The night outside the shelter had reached its deepest silence. The stars twinkled in the sky just as they must have thousands of years ago, but now very few remained to witness this sight. An old Earth, where life was gradually fading away.
Arav was still uploading data on his laptop. Light blue letters were scrolling on the screen —
Transmission in progress...
Coordinates: Confirmed.
Uplink to Nyura-7 Rescue Grid: Stable.
ETA for Confirmation: 03:12 AM
Inside the shelter, the children were sleeping. Niya was also sleeping near the children.
Kaaya was silently sitting beside Arav. Her gaze was fixed towards the distant forest.
Suddenly, Kaaya said, "Arav, I always feel like someone is watching us from the forest all the time..."
Arav made a ghostly face at Kaaya.
"You mean, some ghost?"
Kaaya replied,
"No, man! Not a ghost. Look at the forest with this finger."
Arav looked in the direction Kaaya was pointing. At first, he saw nothing, but when he blinked carefully, his eyes widened in shock.
Arav looked at Kaaya and said fearfully,
"Ka...Kaaya, there really is someone there."
Hearing this, Kaaya became frightened, her body freezing like ice in one place.
"That... that must be the one who... who killed my mom and dad. I will not spare them, I will kill them," Kaaya said angrily.
Saying this, Kaaya took her sword and ran towards the forest.
Arav just stood there watching all this happen. Fear sent shivers down his spine. Arav spoke in a scared voice,
"Is this the same person who is killing people?"
He was so frightened that he had no idea what to do.
Then memories from his past came to mind — when he was small, his mom had run away like this and never returned.
Arav cursed himself, saying,
"Every time I fail to do anything because of my fear, no matter how hard I try I cannot face my fear. Why? Why me always? Why can I never help anyone? I only know how to pretend."
While thinking all this, someone placed a hand on his shoulder.
He turned around and saw,
"Oh... it's you Niya."
"Why are you crying, Arav? And where is Kaaya?" Niya asked.
Arav put his hand under his eyes. Tears were flowing down his cheeks.
"Where is Kaaya, Arav?" Niya asked again.
Arav said nothing. He didn't respond. Niya became worried.
"Arav, what happened? Why aren't you answering? Why are there tears in your eyes? If something has happened, tell me—I will help."
Arav wiped his tears and said,
"Niya, we have to save Kaaya. She went towards the forest. Someone was watching us both from the forest. Kaaya thought that he might be the killer of her parents. We must go quickly to save Kaaya."
Niya nodded and said,
"If we go to save Kaaya, then what about the children?"
Just then, the oldest child among those in the shelter, a girl of about 8 years named 'Aru,' came and said,
"Sis, brother, what are you both doing here? And where is Kaaya di?"
She was sleepy. Niya went and kneeled beside her and said,
"Aru, Kaaya di went to the forest to collect some fruits, but she found too many, so she called me and Arav bhaiya. Will you take care of all the children until we return?"
Aru nodded in agreement.
Niya told Arav to leave immediately. Arav wore his bag and both ran towards the forest.
Arav took out a drone, about the size of an eye, from his bag and released it into the sky.
"Kaaya, where are you?"
Both were searching for Kaaya here and there. Suddenly a loud signal came from the drone on Arav's watch.
'Unknown high heat detected.'
Arav and Niya ran towards the direction from where the drone's signal was coming. After coming close, Arav and Niya found Kaaya lying unconscious on the ground, her body covered with multiple scratches.
Niya went to her, but Arav stopped her and said seriously,
"Niya, stop! Don't go near Kaaya. Look carefully, behind that tree next to Kaaya, someone is hiding."
The shadow stepped out and said,
"Oh, you have found me, Arav!!"