The sun had slowly begun to rise. The shadow was no longer just a shadow but a man dressed in black clothes, wearing a demon mask on his face.
Arav said in surprise,
"How do you know my name?"
The shadow replied,
"Ever since you returned to Earth, I have been following you."
Arav thought to himself,
("So it wasn't my imagination; I really did keep seeing a shadow around me.")
Arav asked the shadow,
"But why were you following me?"
The shadow said,
"Because my god told me to do so. But now you must have realized—I used to follow you."
Arav asked,
"Your god… what do you mean?"
The shadow answered,
"My god will make this world livable again, he is my messiah, and people like you are interfering in my god's work."
Arav said,
"But that's not possible, because until now, no technology exists that can undo such a massive catastrophe and make Earth livable like before. The destruction of Earth is certain."
The shadow said,
"My god can do everything. He will save this world."
"Here's a warning before I go. If you try to take any human with you to Nyura-7, your companion 'Nayan'—we might kill them."
Saying this, the shadow vanished, laughing loudly.
Arav was terrified. Niya approached him and asked,
"Arav, who was that? How did he know your name? Do you know him? And who is this 'Nayan'?"
Arav remained silent, and after a while he quietly said,
"Niya, let's go back to the shelter. I'll tell you everything."
Arav was neither scared nor did his face show any concern. He was simply silent, as if nothing else mattered to him.
Arav carried Kaaya on his back, and the three of them set off towards the shelter.
About 10 minutes later, they reached the shelter.
Niya immediately rushed inside, concerned for the children.
Arav, slowly carrying Kaaya on his back, also went inside. When they entered, Arav's eyes widened in shock. He immediately looked at Niya—her face was full of deep regret, because the children were not there. Arav realized at once that the shadow was not alone; his companions were here too.
Arav thought to himself,
('I had placed drones all around the jungle, so why didn't they alert me about any enemy? Were my drones damaged? But that can't be, because they have auto-repair capability. Maybe the demon mask that shadow wore was some kind of signal-disabling mask, and since the children are gone, it means his companions also wore similar masks. Yes, that must be it. In this modern age, why would anyone wear masks otherwise…?')
Niya, almost in tears, said,
"Arav, what's happening to us? Ever since we came here, something or the other has been going wrong."
Now Niya was crying,
"Arav, we shouldn't have left the children alone, it's all my fault! I should have stayed here! Arav, we have to find the children, let's leave now—they couldn't have gone far with so many kids. If anything happens to them, I'll never be able to forgive myself."
Arav tried to calm Niya and said,
"Niya, calm down… nothing will happen to the children. If we run after them now, those people might actually harm the kids. Anyway, they are after me… because they don't want me to take anyone to Nyura-7."
"Since I came back to Earth, they have been following me every moment."
"I also care about the children, but from now on, every step we take needs to be carefully thought through."
Niya wiped her tears and asked,
"So what should we do now…?"
Arav replied,
"For now, we should stay in the shelter and wait for Kaaya to recover."
Niya nodded.
Almost 6 a.m. now. The sun had spread its light completely through the jungle. Niya sat outside the shelter, regret still visible on her face. Arav sat inside, next to Kaaya, treating her wounds with his healing gun—a gun invented by Arav's father. This gun could instantly heal even the worst wounds; it was like a magic healing tool, looking like a regular pistol but white in color.
After a while, Kaaya regained consciousness and found herself lying on the bed in her control room—the place from where she used to keep watch on people. Kaaya turned towards Arav—he had fallen asleep from exhaustion after everything that happened.
Kaaya thought to herself,
(I was fighting with that shadow, he attacked me with something, then I fainted. Looks like Arav brought me here.)
Kaaya gazed at Arav, and slowly her heartbeat began to race. A blush crept onto her cheeks. She placed a hand on her heart, whispering,
"Why is my heart beating so hard?"
But just then, Arav's watch started beeping.
He woke up startled by the sound.
A voice from the watch said,
"Unknown hit detected from eastern direction."
Arav looked at Kaaya and said,
"Oh Kaaya, you're awake, are you feeling okay now?"
Kaaya nodded.
Arav said,
"Kaaya, you and Niya stay here, I'll go check the eastern side. Maybe someone needs our help."
He quickly took another watch from his bag and handed it to Kaaya.
"If I get into trouble and need help, this watch will start ringing on its own—then you can come save me."
Saying this, Arav left the shelter. Outside, Niya was sitting and saw Arav leaving. She called out,
"Arav, where are you going?"
But Arav was in a hurry and didn't hear her, heading into the jungle.
Niya thought to herself,
(I wonder where Arav is going so urgently.)
Just then, Kaaya came outside the shelter. Niya saw her and went over,
"Oh Kaaya, are you okay now? And where did Arav go?"
Kaaya nodded and explained everything. But there was concern on Kaaya's face. She asked,
"Niya, where are the children…?"
Niya told her everything that had happened so far.
Kaaya thought to herself,
(I'm sure Arav has thought of something to save the children; I shouldn't worry.)