*Bzzzz*

*Bzzzz*(Phone buzzing)

It was a pitch-black night where even the stars had turned coy, yet the full moon shone with utter joy, through the pane of a room, as it lit up a desk, on which a phone buzzed, trying to wake up a beauty sleeping on the bed beside. *Bzzzz* *Bzzzz* But no matter how much it tried, the beauty didn’t budge an eye, lost in her dreams, she didn’t reply. (And that's enough of me being a poet) “She is not picking it up,” answered Abhin as he gave it one last shot, watching the radiant glow of the moon from another one of those glassed panes, in hopes that she will answer. “I’m pretty sure she has dozed off.” “Seriously, it is her birthday in an hour.” “That is sooo like Serene” “But bud, it is her 18th birthday.” “Hahaha, still better than our Roy. He ran away with his girl on a birthday date and didn’t even pick up our calls.” “I was OUT with my DAD for some work. Believe me dammit!” “Oh, please. Don’t take us for fools” The lot with him started chitchatting amongst themselves, just like the high schoolers they were. “Guys, I will go pick her up. Make sure everything is done by the time we come.” Abhin said as he moved away from the window. “Just make sure you come back before 12” one of the gals within the group said, pouting. “Roger that, ma’am.” He chuckled, leaving the venue to pick up its main star. “Are you sure they are just deskmates?” “Yeah, I heard he was friend-zoned by her.” “Damn, tell me more of it.” The group kept on jabbering, as they continued on making the peaceful night strident. ** ** A bike zoomed by on a hushed road as the leaves on it rattled along with the wind, and the man on it - donning a helmet - drove his bike in solace, until his phone buzzed. But he had his hands full so he ignored the rhythmic call and soon the ringing died down. “Crap. What now?” He was once again called, and it seemed urgent so he had to halt his bike at the side of the road. Seeing a familiar name on his buzzing phone put up a sweet little smirk on his face. ‘Serene. She must have finally woken up, that brat.’ He thought “Yo, birthday..” He tried greeting her but was interrupted by a weak and troubled voice from the other side of the line. “Help. Please..” “Serene? Is everything alright? Hello?!” He inquired but, *Beeeep*, the call was cut midway. He tried calling her back, but the service was out of reach. He knew something was amiss and so he once again wore his helmet and rushed towards her home at full speed. ‘That punk never plays such stupid pranks.' He covered the ten-minute drive in mere five minutes and soon he was in front of the building she lived in. He rushed within, bypassing the sleeping security guard, as he hurriedly got off from the bike. He started violently smashing the elevator's panel. “Get down. Get the fuck down.” But it seemed that the elevator was not coming anytime soon, for its panel had glitched out. Even his phone was not in its right mood, as a black screen of death had taken over it. ‘Fuck you, damned machine.’ He soon started climbing up the stairs as he realized that waiting was futile. ‘The nineteenth floor, was it?’ But he soon realized the number of floors he had to climb. He felt like waiting for the elevator(if it ever came), but his guts warned that he might regret it his whole life if he did so. ‘Almost there. Almost there.’ Drenched in sweat, he gasped for air a bit, as he once again started moving after stopping on the stairs for a while. ‘1904?’ And soon he was in front of her room. He read her now titled number plate and saw the door quaking vigorously as if an earthquake had hit that place. “SERENE?” "SERENE?!” “...”

‘Fuck it, man. Here goes nothing.’ Since no one replied or opened the door, the best thing he could do was to barge in by breaking the door. He slammed his shoulder once, twice, thrice. “Dammit. It hurts.” The door finally broke on his fifth attempt. Abhin tumbled down as he broke into her flat, but he soon started levitating along with the broken gate and noticed how everything in the room was floating alongside him. "What in the world.. Serene?" He muttered. This out-of-the-world happening freaked him out of his wits but he was more worried about his childhood friend, so he pushed himself further into her house using a nearby wall as leverage and finally saw her. “Serene?!” He shook her levitating body, hoping that she will wake up, but to no avail.

Suddenly, the serene moonlight lit up Serene as white glowing fumes started coming out of her. These fumes then enveloped Abhin aggressively as if they were trying to devour him alive. He tried resisting them but it was futile and he soon started losing his consciousness. Both of them abruptly disappeared after some time and the things that were floating alongside them fell down with a thud. The whole place descended into an uncanny silence, with only the zephyrs singing their melancholic Eolian song. ** ** The whole building was sealed down the next day, while the criminal investigation bureau searched every inch of the land, in hopes of finding a clue on what happened to the two teens who abruptly disappeared without a trace. Little did they know that this was just the beginning of an enormous catastrophe that would change Earth forever. ** ** *Gibberish* Abhin woke up in a daze, only to find out that he was tied down, his mouth gagged and his vision blocked. “Captain, we have an anomaly here. This male was extracted due to some error." A voice said something incomprehensible. “Killing him would prevent any unwanted nuisance, sir. We only need the five targets we were designated.” Another voice emerged. *Gibberish* Abhin tried shouting for help, but it was of no use. “We will let the chairman decide what to do with him. Tranquilize him for now.”

That was the last thing he heard before losing his consciousness once again.