Night in the mountains had its own way of making people feel small.
Not just because of the darkness.
Not just because of the cold.
But because after walking for several hours, sounds we normally never thought about suddenly became incredibly clear.
The sound of my own breathing.
The sound of my pack straps rubbing against my jacket.
The sound of shoes stepping on wet ground.
The sound of branches snapping.
Even the sound of my heart beating inside my chest.
And that night, after we'd been away from basecamp for almost two hours, I started to feel like another sound had joined us on our walk.
Footsteps.
From behind.
At first, I didn't pay much attention to them.
I assumed they belonged to Fathur.
Or maybe Adit.
Or one of us had fallen a few yards behind because the trail was starting to climb.
The problem was, whenever I stopped...
the sound stopped too.
I turned around.
There was no one there.
Only darkness.
The trees stood close together on both sides of the trail. Their trunks looked black beneath the light of our headlamps. Thin fog hung low, making the headlamp beams reflect like white smoke.
I raised my head slightly.
“Why’d you stop?”
Bon’s voice came from up ahead.
Only then did I realize I was about fifteen feet behind the group.
“Nothing.”
I quickly picked up my pace.
“Thought something happened,” Darma called from behind me.
I glanced back.
Darma was walking with one hand gripping his pack strap. His breathing was already getting heavy, but his face was still relaxed.
“Were you the one behind me?” I asked.
Darma frowned.
“Why?”
“Nothing. I thought those footsteps were yours.”
Darma gave a quiet laugh.
“What’s wrong with my footsteps?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t start, Joy.”
I frowned.
“Start what?”
Darma moved a little closer.
“Don’t tell me you’re starting to hear weird stuff.”
I didn’t answer.
Darma watched me for a few seconds, then shrugged.
“If you’re tired, say so. Don’t keep it bottled up.”
“Yeah.”
We started walking again.
I tried to ignore it.
I really did.
But a few minutes later, the sound returned.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Slow.
Steady.
And this time, I was sure.
The sound was coming from behind us.
The hiking trail grew darker after we made it past a long uphill stretch.
Our headlamps were the only source of light. The white beams from nine lamps formed small circles on the ground.
We couldn't see very far.
Only a few yards ahead.
Everything else was black.
Completely black.
If someone were standing thirty feet behind us, we probably wouldn't be able to see their face.
If someone were standing sixty feet behind us...
we might not even know there was anyone there.
I turned around again.
There was no one there.
“Joy.”
I nearly jumped.
Ozan was standing beside me.
“What?”
“You’ve been looking behind you this whole time.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“No, I haven’t.”
Ozan pointed at my face.
“That’s the third time you’ve looked back.”
I fell silent.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
He gave me a crooked smile.
“Scared?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
I looked behind me once more.
“I think there’s someone back there.”
Ozan immediately laughed.
“Other hikers?”
“Maybe.”
“Good.”
“Good?”
“Yeah. Means we have company.”
I didn’t laugh with him.
Ozan started walking again.
I remained there for a few seconds.
Something was making me uncomfortable.
It wasn't the footsteps.
It was the distance between the sound and us.
Whenever we heard it, the footsteps seemed to be coming from the exact same place.
Not getting closer.
Not moving farther away.
Always behind us.
As if someone were walking at exactly the same speed as we were.
Eventually, I forced myself to catch up.
“How much farther?”
Fathur’s question came from up ahead.
“I don’t know,” Bon replied.
“Checkpoint 3?”
“Should be.”
“Should be?”
Bon turned around.
“What?”
“You said it would take an hour.”
Bon checked his watch.
“We’ve only been walking forty minutes from the rest area.”
“So twenty more minutes?”
“More or less.”
Fathur let out a long sigh.
“Why can’t mountains have escalators?”
Darma immediately chimed in.
“Because then it’d be a mall.”
A few people laughed.
So did I.
The tension in the air eased a little.
That was Darma.
He always had a way of lightening the mood.
Even when we were in the middle of the forest, hiking at night, with the temperature dropping by the minute, he could still joke about escalators.
“What if mountains had elevators?” Adit asked.
Darma answered immediately.
“You go up.”
“Down?”
“Then you go down.”
“What if the elevator breaks?”
“Then you just...”
Darma stopped.
Everyone waited.
“Take the stairs.”
Doy, who was walking ahead, only shook his head.
“Not funny.”
“The important thing is that I laughed.”
“You laughed at your own joke.”
“That means I’m happy.”
I smiled.
For a few moments, the footsteps behind us completely slipped from my mind.
We kept walking.
Until suddenly...
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
I heard them again.
This time, much more clearly.
I stopped.
Everyone behind me stopped too.
“What is it now?” Ozan asked.
I raised one finger to my lips.
“Quiet.”
They immediately fell silent.
The atmosphere changed.
We could hear the wind.
Leaves scraping against one another.
Our breathing.
Then...
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Three footsteps.
From behind us.
Everyone looked at one another.
No one spoke.
Darma turned toward me.
I could see his expression change.
His smile was gone.
“You hear that?” he whispered.
I nodded.
Ozan remained silent.
Fathur swallowed.
Adit slowly raised his headlamp and aimed it behind us.
The beam illuminated only a few tree trunks.
There was no one there.
“Other hikers?” Fathur whispered.
Bon stared back down the trail.
“There should be.”
“There should be?” Fathur repeated.
Bon didn’t answer.
I looked at the trail behind us.
If there really were other hikers, we should have been able to see their headlamps.
But there was nothing.
Only darkness.
Doy finally spoke.
“Don’t think about it.”
Ozan turned to him.
“Why?”
Doy kept looking behind us.
“Sometimes sounds in the mountains can fool your ears.”
“Footsteps?”
“Dirt, branches, wind.”
Ozan nodded slowly.
“Exactly.”
He sounded like he'd found the answer he was looking for.
I wasn't convinced.
But I chose to stay quiet.
Bon raised his hand.
“Let’s move.”
We started walking.
This time, nobody joked around.
I walked in the middle of the group.
Bon and Doy were in front.
Eka and Alin followed them.
Adit, Ozan, Darma, and Fathur were in the back.
I was between the two groups.
It was actually a fairly comfortable position.
Not too far ahead.
Not too far behind.
But that night, being in that position made me feel like I was in the middle of something.
There were seven people ahead of me.
One or two behind me.
And for some reason, I kept feeling like there was one more person.
Someone who wasn't part of our group.
I tried to remember how many of us there were.
Joy.
Bon.
Darma.
Doy.
Ozan.
Fathur.
Adit.
Eka.
Alin.
Nine.
I counted again.
Nine.
I took a breath.
There was no problem.
There were nine of us.
Nine.
I repeated it in my head.
Maybe it was because Doy had warned us earlier not to answer voices calling our names.
I didn't believe in things like that.
At least, I hadn't before that night.
I was more likely to believe someone had gotten lost by taking the wrong trail than been abducted by a supernatural creature.
I was more likely to believe someone had hypothermia than was possessed.
I was more likely to believe strange sounds in the forest came from an animal than from something invisible.
But the problem was...
believing in logic didn't automatically make something strange cease to exist.
Sometimes we simply hadn't found the explanation yet.
That was what I told myself.
Until the sound came again.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
I stopped.
This time, Bon stopped too.
He turned toward me.
“Joy?”
I raised my hand.
“Give me a second.”
Everyone stopped.
I stared behind us.
“Who’s last?”
Darma raised his hand.
“Me.”
“Fathur?”
“Here.”
“Adit?”
“Here.”
“Ozan?”
“Here.”
I counted them.
Then looked behind us.
“No one’s walking behind us, right?”
Darma answered.
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Sure.”
I stared down the trail.
Then I heard it again.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
This time, it wasn't just three footsteps.
There were more.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Someone was walking.
Slowly.
Getting clearer.
Everyone heard it.
Fathur immediately backed toward Adit.
“Holy shit...”
Ozan said nothing.
Bon raised his hand.
“Everyone, be quiet.”
We fell silent.
The sound continued.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Like someone was casually walking toward us.
I could imagine those shoes stepping on the ground.
I could even imagine the weight of the person wearing them.
Right foot.
Left foot.
Stop.
Then start again.
One thing made my skin crawl.
The sound wasn't coming from a single direction.
At first, it came from behind us.
Then slightly to the left.
Then it seemed to move to the right.
I swept my headlamp across the area.
Trees.
Bushes.
Fog.
No people.
“Bon,” Doy whispered.
Bon turned to him.
Doy didn't say anything.
He only shook his head.
Bon finally switched off his headlamp.
I was confused.
“Why’d you turn it off?”
“Everyone turn them off.”
“What?”
“Headlamps.”
No one moved.
Bon repeated himself.
“Turn them off.”
One by one, the lights went out.
I turned mine off too.
Darkness swallowed us instantly.
I had never known darkness could feel that heavy.
There was truly nothing.
I couldn't even see my own hand.
“Why?” Fathur whispered.
“Quiet.”
We waited.
A few seconds.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Then...
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The footsteps came again.
This time, they were very close.
I held my breath.
Something was walking among the trees.
I couldn't see it.
But I could hear it.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Then it stopped.
The back of my neck turned cold.
No one spoke.
Someone let out a short breath.
Maybe Fathur.
Maybe me.
I didn't know.
Then a branch snapped.
Crack.
From the right.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
I switched on my headlamp.
The others followed.
The light swept across the trees.
Empty.
There was no one there.
“Dog?” Darma whispered.
“If it were a dog, it wouldn’t sound like that,” Ozan replied immediately.
“You know that?”
“Yeah.”
“You have a dog?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know?”
Ozan stared at Darma.
“The internet.”
Darma nodded.
“Oh.”
No one laughed.
We finally decided to continue on.
Bon told everyone to stay closer together.
No one was allowed to fall behind.
No one was allowed to walk alone.
I noticed the change in Bon's attitude.
He had seemed relaxed before.
Now he kept looking behind us.
Doy was doing the same.
Even Ozan, who had been the most laid-back earlier, wasn't saying much anymore.
We walked for almost twenty minutes.
There were no more sounds.
I started to think that maybe it really had just been the sounds of the forest.
Until we passed a bend.
The trail was a little wider there.
I saw shoeprints.
A lot of them.
I stopped.
“Bon.”
Bon turned.
“What?”
I pointed at the ground.
“Whose footprints are these?”
Bon came closer.
Doy looked too.
The shoeprints were clear in the wet earth.
One.
Two.
Three.
More than ten.
Bon crouched down.
“Other hikers.”
“When did they pass?”
“I don’t know.”
Darma looked ahead.
“Maybe the group before us.”
I nodded.
That made sense.
This mountain didn't belong to us.
Of course there were other hikers.
We just hadn't seen them yet.
I even felt relieved.
So there really were other people on the mountain.
The footsteps earlier might really have belonged to other hikers.
The problem arose when Doy pointed at the footprints.
“This is weird.”
“What?” Fathur asked.
Doy pointed to one of the prints.
“These footprints.”
“Then what?”
“They all lead this way.”
He pointed toward us.
I looked again.
He was right.
The footprints came from ahead and all pointed toward where we were standing.
Bon furrowed his brow.
“Maybe they stopped here.”
Doy shook his head.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because there aren’t any footprints leading away.”
We all fell silent.
Darma crouched down.
He looked at the ground ahead of us.
Then behind us.
“So that means they...”
“I don’t know,” Doy cut in.
Fathur began to look uneasy.
“Don’t tell me they disappeared.”
Ozan stood up immediately.
“Don’t make things up.”
Doy looked at him.
“I’m not making anything up.”
“Then what?”
Doy didn't answer.
Bon finally stood.
“Let’s go.”
“Bon...” Fathur sounded hesitant.
“Let’s go.”
His tone was firm.
No one argued.
We started moving again.
I looked at the footprints one more time before leaving them behind.
For some reason, I felt that something was wrong.
Not because of the footprints.
But because I noticed something I hadn't realized before.
The last footprint was right where we were standing.
And it was facing...
toward us.
About half an hour later, the atmosphere returned to normal.
We started talking again.
Not much.
But enough to ease the tension.
Fathur walked beside Adit.
Darma was in the back.
Ozan occasionally swept his light across the trees.
Bon and Doy were up front.
Eka and Alin walked side by side.
I saw Eka glance behind us several times.
“Eka.”
He turned.
“Yeah?”
“What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been looking behind you.”
Eka fell silent.
Alin looked at me.
Then Eka gave me a faint smile.
“Nothing.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
I wasn't convinced.
“You hear something?”
Eka looked behind us again.
For a long time.
Then he said quietly,
“No.”
I nodded.
“Okay.”
I was about to start walking again when Eka suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Joy.”
I turned to him.
“What?”
He looked toward the forest.
“Nothing.”
“What?”
Eka didn't answer right away.
Then he whispered,
“If someone calls you later...”
I waited.
“Don’t answer.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Just don’t.”
After saying that, Eka immediately walked ahead to catch up with Alin.
I remained standing there.
There was something in his expression.
Not the expression of someone joking around.
Nor the expression of someone who was afraid.
More like...
someone who had already experienced something.
I quickened my pace.
“Why’d you say that to Joy?”
I heard Alin ask Eka.
They were walking several yards ahead.
Eka didn't answer.
“Eka.”
“What?”
“You know something?”
“No.”
“Don’t lie.”
I heard their conversation by accident.
I wasn't trying to eavesdrop.
But the trail was narrow.
Their voices carried clearly.
Alin asked again.
“You said you didn't see anything earlier.”
“Yeah.”
“But you've been looking behind us this whole time.”
Eka was silent.
“You saw something?”
There was no answer for a long time.
I was about to catch up when Eka finally said,
“They haven’t left.”
My steps automatically slowed.
Alin fell silent too.
“Who hasn’t?”
Eka looked behind us.
I immediately pretended to look at the ground.
“They.”
“Who?”
Eka didn't answer.
“Eka.”
“They’re still behind us.”
Alin drew a breath.
“You mean the hikers?”
Eka nodded.
I saw Alin's expression change.
“You can see them?”
Eka nodded again.
“How many?”
Eka didn't answer.
“Eka.”
Eka looked behind us.
Then he said very quietly,
“At first, there was only one.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“And now?”
Eka stared straight ahead.
“More.”
I didn't hear the rest of their conversation because Darma suddenly walked past me.
“Why are you spacing out?”
I started walking immediately.
“Nothing.”
“You've been acting weird.”
“I'm tired.”
Darma laughed.
“Everyone's tired.”
I didn't answer.
But Eka's words kept spinning through my head.
At first, there was only one.
Now there are more.
We finally reached a relatively flat area.
Bon checked his watch.
“Five-minute break.”
No one objected.
Everyone sat down immediately.
I took off my pack and sat on a rock.
My feet felt hot.
Even though the air was cold.
Fathur opened his water bottle.
“I'm down to half.”
“Still a long way to go,” Ozan said.
“That's why you shouldn't drink too much.”
“What if I'm thirsty?”
“Swallow your spit.”
Darma laughed.
Fathur glared at him.
“You're not helping.”
“Not my job.”
Adit pulled out his camera.
He began taking a few pictures.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Documenting the trip.”
“In the dark?”
“That’s what makes it good.”
Adit aimed the camera around us.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Then he looked at the screen.
“That’s weird.”
“What?”
Adit enlarged one of the photos.
We all moved closer.
The picture showed the trail we'd just come through.
Trees.
Fog.
Ground.
Nothing looked strange.
“What’s weird about it?” Ozan asked.
Adit shook his head.
“Nothing.”
He opened the next picture.
Click.
The second photo.
Still the same.
The third photo.
I saw something.
“Wait.”
Adit stopped.
I pointed at the screen.
“There.”
Everyone looked.
Between two trees, far down the trail...
there was something.
Something like a human shadow.
“Zoom in.”
Adit enlarged the image.
The picture became pixelated.
The figure was still visible.
Someone was standing among the trees.
“Another hiker?” Fathur asked.
Adit shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Ozan immediately took the camera.
“It’s just a person.”
He zoomed in again.
The figure was standing with its back to the camera.
Wearing a dark jacket.
A pack.
Long pants.
Shoes.
Everything looked like an ordinary hiker.
“See?” Ozan said.
I nodded.
“So there are other hikers.”
Darma looked relieved.
“See? We’ve been scaring ourselves this whole time.”
Doy didn't say anything.
He only looked at the photo.
Then at the trail.
Then back at the photo.
“Adit.”
“Yeah?”
“When was this photo taken?”
Adit checked the file information.
“Just now.”
Doy nodded.
“What time?”
Adit told him the time.
Doy frowned.
“So...”
He stopped.
“What?” Bon asked.
Doy pointed at the screen.
“That person is behind us.”
“Yeah.”
“But...”
Doy looked at us.
“Why didn’t we see him?”
No one answered.
Adit looked at the photo again.
Then he took the camera and stood up.
“I’ll take another one.”
He aimed the camera at the trail.
Click.
Everyone waited.
Adit looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“What?” Bon asked.
Adit didn't answer.
He handed the camera to Bon.
Bon looked at the screen.
Then went silent.
I moved closer.
In the second photo...
the figure was still there.
But its position was different.
Now it was closer.
Much closer.
Even though we hadn't seen anyone walking.
“This...”
Fathur began to stand.
“Did it move?”
Ozan took the camera.
“Maybe the angle was different.”
“But I took it from the same spot,” Adit said.
Ozan looked at the two photos.
He didn't answer right away.
Doy spoke quietly.
“Don’t take any more pictures.”
Adit stared at him.
“Why?”
“Don’t.”
“Why?”
Doy looked toward the forest.
“Because maybe it isn't the one moving.”
I didn't like that sentence.
“Then who is?”
Doy turned to us.
“Don’t ask.”
Bon decided we needed to continue immediately.
No one objected.
Adit put the camera back in his pack.
We started walking again.
This time, our formation was truly tight.
I walked directly behind Bon.
Doy was beside him.
Eka and Alin were behind us.
Adit, Ozan, Darma, and Fathur were in the back.
No one dared to walk too far away.
The night grew colder.
The fog also began to thicken.
Our headlamps pierced it for only a few yards.
I kept looking ahead.
Don't look behind you.
I didn't know why that sentence appeared in my mind.
Maybe because of Doy.
Maybe because of Eka.
Maybe because of the photo.
I tried to focus on my steps.
One.
Two.
Three.
One.
Two.
Three.
Until finally...
I heard the sound again.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
I turned around.
There was nothing there.
I turned forward.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound was still there.
But this time...
it wasn't coming from behind us.
It was coming from ahead.
I stopped.
Bon turned.
“What is it?”
I pointed ahead.
“A sound.”
Bon raised his hand.
Everyone stopped.
We listened.
Silence.
Then...
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Footsteps.
From ahead.
Everyone swept their headlamps across the trail.
Empty.
My heart began beating faster.
“Other hikers?” Fathur whispered.
There was no answer.
The footsteps grew clearer.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Then stopped.
I stared ahead.
The fog drifted slowly.
And for a moment...
I thought I saw something.
Someone standing behind the fog.
Not moving.
I blinked.
The figure was gone.
“Joy?”
Bon's voice brought me back to myself.
“What?”
“Did you see something?”
I wanted to say no.
But before I could speak...
someone's voice came from behind us.
“Joy.”
I froze.
It was Eka's voice.
I turned around.
Eka was standing several yards behind us.
“Yeah?”
Eka looked confused.
“What?”
“Did you call me?”
Eka shook his head.
“No.”
I stared at him.
“Someone just called me.”
Alin immediately moved closer to Eka.
“Eka's been with me this whole time.”
I swallowed.
“Then who was it?”
No one answered.
Doy closed his eyes for a moment.
Then he said quietly,
“Don’t answer again.”
Ozan snorted.
“Who called you?”
I looked at him.
“Eka's voice.”
Ozan looked at Eka.
Eka was pale.
“I didn't call him.”
Ozan gave a small laugh.
“Maybe it was a voice from up ahead.”
Doy cut him off immediately.
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Don’t go looking.”
Ozan began to get annoyed.
“If there’s someone out there, we need to know.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Doy stared at him.
“Because if it really wants to meet us...”
Doy stopped.
“...it’ll come to us on its own.”
No one spoke after that.
We started walking again.
I didn't know how long we'd been walking.
Maybe ten minutes.
Maybe twenty.
Time felt strange when you were in the forest at night.
There were no points of reference.
No sun.
No traffic.
No houses.
Only footsteps.
Until I heard something again.
Not footsteps.
Breathing.
Slow.
Very close.
I turned to the right.
There was no one there.
I turned to the left.
Nothing.
I walked faster.
The breathing moved with me.
I stopped.
The sound stopped.
I walked.
The sound walked.
I stopped.
The sound stopped.
My heart began pounding.
I tried to think logically.
Maybe it was my own breathing.
Maybe it was someone ahead of me, carried on the wind.
Maybe...
“Joy.”
I turned around.
Darma.
“What?”
“You're pale.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“No, I'm not.”
Darma moved closer.
“You hearing it again?”
I was silent.
He didn't need to ask anything else.
“Oh.”
Darma looked behind us.
“The thing from before?”
I nodded.
Darma didn't joke this time.
He only said,
“Don’t be alone.”
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“Walk with me.”
I nodded.
We walked side by side.
A few steps later...
Darma spoke quietly.
“Joy.”
“Hmm?”
“If you hear a voice calling my name later...”
I looked at him.
“Don’t answer.”
I fell silent.
Darma stared straight ahead.
“I think I’m starting to hear it too.”
I didn't know whether to feel relieved or even more afraid.
At least I wasn't the only one hearing something anymore.
We continued walking.
No one spoke.
Until Fathur suddenly shouted,
“HEY!”
Everyone stopped.
“What?!”
Fathur pointed behind us.
“There’s someone!”
Bon immediately turned around.
“Where?”
“There!”
The headlamp beams swung toward the trees.
Empty.
Fathur pointed again.
“There was someone there.”
“When?”
“Just now!”
Ozan moved closer.
“What did you see?”
“A person.”
“What did they look like?”
“I don’t know.”
“Clearly?”
Fathur shook his head.
“A shadow.”
Darma took a breath.
“Fathur...”
“I’m serious. I saw someone.”
Bon looked at Doy.
Doy said nothing.
Bon finally made a decision.
“We’re not stopping again until Checkpoint 3.”
“What if there’s someone back there?” Fathur asked.
“We ignore them.”
“What if they need help?”
Bon fell silent.
Doy answered.
“Don’t answer.”
Fathur stared at him.
“But what if it really is a lost hiker?”
Doy didn't answer immediately.
Then he said,
“If it's human, it can follow us.”
Fathur fell silent.
“And if it isn't...”
Doy looked at him.
“...don't give it a reason to come closer.”
We started walking again.
About fifteen minutes later, the footsteps returned.
This time, everyone heard them.
No one needed to ask.
No one needed to make sure.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Someone was walking behind us.
Bon didn't stop.
Doy didn't look back.
We all kept moving.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound drew closer.
I could hear feet pressing into the ground.
I could hear small branches snapping.
I could even hear faint breathing.
I wanted to turn around.
Desperately.
But I remembered what Doy had said.
Don't give it a reason to come closer.
So I kept looking ahead.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Closer.
I began counting the steps in my head.
One.
Two.
Three.
The sound was about thirty feet behind us.
Then twenty-four.
Eighteen.
Twelve.
Then...
it stopped.
We kept walking.
I didn't turn around.
Neither did anyone else.
The silence was so complete that my own breathing sounded loud.
Then...
something started walking again.
But this time, it wasn't behind us.
It was beside us.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
I looked to the right.
Trees.
Darkness.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound moved with us from inside the forest.
I quickened my pace.
Darma did the same.
Everyone began walking faster.
No one was running.
Not yet.
Until the sound suddenly came from right behind me.
Tap.
I turned instinctively.
And for a fraction of a second...
I saw someone.
A hiker.
Standing about fifteen feet behind us.
His jacket was dark.
His pack was large.
His head was slightly bowed.
He didn't move.
I stopped.
The world seemed to stop too.
“Joy!”
Bon's voice came from ahead.
I didn't answer.
I only stared at the person.
He was still standing there.
Then slowly...
his head lifted.
I couldn't see his face because it was hidden in shadow.
But I knew he was looking at me.
Something cold crawled from the back of my neck down my spine.
I took one step backward.
“Joy!”
Bon shouted again.
I finally turned to the front.
“Bon...”
“What?”
“There’s someone.”
Bon immediately looked behind us.
Every headlamp swung in that direction.
Empty.
I froze.
“There was...”
There was no one there.
No hiker.
No shadow.
Nothing.
Darma came closer.
“You saw someone?”
I nodded.
“There was someone.”
Darma stared down the trail.
“Where?”
I pointed.
“There.”
Darma shook his head.
“There’s nothing there.”
I swallowed.
“There was someone.”
Ozan looked at me.
“You sure?”
I wanted to answer.
But suddenly Eka said,
“Don’t.”
Everyone turned.
Eka stood perfectly still.
His face was pale.
“Don’t look there again.”
I stared at Eka.
“You saw it?”
Eka shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what?”
Eka looked down the trail behind us.
“It’s moved.”
I felt the blood stop flowing through my veins.
“Where?”
Eka didn't answer.
I watched his expression.
He was holding something back.
Something that frightened him.
Alin took Eka's hand.
“Eka...”
Eka whispered,
“Up ahead.”
Everyone turned.
The trail ahead was empty.
There was no one there.
Bon aimed his headlamp farther ahead.
Fog.
Trees.
Ground.
No people.
Then...
we heard footsteps.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
From ahead of us.
I looked at Bon.
Bon looked at Doy.
Doy said only one thing.
“Don’t move.”
We all stopped.
The sound came again.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
This time, it was perfectly clear.
Someone was walking toward us.
From the direction of Checkpoint 3.
From the direction that should have been empty.
We stood where we were.
No one spoke.
No one dared to breathe too loudly.
The sound drew closer.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
I saw the fog ahead move.
There was a shadow.
Faint.
Then a figure emerged.
A hiker.
Dark jacket.
Large pack.
Head bowed.
Walking slowly toward us.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
He came closer.
I could make out the shape of his body.
Darma gripped his pack strap.
Fathur backed away.
Ozan wasn't smiling anymore.
Adit raised his camera.
Bon lifted his hand, signaling everyone not to move.
The hiker kept walking.
Five feet.
Four feet.
Three feet.
Then stopped.
He stood in front of us.
About ten feet away.
His head was still bowed.
No one spoke.
I waited for him to raise his face.
He didn't.
Then...
he turned around.
Slowly.
And walked past us.
Just like that.
He didn't say anything.
He didn't look at us.
He simply walked past along the right side of the trail.
I held my breath.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
He moved farther away.
I had just started to feel relieved when Darma whispered,
“Joy...”
I turned to him.
“What?”
Darma stared ahead.
His face was pale.
“He walked past us from the front...”
I nodded.
“So?”
Darma swallowed.
“Why are the footsteps...”
He stopped.
I frowned.
“What footsteps?”
Darma pointed behind us.
I turned around.
The hiker was gone.
But the footsteps were still there.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
From behind us.
I froze.
Bon immediately looked at Doy.
Doy closed his eyes.
Then said very quietly,
“No one count.”
I didn't understand.
“Why?”
Doy opened his eyes.
His gaze fell on me.
“Because all this time...”
He looked at each member of the group one by one.
“...there hasn't been just one person walking behind us.”
I swallowed.
Among the trees, far behind us, a small light appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
And another.
I counted without realizing it.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
I stopped counting.
Because there was one more light.
Ten.
And that tenth light...
was moving toward us.