The morning came quietly.
Soft light filtered through the cracked glass of the sweet shop's window, dust particles drifting like forgotten memories. The rain had ceased, but its presence lingered—slicking the streets outside in silence and sorrow.
Inside, the children stirred one by one.
Kartik hadn't slept. He sat near the half-lifted shutter, eyes heavy with the weight of night. Ayush blinked himself awake beside Ananya, who remained curled under his damp jacket. The others woke slowly, stretching sore limbs and aching backs.
Bhargav yawned."How long till we move?"
"Now. It's morning," Kartik replied, voice low but clear.
A moment passed, and then came the question that changed everything.
"Can we… go home?" Sanaa asked, almost whispering.
Everyone went still.
Tanya sat up, eyes hopeful. "Yeah… what if our families are waiting for us?"
"My house is just across the canal," Ayesha added softly. "I could check…"
Ayush looked at the group. Their expressions were a mirror of his own heart—aching with the fragile hope that someone, anyone, might be waiting.
"We go together," he said. "But we split up. No one alone. We check our homes quietly. If we hear something inside, we wait. Knock. Call. If there's no answer… we still enter. Carefully."
Kartik's eyes darkened. "And if they've turned…"
No one needed him to finish.
They moved.
The sun rose over an empty world. Puddles reflected light like broken glass. The group split in three.
Each child walked toward the ghosts of their past.
Group 1: Ayush, Ananya, Kartik, Isha
Ayush's house stood two storeys tall, its blue gates chipped and rusting. The windows were cracked. A forgotten bicycle leaned against the wall, rusted stiff.
Ananya stepped toward the gate.
"Want me to knock?" she asked softly.
Ayush nodded.
Three gentle taps.
No response.
Kartik glanced around. "Let's go in."
Inside, it smelled of rot and damp wood. The house had been ransacked—frames shattered, furniture overturned. A family photo still clung to the wall, cracked but intact: Ayush, his parents, smiling.
They moved through the hallway… into the bedroom.
Two bodies lay on the bed.
Ayush froze.
His mother and father. Still. Pale. Hands locked together.
Not infected. Not turned.
Just… gone.
"Maa… Papa…" he whispered, falling to his knees. His hands trembled as they reached for theirs—cold, stiff fingers entwined with his.
Isha stepped back, tearful."They didn't turn…"
Ananya knelt beside him, her voice gentle."They waited for you. Together."
He kissed their hands—his lips shaking.
"I'm sorry… I couldn't save you…"
Group 2: Shivam, Dev, Tanya
Tanya's home was a faded pink building, the top scorched by fire. Her feet moved faster than her heart could keep up.
"Flat 302."
They entered the stairwell. Burnt air hit their noses—charred walls, melted furniture.
On the floor near the shattered window, her father's body rested, half-burnt. His hand clutched a locket.
Tanya knelt slowly. "He stayed here… even when the fire came…"
Behind the bathroom door, something moved.
The creak of hinges.
Dev raised his rod. "Careful—"
A figure stumbled out. Tanya's mother.
Turned.
Eyes blank. Lips bloodied. Skin pale like ash.
Tanya gasped.
Shivam tried to pull her back, but she broke free.
"MOM—!"
Her mother lunged.
Dev struck hard.
The body collapsed, lifeless.
Tanya screamed. Her grief tore through the silence, raw and final. Dev stood still, rod in hand, grief etched into his face.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Group 3: Lucky, Sanaa, Bhargav, Ayesha
They reached a quiet colony—paint peeling, toys left in the gardens as if play had only just stopped.
Sanaa walked up to her door.
"Mummy? Papa?" she called, her flashlight quivering.
No answer.
Room by room, they searched.
And then the bathroom door opened.
Her father stumbled out. Alive—barely.
"Papa!" she cried.
Her mother appeared next. Weakened. Hungry. Alive.
Sanaa ran to them. The embrace was instant, primal.
"I thought you were gone…"
Tears. Relief. A miracle.
Ayesha wept beside them, smiling.
Bhargav, meanwhile, turned to the street.
A lone man approached.
"Papa?" he called out.
The man looked up. Blood-soaked chin. Dead eyes.
He charged.
Bhargav swung his wrench.
His father fell at his feet.
Bhargav stood trembling, unable to breathe. Lucky reached for his hand and held it. Silent.
Evening.
They gathered beneath a half-collapsed bus stop, shadows long, hearts hollow.
Kartik broke the silence."I saw Ayush cry today."
No one replied.
Ananya finally whispered, "We all lost something."
Ayush stared at the fading light."And we all came back."
"Except parts of us didn't," Shivam murmured.
They sat there—stripped of childhood. Still together.
Still breathing.
Later That Night – Rooftop
Ayush stood alone, staring at the broken skyline. Ananya joined him.
"You did what you could," she said.
He didn't look away. "Not enough."
"You're still here. That's more than enough for me."
She took his hand.
Beneath them, the city slept.
Above them, stars blinked—indifferent and eternal.
AYUSH (V.O.):We searched for home. And found each other.In the end, family isn't just who raised you.It's who survives with you.
[EPISODE 4 — END]