Two days.
For two endless days, we had done nothing but move.
No destination. No certainty. Only survival.
I couldn't remember the last time I slept. Every time my eyes tried to close, fear snapped them open again. There were too many people depending on us—not just Boss, but children, elders, families who had trusted us with their lives. One mistake, one second of carelessness, and they would all be gone.
Andy was in worse shape than me. He had driven for two days and two nights without rest. His face had gone pale, his hands stiff, his eyes glassy but alert. Clara pretended to be strong, but I could see the strain in her silence. Even warriors break when hope stretches too thin.
Boss was still deep in yogic meditation.
She hadn't moved. Hadn't spoken. She felt distant, like a flame burning in another world.
Food and water were still available in abandoned village shops, but the land itself was dying. Crops had turned to dust. Wells were dry. The world smelled of decay—rotting bodies, burnt earth, and death that never left the air. Cities were worse. Cities were nests of Screevers.
That was why we stayed away from them.
But now, even the villages had failed us.
Diesel. Petrol. Gone.
Without fuel, the convoy would stop—and stopping meant death.
"There's no choice anymore," I said quietly.
Andy nodded. "We'll have to enter the city."
Clara stiffened. "It's too dangerous."
"We know," I replied. "But if we don't take the risk, everyone dies anyway."
Andy spoke before the argument could grow. "Ali and I will go. Clara, you stay here with the people."
"No," Clara said immediately. "I'll go. You both are exhausted. You don't even have your powers anymore."
"This is our responsibility," I said firmly. "Protecting all of you is our duty. We can't step away from it."
Andy looked at her, final and unyielding. "This discussion ends here."
Clara clenched her fists but said nothing.
"Take everyone farther away," Andy continued. "I'll ask Ali to make the vehicles invisible. Screevers must not see or hear you."
I focused, pushing the last remnants of my power outward. The air shimmered—and the vehicles vanished.
"Silence," I warned. "Not even a whisper."
Clara nodded slowly. "Come back alive."
Andy placed a hand on her shoulder. "You too. Take care of Boss."
Then we turned toward the city.
The moment we entered, something felt wrong.
Not danger.
Absence.
The city was silent—too silent. No wind. No echoes. No distant screams. Even death usually made noise.
"This place shouldn't be this quiet," I murmured.
Andy tightened his grip on the diesel can. "If a siren sounds, we leave immediately."
We moved cautiously, footsteps light, eyes scanning every shadow. Broken buildings loomed like corpses frozen mid-collapse. Burnt vehicles lay scattered across the streets, their metal twisted like bones.
Then we saw it.
A petrol pump.
Still standing.
Hope surged through me.
"We're close," Andy said.
We stepped forward—
—and something moved behind us.
Fast.
My instincts screamed.
"There's something here," I whispered. "We need to leave. Now."
A deep, echoing laugh split the air.
"Ha… ha… ha…"
The sound wasn't human. It vibrated through my chest, through my bones, as if the city itself was laughing.
Then the voice came.
"You walked into death on your own feet."
My body froze. The air thickened, pressing against my skin like invisible chains.
Slowly, we turned.
Now I understood.
Why the city was silent.
Why nothing moved.
Because he was here.
The ground trembled as something massive stepped forward. The stench of blood filled the air. Darkness seemed to cling to his shape.
Raktbeeja.
The silence shattered under his laughter, a sound so heavy it crushed hope itself.
Andy's voice trembled. "This… this can't be real. He was killed."
I grabbed his arm. "Andy, we run. Now."
We lifted the diesel cans and sprinted.
The earth shook behind us.
One step from him felt like an earthquake. A single foot could crush us into nothing.
"Run," Raktbeeja roared mockingly. "How far can insects run?"
Another laugh.
"Did that kali send toys like you to fight me?"
The streets exploded as his feet slammed down, attacks raining from above. Buildings cracked. Debris flew like shrapnel. We ducked behind a ruined structure, vanishing from his sight.
We held our breath.
No sound.
No movement.
Then—
He found us.
The shadow fell over us.
His foot rose, ready to crush us—
A blinding light erupted from the metal bands on our wrists.
The force blasted outward, throwing Raktbeeja backward.
He screamed.
A scream that didn't belong in this world.
Andy didn't wait. "Now!"
We ran.
Every ounce of strength, every fragment of will—we ran until our lungs burned and the city vanished behind us.
The convoy came into view.
I waved frantically. Engines roared to life.
"Move!" I shouted. "Everyone move!"
The vehicles followed us into the night, driving until the world turned dark and empty. We reached the dead forest, where our secret chamber lay hidden beneath the earth.
One by one, everyone was taken inside.
The chamber sealed itself.
Only then did my legs give way.
I collapsed, gasping, sweat soaking my clothes.
Andy dropped beside me, shaking.
Clara rushed to us. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
I couldn't answer.
My mind was stuck on one thought—one impossible truth.
Raktbeeja was alive.
Not just alive.
Waiting.
And if he was here…
Then the war was far from over.