Author's Note
Hi, dear readers! ❤️
I hope you're doing well and enjoying the story and its chapters so far.
First of all, a huge thank you to everyone who has added my story to their library and continues to read it. It honestly means a lot to me. Seeing people read my work and keep it in their library gives me the motivation and confidence to keep writing.
I know I haven't been able to upload chapters consistently lately because of my academic life. Balancing studies and writing hasn't been easy, but I'm still trying my best to keep the story going.
So, thank you for your patience, support, and for being a part of this journey with me. Every read, vote, comment, and library add genuinely motivates me to write more.
I hope you'll continue this journey with me.
— Author : NKKUNIVERSE
.Chapter 17: The Thing in the Fog
Vansh continued to follow the car without taking his eyes off it. Yash caught up with Vansh on his bicycle on the road. Yash gazed at Vansh.
"Hey! Why are we following that car? He's just a wanted criminal, right?"
Yash's voice came out breathless. Vansh didn't say anything for a moment, and then his eyes shifted to Yash.
"Because he kidnaps kids, and if we get his location, then we can tell Kartik Sir that we ran from this guy, and then we can prove it. That's it; it's not a lie."
Yash looked at Vansh with wide eyes and then nodded, his eyes shifting to the car with an intense gaze.
Scene shift: Orphan garden.
Vaibhavi and Ritika walked through a small garden, enjoying the scent of flowers mixed with the smell of wet ground.
A slow, cold breeze passed by them. Ritika wrapped her arms around herself and hugged herself.
"Why is it so cold here? Since the first day we came here, it's always been cold."
Vaibhavi gazed at the flowers and then took a long, calm breath.
"Maybe we teleported into the northern part of India?"
Ritika whispered, "Who knows?"
Vaibhavi sharply turned towards Ritika, grabbed her hand, and walked towards the orphanage. Ritika gasped at the sudden interaction.
"Hey, what happened? Why are you dragging me?"
Vaibhavi gazed at Ritika over her shoulder with a smirk and continued walking.
"Well, we should ask Kartik Sir for internet access, and then we will find out where we actually are."
Ritika's lips parted in surprise and shock at the thought that she hadn't gotten this idea herself.
They both entered the main door of the orphanage and found Kartik standing with his hands folded behind his back, as if he were waiting for someone.
Vaibhavi and Ritika looked at each other with hesitation. Then they approached Kartik.
"Big brother Kartik..."
Kartik's eyes shifted from the entrance to the origin of the sound.
"Hmm?"
Ritika bit her lips and gripped Vaibhavi's arm tightly.
Vaibhavi looked at Ritika hesitantly. Then she looked at Kartik.
"Actually, we want to access the internet... so can you give us your phone?"
Kartik looked at both of them with a neutral expression, and his tone stayed normal.
"I can't give you my phone."
Ritika's shoulders tensed and then dropped with disappointment.
Kartik continued.
"But yeah, I can tell you where you can get internet access. Go in the left direction and then continue walking , you'll find the computer section."
"Let's go!!!"
Ritika released Vaibhavi's hand and raised both her hands above her head.
Vaibhavi nodded and said,
"Thank you, sir... By the way, why are you standing here?"
Ritika looked at Kartik's face and hands with curiosity. Kartik's eyes shifted from Vaibhavi to Ritika.
"Actually, I am waiting for..."
"Waiting for me, Kartik?"
Before Kartik could continue his words, a sweet yet confident female voice cut him off.
They looked towards the origin of the voice. It came from the entrance hall.
They saw two females standing there.
The first woman wore a black tactical bodysuit lined with belts and metallic rings, hugging her tall, slender yet athletic frame. A long black coat flowed behind her like a shadow, while her waist-length silver hair fell around her. She wore black tactical boots. She had fair skin, a sharp jaw, a defined V-shaped nose, narrow and refined lips, and sharp, light-blue, almond-shaped eyes. She appeared to be around 26.
The second woman wore a white ruffled high-neck blouse with black high-waisted flared pants, giving her a refined monochrome elegance. Her jet-black, shoulder-length hair framed her fair skin beneath straight bangs and twin buns, while sharp almond-shaped eyes and small dark-crimson lips gave her a calm, mysterious aura. She appeared to be around 26.
Ritika's eyes roamed over their bodies and clothes. Her jaw almost dropped and she
nudge Vaibhavi.
Meanwhile, Vaibhavi's eyes shone with curiosity, and her gaze went over both women's clothes.
They both walked straight towards Kartik with confidence and style without looking around.
Kartik took a long breath without expression, and his hands moved into his pockets.
"So, tell it, Kartik?"
A teasing tone echoed through the air from the second woman's voice.
Kartik looked into that woman's eyes, still without expression.
"Tell what?"
The second woman took a step and invaded Kartik's personal space, a playful smirk appearing on her lips.
"Tell me that you were waiting for me?"
Kartik turned around slowly. He said in a normal tone,
"I will be glad to accept death, but I will not accept that I was waiting for you... Follow me."
Kartik walked towards the hall and upstairs towards his room. The second woman followed him with a chuckle.
The first woman stood there with an expressionless face.
She shifted her gaze towards Vaibhavi and Ritika. Then she followed Kartik and walked upstairs.
Ritika's eyes roamed over the woman's hips and back, and she asked Vaibhavi,
"Why does she look at us like that?"
"Don't know. Maybe she finds something?... Let's go to the computer section... Why are you looking at her with so much focus?"
Vaibhavi wrapped her hands around Ritika's hands and chuckled. They both walked in the left direction, and Ritika followed with a sheepish smile and covered her face with embarrassment.
They both found the computer section and entered.
The room was empty, like no one had entered it, but it was still clean.
Vaibhavi switched on the lights.
Ritika looked around at the multiple computers in a line, like in a computer lab. Ritika peeked around and whispered,
"Is anyone here?"
Vaibhavi sat at a computer table and switched on the UPS and the computer.
"I didn't think there was anyone... but surprisingly, it's still clean."
Ritika quietly sat beside Vaibhavi and stared at the screen.
Vaibhavi moved the mouse and searched for the location. The screen's light illuminated their faces. The screen showed the location:
"Himachal Pradesh."
Ritika chuckled loudly.
"Sh... so we are in Himachal Pradesh?... It's better than the heat of Jaipur, Rajasthan."
Vaibhavi rested her chin on her palm and looked at the screen.
"Yeah, we are in Himachal Pradesh... She teleported us here, so what is she planning?"
Scene shift.
The air smelled like moisture after rain. At the backside of the orphanage, there was a park.
Arav and Saavi were walking on the footpath, while Saavi was holding Arav's left hand. Arav was wearing headphones while walking on the right side.
From far away, Sakshi and Ayush were walking towards Arav and Saavi, while Sakshi was holding Ayush's left hand.
Suddenly, Arav and Ayush bumped shoulders.
Ayush turned and looked at Arav. His facial muscles twisted into a pissed-off expression.
Ayush said in an annoyed tone,
"Hey, dude, walk carefully on the path... At least see who's coming."
Ayush pointed at his ear and then pointed to Arav's headphones.
"Are you even listening to me?"
Ayush walked towards Arav and off headphone, while Arav didn't say anything or react at all.
Ayush said,
"Please, I am talking to you... Listen to me... Take this off."
Ayush turned and stepped back towards his position.
"Yeah, stay there... I mean, you should walk straight, dude... We are not in our childhood anymore, so..."
Ayush turned and looked at Arav with a tilted head. His lips twisted with irritation.
Meanwhile, Sakshi and Saavi stood side by side, trying hard not to laugh by covering their mouths with their palms. A chuckle escaped from their lips.
Ayush asked,
"What is this?"
Arav was wearing wired earphones.
"Bastard... Oyee!! I am talking to you... Do you think you are Mr. Nonchalant... Oyee? I am talking to you calmly... normally... and you are doing this to me."
Ayush stepped in and took off Arav's wireless earphones, then turned and went back towards his position.
"Please give some mutual respect to me... I am talking to you, right?"
Ayush turned, and his left eye narrowed with annoyance.
Arav was carrying a kid in his arms while the kid covered Arav's ears.
Ayush covered his face with a pissed-off look.
"Yaaaar... What... how are you even doing this? Where did this kid come from? Tell me... Take him off."
Ayush stepped into Arav's space.
"How are you doing this?... You have become a weird person here... Do you know magic sorcery?... Hey, kid, where did you come from?"
Ayush took the kid from Arav's arms and held him in his own arms.
He turned and went back to his position.
"What the... hell, man? He got black magic powers? Where did he get all this?... He didn't even leave the child... using this kid."
Ayush took the kid from his arms and tapped him on the shoulder. The kid ran away.
Ayush paused and breathed.
"I hope he didn't do anything else weird."
He whispered to himself, and then he turned and faced Arav again.
Arav's hands were still in his pockets, maintaining his Mr. Nonchalant persona. This time, Saavi covered Arav's ears.
While trying hard not to laugh, she bit her lips tightly.
She looked down at Ayush and Sakshi, her eyes avoiding eye contact with Ayush.
Ayush's jaw tightened, and his fingers clenched against his palm until his knuckles turned white.
"Come on, seriously... What the hell, man... This... what is this behavior? Why, Saavi? Why are you doing this?... Is he paid for this? Tell me."
Ayush grabbed Saavi's hand and walked back to his position. He whispered to Saavi,
"Saavi, what are you doing? Don't do it... I am trying to talk with Arav, and he is covering his ears again and again... What happened to him today? Don't move from here, okay, Saavi... Stay."
Saavi smiled downwards and nodded.
Ayush clapped his hands with excitement and confidence.
Sakshi gave him a salo tap. Ayush smirked and nodded at Sakshi.
"Good job, appreciate it."
Ayush turned to Arav and walked towards him.
"What are you going to do now? Asshole."
He wrapped Arav's hands with a salo tap. Arav maintained his poker face, and then Ayush got back into his place again.
He smirked with satisfaction.
"I am tired of you, man. Please... Are you trying to become some kind of MCU comic character? But... well, well, you are trapped now."
Sakshi laughed hard while holding her stomach.
Ayush rolled his eyes and turned to look at Arav.
Arav's hands were still wrapped in salo tape. His headphones and wired earphones were on his neck, the previous kid was also standing on the side, and Saavi was covering Arav's ears with both her hands.
Saavi was trying hard to maintain her normal face, but she couldn't.
Ayush was pissed off, and he looked around for the things he had placed on Arav, but they were not there.
Ayush growled with frustration,
"Ayaaaa... What the... agghhh... You... Did you see that, Sakshi? They all are helping this bastard. He is making fun of me... Boy, you are going to pay for it!"
Ayush's forearm muscles tensed up, and he slowly walked towards them. His eyes and eyebrows narrowed.
"Stay there!!"
He yelled.
Ayush picked up a stick from the ground while keeping an eye on them.
"Wait, you bastards... I am telling you, and you are..."
Ayush dashed towards them to attack them.
Saavi, Arav, and that kid laughed and ran away.
Ayush was still following them.
Scene shift.
It's late afternoon. The sun goes down, and sunlight illuminates the road and beautiful ancient mountains.
The car that Vansh and Yash had been following stopped on an isolated highway on the left side of the dense forest.
The car that Vansh and Yash had been following stopped.
Yash's forehead was covered in sweat, which he wiped with the back of his hand. His breathing was rough and uneven while his chest rose and fell.
"Vansh... we... we finally caught up with this car... What do we do now?"
Vansh wiped his sweat and turned to look at Yash.
"We still have to follow him... but I am curious why he stopped here."
The car engine started, and the car turned to the left onto a dirt road.
Yash mumble.
"Huh? Why did he turn there?"
Vansh yelled.
"Yash, come on, let's follow him."
Yash leaned forward on the bicycle.
"I... I can't catch up now... My legs feel like jelly."
Vansh didn't wait for him. He put his bicycle on the dirt road and followed the car.
Yash whispered to himself,
"Ahhh... fine, I am coming."
After an hour.
Vansh and Yash stopped their bicycles and looked around at the end of the dirt road, but the car's tire tracks continued along the ground.
"We have to follow it."
Vansh looked at the car tire marks.
"I didn't think so... Vansh, look around; it's getting dark... We can come here tomorrow."
Yash looked at Vansh seriously. Vansh looked around.
"Yeah, you are right... but we can't. We didn't have much time... A few days ago, that female spirit, Mohini, gave me a task to get admission to J.W. High School... If I didn't make it... she taught me that we have to face consequences."
"Fine!!... Let's go."
Vansh moved his bicycle forward, and Yash followed him.
Vansh said,
"Thanks for understanding... We'll be back soon."
They passed by long trees that cast dark shadows on the ground and bushes inside. Insects echoed through the silent forest. Sunlight rays passed through the trees, creating beautiful sunsets.
Vansh focused on following the car tire marks on the ground, while Yash looked around, noticing the dense forest and the drop in temperature.
Vansh stopped on the track and looked around, then looked back at Yash.
"Did you feel a sudden drop in temperature?"
Yash stopped looking around and looked forward at Vansh.
"Maybe because of this place, who knows... Hey, Vansh, can we rest here for a moment?"
Vansh's eyebrows and muscles narrowed.
"But you said that we should go back, and now you want to rest here?... Well, fine. We can, because my legs are also feeling stiff."
A cold wind passed by them, and the forest slowly grew darker.
Vansh and Yash got off their bicycles, and Yash sat on the grass while Vansh started gathering sticks.
Then he put a bunch of sticks in one place.
"Areee... how am I going to make a campfire? I didn't have matchsticks or lighters."
Vansh mumbled, put his head up, and his vision moved around before landing on Yash, who was playing with a lighter.
Vansh stepped forward and tilted his head.
"Oyee, Yash, how did you get that lighter?"
"Oh, I got this when we were walking along the footpath... This lighter was lying there on the side, so I picked it up... Do you need it?"
Yash looked at the lighter, and then he looked at Vansh with a smirk.
Vansh stepped into his space.
"Give it to me!"
Yash smirked wider. A soft chuckle escaped from his lips, and he moved his head from side to side.
"Are you saying no to me?... What's funny about it?"
Vansh lunged at Yash.
Suddenly, a thick layer of fog slowly came out from the bushes. Then it spread around them.
Yash pulled his hand back, and his smirk widened even more.
"First, say sorry to me for bringing me here and making me ride the bicycle at that speed."
Vansh's lips parted.
"I..."
Before he could complete his words, Yash moved his hand forward and gave him the lighter.
A soft smile appeared on Vansh's face. He softly shook his head, took the lighter from him, and turned back.
Yash stood up from his place and shook the dirt off his clothes.
Vansh leaned down towards the bunch of sticks.
Finally, Vansh was able to start a fire with the sticks.
The light of the fire hit Vansh's face. Vansh's eyes narrowed, and he lifted his head and looked around.
"Huh?!... Where did the fog come from?"
Yash also gazed at Vansh.
The fog had already covered most of the area around them.
CRSHH RUSTLE!... Crshhh... crshhh!!... CRSHH RUSTLE!!
Vansh quickly stood up and took a few steps back.
The bushes moved apart quickly, and then a deer came out of them and looked directly in the direction of Vansh and Yash.
Yash's eyes widened as he looked at the deer who was not moving at all , and his breath caught in his throat.
Vansh softly closed his eyes, opened them, and took a long breath.
"Phew..."
Yash's tense shoulders dropped to their natural position.
"Heh... heh..."
He calmly smiled.
Yash stepped forward near the campfire.
"Look, it's just a deer... It looks cute, doesn't it?"
He leaned down and sat beside the campfire.
Vansh also joined Yash, sitting near him. They both looked at the campfire.
Yash's eyes grew wider than ever. His pupils moved towards Vansh.
Vansh moved his head to the left side to see the sudden change in Yash's expression.
Yash whispered as he was afraid to acknowledge it.
"VANSH... Did you notice it?"
Vansh's eyebrows twisted.
"Huh?... What do..."
Yash snatched Vansh's hand and stepped back, then looked forward at where the deer was.
Yash took a breath, but his chest tightened up, and he refused to move.
Vansh followed Yash's gaze.
Vansh's jaw muscles tightened as he pressed harder.
He grabbed a burning stick from the campfire and stepped back quickly.
"What the..."
Vansh felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the deer standing on its two legs in front of them.
KRAK!... CRACK—CRACK!
The sound came from the deer's body.
The fog grew denser around the deer and blocked their vision. Within seconds, the deer vanished into the fog.
They didn't dare to move.
Even that thing had vanished.
Vansh swallowed and looked around to find that thing, with a hot exhale.
Finally, Yash loosened his grip on Vansh's hand.
"So you were trying to alert me about that?"
Yash nodded.
Vansh looked at him and then at his bicycle.
"What was that?... Let's... move from here."
Vansh and Yash took their bicycles, but Vansh moved his bicycle in the direction of the car tire marks, while Yash pointed his bicycle towards the path leading out of the forest.
"Hey!!... Yash, where are you going? We should follow the marks."
Yash gripped the bicycle handle tightly, his eyes wide with disbelief, and barked,
"Are you out of your mind, Vansh!!... You're still going to follow those marks even after we saw that creepy thing?!"
Vansh tilted his head.
"I know what we saw... but we have to follow these marks... Please... just follow me... We have no other option."
Vansh bit his lips and lowered his head as he remembered his conversation with Mohini from a few days ago.
Vansh sat on his bicycle, followed the car tire marks, and went deeper into the forest.
"Vansh!!!... Damn it."
Yash quickly moved his bicycle in the direction of Vansh's path and rode after him.
The forest gradually disappeared into the darkness of evening.
After a few minutes,
"Vansh, stop!!... What are you doing... Just tell me what happened... Vansh!!"
Yash sped up to close the distance.
Far in the distance, a light flashed.
Vansh pressed the brake hard and looked at the light.
Yash also stopped his bicycle near Vansh and caught his breath.
"Let's go back!!"
Vansh looked back.
"Look forward."
Yash's jaw was tight.
"Tchh... What now?"
As Yash looked forward, the light fell on his face.
Just a short distance ahead, there was a wooden house. The light was coming from it.
Yash noticed the same car that they had been chasing earlier.
"We found it; let's go in."
Chapter end