Chapter -8
The night was heavier than usual, the roads almost deserted, only the flickering yellow street lamps guiding the way.
The black SUV tore through the silence, its headlights cutting through the misty veil that had begun to settle over the narrow village road.
Inside, Harinarayan sat tensely in the passenger seat while Veeransh gripped the steering wheel tighter, his jaw locked, his eyes sharp and glowing with an eerie darkness.
Harinarayan: “Veer… gadi dheere chalao.”
His voice was firm but carried a tremor of worry.
Veeransh’s gaze didn’t shift from the road. His knuckles whitened around the wheel.
Veeransh: “Der ho jaaegi. Aap ne hi kaha tha na waha kisi ladki ko jabardasti uthake le gaye hain. Hume use bachana hoga.”
Harinarayan’s breath hitched. He turned slightly toward Veeransh, the lines on his face deepened with concern.
Harinarayan: “Samajh rahe ho tum veer? Vo log us bacchi ke sath kuchh galat karne wale hain. Unhe ek shudh atma ki talash thi… ek aisi jise kabhi kisi ne chhua tak na ho.”
The words hung heavily in the confined space of the car. Veeransh’s eyes flickered with something darker rage, disgust, and something primal. His lips pressed into a thin line, his silence screaming louder than any words. He didn’t answer Harinarayan.
Instead, he slammed his foot harder on the accelerator. The car roared in protest but obeyed, cutting through the winding road faster than before.
Harinarayan looked at him, his own heartbeat quickening. He knew what that silence meant. Veeransh had always been different his anger was cold, deadly, and when it was provoked, there was no stopping him.
The old man’s hand tightened around his wooden beads, whispering a silent prayer under his breath.
Harinarayan (softly, almost to himself): “Bhagwan… jo hone wala hai, usse rokna ab kisi ke bas me nhi hai.”
Veeransh’s gaze darkened further, as though the night itself bowed before his storm. Without a word, he drove faster towards the cursed land, towards the cries, towards the fate that was waiting for both Aariv and him
.......
The muffled chants had been pounding against Aariv’s ears for what felt like hours.
The air was thick with smoke from the incense sticks burning around him, acrid and suffocating.
His wrists burned where the ropes had dug into his skin, his breathing shallow as he tried desperately to make sense of what was happening.
Beside him, Yug stirred awake with a groan, his head jerking from side to side as his consciousness returned. His lashes fluttered before his eyes widened in panic.
“Aariv!” Yug’s voice was hoarse but sharp with urgency.
He tried to crawl toward him, but before he could, two men pounced on him.
Their grip was iron-like, pinning him to the ground with brutal force.
Yug thrashed, his voice rising in raw fury.
“Chhod do usse! Leave him! What the hell are you doing!”
But the men ignored him.
The chanting reached a crescendo and then fell eerily silent.
Both men glanced at each other, exchanging grim nods.
One of them stepped forward, his presence radiating something sickening.
He looked at Aariv with a disgusting smirk that sent shivers crawling down the boy’s spine.
Slowly, deliberately, the man reached for Aariv’s collar.
Aariv’s breath hitched. His trembling hands struggled to push himself backward, his body scraping against the cold floor. His chest rose and fell rapidly as terror widened his doe-like eyes.
“No… please… don’t,” Aariv whispered, his voice breaking, yet the man’s smirk only widened.
The rough fingers tugged at his shirt, pulling the cloth harshly. The intent in those eyes was vile, predatory. Aariv froze, nausea rising in his throat. His entire body recoiled in fear, his heart slamming against his ribs like a caged bird trying to escape.
Yug’s screams tore through the still night. “Aariv! Don’t you dare touch him! You bastards leave him!” His voice cracked, his struggles turning frantic, but the men holding him down slammed him harder against the ground.
The man hovering over Aariv leaned closer, his breath reeking of alcohol and something fouler. Aariv flinched, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. His throat closed, terror tightening its grip. His mind screamed to run, but his limbs refused to obey.
And then
A sudden screech of tires split the silence of the night. The sound was violent, as though the earth itself had been torn apart. A black SUV came to an abrupt halt, its headlights slicing through the smoky darkness like blades.
The doors slammed open. Two figures emerged.
Veeransh Rathore and Harinarayan.
The moment Veeransh’s boots hit the ground, the air shifted.
It was as if the shadows themselves bent toward him, pulled by some unspoken gravity.
His tall frame radiated an aura so commanding, so dangerous, that even the chanting men faltered.
Harinarayan, with his calm yet unyielding demeanor, followed close behind, but it was Veeransh’s presence that dominated the night.
Veeransh’s sharp eyes scanned the scene in a heartbeat. And then they froze.
On him.
On Aariv.
Time seemed to stop.
The boy’s body was trembling, his wide eyes shimmering with unshed tears, his shirt half torn.
Veeransh’s gaze locked onto those tearful doe-eyes, and something inside him clenched violently.
Rage, raw and merciless, rose like wildfire in his chest. His jaw tightened, the veins in his neck straining as his fists curled at his sides.
How dare they. How dare they touch him.
His stare never wavered from Aariv, even as one of the men stepped forward, trying to block his path.
“Rathore sahab, aap yahan kya kar rahe hain?” the man’s tone held a mix of fear and arrogance. “Chale jaiye. Yeh jagah aapke liye nahin hai.”
But Veeransh didn’t even glance at him. His eyes were still pinned to Aariv, as though etching every tear, every tremble into his soul. The boy looked so fragile, so utterly terrified, and something primal inside Veeransh screamed for blood.
Harinarayan’s voice cut sharply through the tension. “Chhod do in dono ko! Kya kar rahe ho tum log?”
The man sneered, his defiance trembling only slightly under the weight of their presence. “Bich mein mat padiye, Pandit. Yeh humari kriya hai. Hum kisi ka bich mein aana bardasht nahi karenge.”
Harinarayan’s tone hardened, anger flashing in his eyes. “Is ladke ko kyun pakda hai tumne? Kis haq se?”
The man’s lips curled into a mocking smile as he pointed toward Yug.
“Dekhiye Pandit, hum is ladke ko chhod denge.” His finger then turned toward Aariv.
“Par yeh ladka… isse hum kabhi nahi chhodenge. Yeh humare liye zaroori hai. Aur aap jaante hain agar kisi ne hume rokne ki koshish ki, toh hum use barbaad kar denge.”
The words hung in the air like poison.
Aariv’s chest constricted. His heart drummed against his ribs as fear gripped him tighter. He didn’t understand why him? Why was he the one they wouldn’t let go? His lips trembled, his body shrinking further as though he could disappear into the shadows.
Yug roared in fury, his voice breaking. “Kutte! Chhod do use! Tum logon ko koi haq nahi hai!”
But Veeransh…
Veeransh still hadn’t moved. His glare, sharp as a blade, remained fixed on Aariv.
And in that silence, in that gaze, something passed between them.
Aariv’s tearful eyes met Veeransh’s cold, furious ones.and for a fleeting second, the boy felt something anchor him.
Something terrifyingly powerful, yet steady.
Veeransh finally moved.
One slow step forward.
The man in front of him stiffened. “Suna nahi Rathore sahab? Piche hat jaiye.”
But Veeransh’s lips curved into the faintest shadow of a smile. It wasn’t kind. It wasn’t gentle. It was a smile that promised carnage. His voice, when it came, was low and lethal.
“Use hath bhi lagaya toh , yhi zinda jala dunga.”
The air seemed to freeze. Even the flames of the torches flickered uncertainly, as if cowed by the weight of his tone.
Aariv’s breath caught. His trembling stilled for the briefest moment, his eyes widening as he stared at the man who had just spoken for him. A stranger dark, dangerous, terrifying. Yet in that instant, his words wrapped around Aariv like a shield.
.
.
.
.
Thanks
Love u all ?? ??