"Ouch..." Aditi wailed as one more thorn stuck in her leg. 

"Ha...ha," Rahul chuckled, "isn't it easy now?"

They both worked in a research institute. Though this was their first assignment together, they had gone along pretty well. 

Better than she thought they would; actually.

"What? I hadn't expected it to be like this"

"So, what did you expect? The forest to be full of flowers?"

Aaah...She hated when he had this sarcastic face on. And worst when he was right.

But seriously, she hadn't thought it to be like this. They had reports of a meteor falling on a remote island off the coast of India. Their task was to collect the samples of that meteor.

The island was abandoned years ago because of a volcano. And so getting there proved to be the first hurdle. 

No boat was ready to stay on the island. All would just drop them and return back when called.

"Can't it have fallen in the city?" she was irritated now.

Rahul could only smile to this situation. He had been an adventure savvy person from the childhood. To him, this trip seemed just like the trekking he would enjoy with his father.

His job on this assignment was to document the whole thing and capture it all in the camera. 

He didn't know Aditi before this assignment. But watching her and the situation around, he was still surprised to find her holding it together. She was certainly complaining a lot less than his sister on their trips. 

"Then, I wouldn't have got to witness this natural masterpiece" he replied to her.

She just waved her hand and walked on.

Atleast he's right on this, she thought, this island is indeed a natural masterpiece.

It was surrounded by crystal blue water on all sides with only one beach located on the far side of the main land.

This required them to go round the whole island before setting their feet on it. It gave them the chance to admire its beauty. 

That volcano which had deserted the island stood in the center with all its glory. And on around it spread the dense forest.

But all that beauty seemed to be in a different world as they walked in the forest. The trees were itching and they had already seen a variety of insects.

And now as if all that was not enough,

"It's been raining all day long, doesn't it take any respite" she scowled.

"I am more worried about the network; the phones stopped working since the weather has turned"

Oh! Great, more bad news.

But just as she was thinking this, she heard something; as if someone was there.

"Sshh...listen"

The sound was almost lost in the heavy noise of the rain. Yet, a low rumble could definitely be heard. It was as if something was churning.

"It must be the fumes. From the burning meteor"

"But I don't see any flames around"

"Yes, that's a little odd. We didn't see any smoke even when we were in the boat"

She was walking slowly, one step at a time. Rahul was doing the same a few steps ahead of her.

Her eyes were scanning all around her when she bumped into him. She was about to ask him why he stopped when he put a finger to his lips and beckoned her further.

When she saw what he was pointing at, her eyes widened.

She clutched his hand, fear seeping through her whole body.

"Holy shit! That's not a meteor. It's an U...a U..."

"U.F.O"

***

What will they do now?