My sight wasn't clear, it felt as if I was underwater but there wasn't any feeling of wetness that normally happens with liquids. And all of a sudden, there was a huge splash and now I was definitely underwater. I tried to stay calm and analyze my surroundings but soon realized that I was trapped in some tube like structure which held me captive in this water cage. The waters were dark and murky mostly accompanied by tiny glitter-like particles bobbing around. I tried to stay calm.

There were no openings, no latches, no visual for any escape. Soon my lungs started to burn and my body went onto survival mode. The chamber seemed to be made of glass and desperation led me to punch my way out, unfortunately an unsuccessful attempt. As I was reaching my limits, I heard a sound, a deep resonating laughter and I tried to look around and preyed my eyes upon the silhouette of a man in a white coat. As I was drained of my final breath, I took one deep gulp of water and an immense rush of weirdness and pain filled my body.

I woke up with a huge gasp. Another recurring nightmare. I thought I'd be accustomed of these nightmares by now but I guess the feeling of death isn't something you can get accustomed to. My body was drenched in sweat, the summer nights were accompanied by soaring temperatures. I kept flinging my arm around as I reached out for the AC remote and switched on as I attempted to sleep again.

It was already 9 in the morning when my mom woke me up saying she was heading for work. I waved her goodbye and closed the main door and started to freshen up a little. My hair was a mess, those dark-brown waves all standing up and in various directions. My light brown skin was glowing in the sunlight that made its way from the window. As I headed to bath I looked at myself. Reddish-brown stretch marks were all over my belly, shoulders and chest. The belly was slightly outwards and my thighs a little wobbly.

By the time I was out of the bathroom, I had a few messages on my phone. Must be Hardy and Sam. I took my phone and walked towards the kitchen as I checked the messages. Hardy shared some random meme and Sam was cyber stalking some guy. I dug into my sandwich and went into the living room as I wanted to watch something along with my food.

It was 4 pm and after having finished my lunch, I was sprawled on the sofa in front of the TV. Hardy, Sam and I were supposed to meet at the forest half an hour later. The forest was just Sam's warehouse, the whole roof was covered in green by creepers and there was a small tree growing from inside the warehouse which acted as our playhouse when we were kids. Apparently Sam thought the warehouse was what a forest looked like as a kid and called it 'The Forest' and the name stuck. 

The warehouse was a fifteen minute walk so I started off from my place. As I got out of the lift of my apartment I received a notification. Sam and Hardy were already there apparently. Not much of a surprise since its Sam's place and Hardy lives two houses away on the same street. I replied that I was on my way and kept going.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

The streets were comparatively quieter than usual. There wasn't any footpath for pedestrians so I kept myself on the dust and gravel by the road, avoiding any passing vehicles as I moved. South India was typically hot but it was end of June now, the heat was dissipating and so was the summer vacation for many schools. I could see school buses dropping out children. 

Hyderabad was a calm city. There haven't been any rains in this year so far but today might well be the day. The sky was filled with clouds, most of them dark and grey. There wasn't any heavy wind either, only helping the chances of rain. The only good signs so far was the lack of thunder or lightning. Its not like rain was a bad thing but honestly the city roads don't need more watering down; we don't have any drain systems built through. Also, personally I ain't a fan of rain.

Few minutes later, I get another notification from Sam.

I may not be your salvation, but you definitely are my shade.

That was what the message read.

I did not know what to make of it. I mean, what the hell was this supposed to mean?

I got another message.

Hello Divo, I have a surprise for you.

This must be some weird prank they were playing on me. I started walking faster as I had almost reached there. As I reached there, I went forward to knock at the door but it was already open. I went in looking around to see where these idiots were. As I took two steps, I saw red drops on the floor of various sized, seemingly close to blood. I was a little alert now, slightly trembling but a part of me still believed it was a prank.

"Hardy, Sam, where are you guys hiding? It ain't funny anymore," I shouted. "Guys just come out." I looked around but everything was silent and in place. I walked further and saw two hands and two legs, ripped apart from the bodies and stuck onto the walls like show pieces. I started running around frantically as I called for the emergency services to come fast. 

"Sam!! Hardy!! Guys, please just be alive." Tears were streaming down my face and my body was shaking and my voice quavering as I tried to move. I went by the tree in the middle, the tree now had various black and brown threads hanging from the branches which could easily be distinguished as hair. I fell back in horror, my insides threatening to come out as I saw their intestines tied around the tree and the liver, pancreas and stomach on the ground.

I ran away from there as fast as I could, trying to make my way out of there but on the far wall on the left, I saw something. Some kind of message. I went closer and closer and when I got close enough to read what was written, my eyes widened in horror and surprise. Written in red, presumably blood, were the words "Divo di Angelo." My name was written on the wall. Even the handwriting, it was extremely indistinguishable to mine.

Below that message were the heads of my friends, severed around the neck and stuck to the wall by nailing them into the side. On the now bald tops of their heads were their hearts, perfectly balanced on the top. Slowly, with my whole body trembling and my eyes completely focused forward, I took a step closer to their heads and suddenly, two arrows flew out from behind and went straight into their brains, piercing through the skull.

My legs collapsed and my body went down as the whole world went black. I had one thought. What happened here?