Chapter 5 – The First Counterattack
That night, Ananya sat at her desk in Aria's small bedroom, the tracker lying in the center like a black, poisonous seed.
If Vikram thought she'd panic, he clearly hadn't studied her enough.
She opened her schoolbag and pulled out the half-built science project—a crude but functional signal scanner disguised as a model of planetary orbits. With a few late-night modifications, it became a reverse ping device. Instead of just detecting trackers, it could send a pulse back to locate the receiver.
At 2 a.m., she connected the tracker to her circuit, set the scanner to full range, and waited.
A faint blip appeared on the tiny green display—Location: 4.2 km away, Industrial Complex Sector 9.
A smile tugged at her lips. "Found you."
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The next afternoon.
School ended early for a festival rehearsal. Aria's classmates headed to the auditorium; she slipped out the back gate. A short auto ride later, she stood outside the abandoned-looking industrial building.
Her scanner buzzed. The tracker's receiver was inside.
She moved cautiously between rusting machinery and dust-coated crates until she found a locked office door. Picking the lock was easy; inside, she saw rows of screens showing live CCTV feeds—not just of the school gates, but of hallways, classrooms… even her bedroom.
Her chest tightened.
They'd been watching her every move since day one.
Suddenly, a faint click came from behind her. She turned.
Vikram stood in the doorway, gun in hand.
"You're clever," he said. "But you're still a child in this body. And children… don't win games like this."
Her fingers slid under the desk, pressing the concealed switch on her scanner.
A loud, sharp pulse filled the air. All the monitors went black. Vikram staggered, clutching his ear from the sudden frequency blast.
Ananya didn't waste a second—she bolted past him and out into the daylight.
The game had changed.
Now she wasn't just surviving.
She was hunting back.