Chapter 6: Shakuj

    Their plane landed in Kanpur, India. Mila and Julio had become friends with Suzie and Aidan quickly. They took a taxi to the bus station. There, they paid for their tickets and boarded the bus that was to take them to the town of Purwa. From there they had to walk to the abandoned village with their tourist group.

    The group consisted of a young Indian couple with a small boy that had too much energy, a group of five school kids, and their tour guide, Mishka, a young woman who didn't look older than twenty-three. She led

them down a dirt path that stretched for three miles into the jungle. High frences rose up on either side to prevent the wild animals from attacking the tourists. There were many beautiful birds and monkeys high up in the trees. But there was no sign of any tigers.

    As they went along, Mishka retold the story of the abandoned village of Shakuj. She even explained that the great-great-great-grandson of Opil Chaj traveled to the United States of America just before he died. It was said that he moved to escape the wrath of the Deceiver, who still tried to attack and kill people in his tiger form. 

    "Do you believe that the story is real?" Aidan asked Mishka. 

    "The people in Purwa never go near the village, fearing that the legend may be true. But I believe that the Deceiver was actually just a tiger, not an evil spirit."

    "Then what about the people deceived into doing evil acts?" 

    "Umm, people are always doing evil, it is part of our society, nothing new."

    Mishka then changed the subject and started to talk about what they would see when they reach the village. And, soon enough, they did. It was in a large 

clearing surrounded by the jungle. There were some houses and small huts still standing, but the rest had been reduced to rubble and twigs overtime. There was a large, stone altar near the jungle that was cracked and covered in moss and grass. 

    "This is where animals were sacrificed to keep the Deceiver away," Mishka explained.

    Brooks walked up to it and ran his fingers along the cracks. Suddenly, he heard a long growl from inside the jungle. He jumped back as Mishka gave a yelp of fear, then calmed herself and said, "There is a fence protecting this village, no animal can get us."

    But just as she finished speaking, a voice came from the jungle. It was low and animal-like. It said, "I am coming for you Mujali. The Deceiver is coming for your descendants."

                Chapter 6: Chase

    There was a mighty roar and a tiger jumped over the fence. It was huge, twice a tiger's normal size, and it had long, sharp claws and yellow eyes. The tourists began to scream and run back toward the path through the jungle as the Deceiver stared at Brooks, Aidan, and Suzie. 

    Suzie grabbed Aidan's hand and was trembling with fright, but none of them could move. Mishka was frozen as well. But the rest of the tourists, including Mila and Julio, had made it to the path safely.

    The tiger started to pace, his tail flicking swiftly from side to side. His yellow eyes peered through them and they all shivered. 

  "I haven't been able to kill one of Mujali's descendants since the one left. I have been waiting for this day forever, slowly losing my mind to this tiger." 

    "What? We aren't related to Mujali!" Suzie burst out.

    "But you are, I can feel it. I spent my whole life studying Mujali to know how to eventually kill him. And you are his descendants, and now you will all die!"

    The tiger leapt forward and they quickly got out of the way of his sharp claws. 

    "Get to the fence!" Aidan yelled as he grabbed Mishka's hand and pulled her back to reality.

    They all bolted for the fence which was easy to climb. Deceiver ran after them and cleared the fence with one leap. They all ran into the jungle, trying to lose Deceiver in the trees. But he knew the jungle like he knew Mujali and couldn't be lost.

    Suzie was the slowest and kept tripping over the large tree roots sticking up from the ground. Deceiver ran after them, gaining speed as they tried to escape. 

    "You cannot run!" he yelled after them. 

    "We have to get back to Purwa," Mishka said.

    They all agreed and kept running for what seemed like hours until it started to rain. This was good because that meant that they had more cover from Deceiver. The tiger lost sight of them in the downpour and roared angrily.

    They found shelter under a broken tree, in a small pool of mud. 

  "Ugh, this is my new blouse that I designed myself," Suzie complained. "This is disgusting."

    "The mud will mask our scent," Mishka said smartly. "We must wait until the rain stops to move on again."