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It was still dark, with a few stars scattered across the sky mixed with thin clouds—there was still around an hour left till sunrise.
Silence surrounded the city; everyone was asleep. But in that silence, Narayan sat alone on the roof, staring at his phone. The faint blue light from the screen dimly lit his face.
He was scrolling mindlessly, his thoughts clearly elsewhere. After a while, he checked the time—4:30 AM.
"It's morning already," Narayan muttered like it was normal.
"It's been three days since that incident, and two days since the government told everyone to stay home... but not much has changed." He sighed quietly, worry seeping into his voice. The scene with Dhruv replayed in his mind like it had happened just yesterday.
While lost in thought, he accidentally opened the class group chat. He scrolled through the messages—everyone was talking about trying to control their powers better, saying it felt oddly natural now.
"Maybe..." Narayan whispered as he opened his chat with Mayank.
Narayan: u awake?
He was about to delete it when a reply came almost instantly.
Mayank: yup
A faint grin appeared on Narayan's face.
Narayan: then go sleep
Mayank: I just woke up, unlike a certain someone who doesn't sleep
Narayan: remember the COVID-19 lockdown? Doesn't it feel the same now?
Mayank: quite a bit. But do you think the government's doing something?
Narayan: maybe. I've seen a few army vehicles, but the number of violent awakeners doesn't seem to have gone down.
Mayank: there are many people who've been done dirty by society
Narayan: nah, they're just idiots who need a reason to abuse power. Everyone suffers at some point, but it's the man who decides the path he wants to walk.
Mayank: are you trying to become a philosopher now?
Narayan: why try? I already am.
Mayank: more like a cheap version of Socrates, anyway, wanna come to school?
Narayan: school? why?
Mayank: I've got this uneasy feeling... like I should go check the school. I'll head there after sunrise.
Narayan: maybe I'll try, if I don't fall asleep. Message me before you go.
Mayank: ok bye
Narayan: bye
Narayan turned off his phone and set it aside. He yawned, then said in a curious tone,
"School, huh... should I try staying awake for a while?"
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The sky now had a faint orange hue as the sun began to rise.
Mayank quietly closed the main door of his house—everyone was still asleep, both inside and outside.
"I shouldn't wake them, or they won't let me go... I have to get rid of this feeling today," he murmured, a strange excitement flickering in his eyes.
He had forgotten to message Narayan, and his phone was still charging in his room.
Walking down the empty street, the distant hum of army vehicles echoed faintly through the air.
Mayank took the familiar path toward the school—a road that split off from the main one, lined with trees and a few quiet houses. It was the same road he and Narayan had walked three days ago. The memories of that day were still fresh in his mind.
The sun rose slowly, its faint rays filtering through the leaves. Mayank walked alone, lost in thought, still wondering why this uneasiness wouldn't leave him.
More than once, he felt like someone was following him. But every time he looked back, no one was there.
After a while, he reached the school. The morning light washed the building in a soft yellow glow.
It felt silent—too silent. Even though he'd visited the school before on holidays, something about this silence was unnatural.
The outer walls were still cracked, and the road bore the marks of Dhruv's attack. Dried blood stained the spot where the guard had fallen.
He stood still for a moment. That feeling—the sense of being watched—returned. It felt like someone's gaze was piercing through him, yet when he turned around, there was nothing.
Ignoring it, Mayank entered the school. His fingers trembled slightly as the strange feeling grew stronger.
There was a faint smell in the air, something unpleasant. He followed it toward the back of the building.
What he found made him freeze—dried blood, a lot of it. It wasn't the blood itself that shocked him, but the place and the amount. The concrete ground was stained dark red.
He tried to recall if anything had happened there, but nothing came to mind.
'Abhishek... it can only be him. We didn't find him... is it my fault?'
A thousand thoughts flooded his mind.
He kneeled down to examine the blood properly. His fingers brushed against a pebble, and without thinking he picked it up. After a moment, his posture stiffened. He spun around and flicked the pebble into the shadows with precision.
"I knew someone was tailing me… now I'm sure of it," he said quietly, but with confidence.
The pebble struck something invisible and bounced back. The air seemed to glitch for a moment, shifting like distorted reality—then a man emerged, dressed entirely in black, holding a small gun with a syringe-like bullet loaded inside.
"You're the first one to notice me while I use my ability. You make me curious," the man said with a strange glint in his eyes.
Mayank shifted back cautiously. "Who are you?" he asked in a cold tone.
"You'll know once you come with me," the man replied, grinning as he aimed the gun.
"Do you think a toy like that is enough?" Mayank smirked, summoning two fire-covered daggers that began to revolve around him.
"You seem strong, kid," the man said, amused.
But before Mayank could move, everything changed—suddenly, he was standing on the roof of the school.
Confused, he turned—and saw Narayan. He instantly realized what had happened.
"Why did you do that? I could've easily defeated him!" Mayank said, frustrated, though a strange grin lingered on his face.
For a brief moment, Narayan froze. That smile—it reminded him of Dhruv.
"Don't get consumed by power," Narayan shouted, his tone sharper than ever.
Mayank blinked, startled. Narayan had never raised his voice before. The calm, introverted friend he knew suddenly felt... different.
"Whoa, calm down," Mayank said quickly. "I won't go around fighting people, alright?"
"Look down," Narayan sighed.
Mayank stepped to the edge of the roof and looked below. He exhaled in relief when he saw the ground far beneath him—he wasn't down there.
Five more men stood near the spot, all dressed in black and armed with guns.
He turned back, puzzled. "But how did you know I was in danger?"
"I told you to call me before leaving," Narayan replied. "I fell asleep, but when I woke up, I came straight here and saw what was happening."
Mayank patted his pockets. "Oh... I think I left my phone on charg—"
The sharp sound of gunfire cut him off. They looked down—the men were gone.
"I think they broke into some classrooms to search," Narayan said calmly. "We should go."
With a wave of energy, he teleported them both to the roof of Mayank's house. They sat down, the morning wind brushing past. Narayan was panting, sweat dripping from his chin.
"I really need to increase my stamina... huff... huff..." he muttered.
Mayank's mind wandered for a moment, imagining what would've happened if Narayan hadn't teleported him away, a cold shiver went down his spine.
He was about to say something, but a sudden notification sound from Narayan's phone broke the silence.
Narayan took his phone out of his pocket and glanced at it.After scrolling a bit, he opened the class group chat from where the notification had come.
Aryaraj: should we meet?
Mayank glanced at Narayan's phone, then at Narayan himself, giving a small nod.
Narayan met his eyes, hesitated for a moment, then unlocked his phone and typed.
Narayan: yeah
To be continued...
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