Control room mein dead silence chha gaya tha.
Sabki nazar screen par thi.
Us glass chamber ke andar jo ladka tha…
woh exactly Aarav jaisa dikhta tha.
Same face.
Same features.
Bas uski aankhon mein ek ajeeb si calmness thi.
Dangerously calmness.
Kabir ne finally silence toda or kaha..
👉 "NAH."
Bas ek word.
👉 "NAH BHAI."
Meera slowly peeche hati. "Yeh possible kaise hai…?"
Zoya screen ko stare karti reh gayi.
Uske fingers slowly shake kar rahe the.
👉 "Subject… 0…"
Echo ka face unusually pale tha.
Jaise woh kisi purane nightmare ko wapas dekh raha ho.
Aarav ne dheere se poocha..
👉 "Kaun hai yeh?"
Kisi ne answer nahi diya.
Watcher calmly screen ko dekh raha tha.
Jaise woh already jaanta ho kya hone wala hai.
Aur phir..
screen ke andar..
Subject 0 ne slowly apna head raise kiya.
Directly camera ki taraf dekha.
Aur smile ki.
Aarav ka blood cold ho gaya.
Kyuki us smile mein..
humanity nahi thi.
Suddenly..
facility ke alarms screen par flash hone lage.
SEAL FAILURE DETECTED
CONTAINMENT LOST
Kabir ka face slowly horror mein badalne laga.
👉 "Containment LOST matlab kya hota hai?!"
Echo ne dheere se jawab diya..
👉 "It means…"
Pause.
👉 "…he's free."
Silence.
Meera ne Aarav ka arm tightly pakad liya.
👉 "Aarav…"
Par Aarav screen se nazar nahi hata paa raha tha.
Usse andar se ek strange pull feel ho raha tha.
Jaise Subject 0 usse bula raha ho.
Andar Collapse suddenly uneasy ho gaya.
👉 "He shouldn't exist…"
Origin cold tone mein bola..
👉 "He was erased."
Watcher dheere se hasa.
👉 "Clearly not."
Screen par facility ke andar chaos visible tha.
Scientists bhaag rahe the.
Red emergency lights.
Broken walls.
Aur har jagah..
black-gold energy.
Exactly Aarav ki powers jaisi.
Par stronger.
Much stronger.
Ek scientist scream karta hua hallway mein bhaaga..
aur next second..
gayab.
Completely erased.
No blood.
No body.
Bas empty space.
Kabir slowly whisper ki tarah bola..
👉 "Yeh banda toh broken hai…"
Suddenly..
camera feed violently shake hui.
Aur hallway ke end par..
Subject 0 visible hua.
Barefoot.
Black hoodie.
Hands pockets mein.
Calm walk.
Jaise poora facility uske liye koi threat hi na ho.
Ek security team uske saamne aayi.
Weapons ready.
👉 "STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Subject 0 ruk gaya.
Slowly head tilt kiya.
Aur phir..
sirf ek second mein..
poori team freeze ho gayi.
Literally freeze.
Space ke andar statues ki tarah.
Aarav ka heartbeat fast ho gaya.
👉 "Yeh… kya power hai?"
Echo ne slowly kaha..
👉 "Control."
Next second..
screen par sab soldiers suddenly crack hone lage.
Jaise glass.
Aur phir..
SHATTER.
Complete silence.
Meera ne instantly aankhein hata li.
Kabir speechless tha.
Zoya quietly data analyze kar rahi thi… par clearly disturbed thi.
Watcher ne calmly kaha..
👉 "He evolved beyond collapse."
Origin instantly react kiya..
👉 "No. He lost himself."
Watcher ne uski taraf dekha.
👉 "Difference?"
Silence.
Aur wahi silence dangerous tha.
Suddenly..
screen static hone lagi.
Facility feed distort hui.
Aur phir..
Subject 0 directly camera ke saamne appear hua.
Too fast.
Impossible fast.
Usne camera ko observe kiya.
Phir…
seedha Aarav ki taraf dekha.
Jaise woh screen ke through usse dekh sakta ho.
Aarav freeze ho gaya.
Subject 0 dheere se bola..
👉 "So…"
Pause.
👉 "…you're the new one."
Room silent.
Kabir instantly peeche hata. "OH HELL NO HE CAN SEE US."
Aarav ne slowly poocha..
👉 "Tu kaun hai…?"
Subject 0 halka sa hasa.
👉 "Wrong question."
Uski golden eyes brightly glow hui.
👉 "Question yeh hona chahiye…"
Pause.
👉 "…tum kitni der survive karoge?"
Suddenly..
screen black.
Complete static.
Aur next second..
base violently shake hua.
BOOOOOOM.
Sab almost gir gaye.
Zoya instantly screens ki taraf bhaagi.
👉 "No way…"
Kabir tense ho gaya. "Ab kya hua?!"
Zoya ka face pale tha.
👉 "Energy signature…"
Pause.
👉 "…yahaan aa gaya hai."
Silence.
Aarav ka heart sink ho gaya.
👉 "Matlab…?"
Before anyone could answer..
control room ke bahar corridor mein footsteps sunayi diye.
Slow.
Calm.
Barefoot footsteps.
TAP.
TAP.
TAP.
Kabir ki awaaz literally toot gayi..
👉 "Guys…"
Pause.
👉 "…facility kitni door thi?"
Echo ne dheere se jawab diya..
👉 "Thousands of kilometers."
Room silent.
Footsteps aur close aaye.
TAP.
TAP.
TAP.
Aur phir..
control room ke metal door ke neeche se…
black-gold energy andar seep karne lagi.
To be continued..