Yatra woke up early that morning.
Sunlight slipped through the window, touching the wall beside his bed. He lay there for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling, his mind stuck on the dream he had last night.
A clock.
A large clock tower.
That was all he remembered clearly.
He rubbed his eyes, and got out of bed. He couldn't remember where it was, or why it felt important but the ticking sound stayed in his head.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Yatra shook his head, got up, finished his morning routine, and stepped out of the house toward school. As he walked, the image of the clock flashed again in his mind. He slowed for a moment, confused, then continued.
"Just a dream," he told himself.
He checked the time on his phone, frowned slightly, and continued walking.
School
The classroom buzzed with familiar noise students talking, chairs scraping.
"Hey, Yatra."
He turned.
Lyna smiled at him from her seat.
"Hey," Yatra replied, dropping his bag beside her.
From the last bench, a voice called out, "Hey, bro!"
Noah waved lazily.
The three of them started chatting casually. Somewhere between jokes and random talk, Yatra mentioned his strange dream.
"I had a weird one yesterday," Yatra said. "There was clock tower… I don't know why, but it felt important."
"A clock?" Noah repeated. "Clock dreams are bad signs, you know."
"Stop this scary things," Lyna laughed.
Before Yatra could reply, the classroom door opened.
Max walked in.
Noah froze.
Just for a second—but Yatra noticed.
Noah's ears turned red. Max glanced at him… and quickly looked away, her cheeks slightly pink.
Yatra raised an eyebrow, smiling to himself.
Before anything else could happen, the teacher entered, silencing the class.
Lunch Break
They met again in the cafeteria, sitting together while eating lunch.
Yatra leaned toward Noah. "So… Max?"
Noah hesitated, then sighed. "I don't know, man. I like her. But… I don't know how to say it."
Yatra smiled knowingly.
Later, Yatra and Lyna sat together. He told her about Noah's feelings.
Lyna look surprised really, "Max feels the same."
Yatra blinked. "Then let's just tell them."
Lyna shook her head. "No. Let's just watch."
Yatra tried to argue.
Lyna punched his stomach lightly. "I already said okay."
Yatra rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay… okay."
And they all hed back to class.
Evening
After school, Yatra and Lyna walked together toward their homes.
"I'm hungry," Lyna said suddenly.
Yatra laughed. "You're always hungry."
"Then let's eat," she said, hooking her arm around his shoulder.
They went to a small restaurant, shared food, talked, laughed, and forgot about time. When they finally parted ways, the day felt… warm. After that, they went home.
The next day was a holiday.
So, they planned a date.
They went out to watch a movie and later visited a restaurant for lunch. After that, they planned to ride the roller coaster, and they did. During the ride, Yatra suddenly felt uneasy. He heard a faint tick… tick… tick sound in his ears.
"What happened, Yatra?" Lyna asked.
"No, nothing," he replied. "Just a little turbulence."
Lyna smiled and said, "That happens because of the ride."
Yatra chose not to tell her the real reason, knowing it would disturb her and spoil the day.
After that,
They walked toward the marketplace in the evening.
On the way, Near a meat shop, Lyna suddenly shouted, "Hey, Max!"
Max turned, surprised. "Hey, Lyna!"
They hugged.
"Oh, you're on a date?" Max asked. "I'll leave you guys"
"No, it's fine," come on "Join us." Yatra said.
Lyna yah come on max.
The three of them started walking.
Yatra felt something strange.
Someone was following them.
He glanced back and spotted Noah at a distance.
He leaned toward Lyna. "I'll get something to eat."
Max and Lyna continued ahead.
He disappeared into the crowd, waited, then suddenly appeared behind Noah.
"Ugh—ugh," Yatra coughed loudly.
Noah froze.
Yatra tapped his shoulder. "Why are you following us like a spy?"
"No - no!" Noah panicked. I—I was buying vegetables! Then I saw you all, but Max was there, so.
Yatra smiled. "Relax."
They bought snacks and caught up with the others.
Max saw Noah… looked down… blushed.
Lyna pointed at Noah's bag. "What's that?"
"Vegetables," he replied quickly.
The four of them walked together into the marketplace.
The Marketplace Turned into Different
The old marketplace was usually loud even after sunset—vendors shouting prices, scooters squeezing through crowds, children dragging balloon stars.
But tonight felt different.
Not creepy.
Not deserted.
Just… strange.
Quieter.
Colder.
Yatra noticed it first—the chill in the breeze, the flickering streetlights, the way the voices of vendors faded faster than usual.
"Are you sure your shortcut exists?" Lyna asked, half-joking.
"Yes," Yatra said, tightening his grip on his phone.
Noah laughed. "We're not walking into a haunted zone, right?"
They laughed together —the comfortable kind.
They walked past familiar shops.
Nothing unusual.
Except the streetlights.
Every third lamp flickered.
"It's just a voltage problem," Max said.
"Maybe," Yatra replied, unconvinced.
"It wasn't flickering yesterday," Lyna said.
Suddenly, a cold wind rushed past them.
A dog barked at nothing.
A bike stalled without a rider.
"Why do I feel like something's behind us?" Lyna whispered.
They walked faster.
People… Disappearing
The further they went, the quieter it became.
"Yatra…" Lyna whispered. "Where is everyone?"
The stalls were closed.
The streets were empty.
No footsteps.
No voices.
Nothing.
Yatra turned around.
The Market place is empty.
Lyna grabbed his arm. "Let's go back."
Yah "Let's go back," Max said.
hey turned—
But the street behind them looked longer. Narrower.
Lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Lyna tightened her grip. and says,
"Yatra…" Something's wrong.
no Everything is wrong.
SNAP.
A sound sharper than lightning.
Everything went black.
Not like sleep.
Not like fainting.
Just gone.
Yatra opened his eyes.
Stone floor. Cold air.
The others lay around him.
long hallway with carved pillars and cracked walls. Lanterns glowed faintly.
This wasn't the marketplace.
This wasn't the city.
"We didn't walk here," Yatra whispered. "We didn't move."
"This isn't the city," Lyna whispered.
"Then how did we?" Max asked.
The Others
Noah sat up, rubbing his head. Max lay beside him, confused.
They stood and walked forward.
Then they saw someone sleeping ahead.
They woke him.
"Who are you?!" the man shouted. "Did you kidnap me?"
"No," Yatra said. "We're stuck too."
The man sighed. "Something's wrong. I woke up here."
Then Yatra, Lyna, Noah, Max introduced themselves and Lyna asks and you?
"uh uh , I'm Arthur."
Before anyone could speak—
A voice echoed.
A man suddenly started shouting, "Hey! You demons! Do you know who I am? If I touch a car, it won't drive—it will fly! So don't do anything wrong. I'll scrape you like a scratched car, so don't try anything stupid!"
Hearing the noise, everyone rushed to the spot. Noah stepped forward, stood right in front of him, and said with a grin, "Easy, superhero… did your car get powers before or after breakfast?"
The man glared and warned, "If you take one more step, I'll twist your head. Stay right there!"
Yatra calmly stepped in and explained everything. But the man shook his head and said, "No, you're all demons. I know it—my grandma told me stories about people like you."
They tried to explain again, all at once. After listening for a moment, the man finally paused and said quietly, "Maybe… I feel something strange too."
And, he introduced himeself i am jiro and i am a car mechanic.
And suddenly...
Then—
SNAP.
Silence fell.
"This sound…" everyone whispered.
"This is what I heard before coming here…"
END OF CHAPTER 1