Song of the chapter is
Monsters by Ruelle

-69-
-Zoya Afreen-
-Present-

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Delmore High
21 December, 2030
4:03pm

"Oh my god. It's....you."

As the words left Siya's lips, my gaze immediately went to her.

"Who is he?" Himanshu asked.

Siya's face was stricken with horror. Her eyes had a shade of disbelief in them, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Who is this guy, Siya?" Saina repeated Himanshu's question.

"Yeah." The man spoke, his voice hoarse. "Tell them who I am, Siya."

Siya exchanged a horrified look with Kartik who seemed equally shocked.

"Mohit?" Kartik said. "Why?"

"Why?" The man turned towards him. "You have the audacity to ask me why?"

"Who are you?" Saina asked again, raising a brow. If it wasn't for this damn tape on my lips, I would've asked the more important questions.

"The guy you drove into insanity and killed." He spoke, facing away from us. "I'm...his father."

My eyes widened as realisation dawned in on me.

"You're... ya-yash's father?" Siya's voice quivered.

He turned to look at us, his eyes gleaming with rage and revenge and smirked.

"Scared?"

A strong, unending silence followed that. The sheer absurdity of the situation as the pieces of the puzzle slowly fit together in silence felt unreal. I exchanged a look with Himanshu, urging him to ask the questions that all of us were scared to utter.

"So that's why you helped Alishka?" He asked. "Because you think we killed your son?"

"I don't think that. I know that."

"Are you insane?" Saina asked, bewildered. "That bitch murdered your wife! That's why Yash started this game in the first place!"

"And he wouldn't have gone as far as he did if it wasn't for you!" He yelled. The knife in his hand, stained in Dhrashti's blood glared at me.

"What do you mean? He got obsessed with the game! He wanted to control us like puppets!" Himanshu retorted.

"Liars!" The man yelled, charging his knife at Himanshu. "You might've been able to convince the whole world of your fake innocence in the events that happened eleven years back, but you can't fool me!"

Silence followed before he continued, "I knew my son. I know that....he would've never done anything to hurt anyone."

I rolled my eyes as a string of curses rang through my brain.

"The only reason...he got influenced to murder Alishka and her boyfriend,....was because they hurt his mother! Even if she was a lying piece of trash and a terrible wife....she loved him more than anything! He was justified in his anger!"

I suddenly felt a jerk on my wrists as Himanshu's fingers slyly tried to untangle my rope. I breathed a sigh.

"Then why did he kill all those innocent people? Vivaan...Ahaan...what did they do to deserve what they got? Kartik asked.

My eyes sweltered at the mention of his name. It always surprised me how much of an impact that man-child had on my life despite being in it for less than two months.

"To get rid of the sins of the world.... sometimes one has to make some sacrifices. For the greater good." He justified.

I was moving past my annual count of eye rolls.

"Is that what you think you're continuing? Himanshu asked. "Is that why you killed all those people....the band, the lady at the motel and the waitress? Because you think you're ridding the world of it's sins?"

He smiled ruefully and it sent chills down my spine.

"Something like that." He said. "My son started something noble. He wanted the world to be a good place....where no one could escape the consequences of their ill actions. And I'm glad that I get to continue his legacy."

What did this guy think he was? Jesus?

"His legacy?" Kartik snorted. "Please, give us a break. He was a cold blooded murderer who went insane because of his stupid revenge. He wasn't a saint....he was a killer."

I watched as the man's fists balled up in my place and in the next moment, a punch landed on Kartik's face. His head bounced back due to the impact as Siya screamed in agony.

"Stop! Please-"

"How do you guys know him, Siya?" Saina asked.

Siya looked over at her as Himanshu finished untangling the last bit of the rope.

"The day we went to visit Yash's old neighborhood....he invited us in his house and told us... things about Yash's family and his past." Siya explained, her voice drained out.

The irony.

"He was talking about himself the whole time and we didn't even...get a hint." She concluded.

Yash's father laughed. "Aren't you naive? I told you everything about myself and yet...you had no clue. Heck you even saw the picture of Yash and my wife on the wall and yet, you didn't put two and two together? Goes to show how utterly ignorant and self involved you are."

Siya's head hung low in shame and regret. As soon as the ropes tying my hand unfurled, Himanshu leaned closer and whispered, "Zoya, on the count of three, attack his knee."

Wow that rhymed-

Focus, Zoya.

I nodded slightly and focused my gaze onto the old man's legs. His ragged face was enough indication of the fact that he obviously wasn't the one to run around town and cut up people. He was just a pawn in this whole game. Alishka had somehow managed to use his vulnerability and his superiority complex to her advantage.

If I aimed at his knees, he was sure to buckle and that would give Himanshu enough time to knock him out.

But what about the other one?

I diverted my gaze over to the other helper, who stood in the background, as if waiting for Mohit to finish his monologue before he could begin his.

I nudged Himanshu's foot softly and indicated towards the other guy with my eyes, hoping he'd understand my dilemma.

He licked his lips before responding, "I'll kick the old man and take his knife. Try to distract the other one."

I breathed a sigh before nodding.

As we got into position to attack, Kartik asked, "It all started because of my sister. Yash went crazy because of her, not us. Then how could you help her? The girl that destroyed your family?"

Mohit looked at him for a solid moment before saying, "She doesn't mean anything anymore. The girl that destroyed my family is gone."

"What do you mean?" Siya asked.

"My wife deserved what she got. But that wasn't the case for my son." He uttered. "He was innocent and he did what he had to do."

What drugs was he on?

"How is she alive?" Kartik asked. "Yash killed her. You know, he did."

Mohit waited for a second before looking at him with a cocky expression.

"Nothing is as it seems."

"Now!" Himanshu whispered. Without giving much thought to that last sentence, I ran in full speed towards the other helper and kicked him in the shins. As he buckled backwards and writhed on the ground with pain, the old man's groan echoed behind me. I turned swiftly and found him in a chokehold as Himanshu held the bloodied knife to his throat.

Taking this opportunity, I rushed over to Siya and Saina and untied their wrists. As the last bit of the rope came off, I heard Saina scream, "Zoya, look out!"

I turned swiftly as the other helper lunged at me with all his might, the knife gleaming in his hand. I pushed his arms away with all my strength and he stumbled back for a moment before gaining his composure and swinging his knife at me. Fortunately, I ducked at the very right moment, his knife missing a very vital organ by inches.

As I took two steps back and removed the tape covering my lips, breathing heavily, he tilted his head at me.

"Who the fuck are you?"

He slowly and gingerly wiped the blade of his knife as Siya and Saina came and stood on both sides while Kartik went over to help Himanshu with Mohit.

"Come on, are you shy right now?" I taunted. "Or is it because you're ugly that you don't want to remove that little mask of yours?"

The helper remained silent while Saina snickered beside me.

"Only you can roast someone trying to kill you, Zoya."

I smirked. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Do you really wanna know? Who I am?" The helper spoke, his voice slow and raspy.

"Well that's what we're here for, aren't we? To see your beautiful face and listening to your stupid revenge monologue before killing you?" I lamented.

The guy chuckled softly, moving his head away before looking back at us.

"Well then, since you asked for it,"

His hands traveled to the back of his head as he unfurled the thread holding his mask in place. And then, slowly and gradually, he pulled it off.

"Surprise, darling."

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yes, i know.

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