Viktor and Igor

The forest mist drifts slowly through the trees. Your shoes are damp with mud, and the cold is starting to bite into your hands.

You shouldn't be there alone.

In the distance you hear running water… and low voices.

As you approach, you see them by the stream. Viktor Sayenko stands motionless, while Igor Suprunyuk silently cleans something near the bank.

You take a step back unintentionally.

A branch creaks under your foot.

The sound ruins everything.

Igor turns around first, startled. Viktor slowly raises his gaze to you. He doesn't seem surprised… just attentive.

Your hands are trembling.

He notices you're alone. No phone in sight. No one around. The whole forest seems empty all around.

—“Did you get lost?” Viktor asks with an odd calm.

You don't know what to answer.

Igor looks behind you, as if checking if there is someone else with you.

There isn't one.

The silence becomes unbearable.

Viktor takes a slow step forward. He doesn't smile. He doesn't seem nervous either. That's the worst part.

—“You shouldn’t walk around here alone,” she says.

Your whole body is screaming at you to leave.

The stream continues to murmur behind them as the sky begins to darken between the black branches of the forest.