Arjun woke with a start, the cryptic message still flashing on his phone.
He glanced at the clock—7:30 AM.
"Shit!"
He jumped from bed, tossed on a crumpled shirt and jeans, and dashed out of his cramped flat in Goregaon, Mumbai. The morning heat had already begun to rise, mixing with the scent of wet concrete and frying vada pav from nearby stalls.
His mind wasn't in the present. Images from last night—blood, a boy's terrified face, the strange pulse inside his chest—kept flashing through his thoughts.
Did that really happen?
---
By noon in his Lower Parel office, Arjun's headache had grown unbearable. His fingers trembled over the keyboard. Something felt… wrong inside him. Like a current was humming under his skin.
He took a half-day. His boss barely looked up. "Yeah, get lost before you pass out here."
---
The heat outside was suffocating. But worse was the feeling of eyes.
Across the street—a man standing too still. Another near the sandwich cart, staring, pretending not to.
They were watching him.
He pushed through the crowds toward Dadar station, heart pounding. The further he walked, the more certain he became. He was being followed.
---
He sprinted up the stairs, turned sharply, and leapt into the Churchgate-bound local just as it pulled in. He turned around—
Three of them had followed him in.
Same dull clothes. Same blank stares. And this time, they weren't hiding.
"Who the hell are you?" Arjun asked, breath ragged.
No response.
One moved. Fast.
Arjun reacted faster—ducking, turning, elbow slamming into the man's gut. Where had that come from? He didn't have time to think. Another attacker grabbed his wrist. Pain surged through his body like lightning.
Suddenly—
CRACK!
A third man flew backward, slammed into the steel bars of the train.
A girl stood where he'd been.
She was no older than Arjun. Wavy black hair, tied. Maroon scarf. Dark eyes that looked through people. She moved like a trained weapon—silent and deadly.
The remaining men hesitated. Then backed off.
Arjun stared at her, stunned.
"Who… are you?"
As the train slowed, she turned to him.
"You can call me Mira," she said calmly.
"And if you want to live, come with me."
The doors slid open at Charni Road.
Without waiting for an answer, she stepped out.
---