Part 1
Darkness.
That was the first thing Arohi felt.
Not pain.
Not fear.
Just… endless darkness.
It wrapped around her like a deep ocean, silent and suffocating. Somewhere far away, faint sounds echoed—like broken voices calling out, like something collapsing again and again in her memory.
Then suddenly—
A sharp breath.
Arohi's eyes snapped open.
The ceiling above her was unfamiliar.
It was plain white, slightly cracked, with a dim yellow light flickering weakly in the corner. For a few seconds, her mind couldn't understand where she was. Her body felt heavy, and her head throbbed with a dull pain.
She tried to move.
A sudden sharp pain shot through her arm.
She gasped.
Memories hit her like a storm.
The road.
The car.
Kabir screaming.
The crash.
Her breathing became uneven.
"Kabir…?" she whispered weakly.
No answer.
Panic slowly began to rise in her chest.
She forced herself to sit up.
The room was small. Too small. A simple bed, a metal table, and a window covered with iron bars.
Bars.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"This isn't a hospital…" she murmured.
Before she could think further, the door suddenly creaked open.
A woman walked in slowly.
She wore a plain grey uniform, her face calm but unreadable. Her eyes were sharp, observing everything carefully.
"You're awake," the woman said softly.
Arohi immediately looked at her.
"Where am I? Where are my parents? Where is Kabir? Rani? Samim?"
Her voice trembled slightly, but her eyes remained steady.
The woman didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she stepped closer and checked the bandage on Arohi's arm.
"You are safe," she said.
That answer felt wrong.
Arohi frowned.
"That's not what I asked."
For a brief moment, something flickered in the woman's eyes.
Surprise.
Then it disappeared.
"Your name is Arohi, correct?" the woman asked instead.
Arohi didn't reply.
Her silence itself was an answer.
The woman straightened up.
"This place is called Peace Orphanage."
The words felt heavy.
Arohi's mind froze.
Orphanage?
"No…" she whispered.
"That's not possible."
The woman continued calmly.
"You were found after an accident."
"Other survivors are also here."
Arohi's heart started beating faster.
"Other… survivors?"
Before she could ask more, footsteps rushed from outside.
The door burst open.
"Kabir!" Arohi shouted instantly.
Kabir Sharma stood at the doorway, breathing heavily as if he had run all the way here. His eyes were wide, filled with shock and relief at the same time.
"You're awake!" he said loudly.
Before anyone could stop him, he rushed inside.
Arohi didn't hesitate.
She stood up despite the pain and ran toward him.
For a brief moment—
She forgot everything.
The fear.
The confusion.
The strange place.
She just held onto her friend tightly.
Kabir hugged her back just as strongly.
"I thought…" he stopped, unable to finish.
Arohi pulled back slightly.
"Rani? Samim?"
"They're here," Kabir said quickly. "They're okay."
Relief washed over her.
But something still felt wrong.
Very wrong.
The woman watched the scene silently from the side.
Her expression remained calm.
Too calm.
Arohi slowly turned toward her again. Her eyes had changed now. They were no longer confused. They were sharp.
Thinking.
Observing.
"Where are the others?" she asked quietly.
Kabir's smile faded instantly.
Silence filled the room.
No one answered.
And somehow—
That silence gave her the answer.
Arohi's fingers slowly tightened.
Her voice became almost a whisper.
"…They're gone, aren't they?"
The woman didn't deny it.
Kabir looked away.
That was enough.
Something inside Arohi broke quietly.
But she didn't cry. Not a single tear fell.
Instead, her gaze slowly turned cold.
If this was true—
Then that accident…
Was not an accident.
Part 2
The room slowly fell silent after Kabir's arrival.
The air felt heavier now, as if the truth they had just understood was quietly pressing down on them. Arohi stood still for a few seconds, her fingers clenched tightly at her sides. She didn't cry, didn't scream—yet the stillness around her felt more intense than any outburst.
Kabir looked at her nervously.
This wasn't the Arohi he knew.
Before he could say anything, soft footsteps approached again from the corridor.
Two familiar figures appeared at the doorway.
Rani entered first, her face pale but composed, followed closely by Samim, whose eyes immediately scanned the entire room in a single glance.
The moment Rani saw Arohi standing there, her calm expression cracked.
"Arohi…"
She rushed forward and hugged her tightly.
This time, Arohi didn't stay completely still.
Her hand slowly lifted and rested on Rani's back.
A silent reassurance.
Samim stepped inside more slowly. His gaze moved from Arohi to Kabir, then to the woman standing in the corner. He didn't say anything at first. But his eyes had already noticed everything.
The locked window.
The camera hidden in the corner of the ceiling.
The slightly open vent above the door.
This was not a normal orphanage.
"This place is being monitored," Samim said quietly.
The words cut through the silence.
Kabir frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Samim didn't answer directly.
Instead, he pointed subtly toward the top corner of the room. Kabir followed his gaze.
His eyes widened.
"There's a camera…?"
The woman finally spoke again.
"This is for your safety."
Her tone remained calm, controlled.
But this time, no one believed her.
Arohi slowly turned toward the woman.
Her expression had completely changed now.
Gone was the confused child.
What remained was something colder.
More aware.
"If this is an orphanage," she said quietly, "then why does it feel like a prison?"
For the first time, the woman did not respond immediately.
A brief pause.
A hesitation.
Then she simply said, "You will understand in time."
That answer only made everything worse.
Before the conversation could continue, a loud bell suddenly rang through the building.
A sharp metallic sound that echoed through the walls.
The woman stepped back.
"Meal time," she said. "All children must gather in the main hall."
She walked toward the door, then stopped for a moment.
"And one more thing…"
She turned slightly.
"Do not try to leave your assigned areas."
Her eyes lingered on Samim for a brief second.
"As it will not end well."
Then she left.
The door closed behind her with a soft click.
For a few seconds, no one spoke.
Kabir finally broke the silence.
"I don't like this place."
"No one does," Samim replied calmly.
Rani tightened her grip on Arohi's hand.
"What are we going to do?"
All three of them looked at Arohi.
Instinctively.
As if waiting for her to say something. Arohi didn't answer immediately. Her mind was already racing. Pieces were slowly coming together.
The accident.
Their survival.
This place.
The cameras.
The controlled movement.
Nothing about this was random.
Nothing.
She slowly walked toward the window.
Her fingers lightly touched the cold iron bars.
Outside, she could see a large open yard surrounded by high walls.
Too high.
Far beyond what an orphanage would normally need.
Beyond the walls, nothing was visible.
No city.
No road.
Just distant trees.
Isolated.
Hidden.
Arohi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"This place…" she murmured softly.
"…was never meant to be found."
The others looked at her in silence.
Then she turned back toward them.
Her voice was calm.
Too calm for a child.
"We don't know who brought us here."
"We don't know why we're alive."
"But one thing is clear."
She paused.
Her gaze sharpened.
"That accident…"
"…was planned."
Kabir's fists tightened instantly.
Rani's breathing became uneven.
Samim simply nodded once.
He had already reached the same conclusion.
Arohi took a slow breath.
Then said quietly—
"From now on, we trust no one."
The bell rang again, louder this time.
A warning.
They had to move.
But as they stepped out into the corridor together, none of them noticed—
From behind a dark glass window on the upper floor…
Someone was watching them.
Carefully.
Especially Arohi.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Interesting…"
he whispered.
Part 3
The corridor outside their room was long and unnaturally quiet.
Arohi stepped forward first, the others following closely behind her. Their footsteps echoed softly against the cold tiled floor as they walked toward the direction of the bell. The walls were plain, painted in a dull shade of white, but something about them felt… wrong. Too clean. Too empty. As if this place was built not for comfort, but for control.
Children began appearing from other rooms along the corridor.
Some walked silently with blank expressions.
Others whispered quietly among themselves.
But none of them laughed. None of them looked like normal children.
Kabir leaned closer to Arohi and whispered,
"Why is everyone so quiet?"
Arohi didn't answer.
She was observing.
Every movement.
Every detail.
At the end of the corridor, a large hall opened before them. This was the dining hall.
Long metal tables were arranged in perfect rows. Children sat in complete order, each seat precisely aligned. At the far end of the hall stood several staff members, all wearing the same grey uniform as the woman from before.
Everything felt… disciplined.
Too disciplined.
Arohi and her friends took empty seats together.
The moment they sat down, trays of food were placed in front of them almost immediately, as if everything had already been calculated in advance.
Kabir stared at the food.
"It looks normal…" he said slowly.
"But this place doesn't feel normal," Rani replied quietly.
Samim picked up the spoon but didn't eat.
Instead, he whispered, "Observe first."
Arohi agreed silently.
Her eyes moved across the hall.
Every child began eating at the exact same time.
Same movement.
Same rhythm.
As if they had been trained.
Or programmed.
A sudden voice echoed through the hall.
"Meal begins."
All movement synchronized instantly.
Kabir froze.
"That's creepy," he muttered.
Arohi's gaze shifted upward.
There.
Small black cameras were installed across the ceiling.
Watching everything.
Recording everything.
But that wasn't the only thing.
Near the far wall, a large glass panel stood, slightly tinted from the outside.Someone could be watching from behind it. The feeling was unmistakable. Arohi's fingers tightened slightly around the spoon.
"This isn't an orphanage…" she thought.
"…this is a controlled facility."
As the meal continued, something else caught her attention.
A boy sitting two tables away suddenly dropped his spoon.
It made a small metallic sound as it hit the floor.
The entire hall froze.
For one second—
No one moved.
Then one of the staff members walked forward calmly.
Too calmly.
He picked up the spoon and looked at the boy.
"Rule violation," he said in a flat tone.
The boy immediately stood up, trembling.
"I-I'm sorry…"
No one spoke.
No one reacted.
Even the other children avoided looking at him.
The staff member placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Follow me."
The boy hesitated for a moment. Then he walked away with the staff member.The door at the side of the hall opened.They disappeared inside. The door closed.
Silence returned.
Kabir's face turned pale.
"What… just happened?"
No one answered.
But everyone understood.
This place had rules.
Strict rules.
And breaking them had consequences.
Arohi slowly placed her spoon down.
Her appetite was gone.
Rani held her hand under the table, her fingers cold.
Samim's eyes remained focused, calculating everything.
"This is not random," he whispered softly.
"They are testing us."
Kabir frowned.
"Testing us for what?"
Samim didn't reply.
Because even he didn't know yet.
But Arohi—
She felt something. A strange unease deep inside her. As if something about this place…
Was connected to her. Suddenly, her head began to hurt. A sharp pain. Fragments of something flashed again.
Bright lights.
Cold metal walls.
A voice—
"You are the key—"
Arohi's breath caught.
The vision disappeared instantly. She gripped the edge of the table tightly.
"Arohi?" Rani whispered in concern.
"I'm fine," she said quickly.
But she wasn't.
Not really.
Something was hidden inside her mind.
Something important. And this place…
Was somehow connected to it.
At the same time—
Behind the tinted glass panel at the far end of the hall—
A man stood silently, watching everything.
Multiple screens were displayed in front of him.
Each showing a different angle of the hall.
But his focus was only on one person.
Arohi.
He observed her reaction.
Her stillness.
Her control.
Her eyes.
A faint smile slowly formed on his lips.
"So… you survived," he murmured.
"Just as expected."
He leaned back slightly, folding his arms.
"Let's see how long it takes…"
"…for you to remember."
Back in the hall, the bell rang again.
"Meal time over."
Chairs moved in perfect synchronization.
Children stood up together.
Order.
Control.
Silence.
As Arohi walked out of the hall with her friends, she didn't look back.
But deep inside—
A single thought had already taken root.
This place was not their rescue.
It was the beginning of something far more dangerous.
To be continued