**Chapter 4**
Viraj and Pratik dashed toward the girls' washroom as the commotion grew louder. A huge crowd had already formed at the entrance—mostly girls, shouting and pushing. Viraj and Pratik got stuck at the very back, unable to see what was happening, but the voices carried clearly. Inside, several girls were angrily beating two boys. The boys kept pleading, "It was a mistake! We came here by mistake!" The girls fired back, "The only mistake was you stepping into the girls' toilet!"
Viraj shoved his way forward through the crowd until he could finally see. The two boys being slapped and cornered were the exact same ones he had spotted standing outside the school gate that morning, looking suspicious. Just then, a tall figure walked in calmly, and the entire crowd fell silent in seconds. It was Sarthak—school president and Viraj's big brother. Everyone stared.
Sarthak spoke once, firmly. "Why is everyone gathered here? Go back to your classrooms. Right now." The girls scattered immediately, leaving only the two bruised boys, Viraj, Pratik, and a handful of lingering onlookers.
Sarthak stepped closer to the girls who had been leading the attack. "What's the matter?" One of them pointed accusingly. "These two morons entered the girls' washroom!" The rest started talking all at once, adding complaints and insults. Sarthak raised a hand to stop them. "Okay, okay, I get it. Everyone go to class. I'll deal with these two myself."
After the corridor emptied, Sarthak finally noticed Viraj standing right there. He narrowed his eyes. "Viraj, you didn't listen? I said go to class." Viraj shrugged. "It's break time, bhaiya. You know how it is." Sarthak sighed. "Hmm. Fine."
He turned to the two boys, his voice dropping to a low, serious tone. "So… explain. What were you doing inside the girls' washroom?"
One boy whispered something to the other. The other nodded. The first cleared his throat. "We were late for school, sir. So we tried coming in from the back. We used a ladder to climb the wall." The second boy picked up. "While we were climbing, I saw an open window on the first floor. We jumped in through it. And… that's how we ended up there."
Sarthak stared at them for a long, uncomfortable moment. "Coming late. Entering from the back. Climbing walls. Jumping straight into the girls' washroom. You both know you've broken several school rules, right?" The boys nodded fast. "Yes, sir."
Sarthak leaned in a little, voice turning cold and scary. "You know I'm the school president in front of everyone. But I'm also a bit of a pervert guy, so…" He paused, letting the words sink in, then straightened. "I'm giving you one last chance. Don't ever do it again." Both boys swallowed hard, looking terrified.
As Sarthak started to walk away, Pratik whispered to Viraj, "What's wrong with your brother, dude?" Viraj just shrugged. "No idea." Then he grinned and added loudly, "But bhaiya, that day you were watching p*rn on my PC—" Sarthak whipped around. "No! I was working on my project! I'll check it when I get home." He hurried off, face slightly flushed.
The two boys tried to slip away too, but Viraj called out, "Wait, you two." They stopped and turned back, looking nervous. Pratik added, "I swear I've never seen you guys around school before." Both boys suddenly looked panicked. Viraj quickly raised his hands. "Relax, relax. There are hundreds of students here. That's why we don't know each other."
Pratik nodded. "Yeah, true." Then Viraj smirked at him. "Oh, and while we were running here, I saw your crush Arushi having lunch with Rishab." Pratik's eyes went wide. "Whatt!!" He took off running without another word.
Viraj glanced around, checking if that weird shadowy creature was lurking anywhere. Nothing. The hallway felt strangely quiet now. He turned back to the boys. "Both of you, come with me."
He led Himanshu and Ryan up the stairs to the empty store room on the **third floor**. The place smelled of old books, dust, and something faintly metallic. A single weak bulb hung from the ceiling, flickering every few seconds. Viraj closed the door behind them and faced the two boys.
"My name is Viraj. Yours?"
"Himanshu," the first one said quietly.
"Ryan," the second replied.
Viraj looked straight at them. "This morning, when you were standing near the school gate… I felt something strange coming from you. Some kind of old energy. Heavy. Not normal. Like I've sensed it somewhere before—something ancient, something that doesn't belong here."
Himanshu and Ryan exchanged a quick, sharp glance. Then they both fixed their eyes on Viraj—cold, unblinking, almost dangerous. The scared, awkward boys from a minute ago were gone. In their place stood something far less human.
The flickering bulb above them buzzed louder. The air in the third-floor store room suddenly felt thick, pressing down.
To be continued…