( NOTE: THIS STORY TAKES PLACE IN EARTH OF DIFFERENT UNIVERSE AND IN FICTIONAL CITY OF INDIA, THERE COULD BE GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL INACCURACIES)
(NOTE: SENTENCES IN CLOSED BRACKETS MIGHT NOT NECESSARILY BE DIALOGUE EVEN IF THEY WERE INCLUDED IN CONVO).
The stars looked closer than ever.
The space around, seemed like a void with barely a vibrant appeal.
But most of my sight was diverted by a colossal darkseid-like figure approaching towards a half-dead being with barely any life left for it to resist, on an outer surface of some planet or a detached rock locating a bit distant from the means of our regular solar system.
The poor being was infiltrated on it's stomach by a barehand.
And i was lying there behind motionless with my eyes open, beaten to death, struggling to live for a minute more.
The near-dead one retraced it's sight towards me.
"None of this would have happened....had you not lacked courage".
It gasped, struggling to draw another breath.
"My fate found it's way to me" It's voice weakened "yours.. soon gonna find you".
Aryan suddenly woke up shaken in middle of night and gasped for a bit, realising it's just a bad dream.
He stepped out onto the balcony of his fancy, rich house and sat down on the floor, high above the ground.
Aryan looked at sky and murmured " The stars look closer... and i'm still.. not as courageous,... are my dreams... just metaphors? " to himself.
——————-THE BEGINNING——————
The not-so crowded city suddenly looks crowded and lively as it's past 9 am.
Employees hurried towards their workplaces, students made their way to colleges and schools, and the streets gradually filled with the familiar chaos of everyday life.
But the same city can look otherwise in the night, ..dreadful and flooded by criminals, psychopaths and serial killers, until few years ago.
The city was widely known as capital city of crimes and also a den of powerful rulers(politicians).
Citizens here were once treated as outcast by others due to some folktales and rumours about the city that made others believe people living in there were cursed and these crimes were just the reflections of those tales.
But thanks to the improved and tighter security, patrolling strictly and blocking few pathways in between in night(like the roads or streets that's seen more blood in night relatively) became the only but efficient brighter way to peer through the darkness built by injustice.
The city's name itself ironically refers to it's state(condition) ['(vladen)': (vlad-rulers)||(den-house of) ].
Despite being in rich family, Aryan likes to go to college on walk though it's not very near.
His walk towards was halted by a sudden pat on his head by a woman.
" Ay! you look as if you're sleepwalking in daylight"-jean(his female bestie who patted on his head).
They started walking together.
"Nah, I'm just drowsy, you're late btw"- Aryan.
"I woke up a bit late, wait.. don't tell me you're planning to go by yourself because I was late"-jean.
"You know I wouldn't" Aryan replied spontaneously.
She reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out a can of non-alcoholic beer.
Aryan glanced at it.
"Drinking non-alcoholic beer or cold drinks this early in the morning isn't particularly good for our health, you know".
Jean reached into her pocket again and pulled out another can.
"I got one for you, too. Your favourite flavour."
She handed it to him.
Aryan looked at the can.
"Well..." He cleared his throat. "What I was trying to say is that you shouldn't believe in such baseless claims. There are no such restrictions."
She smiled a bit and asked him again why he was so drowsy and dull.
The convo exchange went in the same order.
" Don't tell me you stayed awake due to some bad dream again"
" i mean.....it's not just a regular dream, it was something beyond,... like a remainder or call"
" Ugh! Is it the fantasy chosen one or superhero-ish style dream again?, come on, just because you're a bit obsessed with stuff like that, it's pretty common you have such dreams, stop overreading those"
"Hey come on! that was ages ago, I've matured a lot more ever since I said stuff like that and besides I don't view my dreams in that way anymore...its just...they feel like pointing out my insecurity in disguise of different narratives and fantasy stories"
" What insecurity?"-jean.
"It's nothing"- Aryan.
jean gave a BOMBASTIC side eye and said "what?" in a bit serious tone.
Aryan told her that it's just some trivial thing but jean noticed something uncommon in him and rather than asking him right then, she wanted to wait until he feel free to tell her on his own.
They left off to their college and soon reached their university's main gate having this chit-chat.
Vladen's symbol of education-- JK University--founded by john keth, vladen's second most powerful ruler in disguise of a business corporate just behind the cheif minister Sanjay vedulla.
They both major in the same department computer science and engineering, except one(Aryan)'s interested in studies and other(jean)'s interested in archery.
Jean is a state player in archery and she's attempting to participate and win the national race.
Jean noticed that Aryan looked troubled, unfocused, at unease and distracted by something she couldn't see in class.
Right after the class ended, Aryan rushed to washroom and washed off his face while gasping a bit in fear.
"Am i hallucinating whispers now?" Aryan said to himself while washing off his face.
He wiped his face with his hands.
Then he opened his eyes.
A figure stood behind him in the mirror.
Its face was a grotesque mixture of red and sand-coloured skin, as though it had been crushed repeatedly or left with countless scars.
Aryan froze.
The figure tilted its head.
A chilling voice emerged from behind him.
"Missed me?"
Aryan spun around.
There was nobody behind him.
He stared at the empty space.
His breathing grew heavier.
Slowly, he turned back towards the mirror.
He could just see his own reflection.
Aryan stumbled backwards.
Without wasting another second, he hurried out of the washroom, moving backwards for a few steps as he kept his eyes fixed on the doorway.
Then—
He collided with someone and.... it was jean.
Aryan nearly lost his balance.
She caught his arm.
Aryan looked so scared and sweaty, jean asked him what happened, but he still replied "Nothing" (he took a small breath) ""A spider fell on me in the washroom. I got freaked out, threw it away, and rushed out. That's it." in a scared voice.
But this time jean refused to wait or let it slide for now and asked him "Did something bad happen?".
Aryan felt bit surprised as it seemed bit out of blue for him.
She then added " I noticed something's wrong with you in morning, you usually stutter a bit in fear(not by default) and coax me a bit when I give you the side eye if it's really something trivial or unserious, but you pretended to be normal,.. I wanted to wait until you tell me by yourself, but how long are you gonna pretend?, I'll listen to you even if it's that fantasy shit again, but dont fight it in your mind alone and feel terrified, instead share it with me if you feel secure enough to let me know".
Aryan took a little gap and breath.
" Well... first of all i could be totally wrong, It was too dark so im not sure.... in my dream today, i saw someone...someone or something that looked a bit like..my father, getting killed by some darkseid kind of figure that looked like...(stopped completing the sentence)...and just now in washroom, i saw that...(stopped again)" Aryan expressed in a low, weak voice.
Jean's eyes were widened in shock and asked " Has your..PTSD triggered again? let's go to hospital and get checked again, is this the first time in recent or --".
Her words were interrupted by Aryan " Hey im totally fine! its been years since that happened,....Im really fine, I might be wrong about the dream description or it could be just that it's been too long since i thought or dreamt about it, so it might have struck my head again just normally, it's nothing serious".
Jean responded " But Aryan.... whatever happened that day. Wasn't your fault...you're a victim too, don't go hard on yourself".
" I wasn't actually insecure about that incident now, it was about some words that I had in my dream pointing out my lack of courage, it's just that's it, nothing serious, don't worry" Aryan replied.
"But even still--" jean was about to persuade him again to get a check up, but was interrupted again by " Im really okay, I just am having a bad sleeping schedule lately, that might be why Im seeing things, its nothing serious ".
Jean grabbed his hand while he was about to move away and said " Im telling you! we are meeting a psychiatrist in evening and you are going to get a check up again, there's no change in this" in a bit fierce tone.
She added " Im not giving up on you...you know I wouldn't" spontaneously.
TO BE CONTINUED...