CHAPTER 16: WRONG PERSON
I close the distance and grab her.
No hesitation.
No thinking.
My arms wrap around her shoulders, pulling her up, pulling her close, like if I hold tight enough, everything fixes itself.
"Meera—"
The word breaks halfway.
Something's wrong.
Her body goes stiff.
Not familiar.
Not the way she moves.
Not the way she breathes.
She struggles.
Panicked.
"Let go—!"
That voice—
It's not hers.
My grip loosens.
Just a little.
Enough to feel it.
Wrong.
Everything wrong.
I pull back.
Slow.
Too slow.
My hands still on her shoulders.
My eyes searching her face.
Hoping I'm just… off.
Hoping it's the light.
The angle.
The blood in my eyes.
But it's not.
It's not her.
The face staring back at me is terrified, confused, completely unfamiliar.
Different eyes.
Different expression.
Different person.
My chest tightens like something just snapped inside.
"…no," I whisper.
The word comes out empty.
Like it doesn't belong to me.
The girl jerks away from me, stumbling back, breathing hard.
"I said let go!" she snaps, voice shaking.
Karan grabs my arm and yanks me back.
"Arjun!"
I don't resist.
I don't move.
I just stare.
The jacket.
It's the same.
Same tear at the sleeve.
Same dirt stains.
Same everything.
But it's not her.
"How…" I say, voice barely there.
Karan pulls me further back, positioning himself slightly in front of me.
"Wrong person," he says quickly. "Focus."
But I can't.
My eyes stay locked on her.
The girl hugs herself, still backing away slightly, her breathing uneven.
"I thought—" I start.
But I don't finish.
Because I don't even know what I thought anymore.
Karan's grip tightens on my shoulder.
"Arjun, we don't have time for this."
The guards behind us are moving again.
Shouting.
Closing distance.
But it sounds far.
Muted.
Like it's happening in another place entirely.
My head feels… off.
Like something just slipped.
Like something important just got erased.
Why did I think it was her?
The jacket.
Just the jacket.
That's it.
That's all it took.
Karan shakes me slightly.
"Hey. Look at me."
I don't.
I can't.
Because the more I look at the girl—
the more wrong everything feels.
"You said her name," the girl says suddenly.
Her voice is quieter now.
Less defensive.
Still scared.
But focused.
I blink.
Finally tear my eyes away from her face.
"What?" I ask.
"You said… Meera," she says.
My chest tightens again.
"Yeah."
Her expression changes.
Something flickers there.
Recognition.
Karan notices it too.
"You know her?" he asks quickly.
The girl hesitates.
Looks between us.
Then nods.
"I think so."
That hits.
Hard.
I step forward again.
Karan doesn't stop me this time.
"Where is she?" I ask.
My voice sounds steadier than I feel.
The girl swallows.
"They moved her."
My stomach drops.
"When?"
"Not long ago," she says. "Before you came."
"How far?"
"I don't know."
"That's not helpful," Karan mutters.
The girl flinches slightly.
"I didn't see everything," she says quickly. "They don't let us look around."
I step closer.
Careful this time.
Not grabbing.
Not rushing.
Just close enough.
"Think," I say. "Anything. Direction. People. Marks."
She closes her eyes for a second.
Trying.
"They came from that way," she says, pointing weakly past the far side of the holding area. "And left the same way."
Karan follows the direction.
Sees the marks.
Subtle.
But there.
"Another route," he says.
I nod slowly.
Of course it is.
Of course there's more.
This was never the destination.
Just another step.
I feel something shift in my head again.
That same delay.
That same… gap.
Why—
Why are we here again?
I blink.
The thought slips.
Gone before I can grab it.
Karan notices.
"You good?" he asks.
I nod.
Too quickly.
"Yeah."
He doesn't believe me.
I can tell.
But he doesn't push it.
Not now.
The girl looks at me again.
More carefully this time.
"You really thought I was her," she says.
I don't answer.
Because I did.
Completely.
Without question.
And that's what scares me.
Karan exhales slowly.
"We need to move," he says. "They'll regroup."
I nod.
But I don't move yet.
I look at the girl.
At the jacket.
My chest tightens again.
"Where did you get that?" I ask.
She glances down at it.
"…they gave it to me."
"Who?"
"The players," she says. "They swap things sometimes. Clothes. Items. Doesn't matter to them."
That makes sense.
Too much sense.
To them, it's all the same.
People.
Clothes.
Value.
Everything interchangeable.
I swallow hard.
"Did she… say anything?" I ask.
The girl hesitates.
Looks at me.
Really looks.
Like she's deciding something.
Karan shifts slightly.
Tension rising again.
"Answer him," he says.
"I'm trying," she snaps back, then winces.
Her voice lowers again.
"She didn't talk much," she says quietly.
My chest tightens.
"That's not like her," I say.
But even as I say it—
something feels off.
Like I'm not entirely sure anymore.
Karan glances at me.
Notices it.
Says nothing.
The girl continues.
"They pulled her out of the group," she says. "Different from the rest of us."
"Why?" I ask.
"I don't know."
"Think."
"I am thinking!"
Her voice cracks slightly.
Then drops again.
"They treated her differently," she says. "Not rough. Not like the others."
That's worse.
Much worse.
Karan's jaw tightens.
"That's not a good sign."
"No," I say quietly. "It's not."
The girl looks between us.
"You're going after her," she says.
It's not a question.
I nod.
"Yeah."
She hesitates again.
Then steps slightly closer.
Not much.
But enough.
Like she wants to say something.
But isn't sure if she should.
"What?" I ask.
She looks at me.
Something in her expression shifts.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Something else.
Something heavier.
"She didn't fight," she says softly.
The words don't register at first.
"What?"
"They took her," the girl continues, voice barely above a whisper, "and she didn't fight."
My chest tightens.
Hard.
"No," I say immediately. "That's not—"
But I stop.
Because I don't know.
I don't know what she would do.
I don't know what she did.
I don't know anything for sure anymore.
The girl holds my gaze.
Not backing down.
Not unsure.
Just… certain.
"She didn't fight when they took her."