Manuel Levi

“So, what’s the update, Levi?” The black silhouette sitting in front of me asked me. It was a dark room and the man was sitting on a throne-like chair above a short two-three stair-long stairway. There were four more chairs between him and me, where ‘sub-leaders’ sat and listened our conversation. Two were on the right side, two were on the left, with a distance of about two to three meters from each other. “Most importantly, when you were commanded to implement Code Red, why did you c’mere?”

“Sir,” I replied. I was knelt down in front of him like a knight, and had my head down. “I was not sure what to reply back then, but now I’m sure that the man never saw my face. He didn’t even tell anyone about me, nor did anyone follow me back here.”

“So it means that in the confusion of the condition, you even provide us wrong information, right?”

“No, sir. Certainly not. I was just kinda confused if he saw me or not, but after observing no reaction by his side, I’m certain no one saw me.” I tried to justify my actions, and I guess they didn’t go in vain.

“Okay,” He replied and I had a sigh of relief. Then, I got to know for how much time I had been stopping myself from breathing due to such a tense situation before me. “So, what’s the update?”

“Sir, he’s dead.”

“Good. You may leave,” He commanded and I stood up from my position. I turned back and walked away from him towards the exit. I opened the door, which made a creepy sound as it opened, and then I left, closing the door at my back. I again sighed at relief, more than I did before. “It was a close call.”

I was walking down the corridor, and then I entered the entrance hall area, where we have some sofa sets, which were old and tattered. There was even a reception area on my left and the entrance gate which resembled an office building. I turned left towards the entrance which faced the reception. I walked towards the entrance as I looked at the old tattered red sofa set present on my right, facing the reception. I kept my hands in my pants’ pocket as I exited from the building. What lay before the building was a walking path which was surrounded by many other buildings. The buildings were surrounded by herbs and other plant life which had withered. The buildings were old and not well maintained. The reception itself looked like a cave now, and the buildings looked more black than their primary white color. “Can’t even imagine it used to be a flat society before it was invaded by the group,” I thought as I observed the old buildings which can fall any minute. “There’re fifteen buildings in this fortified society, six in the latter two rows and three in the first row, with a park in middle. I was in building 2-3, which meant that it was the third building of the second row, and I was walking from 3-4, the corner-most building.” I walked inside the building as I was suddenly attacked by a hand which held and choked my neck. “Where’s Rohan?” The feminine voice angrily asked.

“He-He’s dead,” I replied in pain. My eyes were shut in fear, so I was unable to see her face. “Th-The leader asked to implement Code Red, so I-I gave him a blade and--”

“Fuck!” She screamed as she pulled her hand back. “Rohan didn’t deserve to die!”

Then I noticed the strong and determined woman who wore a navy blue leather jacket over a black tight mini-skirt. “I know,” I replied. “But I had to follow the orders of--”

“I don’t care!” I can clearly see the anger in her red eyes. “He’s fourth one this week, Manny!”

“Kritika,” I said. “I wanna tell you something important first.” I looked at her with determination.

She had her hand on her forehead due to anger and tension. “What?”

“It’s started.”

“What?”

“I saw Inspector Khandelwal on scene. He was probably there to interrogate Rohan.”

She was shocked and surprised. “It-It’s good news.” She smiled a bit. “That means it’ll all end soon.”

“Can’t say soon, but it’s certainly gonna end.”

Kartik Khandelwal

I was walking down the corridor of the Delhi Police Head-Quarters, or DPHQ. It’s the month of December, so it’s chilling cold now. Therefore, I was rubbing my arms while I walked. Suddenly, I saw Kavita walking towards me. I stopped in front of her and so did she. “So, Mr. Kartik, how’s the investigation’s going on?”

“It’s going on just fine, Ms. Kavita,” I replied, but I didn’t look at her face as I was too busy looking at my documents. Moreover, I didn’t want to see her face too.

“But I heard that your prime suspect just killed himself.”

At this, I was shocked. “How do you know that?”

“Well, just rumors.”

“How many people know about this, by the way?”

“Approximately everyone, I suppose.”

“What the--” I said in a low voice. I thought, “I had told Ms. Yashika to keep the group’s progress a secret. Then how do everyone… I needa talk to her.”