They fled the cave through a narrow side passage Vikram knew — a tight crawl that scraped Asha’s knees and elbows raw, her naked body smeared with mud, blood from the fresh kill, and the sticky remnants of their last fuck. The woman’s dying gasp still rang in her ears. Vikram had not hesitated. One swing. Clean. Final. He hadn’t looked back. Just pulled Asha deeper into darkness until they emerged onto a steep, overgrown slope that led down toward the sea.

Night had deepened. The rain had turned violent — sheets of water driven sideways by wind. Lightning cracked the sky every few minutes, turning the jungle white for split seconds. Thunder rolled like war drums. They ran barefoot, slipping on wet roots and rocks, until the trees thinned and the ground leveled into sand.