Manu and Srini were resting on a block of cement. Manu stood up, scanning the surroundings to check if any evolved animals were nearby.
Just then, he noticed a group of people approaching them. He rushed back to Srini.
"Srini, get up! We need to hurry!" Manu said.
"What? Did the creature follow us here?" Srini asked, startled.
"No, some people are coming toward us," Manu replied.
Srini jumped to his feet, and the two of them hide behind the cement block. After a while, the group reached the spot where they had been resting.
"I know you're hiding here. Come out," Raj, the skinny man with scars on his face, called out.
"Look, we don't know who you are. I think you didn't see us, and we didn't see you. Just go your own way," Srini said nervously from behind the rock.
"What are you doing? Why are you talking?" Manu whispered sharply.
Finally, both of them stepped out from behind the block, keeping a few meters of distance.
"Now hand over everything you took from us," Ravi, the brown-haired man with the knife, demanded.
"We didn't take anything from you," Manu said firmly.
Ravi took a step forward.
"If you don't hand it over, you're not leaving this place alive," he warned.
"Stop! Don't come near us!" Manu shouted.
But Ravi kept advancing.
"Srini, we need to run!" Manu said.
Without waiting, both of them sprinted away from the building.
"Hey! Stop!" Ravi and Raj shouted .
"You two, follow them. Take everything back, and make sure they never return to the settlement."Tarun said coldly
"Got it, boss!" Ravi and Raj answered, then started to follow Manu and Srini.
They both Manu and Srini ran toward the same building Manu had seen earlier from the third floor.
"Return what you stole from me!" Ravi shouted behind them.
"Srini, do you even know these people?" Manu asked as they ran
."No, I don't know who they are," Srini said, glancing back.
"Then tell me one last time ,what exactly did you steal?" Manu asked.
"You already know ,it was just a watch," Srini said.
"No, before that," Manu said.
"I… I don't remember," Srini muttered.
"Try to remember!" Manu said .
"Wait… I think I remember now," Srini said, turning to look at them.
"You two live in the corner of the 3CG floor, near that small shop, right?" Srini asked.
Ravi's face twisted with rage.
"Now you remember. Return my thing!" Ravi shouted.
"I think I made a mistake…" Srini whispered to Manu.
"What did you steal?" Manu asked.
"That day I needed some money. If I asked you, you wouldn't have given me. So, I took something from outside his house," Srini replied.
"What did you take that has him chasing us for so long?" Manu asked, confused.
"Well , he had underwear hanging outside. I took it. But it already had more than ten holes," Srini said
"What?! You couldn't find anything else to steal?" Manu exclaimed.
"No, it looked special, it had a red lip symbol on it. And I sold it within five minutes," Srini said.
"You sold it?!" Manu shouted.
"Yeah, someone came, asked the price. I said twenty. He handed me the money, snatched it, and ran off," Srini explained.
"You sold it for twenty rupees?" Manu yelled.
"Brother, I'm sorry! I'll return your thing, just stop chasing us—" Srini was cut off.
Suddenly, before he could finish, Srini was flung into the air and crashed hard against the wall of the building.