Base ke andar panic slowly spread hone laga tha.
Zoya continuously systems operate kar rahi thi, par har second situation aur unstable hoti ja rahi thi. Main screens par warning signs flash ho rahe the.
REALITY SHIELD FAILURE 37%
DIMENSIONAL INSTABILITY DETECTED
Kabir ne screen dekhi aur slowly bola, "Mujhe lag raha hai hum officially doomed hain."
👉 "Kabir chup reh," Meera ne tension mein kaha.
Par honestly…
iss baar shayad woh galat bhi nahi tha.
Aarav still chamber ke center mein khada tha. Uska mind completely overloaded tha.
Hidden Variable.
Woh words uske andar continuously echo kar rahe the.
Echo usse observe kar raha tha.
👉 "Tumne kuch dekha hai," usne finally kaha.
Aarav ne dheere se uski taraf dekha. "Who was that boy?"
Echo ka expression unreadable tha or usne kaha..
👉 "Tumne usse dekha…"
👉 "Matlab woh ab bhi exist karta hai."
Aarav pehle se hi tension main tha or vo echo ki baat sunke irritate ho gaya.
👉 "Seedha answer de sakta hai?!"
Echo kuch seconds chup raha.
Phir dheere se bola..
👉 "He was the first successful version."
Room silent.
Meera freeze.
Kabir blink karta reh gaya. "Wait… SUCCESSFUL?!"
Aarav ka heartbeat fast ho gaya.
👉 "Matlab woh fail nahi hua?"
Echo ne sir hilaya.
👉 "No."
👉 "Then where is he?"
Silence.
Aur wahi silence dangerous tha.
👉 "Dead?" Aarav ne dheere se poocha.
Echo ne seedha jawab diya..
👉 "Worse."
Suddenly..
poori building violently shake hui.
BOOOOM đź’Ł
Ceiling se dust girne lagi.
Zoya almost chair se gir gayi or usne kaha.. "Shield hit hua hai!"
Kabir instantly tense ho gaya. "Kisne?!"
Zoya ne screen zoom ki.
Aur next second..
uska face completely pale ho gaya.
👉 "Nahi…"
Main screen par sky visible tha.
Par normal sky nahi.
Black cracks poore aasman mein spread ho rahe the.
Jaise reality ka glass toot raha ho.
Aur un cracks ke andar..
movement.
Kabir ka saans ruk gaya.
👉 "Kya woh… cheezein andar aa rahi hain?"
Zoya ne slowly sir hilaya.
👉 "Haan…"
Aarav ne screen ko dekha.
Aur us moment..
andar Collapse uneasy feel hua.
👉 "Yeh jaldi ho raha hai…"
Origin unusually silent tha.
Aarav ne andar poocha..
👉 "Yeh kya hai?"
Is baar jawab Echo ne diya.
👉 "Reality ke bahar jo exist karta hai…"
Pause.
👉 "…woh andar aa raha hai."
Room silent.
Meera ne slowly kaha, "Matlab Fragments?"
Echo ne uski taraf dekha.
Aur pehli baar..
uske face par actual fear visible hua.
👉 "Fragments sirf beginning the."
Silence.
Kabir almost nervous laugh karne laga. "Bhai mujhe normal college life chahiye thi…"
Suddenly..
base ki lights blink hui.
Ek second darkness.
Phir wapas light.
Aur us ek second mein..
Aarav ne kuch dekha.
Control room ke corner mein..
koi khada tha.
Black silhouette.
White eyes.
Par blink hote hi..
gayab.
Aarav instantly alert ho gaya.
👉 "Kisine dekha?!"
👉 "Dekha kya?" Meera confused thi.
Aarav ka breathing slow ho gaya.
👉 "Nahi… yahan koi tha…"
Echo ka expression immediately serious hua.
👉 "Impossible."
Zoya ne screens check ki. "No life signatures."
Par Aarav sure tha.
Woh hallucination nahi tha.
Base ke bahar..
sky aur crack ho raha tha.
Black lightning clouds ke andar flash kar rahi thi.
Poora city dark ho chuka tha.
Log roads par panic mein bhaag rahe the.
Cars crash.
Sirens.
Chaos.
Aur un cracks ke andar se..
slowly giant shadowy shapes visible hone lagi.
Huge.
Unnatural.
Alive.
Control room ke andar suddenly alarms aur loud ho gaye.
OUTER LAYER COLLAPSE DETECTED
MULTIPLE BREACHES
Kabir ne panic mein poocha, "Kitni breaches?!"
Zoya screen ko stare karti reh gayi.
👉 "…too many."
Meera Aarav ke paas aayi. "Ab kya karenge?"
Aarav jawab dene hi wala tha..
tabhi..
uske kaan ke paas kisi ne dheere se whisper kiya..
👉 "Don't trust Echo."
Aarav instantly freeze ho gaya.
Woh awaaz…
bilkul uski khud ki thi.
Usne turant peeche mudkar dekha.
Koi nahi.
Par next second..
screen suddenly static hui.
Aur us static ke andar..
ek face appear hua.
Aarav ka face.
Par uski eyes completely white thi.
Kabir literally peeche hat gaya. "OH HELL NAH!"
Static face ne smile kiya.
Aur dheere se bola..
👉 "He found you."
Room silent ho gya.
Aarav ka heart sink ho gaya.
👉 "Kaun…?"
Face ki smile aur wide ho gayi.
👉 "THE WATCHER."
Suddenly..
poori base ki electricity ek saath band ho gayi.
Pure room main darkness chaa chuki thi.. complete darkness.
Sab chup ho gye the the.
Koi alarm nahi baj rha tha.
Or naa hi koi sound aa rhi thi.
Vahan par sirf darkness thi.
Aur phir..
heavy footsteps.
Slow.
Metal floor par.
THAK.
THAK.
THAK.
Koi…
control room ke bahar tha.
Kabir ki halki shaky awaaz aayi..
👉 "Guys…"
Pause.
👉 "…hum sab andar hi hain na?"
Silence.
Aur next second main.
control room ka locked metal door…
dheere dheere andar ki taraf bend hona start ho gaya.
Jaise bahar se koi usse sirf haath se tod raha ho.
To be continued..