Song of the chapter is
Jungle by Emma Louise

-69-
-Saina Arora-
-Present-

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St. Maud Theatre
22 December, 2030
4:13 am

"Hello, darling." He said in that haunting mechanical voice as he held up the voice modulator up to his lips. "Surprised?"

As Officer Ravi stood proudly in front of us, in that dimly lit room with nothing but the sound of silence, my heart sank to the floor and my eyes immediately darted to Zoya.

Her face dimly illuminated by the golden hue of the light hanging over us looked crushed. I could only imagine what she was going through in that moment.

If I had experienced one thing in life, it was betrayal from someone I loved.

"Ravi...?" Kartik asked. "It can't be-"

"Oh I wish you could see your faces right now!" He laughed maniacally. "Gosh, I waited so long for this!"

"Why?" Siya questioned. "How...could you do this to us?"

"God! How do you ask the most ridiculous questions every damn time?" Ravi chided. "Go ahead and ask me how I did it! Ask me how I cut up all those fucking bastards and put on the best show of their lives?"

"Go on, Saina." He looked at me. "Ask me how I killed your husband."

I stilled in place, my heart hammering against my chest as he took a step towards us.

"Oh I forgot," he continued, a sinister look crossing his features. "You already saw the beheading."

"Fuck you!"

He laughed even harder. "Atleast use different insults than your friends. Or do you not even have that much individuality left in you?"

"I'm going to kill you, you asshole!" Zoya screamed as she lunged at him. He swung his knife at her and pulled her by her wrists towards him. As she struggled to get away from his grip, tears valiantly streaming down her cheeks, he whispered in her ear, loud enough for us to hear as well, "It's okay, baby. We all go a little crazy sometimes."

"Fuck off! You're a fucking monster! You hear me! You are a monster! A killer!" Zoya screamed in his ears as she fought against his grip.

"Funny you say that." He smiled sarcastically. "Considering you were practically begging me to fuck you two days ago-"

Before he could complete, Zoya sunk her teeth onto his wrists and he yelped back in pain. Taking advantage of that moment, she rushed back towards us and exclaimed, "Saina, where are the weapons?"

"I don't know. He grabbed my bag before tying me up." I uttered.

"Shit!" Zoya cursed, clutching her hair. Her face had grown red with anger as she rushed over to pick up the gun that Dhrashti had used on Zayn, that had been right in front of us the whole time.

"Stay the fuck back!" Kartik warned as I looked back and found Officer Ravi back on his feet, charging his knife at us. Fortunately, Kartik had grabbed the knife from Yash's father.

"Or what?"

"I won't hesitate." Kartik charged. "Don't underestimate me."

"Pretty sure your friend might have a different opinion on that." Ravi snarled as he sneered at Zoya. She breathed heavily in response and chembered a round, aiming the gun at him.

"If you had known me at all,
...you would've known not to mess with my family."

Saying that, she fired a shot. We covered our ears at the defeaning sound of the bullet leaving the barrel. As the following silence prevailed, I finally opened my eyes, only to find Officer Ravi still standing tall, a cocky smile gracing his face.

"You missed." He said sardonically.

"Be grateful." Zoya hissed. "I only miss when I mean to."

A slow smirk appeared on his face. "You might not care about ending my life....but what about your friend's?"

My eyes widened. "What?"

"What the fuck are you on about?" Zoya demanded.

He grinned like a maniac. "Did you forget about her already?"

It took us all a moment to realise what he was talking about before Himanshu said, "Ronnie."

I exchanged a glance with Siya.

"What did you do to her?" He questioned.

Ravi tilted his head to the side. "Let go of Mohit and I'll tell you."

"Do you think we're stupid?" Kartik asked.

"Well if you want to save your friend, then you gotta listen to me." He responded.

Zoya's nostrils flared in response. "If you so much as hurt a hair on my best friend's head, I swear to god I won't hesitate to put a bullet through your fucking head."

Ravi fake yawned. "Whatever. Her time's running out."

Himanshu immediately let go of Mohit and charged at Ravi. Grabbing him by the collar, he pushed him against the wall behind them.

"What did you do to her?!" He demanded, his voice hoarse and rage-filled. "Answer me!"

Ravi merely laughed in response. As a consequence, he received a hard punch from Himanshu who could barely keep his composure. I went over and held Zoya's hands.

"Zoya, are you okay?" I asked genuinely.

She was shaking with the fury that was flowing in her veins. Yet maintaining her cool, she looked over at me and said, "It doesn't matter. Not now."

My eyes sweltered. She was being brave even at the face of her entire world burning and crashing in front of her. I could only imagine being so valorous.

I nodded simply, knowing no words could provide her the reassurance she desperately needed in that moment and simply hugged her, rubbing her back.

"Where the fuck is she?!" Himanshu yelled again.

Suddenly, all of our phones chimed in our pockets. Sure, we didn't have the signal to call the police (considering "the police" was literally involved in this) but yet could get notifications from Alishka.

We all exchanged a glance before clicking on the link that had been sent to us using that same unknown number. As we did, a video popped up on our screens. Or rather, a live stream.

Through our screens, we could see a bleeding Veronica lying still, over what seemed like a wooden surface. Her surroundings were covered in wood as well. It seemed like she was trapped inside a box.

Or rather, more terrifyingly, a coffin.

I gasped as I watched her take shallow breaths.

Himanshu cried. "Ronnie! Ronnie, can you hear me?! Ronnie-"

"She can't hear you, you idiot." Ravi laughed as slight blood stained his lips and chin from the impact of Himanshu's punch. Zoya fumed as she ran over to him and gave him a tight slap.

"Where the fuck did you keep her?!" She demanded, holding up the gun to his head. "Tell me, or I swear to god I'll shoot-"

"Go ahead, baby." Ravi said calmly. "Shoot me."

I watched Zoya still in place.

"Come on, do it." Ravi provoked. "Do it, and lose your chances of ever finding your sweet old friend."

Zoya pressed the gun to his head in anger before moving away with frustration.

"Please just tell us where she is." I pleaded.

He looked over at me. "Your friend has about fifteen minutes of oxygen left in that coffin for her to breathe. Once that is done, and the oxygen slowly stops reaching her brain.... she might finally do us all a favour and succeed in what she had been trying to do for the past 19 years!"

"Die."

Himanshu grabbed him by his collar again, tears streaming down his face as he begged, "Just tell me where she is!"

Ravi laughed. "Now where would be the fun in that?"

"This isn't a fucking game! You're playing with people's lives!" Siya shrieked.

"Life's a gamble, darling. We all are just pawns in one big game." Ravi spelled out. "We're all just doing our parts."

"So this is what your part is?! Killing people and betraying the ones who love you?" Zoya questioned, her eyes sweltering. Ravi gave her a small smile and said, "Is it my fault that you're a slut for any man who gives a slightest bit of a fuck about you?"

Zoya simply stared at him, without saying a word. It was as though she had lost her voice, her purpose and her truth.

I had never seen her like that. She seemed dejected more than angry. She looked...heartbroken.

I felt a strong pang in my heart, watching her tears flow in vain. I knew her pain better than anyone else.

"How do we find Veronica?" Kartik asked.

Ravi looked back at us. "Simple. Just follow the clues."

"The clues?" I questioned. "What clues?"

"The ones right in front of you." Ravi answered in an obvious tone.

"And once you get them all, you'll get all your answers too." He finished.

"Any rules you'd like to add further ?" Zoya glared at him.

"Only one." He said, smiling. "It's kill or be killed."

_____________

I diverted my gaze towards the glass cases in front of us. The shrine more or less looked the same as the day we had first visited it, the only exception being the emptied out shrine in the centre that belonged to Alishka.

Officer Ravi had walked away with Yash's father, as if retreating back to their den before dwelling the final attack.

But even in those few dread-less moments, there was an uncomfortable silence prevailing in that room.

"Guys, the glass cases." I urged. "I think that's what he was trying to indicate."

"Let's hurry then." Zoya said as she rushed back towards me, with her head hung low.

While the rest of us looked over at all the shrines once again, keeping an eye out for any hidden messages, Zoya stood in a corner, staring into space while running her hands through her hair. Her tears had dried up by now, the mascara completely ruining her face. Watching the others struggle to keep their heads in place, I ran over to her and held her by her arms.

"Zoya,....Zoya look at me!" I urged as I gently nudged her body. As if broken from her trance, she looked over at me, her eyes stricken with a million questions.

"It's all my fault, isn't it, Saina?"

I blinked profusely as I shook my head. "No,...no it isn't! You couldn't have known-"

"But I should've." She cried softly. "I should've known."

I looked down instinctively and inhaled heavily before looking back at her.

"Listen to me, Zoya." I began. "There's nothing you could've done to prevent this, okay? It's not your fault that he's a psycho, alright? You just....fell in love with a person and that's not wrong. You're not wrong."

She looked up at me, her eyes brimming with fresh tears.

"But if you let him get to your head, then you're letting him win." I said. "Do you really want to give him that satisfaction?"

She nodded negatively.

"Then fight." I reminded. "Do what you always do. Fight like the survivor you are."

She blinked profusely as she looked at the rest of our friends.

"Right now, all of us need your help in finding Veronica, alright? We can't lose another friend." I urged, choking up.

"We....won't." She whispered, her voice hollow and coarse. "I- I won't let anything happen to V."

"Good." I nodded, smiling. "Now come on, let's find the clue and get our friend out of that hell hole."

______________

'A beam that's truly thrilling,
With pictures bigger than the ceiling,
I make the room come alive,
And without me it's such a dive.'

The small envelope stuck to the bottom of Sanchi's shrine had revealed this riddling piece of mind puzzle that we all seemed to have a hard time comprehending. As we all peered over the piece of paper, I asked, "Anyone any ideas?"

"Honestly, I feel like my mind has just stopped functioning at this point." Zoya said, scratching her forehead.

"We don't blame you for that, Zoya." Kartik reassured. Zoya gave him a small nod.

"Guys, focus, focus." Himanshu spoke, his voice laced with urgency. I could only imagine the panic he was in after seeing that video. "What do you think this riddle means?"

"I think I've got it!" Siya exclaimed.

"What is it?"

"It's the projection room." Siya explained. "A beam so thrilling, meaning the beam of the projector, images bigger than ceiling, self explanatory, and it makes the room come alive!"

"That's correct! That's it!" I exclaimed.

"What are we waiting for then?" Zoya asked.

It took us approximately three minutes to make our way back to the first room that we had entered at the beginning of the night. Grabbing whatever things we could use as weapons incase one of the psychos or Alishka herself was sitting behind the door, we pushed it open and found an empty room with the projector still on.

And in the middle, sat a big wooden box.

Himanshu and Kartik rushed over to it as the rest of us took a quick look around for any of the killers waiting to attack us. Fortunately, finding nothing, we went back to help them break open the coffin.

I shuddered in place as I watched Himanshu bang his fists against the coffin's hardwood covering, his hands bleeding as a result. But knowing him, he probably couldn't think of anything in that moment except for his urgency to save his wife.

As Kartik's knife finally succeeded in its attempt to make a crack in the box, Zoya used it to her advantage to help them pick apart the rest of the lid. As Veronica's beaten up face finally came into view, Himanshu yelped, "Ronnie!"

She seemed as though she was only partially conscious as Himanshu carried her up in his arms and cradled her like a baby. He shook her once or twice, yelling out her name, urging her to wake up and asking if she could hear him.

But there was no response.

Once her eyes opened partially, Himanshu grazed his hands against the epidermis of her porcelain cheeks and said, "Ronnie, please.... please be okay-"

"Of-ficer Ra-Ravi..."

"We know." Zoya reassured. "We know, V. It's okay."

She darted her gaze at her before looking back at Himanshu.

"I-it's not.... actually-"

"It's okay, Ronnie. You don't have to talk. It's okay." Himanshu urged, wrapping his arms around her protectively.

"S-she's....not-"

"What?"

"I think she's trying to say something." I said.

"What? What is it, V?" Zoya asked.

"She's not....who we...think she is."

"What do you mean, Veronica?" Kartik asked.

She took a deep breath before uttering, "That....is not... Alishka."

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