The forest was silent when Daniel saw the shape.
Not a uniform in sight. No sirens. No crowd. Just one man on a lonely trail, staring at what he first thought was an abandoned backpack… until it moved.
One step closer, and his ordinary Saturday shattered.
A torn jacket. Cracked lips. Mud covering trembling hands. The stranger looked exhausted, as if he had been fighting to stay alive for days. Daniel froze when the man slowly lifted his head.
“Wat…”
It was barely a word.
Daniel crouched beside him. “Water?”
The man nodded.
Daniel pulled a bottle from his backpack and helped him take a small sip. The stranger drank carefully, then suddenly grabbed Daniel’s sleeve with surprising strength.
“Don’t… call them.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Who?”
The man glanced toward the trees.
“They’re looking for me.”
For a moment, Daniel wondered if he was dealing with someone dangerous. But then he noticed something hanging from the man’s neck—a small metal identification tag, scratched and covered in dirt.
Daniel wiped it clean.
His heart stopped.
The name engraved on it belonged to someone who, according to the date beneath it, had been missing for nearly six years.
Daniel immediately reached for his phone.
But before he could make the call, a distant sound echoed through the forest.
An engine.
The stranger’s face changed.
“They found me.”
Daniel turned toward the trail.
Through the trees, two headlights slowly appeared.
And suddenly, the lonely forest didn’t feel lonely anymore.
