Where to Now?
Aarav lay face down on his old, ragged mattress.
It had been a week since he arrived at this place.
He went for meals twice a day—once in the morning and once at night—whenever Sabo called him. He freshened up at random times during the day. The rest of the time, he stayed in bed.
He spoke only when necessary, giving short answers whenever Sabo asked him something.
Kajjo checked on him from time to time.
Sabo had gone away for two days during the week and returned with updates from outside—updates he pretended to listen to.
Most of the time, he just thought.
What to do now.
He spoke to his mother in his mind.
He thought of Rudhransh. The image of him brutally hurting his mother replayed again and again. How he stood there, powerless… how he could do nothing when Rudhransh killed her.
He had tried to kill himself once—slitting his throat.
It was useless.
He came back to life within minutes.
Helpless. Powerless. Useless.
A warm hand touched his back.
Aarav slowly opened his eyes and wiped away his tears. He turned over.
Kajjo stood there, staring at him.
“What do you want?” he asked.
She raised her hands near her mouth, signaling that it was time for brunch.
Aarav let out a long breath and sat up.
“I’m coming. Please leave,” he said.
Kajjo stepped closer, gently wiping a tear from his nose. Then she turned and walked away.
Aarav slowly got up and walked to the front of the house.
Sabo and Kajjo were eating rice with vegetable curry. They had sensed from their first meal together that Aarav did not eat non-vegetarian food.
His plate was placed on the dwarf wall where Kajjo sat at one end.
Sabo, sitting on the floor, looked up at him and smiled.
“Oh, you’re here. Come, eat.”
Aarav walked over and sat on the wall. He picked up the plate and began eating.
Silence filled the space.
Sabo occasionally looked up, as if to say something, but stopped midway and continued eating.
Aarav crushed a piece of potato into his curry and mixed it with rice. Then he looked up.
“B…” he started.
Sabo immediately looked at him.
Kajjo continued eating.
“B…both of you are vegetarians too?” he asked softly.
Sabo smiled.
“No… but it’s okay,” she said, pausing to take a bite. “We’ve been traveling all our lives. We don’t really have preferences when it comes to food.”
Aarav hesitated.
“H…how are you both related?”
Kajjo paused. Her expression darkened slightly. She looked at Sabo.
Sabo replied, “That’s a long story. I’ll tell you once you get better.”
Aarav’s hands stopped moving in his plate. He looked down.
“H…how?” he asked in a faint voice.
Sabo stayed silent for a moment before speaking.
“I know you lost the only person you truly cared about in this world,” she said quietly. “And right now, you don’t know how to move forward.”
She looked at him.
“And I don’t think anything I say can take you out of what you’re feeling.”
She paused.
“The only thing that can heal something this deep… is time. So give it time. Go through everything you’re feeling. Don’t decide anything right now.”
She met his eyes.
“After some time… you’ll feel better. Trust me.”
A tear rolled down Aarav’s cheek. He wiped it away with his wrist and continued eating.
After a long silence, he spoke again.
“You said something about my dad… What is his name?”
Sabo finished her food before answering.
“Rudhra. He’s in the custody of the Pranvars. His exact location isn’t clear.”
“How did they catch him?” Aarav asked.
Sabo hesitated.
“They didn’t catch him. I did.”
Aarav looked up sharply.
“Why?”
“I was the military trainer for the Pranvars… until recently,” she said, staring at her plate. “The Amirthyas rebelled under Rudhra—your father. He fought fiercely. But I was working for the Pranvars. I had to capture him.”
She looked at Aarav.
“Then why did you save me?” he asked.
“I’m not with the Pranvars anymore,” she said. “And Rudhra… was my friend. He saved Yodhika—and you. I wanted to protect what he wanted to protect.”
Her left hand clenched tightly at her side.
Aarav watched her for a moment.
“You’re lying,” he said.
Sabo froze.
“N…no. I’m not.”
Aarav looked away.
“It’s okay. I don’t care.”
He finished his food.
Kajjo stood up and walked away to wash her plate.
“So… do you want to look for your father?” Sabo asked.
Aarav stood and walked toward the bucket outside. He began washing his plate.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I should be doing it… but I don’t feel like it. I don’t even know him.”
Sabo stepped beside him and started washing her plate.
“That’s okay.”
She paused.
“Do you want to train? Until you decide?”
Aarav looked down.
The image of Rudhransh and his mother flashed in his mind.
“Y…yes,” he said.
Sabo’s face brightened.
“Good. Kajjo will train you for now. I am going away for a while. Since the elections are going on, I need to check whether some specific personals are making any moves. Once I get back, I will train you”
Aarav gave a faint, tired expression.
“The girl who can’t talk?”
Sabo’s face turned serious, touched with sadness.
“It’s not that she can’t talk,” she said quietly. “After her parents… her entire village… were killed and burned in front of her… she stopped talking.”
Aarav froze.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Training isn’t about talking anyway,” Sabo added. “You’ll learn by watching her.”
She turned and walked inside.
“One more thing,” Aarav said.
Sabo stopped and turned.
“Why do you look so young?” he asked. “Are you an Amirthya too?”
Sabo was silent for a moment.
“I’ll tell you another time,” she said with a faint smile.
Then she walked inside.
“Everything ready for October 31st?” David Bowman asked, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder as he lit a cigarette. He took a deep drag, waiting.
“Yes, sir. All good,” Adhrivan replied.
“How much damage are we expecting when that guy goes berserk?” David asked, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke.
“Whether he causes much damage or not, I’ll have my men with him. They’ll ensure enough destruction,” Adhrivan said.
David flicked ash off his cigarette. “Has the retrieval strategy been planned as well?”
“Yes, Mr. David. Everything is in place. I’ve sent it along with the estimates to your personal mail.”
“Good. I’ll check it out. My men will be watching everything. Don’t forget that,” David said firmly.
“I understand, sir.”
“Good. Looking forward to your show, Mr. Superhero,” David said with a light chuckle before cutting the call.
He stood atop his four-storey house in Manhattan—one that existed outside any official records—staring into the distance as he took another long drag.
Adhrivan glanced at his phone to confirm the call had ended. Sliding it into his pocket, he turned toward the thick black door at the end of a long, well-lit corridor.
He took a deep breath and pushed it open.
Inside, Chaithra stood in a small room, wearing a white lab coat and small reading glasses perched on her ragged gray hair. Beside her were Rudraaj and Rudhransh, all three facing a glass wall. They turned as Adhrivan entered and bowed.
He gestured for them to rise. “Shall we begin?”
Chaithra nodded.
They stepped closer to the glass.
On the other side lay Rudhra—naked, unconscious—inside a large glass chamber.
“Elena, begin,” Chaithra said.
“Yes, Ms. Chaithra,” Elena responded.
A silver rod with a pointed tip descended from the ceiling of the chamber, aligning with Rudhra’s chest.
“Over the years, his pain receptors have become redundant,” Chaithra explained calmly. “We now use electric shock to revive him.”
Rudraaj smirked. “There isn’t a single cell in that filth’s body that hasn’t been tortured. Makes sense.”
Adhrivan raised a finger to his lips.
Silence.
The rod pierced Rudhra’s chest.
Electric pulses surged through him at two-second intervals.
Rudhra’s eyes snapped open.
He rose slowly, disoriented, then looked around—locking eyes with them through the glass.
With a sudden burst, he lunged forward and slammed his fist against the wall, screaming.
No tears came.
The three brothers watched him without expression.
Chaithra turned slightly. Adhrivan gave a small nod.
“Elena, release Dhravaka.”
White smoke began to seep into the chamber from all four bottom corners.
Rudhra panicked. He covered his mouth and nose, holding his breath.
“Idiot,” Chaithra muttered.
His skin began to pale. Sweat poured from his body. He staggered, refusing to move his hands.
“Dhravaka enters through any opening,” Chaithra said, almost amused. “Cuts, ears, eyes… even places you’d rather not imagine. There’s no stopping it.”
“You’ve become quite talkative,” Adhrivan said flatly.
Chaithra smiled faintly. “Since I found Elena, I’ve gained more… confidence. I everything on earth as what they actually are.”
“And what are they?” Rudraaj asked.
“Test subjects.”
A faint shiver passed through him—quickly hidden.
“Clear Dhravaka, Elena.”
Exhaust vents opened above. The smoke was sucked out rapidly.
Rudhra collapsed to his knees, wiping sweat frantically.
“Elena, Pulse Two.”
A long needle shot out from the wall behind him and pierced the back of his neck before he could react.
His body convulsed twice.
“The effects of Dhravaka stays in his body for 48 hours,” Chaithra continued. “We now control his consciousness with two signals. His memory remains intact—for now. These pulses will act as trigger and cutoff.”
Adhrivan nodded.
Rudhra swayed.
His chest heaved.
Flashes flooded his mind—his parents, Yodhika, Sabo… fragments of a life slipping away.
Each memory faded as it surfaced.
“S…stop… please…” he whimpered.
No one moved.
His mind emptied.
His body froze.
“Beyond basic motor function, his mind is effectively dead,” Chaithra said coldly.
A slow grin spread across Adhrivan’s face.
Rudhra stood there, still.
(To be continued)
Karun G Nath 
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