Episode 29: The Shadow Between Us
The bus terminal was a storm trapped in glass—neon lights flickering, rain streaking down the windows like tears. People bustled past, their faces blurred by fear Aaniya couldn't shake off. Every sound—footsteps, chatter, the metallic hiss of sliding doors—felt like a drumbeat counting down to something catastrophic.
Her phone was still warm against her palm, Suleman's last words echoing like a command carved in steel:
"Don't move. Don't trust anyone. I'm coming."
But now, he was here.
The doors slid open with a whisper, spilling in rain and shadows. The scarred man walked in slowly, deliberately, like the predator he was. Each step was unhurried, but the weight of his gaze crushed the air out of her lungs.
And then there was Aaliyaan. Standing too close. His brows furrowed, his voice low and taut.
"Who is that? Aaniya, why does he look like he wants to kill you?"
She swallowed hard, every nerve screaming.
"Please," she whispered, forcing the words past her trembling lips, "just leave. Right now."
But Aaliyaan shook his head, stubbornness etched into every line of his face.
"After what I've just seen? Not a chance. Tell me what's going on!"
She couldn't. If she told him, it would make him a target. If she stayed silent, it would kill him anyway. Her heart thudded like a drum in her chest, each beat screaming for time she didn't have.
The scarred man's boots clicked on the wet tiles, closer now. His lips curved into that same cruel smile. And then—he raised something.
Not a gun.
Not yet.
A phone.
Her phone buzzed again.
Hands shaking, she answered.
His voice slithered through the line like poison:
"Run, princess. Run, and I'll kill him first."
Her gaze shot to Aaliyaan—confused, protective, completely unaware that death had just put him on a list.
"What do you want?" she rasped, her voice splintering.
The scarred man chuckled.
"You. And the man who ruined my life. But since he isn't here yet…"
A pause. A breath.
"…he'll do."
Her blood turned to ice.
The next second shattered everything.
BANG!
Glass exploded, spraying like rain turned to knives. Screams ripped through the terminal as chaos erupted—people ducking, running, scattering like leaves in a storm.
Aaliyaan lunged, grabbing her arm and yanking her down behind a row of metal benches as another shot rang out. Tiles cracked where her head had been a moment ago.
"What the hell is happening?!" Aaliyaan roared, covering her with his body as shards rained down.
Her pulse thundered, breath tearing in and out of her lungs. "He'll kill you, Aaliyaan! Please, you have to go!"
"Not without you!" he shot back, his grip iron on her wrist.
The scarred man strode through the panic, calm as a king among pawns. The gun gleamed in his hand now, smoke curling from its mouth like a whisper of death. His eyes—dark pits of fury—locked on her.
And then—
another shot.
Not his.
The impact slammed into him from behind, spinning him slightly. He staggered, a snarl ripping from his throat.
A figure burst through the shattered entrance, rain-soaked, blood-streaked, moving like a storm with teeth.
Suleman.
His gun was already raised, smoke trailing from the barrel. His eyes—burning with a fury that made the storm outside look tame—snapped to her, then to Aaliyaan shielding her.
For a fraction of a heartbeat, something raw flashed across his face.
And then it was gone, replaced by steel.
"Aaniya—MOVE!" His voice cracked like thunder.
But before she could obey, the scarred man roared, hurling a bench aside like paper. People screamed as it crashed into a glass wall. His other hand dipped into his coat, pulling out something small—round—metallic.
A grenade.
Her heart stopped.
Suleman's eyes widened.
"DOWN! NOW!"
The world blurred into chaos—the grenade clinking to the floor, Aaliyaan yanking her close, Suleman surging forward like a blade. Time fractured into shards of terror.
The grenade exploded.
---
Darkness. Smoke. Silence—except for the ringing in her ears.
Aaniya's vision swam, her body crumpled against cold tiles. She coughed, tasting iron, blinking through the haze of smoke and fire alarms wailing like banshees.
Shapes moved through the blur—shadows fighting, colliding, fists and fury. Aaliyaan groaned somewhere beside her, blood trailing from his forehead.
Then—a hand gripped her arm. Firm. Unyielding.
She looked up into eyes that burned like molten steel.
Suleman.
His voice was raw, jagged.
"Can you walk?"
She nodded weakly, tears stinging her eyes.
"Aaliyaan—"
"I'll get him. But you—" His jaw clenched, his voice dropping to a vow that tasted of fire.
"—you're not leaving my sight again."
Before she could speak, a gunshot cracked through the smoke. Suleman spun, shoving her down, returning fire in the same motion. The scarred man's silhouette loomed in the haze, retreating, bleeding—but laughing. A sound that sliced through bone.
"You can't protect her forever, brother."
The word hit like a thunderclap.
Brother.
Aaniya's blood ran cold. Her gaze snapped to Suleman, who froze for the briefest second—his mask cracking just enough for her to see it:
The truth.
---
To be continued…