SCENE CHANGE — Tournament Arena
Arjun stands in position, ready to shoot.
Judges sit at a long desk. The crowd is tense, silent.
Arjun shoots clean, almost all bullseyes — missing only one.
His score easily qualifies him, placing him second in Round 1.
After his turn, he sits on a chair watching other competitors.
Two boys behind him whisper.
Boy 1: "Did you see him in the morning?"
Boy 2: "Yeah. He bit the coach so hard the man was bleeding."
Boy 1: "I heard he has rabies."
Boy 2: "Then how did he even enroll?"
Boy 1: "Probably fake health papers."
Suddenly, someone among them screams.
One of the boys turns violent — red eyes, shaking, growling —
and attacks the person closest to him.
The tournament stops instantly.
The boy had a scratch on his hand, the same symptoms as the first one.
He becomes fully aggressive — almost animal-like.
Guards and staff rush in, pulling them apart.
First-aid workers drag the injured person away while several adults struggle to hold the wild boy down.
Arjun stands frozen, stunned and confused.
Boy 1: "Hey… wasn't he the guy who grabbed the first boy from behind?"
Boy 2: "Yeah. Is this disease contagious?!"
Arjun (shaken): "What is happening…?"
Scene — Dining Area / Canteen
Arjun sits at the table, not interested in eating.
Ahmad is scrolling on his phone while munching.
Ahmad: "Hey, look at this."
(He shows Arjun a video of a zombie-like person attacking people — exactly what they saw.)
Arjun: "Is this a disease?"
Ahmad: "I don't know. But this happened during our running event too. A boy collapsed and when the medic reached him, he bit them."
Arjun (shocked): "The same thing happened in our tournament…"
Ahmad: "Is this disease gender-specific or what? Why only boys?"
(He tries to joke, but he's clearly scared.)
Arjun: "I don't know."
Ahmad: "Did you call your mom?"
Arjun: "I tried, but this area is 'beyond network reach'. The call wouldn't connect."
Ahmad: "This place has no network. Go to the lobby — the landline connects somehow."
Arjun: "No network? Then how are you scrolling?"
Ahmad: "Wi-Fi."
(He points at the Wi-Fi box in the canteen.)
Arjun: "I'll be back."
Scene — Lobby
Arjun goes to the lobby and uses the landline to call his mom
Mom:
"Arjun? Is everything okay? Why didn't you call us earlier?"
Arjun:
"The network here is weak. Normal calls aren't working."
Mom:
"You could've made a WhatsApp voice call."
Arjun (a small pause):
"Oh… yeah. I totally forgot. I was really tired today. Maybe that's why. I'll do that next time."
Mom:
"Tired? Why—what happened?"
Arjun:
"Nothing serious… just some kids got sick, maybe."
Mom: "Stay away from them. Don't get sick, okay? Be safe."
Arjun: "Yes, Mom. I should go now."
Mom: "Okay."
Arjun returns the phone to the receptionist and walks back to his dorm.
Everyone is already asleep — exhausted from the day.
He quietly lies in bed and falls asleep