Base ka poora structure shake ho raha tha.
Alarms continuously baj rahe the. Red warning lights poore hallways mein flash ho rahi thi aur bahar se aati explosions ki awaaz situation ko aur heavy bana rahi thi.
Kabir ne turant balance sambhala or kaha.. "Yeh log seriously chain nahi lete kya?!"
Zoya already control panel par kaam kar rahi thi. Screen par dark signals rapidly move kar rahe the.
Bohot saare.
Zyada saare.
👉 "North side breach…"
👉 "East movement detected…"
👉 "Multiple entries…"
Uski awaaz calm thi, par speed unusually fast.
Meera ne tension mein poocha, "Kitne hain?"
Zoya kuch seconds chup rahi.
Phir dheere se boli..
👉 "Enough."
Silence.
Aarav screen ko dekh raha tha, par uska dimaag toh kahin aur hi tha.
Echo ki baat.
Origin jhoot bol raha hai.
Woh line uske andar baar baar repeat ho rahi thi.
👉 "Focus," Collapse ne andar se kaha.
Aarav irritate ho gaya. "Tu chup reh."
👉 "Main help kar raha hoon."
👉 "Tu kabse helpful ban gaya?"
Collapse hasa. "Jabse survival important ho gaya."
Aur Origin…
ab bhi silent tha.
Wahi silence Aarav ko aur disturb kar raha tha.
👉 "Guys!" Kabir ki awaaz ne sabka focus wapas laaya. "Woh log andar aa rahe hain!"
Main gate ka feed suddenly static hua.
Phir..
screen black.
Ek second baad..
pure building mein heavy impact feel hua.
BOOM.
Meera ka balance almost lose ho gaya.
👉 "Aarav…" usne dheere se uska naam liya.
Aarav ne finally deep breath li.
Aur decision le liya.
👉 "Hum divide honge."
Kabir ne instantly react kiya. "Classic horror movie mistake."
👉 "Listen," Aarav ne firm tone mein kaha, "agar hum sab ek jagah rahe toh woh hume surround kar denge."
Zoya ne quickly analyze kiya.
👉 "He's right."
Kabir ne annoyed sigh liya. "Mujhe nafrat hai jab tum dono same baat bolte ho."
Aarav ne screen ki taraf dekha.
👉 "Zoya, systems aur barriers."
👉 "On it."
👉 "Kabir ne west corridor cover kar."
Kabir ne sir hilaya or kaha..
👉 "Meera…"
Aarav ruk gaya.
Uski nazar us par tik gayi.
👉 "Tu mere saath reh."
Meera ne bina hesitation haan kar di.
Base ke hallways unusually dark lag rahe the.
Emergency lights blink kar rahi thi.
Kabhi red.
Kabhi black.
Kabhi complete darkness.
Aarav aur Meera slowly central corridor ki taraf move kar rahe the.
Har second tension badh rahi thi.
👉 "Kya tujhe bhi feel ho raha hai?" Meera ne dheere se poocha.
Aarav ne haan mein sir hilaya.
👉 "Haan…"
Air heavy thi.
Jaise building ke andar kuch crawl kar raha ho.
Invisible.
Alive.
Suddenly..
ek distant scream.
Kabir.
👉 "OH COME ON... KITNE HO TUM LOG?!"
Phir impact ki awaaz.
Meera instantly tense ho gayi. "Kabir.."
👉 "Woh handle kar lega," Aarav ne kaha.
Par honestly…
woh khud sure nahi tha.
West corridor mein Kabir literally surrounded tha.
Teen Fragments uske around move kar rahe the.
Fast.
Unnatural.
Kabir ne ek ko punch maara, par woh wall se takra ke bhi turant khada ho gaya.
👉 "Seriously?!" Kabir almost chillaya.
Ek Fragment suddenly uske peeche appear hua.
Attack.
Kabir barely dodge kar paya.
👉 "Yeh log teleport bhi karte hain kya?!"
Par phir..
ek sharp energy strike ne us Fragment ko side mein throw kar diya.
Zoya.
👉 "Focus," woh calmly boli.
Kabir ne relief ki saans li. "Thank God. Main toh soch raha tha meri death bohot embarrassing hone wali hai."
Zoya ne uski taraf dekha bhi nahi or kaha..
👉 "Jokes later."
Do aur Fragments saamne aa gaye.
Aur phir..
fight properly start hui.
Central hall ke paas pahunchte hi Aarav suddenly ruk gaya.
Meera ne immediately notice kiya.
👉 "Kya hua?"
Aarav ki aankhein narrow ho gayi.
👉 "Kuch yahan hai."
Silence.
Phir..
darkness move hui.
Literally.
Hallway ke end se ek black shape slowly emerge hui.
Human shape.
Par stable nahi.
Jaise shadow constantly glitch kar rahi ho.
Meera ka saans slow ho gaya.
👉 "Yeh… Fragment hai?"
Aarav ne dheere se kaha..
👉 "Nahi."
Woh cheez dheere dheere unke paas aayi.
Aur phir..
ruk gayi.
Uski aankhein open hui.
Pure white.
Aur usne seedha Aarav ko dekha.
👉 "Carrier…"
Uski awaaz distorted thi.
Aarav ka body stiff ho gaya.
👉 "Tum late ho," woh creature bola.
Meera confused thi. "Yeh kya bol raha hai?"
Par Aarav samajh raha tha.
Ya shayad…
feel kar raha tha.
Andar Origin finally bola..
👉 "Don't let it touch you."
Aarav instantly alert ho gaya or usne pucha..
👉 "Kyun?"
Origin ka tone first time tense tha.
👉 "Kyuki yeh mujhe dhoond raha hai."
Silence.
Creature ek step aur aage badha.
👉 "Return…"
Usne dheere se kaha.
👉 "Origin… return…"
Aur phir..
woh suddenly sprint karta hua Aarav ki taraf aaya.
FAST.
Meera shock mein freeze ho gayi.
Aarav ne instantly block kiya..
par impact insane tha.
Dono wall tak slide hue.
Creature continuously push kar raha tha.
Jaise woh attack nahi..
reach karna chahta ho.
👉 "GET OFF!" Aarav chillaya aur energy burst release ki.
Creature peeche throw hua.
Par gira nahi.
Bas… khada raha.
Aur smile ki.
👉 "Confirmed…"
Aarav ka heart sink ho gaya.
👉 "Origin active…"
Andar..
Origin silent ho gaya.
Completely.
Creature ne dheere se apna head tilt kiya.
👉 "Then phase begins."
Suddenly..
poori building violently shake hui.
Lights explode hone lagi.
Systems crash ho gaya.
Zoya ki awaaz comms par aayi..
👉 "AARAV!"
Uski awaaz mein pehli baar panic tha.
👉 "THE BARRIERS ARE DOWN!"
Kabir ki awaaz bhi aayi..
👉 "BHAI BOHOT SAARE AA RAHE HAIN!"
Aarav ne around dekha.
Hallways.
Ceiling.
Walls.
Har jagah..
dark movement.
Fragments.
Dozens nahi.
Hundreds.
Aur sabki nazar..
sirf us par thi.
Creature dheere se peeche hata.
Jaise uska kaam complete ho gaya ho.
👉 "Found you…"
Usne whisper kiya.
Aur next second..
poori horde Aarav ki taraf move kar gayi.
👉 To be continued...