I can't remember exactly why I promised to come back.
"Arjun—stop."
Karan grabs my shoulder hard enough to pull me back a step.
I jerk forward anyway.
"Let go."
He doesn't.
"Look at me," he says.
I don't want to.
"Look at me," he repeats, sharper now.
I turn.
His face is wrecked.
Bruised, swelling, blood dried along his lip.
One eye barely open.
"We're done," he says.
"No."
"Yes," he snaps. "We're done right now."
"They took her."
"I know."
"Then why are we standing here?!"
"Because you can't even stand properly!" he fires back.
I step forward to prove him wrong.
My leg gives.
Just slightly.
But enough.
Karan doesn't miss it.
"That," he says, pointing, "that's why."
I grit my teeth.
Push through it.
"I'm fine."
"You're not even close."
"We don't have time to rest."
"We don't have the body to keep going," he shoots back.
Silence hits.
Not calm.
Not quiet.
Heavy.
I shake my head.
"No. No, if we stop now—"
"You forget more," he finishes.
That stops me.
He sees it.
"Yeah," he says quietly. "I noticed."
I don't respond.
Because he's right.
That gap.
That missing piece.
It's getting worse.
"So what?" I say finally. "We just sit here and hope I remember why I care?"
Karan exhales sharply.
"That's not what I'm saying."
"Then say something useful."
"I'm saying if you go back like this," he points at my chest, "you die before you even reach them."
"Then I die."
The words come out faster than I expect.
Too easy.
Karan stares at me.
"…you don't mean that."
"I do."
"No, you don't," he says, stepping closer. "You're just panicking."
"Of course I'm panicking!" I snap. "I'm forgetting things!"
"Then think!"
"I am thinking!"
"Then think better!"
The argument hits harder than the fight.
Because there's no enemy to focus on.
Just him.
Just me.
Just the truth sitting between us.
I run a hand through my hair.
It comes back shaking.
"I don't know how long I have," I say.
Karan doesn't answer immediately.
He looks away.
Then back.
"…me neither."
That lands differently.
Not an argument.
Not a pushback.
Just real.
We both breathe.
Heavy.
Uneven.
A scream echoes somewhere in the distance.
We both glance toward it.
Then back at each other.
Still here.
Still alive.
Barely.
"They're not going far," Karan says finally.
"You don't know that."
"I know how people like that work."
I frown.
"What does that mean?"
"It means they won't rush," he says. "They'll secure. Regroup. Figure out what to do with her."
My chest tightens again.
"With her."
"Which means we have time," he continues.
"Or we lose the only chance we had."
"Or we get one real chance instead of dying on the first attempt."
I shake my head.
"No. No, if we wait—"
"You forget more," he says again.
Silence.
There it is.
The real problem.
Not them.
Me.
"What if I forget her?" I ask quietly.
Karan doesn't answer.
That's answer enough.
I laugh once.
Dry.
"Great," I mutter. "That's perfect."
He steps closer again.
"Listen," he says, voice lower now. "We don't need you at full strength."
"That's good, because I'm nowhere near it."
"But we need you standing," he adds. "Thinking. Moving."
I look at him.
"You saw how they fight."
I nod.
"Clean," he says. "Efficient. No wasted movement."
"And?"
"And we're not that."
I almost smile.
Almost.
"Yeah," I say. "We're really not."
"But we can still win one thing," he continues.
"What?"
"Time."
I shake my head again.
"Time isn't helping me."
"It might," he says. "If you stop burning it."
I don't like that.
At all.
But I don't have a better answer.
I look back the way we came.
Nothing.
No movement.
No sound.
They're gone.
Or waiting.
Either way—
Not here.
I exhale slowly.
"…five minutes," I say.
Karan nods immediately.
"Five minutes."
We don't sit.
Not fully.
Just lean against opposite walls.
Keeping watch.
Breathing.
Trying to steady something that won't steady.
My body hurts.
Every movement reminds me.
My arm feels weak.
My side worse.
But it's my head that bothers me more.
That delay.
That slip.
I close my eyes for a second.
Just one.
When I open them—
Karan is closer.
"…how long was that?" I ask.
He frowns.
"What?"
"How long did I close my eyes?"
"…two seconds."
Feels longer.
Much longer.
I push off the wall.
"Okay. That's enough."
"That was not five minutes."
"It's enough."
Karan sighs.
"You're going to get us both killed."
"Probably."
He stares at me.
"…you're serious."
I nod.
"I don't have a better plan."
He looks down.
Then laughs quietly.
"Yeah," he says. "Same."
He pushes off the wall too.
"Fine," he mutters. "We do it your way."
I blink.
"…that easy?"
"No," he says. "That stupid."
I almost laugh.
Almost.
We start moving.
Back.
Same direction.
Same danger.
Every step feels heavier now.
Not just pain.
Something else.
Like my body isn't syncing right.
Karan notices.
"Still good?" he asks.
"Define good."
"Walking without falling."
"…mostly."
"Comforting."
We keep moving.
Slow at first.
Then faster.
Pushing through it.
The streets look different now.
Or maybe I just don't remember them right.
Hard to tell.
We pass the alley again.
The broken glass.
The debris.
Signs of the fight still there.
But quieter.
Too quiet.
"They're close," Karan says.
"You feel that?"
"No," he replies. "I just know."
Fair.
We slow down.
Careful now.
Listening.
Watching.
Nothing obvious.
Which is worse.
I take another step—
My vision flickers.
Just a second.
I stop.
"Arjun?"
"I'm fine."
"You stopped moving."
"I said I'm fine."
He doesn't argue.
But I can feel him watching me now.
Waiting for me to slip again.
I take another step.
Then another.
Everything feels slightly off.
Not wrong.
Just…
misaligned.
Like I'm walking half a step behind myself.
We reach the corner.
The one where everything went bad.
I pause.
Karan steps beside me.
"…ready?" he asks.
No.
But I nod anyway.
We turn—
And the street is empty.
No players.
No Meera.
Nothing.
Karan frowns.
"…that's not good."
"No," I agree. "It's not."
We step out slowly.
Careful.
Watching every angle.
Still nothing.
"They moved," he says.
"Yeah."
I look around.
Trying to think.
Trying to remember.
Something.
Anything.
But it's harder now.
Slippery.
Like thoughts don't stick.
"Arjun," Karan says quietly.
I look at him.
"You okay?"
I open my mouth—
And nothing comes out.
Not because I don't want to answer.
But because for a second—
I forget what the question was.
My chest tightens.
"…yeah," I force out.
Lie.
He knows it.
But he doesn't push.
We stand there.
In the empty street.
Too exposed.
Too still.
"We need to move," he says.
"Yeah."
I take a step—
And everything tilts.
Hard.
The ground shifts sideways.
Or I do.
I don't know.
"Karan—"
My vision blurs.
The edges go dark.
Sound fades.
"Arjun!"
I try to stay up.
I really do.
But my body—
finally gives.
My knees hit the ground.
Pain barely registers.
"Karan…"
I reach out—
Miss.
The world spins faster.
Then i drop onto ground.
And everything goes black.