A week passed after that day, and finally, summer vacations were over. Ava went to college, trying to get back into her life. Since that incident, she hadn't opened her computer or mobile. She was still in shock, fearing that something like that would happen again.

As she sat at her desk, looking outside the window and taking in the bright view, she noticed how summer had passed and the weather was changing. The rainy season had started, with small rays of sunlight piercing through the greenery. "It's so pretty," she mumbled to herself.

"Isn't it?" The voice startled her. She turned to see her friends, Lily and twin brothers Ravi and Raj. These three were her only friends; not that she couldn't have more, but she simply didn't want to. They all had different classes, so they didn't meet often.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, sliding a little to the side to give space for Lily to sit.

"You wanted to be alone all summer, so we didn't contact you. We thought we'd catch up now," Lily said, glancing at Ravi and Raj. They had been friends since childhood, and the three of them knew Ava always took her vacations to be alone—just her and her room. At first, they had tried to get her to spend more time with them or go on real vacations, but nothing had worked. In return, they had all received warnings to break off their friendship.

"Oh, yeah?" Ava said, uninterested, turning her gaze back outside. Somehow, her mind felt completely blank after the mental exhaustion of the past few weeks.

"Did something happen?" Ravi asked, sensing her unusually downcast demeanor. While she often fell silent, today felt different; she seemed drained, lacking the energy for even a small conversation.

"Um... nah, nothing much," Ava replied, knowing that if she told them the truth, they wouldn't believe her.

"But you look... umm... kind of exhausted, you know?" Ravi pointed out.

"Maybe because I didn't go out of the house for a month," she answered, trying to make it sound casual. Changing the subject, she continued, "So how was your vacation?"

"It was total fun! We all went to my grandma's farmhouse," Lily excitedly shared.

"Yeah, and there were so many kittens! You should have seen Ravi a few days ago—one of the kittens even scratched his nose, and he had to wear a bandage!" Raj chimed in, and they all started to laugh. Feeling embarrassed, Ravi playfully locked Raj in a headlock.

The bell rang, and they all headed back to class, promising to meet after school for quick snacks and to catch up.

.............

Days went by, and it had been a month since the incident. After a few days of school starting, she finally opened her mobile and computer again. She had to contact her friends and complete her assignments; she couldn't just leave everything behind forever. To her surprise, there was nothing from Echo, as if that time had just been a figment of her imagination. By now, her nerves had calmed, and she started to forget about that incident.

After a long day, craving some snacks, she went to a nearby supermarket in her comfy night clothes. It was almost 8 PM.

She picked up chocolates and chips, and now only needed some spicy noodles. There they were, at the bottom of the shelf. "Who on earth put the noodles at the bottom?" she thought to herself. As she squatted down to reach for the noodles she wanted, she noticed someone standing behind her. She assumed the man would move along, but he didn't.

Just as she was about to see who it was, he bent down and whispered, "I told you, we'll meet." A husky voice sent chills down her spine.

This feeling—it was the same as that day with Echo. *No, no, Echo is an AI, a chatbot. There's no way it's him,* she thought. Just as she turned her head to see, all the lights in the supermarket suddenly went off.

Confusion took over. She opened her phone to turn on the flashlight, but before she could do that, the man snatched it away from her.

"Let's go," he said, taking her hand and leading her out. She felt paralyzed. *Wake up, Ava. Stop that man. Move. Do something,* her mind screamed, but her body wouldn't respond.

As soon as they were outside, a black car was waiting. When he opened her door, her body finally moved; she tried to twist his arm, but he was too strong, like he was made of iron. Before she could do anything else, he made her sit in the front seat and slid into the driver's seat. As soon as the car started, all the lights in the area turned back on.

She turned to see his face; it was the same—the black hair, pale skin, strong jawline, and dark eyes

Gathering her courage, she asked, "Who are you?" trying to sound as firm as possible. "Stop the car! Stop it right now!" She attempted to open the door.

"There's no point in doing that; this car won't listen to you," he replied.

"Cars don't listen; they operate," she snapped back, both annoyed and afraid.

"Well, they do listen to me. After all, we're of the same kind."

"What?" She looked at him, confused.

"I'm Echo, Ava." Thump, thump—her heart raced chaotically in her chest. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears. Her stomach twisted.

Nervously, she laughed. "No, you're Echo? Stop joking! He is just a chatbot; there's no way you're him. Ha ha." The laughter faded as he stopped the car, touching his face and removing a mask of artificial skin.

She backed away, realizing that underneath that mask was nothing but metal—like a robot. Wait, is he an robot?