The door led them into a corridor lined with doors. Dozens of them. Each identical. Each locked.
Except for the symbols.
Carved into the wood. Painted on the frames. Scratched into the metal.
Strange markings. Geometric shapes. Some looked like letters. Others like numbers. None of it made sense.
"What is this?" Bhairav whispered.
Rudra studied the symbols carefully. "A puzzle. Or a test."
"Everything's a test with him," Anvi muttered.
They moved down the corridor slowly, examining each door. The symbols changed. Patterns emerged.
"Look," Anvi said, pointing. "This one has a triangle. And this one has a circle. They're repeating."
"Mathematical sequence?" Bhairav suggested.
"Or symbolic logic," Rudra said. He pulled out his phone, taking photos of each symbol. "We need to find the pattern."
They continued down the hallway. More doors. More symbols.
Then Rudra stopped at one door. Different from the others.
The symbol was a spiral. Hand-drawn. Fresh.
Like someone had marked it recently.
"This one," Rudra said.
"How do you know?" Bhairav asked.
"Because it doesn't fit the pattern. Which means someone wants us to notice it."
"Or it's another trap," Anvi said.
"Only one way to find out."
Rudra tried the handle.
It opened.
Inside was a small room. Empty except for a table. And on that table was a notebook.
Old. Weathered. Filled with handwriting.
Rudra picked it up carefully, flipping through the pages.
Dates. Names. Observations.
"It's a journal," Rudra said. "Someone's been documenting the experiments."
"Who?" Anvi asked.
Rudra turned to the last entry.
October 23rd. Phase 4 complete. Subject M-17 (Meera Rao) terminated. Psychological collapse on day 12. Unsuitable for continuation. Disposal authorized.
Note: Sister (Anvi Rao) enrolled in local institute. Monitor for potential complications.
Anvi's breath hitched. She grabbed the journal, reading it over and over.
"She didn't run away," Anvi whispered. "She didn't break. They killed her."
Rudra placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."
Anvi was shaking. Not with grief. With rage.
"We're going to burn this place down," she said quietly. "And everyone in it."
"First, we get out," Rudra said. "Then we burn it down."
He turned the page. More entries. More students. More "terminations."
And at the very end, a map.
Hand-drawn. Crude. But detailed.
A schematic of the facility. Including an exit route.
"Someone left this for us," Rudra said.
"Who?" Bhairav asked.
"I don't know. But they knew we'd come looking."
Rudra studied the map. The exit was three levels up. Through a maintenance shaft. Then through the old wing. Then out.
But there was a note scrawled at the bottom:
"He's watching. Always watching. Trust no one. Not even each other."
Rudra felt a chill.
"What does that mean?" Bhairav asked.
Before Rudra could answer, the lights flickered.
Once. Twice.
Then went out completely.
Emergency lighting kicked in. Red. Pulsing.
And through the speakers, Malhotra's voice.
"Time's up."
The door slammed shut behind them.
Locks engaged. Heavy. Mechanical.
"You've done well," Malhotra continued. "Better than I expected. But now comes the real test."
The walls began to shift again. Panels sliding. Revealing new passages.
"I'm going to separate you," Malhotra said. "Isolate you. See how you perform individually. Without your team. Without support."
"No—" Bhairav started.
The floor beneath them gave way.
Not all at once. Sections. Tiles dropping into darkness below.
Rudra grabbed Sneha, pulling her to solid ground.
Anvi jumped across a gap, landing hard.
But Bhairav wasn't fast enough.
He fell.
"BHAIRAV!" Rudra shouted.
But the hole sealed shut before Rudra could reach him.
Leaving Rudra and Anvi on one side. Bhairav somewhere below.
"Bhairav! Can you hear me?" Rudra yelled.
No response.
"He's alive," Malhotra said. "For now. But he's alone. And scared. Let's see how long he lasts."
Rudra's fists clenched.
"You want to test me?" Rudra called out. "Fine. Let them go. Keep me."
"Tempting. But no. You're all part of the experiment now. Each of you will face your own challenge. Your own fear."
The room around Rudra and Anvi began to change again.
Walls closing in. Ceiling lowering.
"For you, Rudra," Malhotra said, "I'm going to test your greatest weakness."
"Which is?"
"Your need for control."
The room plunged into darkness.
Complete. Absolute.
Rudra couldn't see his hand in front of his face.
And in the darkness, he heard sounds.
Footsteps. Whispers. Breathing.
But not his own.
Someone else was in the room with them.
"Anvi?" Rudra called out.
No answer.
"Anvi!"
Still nothing.
Rudra's heart pounded. He reached out, feeling the walls. The floor. Trying to orient himself.
His hand touched something.
Warm. Soft.
An arm.
He grabbed it.
And a voice—Anvi's voice—screamed.
"GET OFF ME!"
She shoved him away. Hard.
"Anvi, it's me—"
"I SAID GET OFF!"
Rudra backed away, confused. Disoriented.
The lights came on.
Blinding. Harsh.
And Rudra saw Anvi. But she wasn't looking at him.
She was looking at someone else.
Standing in the corner of the room.
A figure. Shadowed. Hooded.
Rudra spun around.
But the figure was gone.
Anvi was panting. Eyes wide. Terrified.
"What did you see?" Rudra asked.
"Her," Anvi whispered. "I saw Meera."
"That's impossible."
"I KNOW!" Anvi's voice cracked. "But she was there. I saw her."
Rudra realized what was happening.
Hallucinations. Induced. Through drugs or technology or both.
Malhotra wasn't just testing them.
He was breaking them.
And Rudra had to find a way to stop it.
Before they all lost their minds.