I Found You Between the Trees

The Secret Beneath the Sanctuary

The first explosion shook the sanctuary at 2:13 a.m.

Windows shattered instantly across the eastern medical wing while terrified animal cries erupted through the darkness. Birds exploded into the stormy sky as emergency sirens screamed across the forest reserve.

Bhaag Kaur woke violently.

For one disoriented second, she thought she was still trapped inside a nightmare.

Then came the second explosion.

Closer.

The floor beneath her cabin trembled hard enough to throw books from shelves.

Outside, people were shouting.

Gunfire echoed somewhere near the northern security fence.

Bhaag grabbed the pistol beneath her bedside table and rushed toward the door just as Raaji burst inside, breathing heavily.

“They breached the sanctuary!”

“Who?”

“You already know who.”

Another burst of automatic gunfire answered for him.

Black Fang Circle.

The war had finally arrived openly.

Smoke spread across the sanctuary grounds while volunteers ran desperately through rain and chaos trying to evacuate injured animals from burning structures. Somewhere near the elephant rehabilitation zone, flames climbed violently into the storm-dark sky.

Bhaag’s heart pounded.

“Where’s Joga?”

As if summoned by the question itself, the cabin door opened again.

Joga entered soaked from rain and blood.

Not all of it belonged to him.

“There are at least twelve armed men inside the perimeter,” he said calmly despite the chaos outside. “More waiting near the forest road.”

Raaji stared at the blood across Joga’s sleeve. “You’re injured.”

“Later.”

Another explosion thundered through the sanctuary.

The lights flickered.

Then died.

Darkness swallowed the room except for emergency red backup lights.

Joga turned toward Bhaag immediately.

“They’re searching for the files.”

“Then let them search,” Bhaag snapped angrily while loading ammunition into her pistol. “I’m tired of running.”

Joga stepped closer.

“They are not here only for evidence.”

The intensity in his eyes made her freeze.

“They came for you.”

Silence hit the room heavily.

Outside, a wounded tiger roared somewhere near the burning veterinary enclosure.

Joga grabbed a flashlight and looked toward the floor beneath the operations table.

“We don’t have time.”

Raaji frowned. “Time for what?”

Without answering, Joga shoved aside a heavy metal cabinet hidden against the wall.

Beneath it—

a rusted steel hatch appeared.

Bhaag stared in confusion. “What is that?”

“An old tunnel system beneath the sanctuary.”

“You knew about this?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

Joga ignored the question while pulling the hatch open.

Cold air rushed upward carrying the scent of mold, chemicals, and something far worse beneath it.

Death.

Distant footsteps echoed outside the cabin.

Someone was approaching.

Fast.

Joga looked at Bhaag urgently. “Move.”

Gunshots exploded through the outer walls seconds later.

The three disappeared underground just before bullets tore across the room above them.

The tunnel swallowed them completely.

Darkness stretched endlessly ahead while rusted pipes lined narrow concrete walls dripping with moisture. Emergency lights flickered weakly every few meters, barely illuminating old military markings and strange coded symbols painted long ago across the underground structure.

Rain thundered faintly above them.

Bhaag’s breathing remained uneven as they moved deeper underground beside Joga.

“Who built these tunnels?”

“People who wanted secrets buried.”

Not comforting.

The deeper they descended, the colder the air became.

Something about the tunnels felt wrong.

Too large.

Too organized.

As if the sanctuary above had merely been camouflage hiding something far older and more dangerous beneath the forest.

Raaji suddenly stopped walking.

“Wait.”

He aimed his flashlight toward one nearby wall.

Deep claw marks stretched across the concrete.

Not human.

Not entirely animal either.

Bhaag felt uneasiness tighten inside her chest.

“What happened down here?”

Nobody answered immediately.

Then—

a sound echoed faintly through the darkness ahead.

Metal scraping.

Followed by low mechanical humming.

Joga’s expression hardened instantly.

“They’re still operating.”

Bhaag frowned. “What’s operating?”

But Joga had already begun moving faster through the tunnel.

The fear inside his eyes unsettled her more than the explosions above ever could.

Because Joga Singh rarely looked afraid.

Ten minutes later, the tunnel opened into something monstrous.

Bhaag stopped breathing.

Massive underground laboratory chambers stretched before them beneath the sanctuary like hidden industrial nightmares. Rows of glass containment tanks glowed beneath cold fluorescent lighting while steel surgical tables stood stained with old blood.

Animal cages lined entire walls.

Some empty.

Some not.

A snow leopard lay unconscious inside one reinforced enclosure connected to machines extracting blood through dozens of tubes.

Nearby, rare exotic birds sat motionless inside cramped cages beneath numbered labels.

Elephant organs floated inside preservation tanks.

Tiger bones.

Sedated wolf cubs.

Chemical storage units.

Genetic research files.

Bhaag stared in horror.

“No…”

Raaji whispered shakily, “Waheguru…”

This was not ordinary trafficking.

This was industrialized biological exploitation.

Joga walked slowly through the chamber with terrifying calmness.

Like someone revisiting hell.

Bhaag noticed his fists trembling slightly for the first time.

Rows of computer screens displayed transaction records involving international buyers, private pharmaceutical corporations, military contracts, and black-market auctions across multiple countries.

Millions.

Maybe billions.

Entire species had become products.

A nearby monitor suddenly activated automatically as motion sensors detected movement.

Archived footage began playing silently.

Bhaag stepped closer.

Then froze completely.

Her mother appeared on the screen.

Dr. Amrita Kaur stood inside this very laboratory years earlier arguing violently with several men wearing black tactical uniforms.

The footage contained no audio.

But Bhaag understood enough.

Her mother had discovered everything.

Another clip followed.

Amrita secretly photographing animal experimentation files.

Recording evidence.

Trying desperately to expose the operation.

Then finally—

the final recording.

Bhaag’s hands began shaking uncontrollably.

Her mother was being dragged violently through one of the underground corridors by armed men.

She was bleeding.

Terrified.

Still fighting.

The footage ended abruptly.

Bhaag stepped backward like someone physically struck.

“No…”

Her voice collapsed completely now.

“They killed her here.”

Silence surrounded the laboratory.

Even Raaji looked unable to speak.

Joga lowered his eyes.

He had already suspected.

But seeing it confirmed changed something inside him too.

Bhaag stared at the frozen screen showing her mother’s terrified face.

Then suddenly—

grief transformed.

The tears stopped.

The weakness disappeared.

Something far more dangerous replaced it.

Rage.

Pure.

Cold.

Unforgiving rage.

Bhaag grabbed one nearby metal tray and smashed it violently against the containment tank beside her.

Glass exploded across the floor.

The unconscious snow leopard inside collapsed weakly free from its restraints.

“They turned living creatures into merchandise,” she whispered.

Another containment tank shattered beneath her gunfire.

Chemical fluids spilled across the floor.

“And my father protected them.”

More shots echoed through the underground chamber.

Raaji tried calming her. “Bhaag—”

“No!”

Her voice cracked with fury.

“All this time they told the world they cared about conservation while they butchered animals beneath our feet!”

Tears returned again, but different now.

Not helpless tears.

War tears.

“I am done being afraid.”

The entire underground chamber seemed to tremble beneath the intensity in her voice.

For the first time since her mother’s death—

Bhaag Kaur looked dangerous.

Joga watched her quietly.

And strangely—

he felt proud.

Suddenly alarms erupted throughout the laboratory.

Red warning lights flooded the underground chambers.

Raaji cursed. “Motion detection systems!”

Joga immediately moved toward one security console.

“They know we’re here.”

Gunfire echoed faintly through distant tunnels.

Black Fang assassins were descending underground.

Fast.

Raaji loaded ammunition into his rifle. “How many?”

“Enough.”

Bhaag wiped tears from her face before grabbing another weapon from a dead guard near one surgical station.

Her hands no longer trembled.

“Good.”

Joga stared at her carefully.

There was fire in her now.

Not billionaire elegance.

Not sheltered grief.

Something harder.

Stronger.

She noticed him watching.

“What?”

Joga hesitated.

Then quietly said:

“This place changes people.”

Bhaag looked around the chamber filled with tortured wildlife and stolen lives.

“No,” she answered coldly. “This place reveals them.”

For several seconds, neither looked away.

Then explosions thundered through the tunnels behind them.

The assassins had arrived.

The chase through the underground corridors became chaos.

Gunfire ricocheted through concrete passageways while emergency alarms screamed endlessly above flashing red lights. Bhaag and Raaji fired toward advancing Black Fang operatives dressed entirely in black tactical gear.

Joga moved differently.

Not recklessly.

Not emotionally.

Efficiently.

Almost terrifyingly calm.

Every movement precise.

Every shot controlled.

Bhaag noticed it even during the chaos.

This was not survival instinct alone.

Joga had been trained somewhere.

Brutally.

They turned sharply through another tunnel while bullets shattered pipes overhead, flooding sections of the corridor with freezing water.

One assassin lunged toward Bhaag suddenly from the darkness.

Before she could react—

Joga intercepted him violently.

The fight lasted less than ten seconds.

When it ended, the assassin collapsed unconscious against the tunnel wall.

Bhaag stared breathlessly.

“Who taught you to fight like that?”

Joga avoided her eyes.

“Pain.”

Not an answer.

Yet somehow the most honest one possible.

They finally reached an abandoned underground storage chamber far from the main laboratory zone. Heavy steel doors sealed temporarily behind them while distant gunfire continued elsewhere.

For the first time in nearly twenty minutes—

silence returned.

Bhaag leaned against the wall breathing hard.

Blood stained her sleeve from a shallow bullet graze.

Joga noticed immediately.

“You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing.”

He stepped closer anyway.

Carefully.

His fingers touched her arm gently while inspecting the wound beneath emergency lighting.

The intimacy of the moment contrasted painfully against the violence surrounding them.

Bhaag watched him quietly.

“You always do that.”

Joga frowned slightly. “What?”

“Take care of everyone except yourself.”

He said nothing.

Because she was right.

Bhaag’s voice softened.

“You could’ve escaped this alone long ago.”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

Joga looked away briefly.

Rainwater dripped faintly somewhere through the underground ceiling above them.

Finally he answered.

“Because leaving people behind becomes easier after the first time.”

Something inside his voice broke slightly.

Bhaag understood immediately.

He carried survivor’s guilt.

Years of it.

She stepped closer now.

“And you didn’t want to do it again.”

Joga’s jaw tightened.

For a moment he looked emotionally exposed in a way she had never seen before.

“I should stay away from you,” he whispered.

“Why?”

“Because everyone near me eventually gets destroyed.”

The confession hurt more than she expected.

Bhaag stared at him quietly.

Then asked the question she feared most.

“Do you want to stay away from me?”

Silence.

Heavy.

Dangerous silence.

Joga finally looked directly into her eyes.

And the emotional walls he spent years building cracked.

“No.”

The single word carried unbearable honesty.

Bhaag’s heartbeat slowed.

Joga stepped closer slowly.

“There are things inside my past you do not understand.”

“Then help me understand.”

“You deserve a future untouched by what follows me.”

Bhaag almost laughed through exhaustion.

“You still think I have a normal future after tonight?”

Pain flickered through his expression.

Then finally—

quietly—

like confessing something sacred—

Joga said:

“I love you.”

Everything stopped.

The alarms.

The fear.

The underground nightmare surrounding them.

For one impossible second, only those three words existed.

Bhaag felt tears return instantly.

Not from sadness.

From relief.

Because despite all the darkness consuming their lives—

something beautiful had survived inside both of them.

Joga touched her face carefully.

Almost afraid she might disappear.

“But loving me will cost you,” he whispered.

Bhaag held his hand against her cheek.

“Then let it cost me.”

And finally—

after months of silence, grief, longing, and emotional restraint—

Joga kissed her.

Not passionately.

Not recklessly.

But like someone who had spent years starving emotionally and finally allowed himself one moment of peace.

The underground world disappeared around them briefly.

Two broken souls finding warmth inside ruin.

Then suddenly—

Raaji’s radio crackled violently.

Panic exploded through the speaker.

“Nirmal’s gone!”

The moment shattered instantly.

Bhaag grabbed the radio. “What happened?”

Gunshots echoed through static.

Then one terrified volunteer shouted:

“Black Fang took her!”

The transmission died.

Silence returned coldly.

Joga’s entire expression darkened.

Bhaag felt fear slam back into her chest.

Because Nirmal Kaur knew too much.

And Black Fang Circle never kidn*pped people unless they intended something worse than death.

Far above them, thunder exploded across the sanctuary while somewhere inside the forest—

Nirmal Kaur screamed behind a black hood as armed vehicles disappeared into the storm.