The morning at Vishrampur College felt heavier than usual. Sai dragged himself across the courtyard, the familiar cracked walls and faded posters seeming dull under the sun. His head still buzzed from the message he had received the night before.
Veer leaned against the old banyan tree, tossing a pebble in the air. "You look like hell, yaar," he said with half a grin.
Sai didn't answer.
Rhea joined them, her phone in her hand, eyes sharper than usual. She sat down on the bench beside Sai and spoke quietly, "Did you hear about the hostel boy? He broke his leg on the stairs yesterday. His roommate swears Starcode warned him in the morning, said something like 'beware the fall'."
Veer scoffed. "People will say anything after the fact. Makes them feel special."
But Sai didn't move. He felt a coldness settle in his chest.
Rhea leaned closer. "I've been asking around about the timings of these notifications. They line up with things happening in town. Not perfectly, but close enough. It's not just random."
Sai finally turned to look at her. "You're saying it knows."
She nodded.
For once Veer didn't joke. He dropped the pebble and kicked it away, his jaw tight.
…
By afternoon, they found themselves back in Patel Bazar. The market bustled with the usual colors and voices, but now almost every conversation carried the same word: Starcode.
Sai walked beside his friends, listening. Clearly, the app's influence was growing. The details that they had to investigate yesterday were being talked around casually, and all they had to do was walking around with their ears open.
Veer turned to look at Sai, hesitation apparent on his face, "everyone… seems to be talking about the app… when did it become this huge?"
Sai nodded with a pale face, "this is bad."
Near the sweets stall, an older vendor shook his head. "Yesterday it told me my milk would spoil. I laughed. By evening, the whole tin turned sour. You tell me if that's coincidence."
Another man added, "It warned me not to take the bus to Raipur. That very bus broke down halfway. I would have been stuck all night."
Meanwhile, Rhea was getting some snacks for the group at another shop, asking the shop owner about the StarCode AI when a small boy tugged at Rhea's arm, his face lit with pride. "Didi, that app told me my uncle will fight with aunty. And at night they shouted so loud that everyone in the house heard. It came true. And you know, I know that I'll find 20 rupees on Ramkatha Marg today. Hehe, so I'll keep searching."
Rhea smiled faintly at him, but inside her stomach tightened. She took the snacks and found Sai and Veer on the other end of the street, talking to each other.
She called them over and found a place to sit, where they exchanged the rumors that they heard.
Whether they were true or not, whether someone was controlling it or not, the rumors of predictions themselves made it so that after a while, their shoulders were stiff and their hands were curled into fists.
It didn't stop, however. The murmur of stories surrounded them like a tide. Women outside the cloth shop, men sipping tea, children boasting about predictions. It wasn't just an app anymore. It was becoming a part of the town's breath.
Sai felt it pressing in on him, every voice feeding the same unease that had been crawling through his head for days. He was silent. He couldn't make another plan. He couldn't think straight due to a lack of sleep and overthinking everything. In this silence, his resolve was shaken.
…
At the police station, Sub Inspector Meena's patience was wearing thin as well, but for a different reason entirely.
Constables sat at their desks, one joking, "I asked Starcode if I'll pass my exam. It told me today is a good day for learning. So, I stayed up all night studying."
"Next time, ask it for the questions too," another replied.
Meena cut across the laughter. "Enough of this nonsense. Get back to work." His voice was sharp.
Suddenly, a call came through the landline. Meena took it, his face darkening. "What do you mean you won't let your daughter leave the house? An app said a journey will bring disaster? This is foolishness. No, I cannot file a police report against a mobile app. Use your brain. Fear will ruin your family more than any trip. Stop this madness."
He hung up, rubbing his forehead. "This town is losing its mind."
…
That night, Sai sat on his cot, Rhea on the chair beside him while Veer paced the room. The bulb above flickered, throwing shadows across the wall.
Sai's phone buzzed. The sound cut through the silence. His hand trembled as he picked it up.
The notification was waiting, from the same dreaded app that had taken his sleep.
"Vishrampur's canal hides more than water. Tomorrow, the truth will surface."
For a moment none of them spoke.
Rhea leaned forward. "The canal? What does it mean?"
Sai's voice was barely a whisper. "I don't know."
Veer snatched the phone and glared at the screen. "Enough. This is going too far. First it plays with random warnings, now it's pointing to the canal? Everyone knows that place is cursed. It's twisting people's heads."
Rhea turned to Sai, her tone careful. "Maybe we should check. If it's saying something will happen, we should see for ourselves."
Sai wanted to answer, but Veer spoke first. "We'll go. Morning."
Rhea nodded, but her throat felt tight. She noticed the way Sai looked at Veer, not at her. The two of them stood like a pair, and she was left outside that circle.
"I'll be going back now, guys. Take care." Rhea said as she left to clear her head. The paranoia was beginning to affect her as well.
Sai and Veer nodded at her and continued their discussion.
Sai stared at the phone again. His own reflection in the dark screen looked back at him, tired and afraid.
Outside, the wind carried faint whispers from the canal's direction.
The town itself felt like it was listening.