Jungle Again

Faria, in a quick move, rose from her seat. "May I go to the toilet, sir?" she asked the teacher, her voice both polite and urgent.

"Sure, and if anyone else needs to go, don't disturb the lecture," the teacher responded, engrossed in the lesson.

As Faria slipped out of the classroom, a subtle stir among the students began. Tamim seized the opportunity, swiftly making his way outside, scanning the area for Faria's presence.

"What's going on?" Tamim inquired, catching up to her.

"Someplace with potential for a secret lab—a location where some spies mysteriously vanished during their investigation," Faria explained. "I'm heading to one of the spots my dad suggested," she added, a hint of urgency in her voice.

"Where is that place?" Tamim queried, trying to gather more details.

"I just received the picture; I don't have the exact location," Faria admitted.

"So, how are we going to get there?" Tamim inquired.

"It's somewhere within the woodland mountain area," Faria replied.

"It'll take us a day to reach there," Tamim calculated.

"If it's an issue, don't come. I didn't ask you to join me. As promised, I'll share the information related to Dr. X. That's all," Faria retorted. "But if you decide to come, grab a costume that can conceal your identity. Meet me at the mountainside, I'll be waiting for five minutes."

"What? I have to go home first to get a costume, and that'll take me half an hour," Tamim said

Faria uttered, "Come with me," and set off. Tamim trailed behind, an uneasy thought lingering: "I'm following her instructions as though I'm being directly manipulated."

As Faria led the way into the garage, Tamim couldn't help but question, "What are we doing here?"

With a deft move, Faria conjured a portal beneath Tamim, and in a blink, he stood in front of his own home. "Ah, so she found an empty spot and teleported me using her powers," Tamim deduced, observing his worn-out attire. "This won't suffice," he pondered, unlocking a concealed room with a secret key.

Inside his house, Tamim sought the costume he wore that day, finding it in a dire state. "This won't do," he thought, opening a previously locked room to retrieve a hidden key.

Emerging from his house, Tamim spotted Faria waiting outside. "How did you know where I live?" he questioned, surprised by her knowledge.

"It's not necessary for you to know; I found the location," Faria replied cryptically.

Soon after, Faria made her way toward the rear of the house, prompting Tamim to ask, "Where are you going?"

"Follow me," urged Faria, taking out her phone and scrutinizing a photo. She began observing the image, conjuring a portal. With resolve, she stepped through it.

"I had a feeling she'd do this," Tamim mused, joining Faria as he entered the portal, disappearing into the unknown.

Tamim stepped out of the portal and found himself in a forest, startled by the fleeing deer.

"Who would set up a base in a place like this? It's got tigers, bears, and even lions," Tamim voiced his concern.

"I'm not sure, but we have to find out," replied Faria.

Tamim remembered something and asked, "The other day, you said you needed to physically see the place to teleport. How did you get here with only a photo?"

Faria explained, "I can teleport by seeing a photo, but it's less reliable if the picture was taken a while ago. The photo I have was taken this morning by a spy before he vanished into this forest."

Transforming her outfit, Faria took to the air, scanning the area using her X-ray vision. Observing this, Tamim quickly donned his costume over his clothes.

Faria noticed his attire, commenting, "This fabric looks familiar."

Puzzled, Tamim asked, "What do you mean?"

"Never mind. I've found an unusual spot in the middle of the forest; I think there's something odd about it," Faria said, taking off with Tamim following behind.

While running, Tamim pondered, "How can someone fly? Do they defy gravity or something?"

As they reached the location, Tamim attempted to move forward, but Faria abruptly stopped him.

"Why?" questioned Tamim.

"My X-ray vision shows a barrier, but my normal vision sees nothing," Faria explained.

"How do I use X-ray vision?" Tamim inquired.

"It's an ability; try concentrating hard until your vision blurs, and you might access X-ray vision. It works for me, but I'm not sure about you," she instructed. Suddenly, a soul monster attacked Tamim, and Faria swiftly intervened.

"I can't see anything," Tamim exclaimed.

"It was an invisible entity, possibly a soul, that attacked you," Faria explained.

"What are souls doing here?" Tamim wondered.

"There's not just one, there are many, and they've combined to create an invisible barrier," Faria informed.

to be continued...