice.

“What is it?” he asked, breath quickening.

“We saw a body. Over there,” the teacher said. His serious tone left no room for doubt.

Jake’s stomach tightened.

“We need to confirm if it’s Jasmin,” he said quickly.

“The kids are still asleep. And once word gets out, people will start snooping. Let the others handle the crowd,” another teacher replied.

Jake nodded. Panic among the students was the last thing they needed. Only three teachers—including him—would head to the site.

They ventured deeper into the dense forest, a place students never dared explore.

“There,” one of the teachers whispered, pointing ahead.

Jake followed his gaze—
and the smell hit him first.

A foul, rotting stench clung to the air, thick enough to choke.
They pressed forward despite the urge to recoil.

A female body lay ahead, face turned away, long hair tangled and matted with dirt.

Jake’s breath hitched.

“Call the police immediately,” he said firmly. “No one touches anything.”

Disturbing the crime scene would erase precious evidence.

They stepped back, keeping a careful distance.

“Make sure no students come near here. And don’t tell them what we found—not yet,” Jake added.

He made the call. The morning sun had risen fully by then, bathing the forest in pale light. They stood silently, watching, waiting, hoping.

Who could do something this cruel?
Jake wondered.
What kind of monster destroys a life this way?

His hunger and exhaustion disappeared. All he could think about was the girl lying before them—and the nightmare her family would face.

Soon, the police and the SOCO team arrived. Jake reported everything calmly despite the tightness in his chest.

When the authorities examined the area, someone spoke up:

“It’s a woman. Found her ID.”

“This one’s been dead for days. Not the crime scene either. Someone dumped her here,” an officer concluded.

Jake exhaled in relief.
It wasn’t Jasmin.

But the sight still twisted his gut.

Her body was mutilated—her heart ripped out, intestines missing, eyes gone.
A life stolen and discarded like trash.

Jake guessed she was around Jasmin’s age—maybe from a nearby town.

As they walked back toward camp, he overheard the other teachers whispering:

“Kidnappings are rising. Especially young girls. Some are found days later… with organs missing.”

“Organ trafficking,” another said darkly. “Plus the drug trade… the black market. It’s all connected. I hope someone stops them soon.”

Jake stayed silent.
He knew it wasn’t just trafficking.
It was the entire rotten system—the kind that thrived in silence.
And now, it had seeped into their school activity.

When they returned, word spread among the staff:
The body wasn’t Jasmin’s.

“Thank God,” another teacher breathed.

But the danger wasn’t over.

An emergency meeting was held. A simple curfew wasn’t enough. They needed tighter supervision, stricter rules, constant vigilance. They couldn’t let another student vanish.

Jake prayed this wouldn’t escalate into something far worse. He prayed they’d all return home alive. That the darkness lurking in this forest wouldn’t follow them beyond the campgrounds.

And he needed to keep a closer eye on Ruth and Thalia.
He had almost lost them last night—
all because they supposedly “just needed to use the restroom.”

He sighed heavily. His body ached from fatigue, but rest would have to wait.

The forest had become a graveyard.
And one student was still missing.