**CHAPTER 17: DOUBT**
"She didn't fight when they took her."
The words don't leave.
They don't fade.
They stick.
Like something lodged inside my chest, pressing against my lungs every time I try to breathe.
I don't respond.
I can't.
Because I don't know what to say to that.
Karan grabs my arm.
"Move," he says.
I let him pull me.
Out of the holding zone.
Past the captives.
Past the guards trying to reorganize.
Past the noise.
We don't run.
We move fast, controlled, slipping through broken streets until the sounds behind us dull into distance.
Only when it's quiet again does he stop.
I don't.
I keep walking.
A few steps.
Then more.
Then I stop too.
Because I don't know where I'm going.
The street ahead is empty.
Collapsed buildings.
Dust.
Silence.
But my head isn't empty.
It's loud.
Too loud.
"She didn't fight."
Why?
The question loops.
Again.
Again.
Again.
"Arjun."
Karan's voice cuts through it.
I don't look at him.
"Why didn't she fight?" I ask.
It comes out sharper than I expect.
Karan exhales slowly.
"We don't know what happened."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one we have."
I turn to him.
Finally.
"She would fight," I say. "You saw her. You know that."
"I know," he says.
"Then why didn't she?"
Karan doesn't respond immediately.
He watches me.
Careful.
Like he's choosing his words.
"Maybe she couldn't," he says.
"That's not the same thing."
"No," he agrees. "It's not."
Silence again.
But this one is different.
Heavier.
More fragile.
"You're assuming too much," Karan says.
"I'm asking a question."
"No," he shakes his head. "You're already deciding something and trying to prove it."
"That's not true."
"It is."
I clench my jaw.
"What do you think then?" I ask.
Karan steps closer.
"She's alive," he says. "That's what matters."
"That's not what I asked."
"And that's the only thing that matters right now."
I look away.
Because I don't like that answer.
Because it doesn't fix the question.
"She didn't fight," I repeat.
Karan's voice hardens slightly.
"And you don't know why."
I don't respond.
Because I hate that he's right.
Because I hate that I don't know.
Because I hate that it's even a question.
We stand there.
The silence stretching.
Tight.
Uncomfortable.
"You're thinking the worst," Karan says.
"I'm thinking realistically."
"No," he snaps. "You're letting that system mess with your head."
That hits.
I look at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're different," he says. "You're not reacting like before."
"Maybe before was wrong."
"Or maybe now is."
The words land hard.
Too hard.
I feel something flare up.
Anger.
Frustration.
"Don't do that," I say.
"Do what?"
"Act like you know what's going on in my head."
"I don't need to know everything," Karan says. "I just need to see what's in front of me."
"And what is that?"
"You're hesitating in the wrong places and moving too fast in others."
I laugh once.
Short.
Dry.
"Great analysis."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
We stare at each other.
Tension building.
Not loud.
Not explosive.
But there.
Sharp.
Then—
a sound.
Low.
Wet.
Dragging.
We both turn.
A creature moves into view from the far end of the street.
Not big.
Not fast.
But wrong.
Its body twisted.
Limbs uneven.
Dragging something behind it.
A person.
Alive.
Still moving.
Barely.
Karan stiffens.
"We should—"
"No."
The word comes out before he finishes.
He looks at me.
"What?"
"We don't stop," I say.
He stares at me.
"…you're serious?"
I don't look at him.
I watch the creature.
Watch the person behind it struggle weakly.
"Yeah."
Karan takes a step toward it anyway.
"We can take that."
"Maybe."
"Then why—"
"Because it's not the objective."
He turns fully to me now.
"Objective?"
"Meera," I say. "That's the objective."
"And that?" he points at the person being dragged. "What is that?"
I don't answer.
Because I don't have a word for it anymore.
Because I don't want to.
Karan exhales sharply.
"Arjun, we can help him."
"We don't have time."
"It'll take two minutes."
"It'll take longer than that."
"You don't know that."
"I know enough."
The creature jerks the body again.
The person lets out a weak sound.
Barely a voice.
More like air forced through broken lungs.
Karan looks between me and them.
Torn.
"You're really not going to do anything?" he asks.
I shake my head.
"No."
Silence.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Then Karan steps back.
Away from the creature.
Toward me.
Not agreeing.
Just… choosing.
We turn.
Walk.
Not run.
Just walk.
Away.
The sounds behind us don't stop.
They don't fade immediately either.
They stretch.
Follow.
Echo.
The person makes another sound.
We keep walking.
Karan's steps feel heavier now.
Slower.
But he doesn't stop.
Neither do I.
Eventually—
the sounds fade.
Gone.
Like they never happened.
The street ahead is empty again.
Silent.
Clean.
Too clean.
I keep walking.
My mind… doesn't react.
Not the way it should.
No guilt spike.
No sudden turn.
No second thought.
Just forward.
Just movement.
And that's when I realize it.
I didn't even think about going back.
Not once.
Not even for a second.
I stop.
Karan stops a step ahead of me.
Turns.
"What?"
I don't answer immediately.
Because the realization is still settling.
Still forming.
"I didn't think about helping," I say finally.
Karan frowns.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…" I pause. "I didn't even consider it."
He studies me.
"That's not true."
"It is."
"You said no."
"That's not the same thing."
Silence.
I look back.
The direction we came from.
Nothing there now.
Just empty street.
Empty space.
Empty noise.
"I used to hesitate," I say.
Karan doesn't respond.
"I used to second guess," I continue.
"Arjun—"
"But this time…" I shake my head slightly. "It wasn't even a question."
That's the part that scares me.
Not the decision.
The absence of it.
Karan exhales slowly.
"That doesn't mean you're broken."
"It means something changed."
"Yeah," he says. "We're in a different situation now."
"That's not it."
"Then what is it?"
I don't answer.
Because I don't know how to explain it.
Because I don't fully understand it myself.
But I feel it.
Something slipping.
Something shifting.
Not outside.
Inside.
We start walking again.
Slower now.
More cautious.
The tension between us still there.
Unresolved.
"You're thinking like them," Karan says after a while.
I glance at him.
"What?"
"Those players," he continues. "Null Wing. They see everything as value."
I don't respond.
"Don't start doing that," he adds.
"I'm not."
"You just ignored someone dying because it wasn't efficient."
"That's not the same thing."
"It is."
I stop again.
Turn to him.
"You think saving him would've changed anything?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"It would've meant something."
"To who?"
"To us."
I hold his gaze.
Long.
Hard.
Then look away.
Because I don't have a good answer.
Because I don't like the one forming in my head.
We keep moving.
The marks on the walls appear again.
Faint.
Guiding.
Leading.
We follow them.
Because that's all we have left.
After a while, Karan speaks again.
Quieter this time.
Less confrontational.
"If we find her," he says.
I glance at him.
"If?"
"When," he corrects. "When we find her."
I nod once.
He continues.
"And if we get her back…"
I wait.
Something in his tone feels different.
He looks at me.
Not angry.
Not frustrated.
Just… serious.
"If we save her like this… will she even recognize you?"