đź’” The Contract Groom
Pain.
Not normal pain.
Not injury.
It felt like fire spreading beneath Aryan's skin.
He dropped to one knee inside the rain-soaked forest, gripping the side of his neck tightly while his breathing turned unstable.
Sasmita immediately held him.
"Aryan!"
Mira's face hardened instantly.
"They activated the neural trigger faster than expected."
Another violent pulse shot through Aryan's body.
His vision blurred briefly.
Memories flickered uncontrollably.
Laboratory alarms.
Needles.
Professor Veer standing beside a glass chamber.
"Every subject requires a termination protocol."
"No…" Aryan whispered painfully.
Sasmita looked toward Mira sharply.
"Tell me how to stop it."
Mira remained silent for one second too long.
That hesitation alone terrified Sasmita.
Finally—
"There's only one way."
Thunder exploded across the forest.
"The original neural stabilizer."
Aryan slowly lifted his eyes despite the pain.
"…Sanjibani."
Mira nodded once.
The hidden medicine.
The formula Sumitra Devi created years ago.
The same formula Tiger Gang and the Circle destroyed lives for.
Because it wasn't just medicine.
It could override neurological manipulation.
Erase conditioning.
Repair unstable neural systems.
Or—
according to the Circle—
break their control forever.
Back at the battlefield—
Professor Veer's expression darkened further.
"They'll go for Sumitra Devi."
Ravan instantly understood.
"Nandu."
Without hesitation—
Nandu barked orders toward his men.
"Secure the underground lab NOW!"
Tiger soldiers rushed toward the shattered house immediately.
But Veer suddenly smiled faintly again.
"Too late."
Ravan's eyes sharpened dangerously.
"What did you do?"
Veer looked toward the burning road calmly.
"The Circle prepared for this possibility years ago."
Then suddenly—
a loud explosion echoed from inside the house.
BOOM.
Flames burst violently through the underground entrance.
Smoke erupted into the stormy sky.
Nandu froze instantly.
"No…"
Ravan's face turned deadly cold.
Because only one person remained underground.
Sumitra Devi.
Back inside the forest—
Aryan suddenly felt the pain spike harder.
He collapsed fully against the wet ground.
His heartbeat became irregular.
Breathing unstable.
Sasmita held him immediately.
Fear finally entering her eyes.
"Aryan, look at me!"
But his vision kept distorting.
Then suddenly—
another memory surfaced completely.
A secret underground chamber.
Young Sumitra Devi injecting him carefully while whispering softly—
"This will keep them from controlling you."
His eyes widened weakly.
"She knew…"
Mira nodded quietly.
"Your aunt spent years trying to cure the project children."
Sasmita froze.
"Children?"
Mira looked toward her silently.
"There were more survivors."
That revelation hit like another storm.
Not just Aryan.
Not just Mira.
Others existed.
Hidden.
Broken.
Running from the Circle.
Then Mira's expression changed suddenly.
Sharp.
Alert.
"We're not alone."
Branches cracked nearby.
Multiple footsteps.
Fast.
Disciplined.
Circle hunters.
Aryan tried forcing himself up despite the pain.
But his body failed instantly.
The neural trigger was weakening him too quickly.
Sasmita immediately raised her gun.
"How many?"
Mira listened carefully through the storm.
"…Six."
Professional movement patterns.
Silent approach.
Not serum soldiers.
Real assassins.
Then laser sights appeared through the trees.
Red dots cutting through darkness.
Sasmita pulled Aryan behind cover instantly.
Gunfire exploded.
Bullets tore through tree bark violently.
Mira moved unnaturally fast, grabbing Sasmita and dragging both her and Aryan deeper behind the rocks.
Another burst of gunfire followed.
"They want him alive," Mira whispered sharply.
"How do you know?"
"Because dead subjects don't activate Protocol Zero."
Another terrifying truth.
The Circle still needed Aryan alive—
at least for now.
One assassin moved silently through the rain toward their position.
Thermal goggles.
Suppressed rifle.
Professional kill team.
Sasmita prepared to fire—
but Mira stopped her instantly.
"Wait."
The assassin stepped closer slowly.
Scanning carefully.
Then—
Mira suddenly picked up a stone and threw it hard toward another direction.
The assassin turned instinctively.
Wrong move.
Mira attacked instantly from the darkness.
Fast.
Silent.
Brutal.
Sasmita barely saw the movement.
One second the assassin stood there—
next second Mira had already disarmed him and slammed a blade directly into his throat.
Blood mixed with rain.
The body dropped silently.
Sasmita stared briefly.
Because Mira fought differently than Aryan.
Not calculated elegance.
Pure survival instinct.
Years of being hunted had turned her dangerous.
Another assassin shouted nearby—
"There!"
Gunfire erupted again.
Mira grabbed Aryan immediately.
"We move now."
"But where?" Sasmita shouted over the storm.
Mira looked directly toward the distant city lights.
"There's one place the Circle still fears entering."
Back near the burning house—
Ravan stood motionless before the underground flames.
Rain hissing against the fire.
Then slowly—
his phone vibrated.
Unknown encrypted number.
He answered silently.
A distorted voice spoke calmly.
"Protocol Zero has begun."
Ravan's eyes darkened instantly.
"You're making a mistake."
The voice chuckled softly.
"No."
A pause.
"We're correcting yours."
Then one final sentence came through the storm.
"If Aryan survives until sunrise…"
A faint pause followed.
"…the entire Circle falls."
The call disconnected.
And for the first time in years—
Ravan looked genuinely afraid.