The camera was slick. Professional. Not the kind of device a student could easily buy, not without leaving a trail. Rudra dismantled it quickly, took the chip, crushed the lens. No fingerprints, no serials.
He was being hunted—but by who, and why?
He didn't sleep that night. He lay in bed, eyes open, heart steady, brain spiraling through possibilities. He had enemies. Not many, but enough. Most didn't even know he existed. But this… this was personal.
By morning, he had a new plan.
He needed to draw them out.
Making Contact
So during lunch, he did something he never did—he spoke.
Not to a teacher. Not to Dev or Karthik. He walked straight to the table where the regional students sat—the locals from Kupam who had joined the ICSE batch—and sat down without a word.
The table fell silent.
They stared at him.
One girl didn't.
She kept eating her food without pause. Her presence was different—calm, controlled, dangerous.
Her name was Anvi Rao.
She was known for being brilliant but detached. Topped the local board exams. Spoke five languages. Once punched a guy for taking her pen without asking. People called her cold. But Rudra saw it differently.
She was a mirror.
Another version of himself—reflected in a different skin.
"You've been watching too," he said softly, barely audible.
Anvi didn't look up. But her hand paused for just a second.
Then: "You're late. I've been waiting."
Rudra's jaw tightened.
"You knew?"
"I suspected. They made their first mistake last month." She wiped her mouth and stood up. "Walk with me."
The Truth
They moved to the edge of the campus, near the broken stone fence where no one ever came. Wind rustled dry leaves across the dirt.
Anvi spoke quietly, clinically.
"Two students have gone missing in the last three years. Both from other field groups. Both reported as runaways. One was found in a ditch, half a kilometer from town. Head trauma. No investigation."
Rudra stared at her. "And you knew this?"
"I didn't care… until now. Until they started watching me too."
"So this is a game."
She met his gaze. Her eyes were steel.
"No. This is a test."
Rudra felt the pieces locking into place. The notes. The surveillance. The manipulation. The cracked mirror. The careful silence.
Someone was building something in Kupam.
And Anvi had been inside it longer than him.
"Why help me?" he asked.
Anvi smiled slightly. Not warmth. Not trust. Just calculation.
"Because I want to win."
Rudra nodded.
Two players now.
And the game had just changed.