Water.
Water.
WATER.
Manav's throat burned.
Not dry.
Burning.
Like he had swallowed sand and fire together.
His lips were split.
Blood mixed with dust.
He tried to breathe.
The air hurt.
He opened his eyes.
The sky was in different colour.
Not blue.
Not even grey.
Black.
Orange.
Smoke twisted above him like something alive.
Moving.
Watching.
Something fell from the sky.
Slow.
Soft.
White.
For a second…
He thought it was snow.
That didn't make sense.
It wasn't cold.
It hadn't been cold for years.
One flake landed on his arm.
Light.
Gentle.
Manav stared at it.
Then it spreaded across him.
Grey.
Dirty.
It wasn't snow.
It was ash.
His stomach dropped.
That scared him more than the explosions.
BOOM.
The world slammed back into him.
The ground shook.
Hard enough to throw his head sideways.
His ears rang.
Sharp.
Endless.
Someone screamed.
Another voice joined.
Then another.
One of them didn't stop.
Water.
"Wa…ter…"
His voice didn't sound like his own.
It sounded broken.
Like it belonged to someone already dying.
A boot stepped near his face.
Close.
Too close.
Mud fell across his cheek.
Cold.
Sticky.
"MANAV!"
The voice cut through everything.
Familiar.
Panicked.
"MANAV! HEY! HEY!"
Hands grabbed him.
Strong.
Rough.
Shaking him like he might disappear.
Manav forced his eyes to focus.
The blur cleared.
Raghav.
Dust-covered.
Breathing hard.
Fear in his eyes.
Real fear.
"Thank God…"
His voice cracked.
"I thought you were gone…"
Manav tried to smile.
It didn't work.
His lips barely moved.
"Water…"
Raghav froze for half a second.
Then reached into his bag.
Pulled out a small metal bottle.
Shook it.
A hollow sound.
One drop.
That was it.
His jaw tightened.
Decision time.
Manav saw it.
That hesitation.
That calculation.
Life or life.
Manav's hand lifted.
Shaking.
Weak.
Reaching.
Raghav exhaled sharply.
"Idiot…"
He tilted the bottle.
Two drops fell.
Then one more.
Manav drank like it was everything.
Because it was.
Another explosion.
Closer.
Dirt rained down.
Pebbles hit his back.
Raghav grabbed him.
"We move. NOW."
Manav tried to stand.
His legs refused.
Completely.
Raghav didn't wait.
Didn't argue.
He lifted him.
Like he weighed nothing.
Manav clenched his fists.
He hated this.
Hated feeling small.
Hated being useless.
They ran.
Gunfire cracked through the air.
Metal screamed somewhere above.
Voices shouted coordinates.
Orders.
Chaos.
Manav's head turned slightly.
Just enough.
He saw it.
A soldier.
Sitting against sandbags.
Still.
Too still.
Eyes open.
Empty.
Manav looked away instantly.
Too late.
That image stuck.
Burned into his mind.
They jumped into the trench.
Dark.
Wet.
The smell hit him first.
Iron.
Mud.
Something worse.
Men looked up.
Some relieved.
Some too tired to care.
"Kid survived," someone muttered.
"Four years of this hell…" another said.
"Four years and we're still counting bodies."
Four years.
Manav's chest tightened.
He barely remembered peace anymore.
Raghav dropped him down gently.
"Stay here."
"Don't move."
Manav grabbed his sleeve.
Tight.
"Don't go."
Raghav paused.
Just for a moment.
War didn't allow softness.
But he stayed.
Two seconds longer.
"I'm right here."
Then he pulled away.
Gone.
Manav's hands shook.
His heartbeat wouldn't slow.
Every sound hit too hard.
Too loud.
Too close.
Footsteps rushed in.
Fast.
Precise.
A girl.
Medical band tied to her arm.
Eyes sharp.
Focused.
Priya.
She froze when she saw him.
"MANAV!"
She dropped everything.
Ran to him.
Pulled him into a tight embrace.
Too tight.
He couldn't breathe.
"I told them… I told them I'd keep you safe…"
Her voice broke.
"I promised mom… I promised dad…"
Manav's vision blurred.
He didn't scream.
Didn't sob.
Just… cried.
Quiet.
"I got scared…"
Priya pulled back instantly.
Hands moving fast.
Checking his head.
His arms.
His eyes.
Professional first.
Sister second.
"You're in shock," she said.
"And dehydrated."
She cleaned the cut on his forehead.
It stung.
Manav hissed.
"Stay still."
"Does it look bad?"
"You look ugly anyway."
For a second…
Manav almost laughed.
Almost.
Raghav dropped back into the trench.
Ammo in hand.
Breathing heavy.
"Commander says relocation soon."
Priya frowned.
"Again?"
"Sector 9 is gone."
Silence.
That was close.
Too close.
Manav looked between them.
Confused.
Lost.
"Why are they attacking us?"
They exchanged a glance.
Truth.
Or comfort.
Priya didn't lie.
"They want what's left."
"Of what?"
Raghav answered.
"Everything."
A siren started.
Sharp.
Loud.
Everyone froze.
Then—
It stopped.
Abruptly.
Wrong.
Very wrong.
Raghav slowly looked up.
"Why did it stop…?"
No answer.
A radio crackled.
Static screamed.
Then a voice broke through.
"Unidentified aircraft… repeat… unidentified aircraft…"
Priya tightened her grip on her bag.
Raghav picked up his rifle.
Manav felt it.
Something shift inside him.
Fear changing.
Hardening.
"I don't want to be useless…"
Raghav looked at him.
Really looked this time.
"Then survive."
"That's your job."
Manav nodded.
Slow.
But certain.
For the first time…
He meant it.
Wind rushed above them.
A deep mechanical roar followed.
Everyone knew that sound.
Aircraft.
Enemy.
"TAKE COVER!"
Bodies pressed into dirt walls.
Helmets down.
Breath held.
The sound grew louder.
And louder.
And louder.
Dust fell from above.
Pebbles jumped.
Manav looked up.
Just a little.
He saw it.
A massive aircraft passing through smoke.
Dark.
No markings.
No flags.
Only a symbol.
Planes like that didn't scout.
They chose.
Raghav's jaw tightened.
"Why here…"
Priya's face drained of color.
"Oh no…"
The aircraft slowed.
Hovered.
Then—
Its belly opened.
Metal split apart.
Darkness inside.
Something large waiting.
Manav's pulse rose.
Every sound sharpened.
His fingers dug into the dirt.
His breath turned heavy.
Something dropped.
Slow at first.
Almost peaceful.
Then faster.
Faster.
Gravity took over.
"BOMB!"
Raghav grabbed him instantly.
Priya reached for both of them.
Too many movements.
Not enough time.
Manav stared at it.
Something was wrong.
Not just a bomb.
It was humming.
Low.
Deep.
Alive.
The vibration crawled through his teeth.
Into his bones.
The air thickened.
Hard to breathe.
His chest tightened.
Vision blurred.
The sound grew louder.
Buzzing.
Endless.
The world narrowed to that one thing.
Falling.
Closer.
Closer.
Heat brushed his skin.
The trench trembled.
Manav shut his eyes.
His hands gripped Raghav's arm.
Priya's fingers pressed into his shoulder.
Time stretched.
One second.
Two.
Everything slowed.
Everything focused.
Everything… ended.
The bomb was falling right towards their trench.