Water.
Water.
WATERRR.
Manav's throat became extremely dry.
His lips were cracked.
He opened his eyes.
The sky was not blue.
It was black and orange.
Smoke moved like angry clouds.
Something strange fell slowly from above.
White flakes.
Soft.
Silent.
Snow.
Manav blinked.
It wasn't winter.
It wasn't even cold.
One flake landed on his arm.
It wasn't snow.
It was ash.
He didn't understand why that scared him more than the explosions.
BOOM.
The ground shook violently.
His ears rang painfully.
Someone screamed.
Someone else didn't stop screaming.
Water.
"Wa…ter…"
His voice sounded broken.
Like someone else's voice.
A boot stepped near his face.
Mud fell on his cheek.
"MANAV!"
A boy's voice.
Older.
Panicked.
"MANAV! Hey! HEY!"
Strong hands grabbed his shoulders.
Shook him.
Manav tried to focus.
The face became clear.
Raghav.
18 years old.
Sharp jaw.
Dust on his face.
Fear in his eyes.
"Thank God… I thought you were gone…"
Manav tried to smile.
It didn't work.
"Water…"
Raghav quickly pulled a small metal bottle.
Shook it.
One drop sound.
His expression changed.
Decision time.
He hesitated.
That bottle was probably his last water.
Manav's shaking hands reached.
Raghav sighed.
"Idiot… if you die Priya will kill me anyway."
He tilted the bottle.
Two drops.
Three.
Manav drank like it was treasure.
Another explosion.
Closer.
Dirt rained over them.
Raghav grabbed him.
"We move. NOW."
Manav couldn't stand.
His legs refused.
Raghav didn't ask again.
He lifted him.
Manav felt embarrassed.
He hated feeling small.
Weak.
They ran.
Gunfire cracked the air.
Metal screamed.
Someone yelled coordinates.
Manav saw something he shouldn't have seen.
A soldier sitting against sandbags.
Eyes open.
Not moving.
Manav looked away fast.
Too late.
They jumped into the trench.
Dark.
Wet.
Smelled like iron and mud.
Men looked up.
Some relieved.
Some too tired to react.
"Kid survived," someone muttered.
"Four years of this hell," another said.
"Four years and we're still counting bodies."
Manav listened.
Four years.
He had forgotten what peace sounded like.
Raghav sat him down.
"Stay here. Don't move."
Manav grabbed his sleeve.
"Don't go."
Raghav paused.
War didn't allow softness.
But he stayed two extra seconds.
"I'm right here."
He left anyway.
Manav's hands shook.
His heartbeat wouldn't slow.
Every loud sound made him flinch.
A girl rushed in.
Medical band on her arm.
Determined eyes.
Priya.
She froze when she saw him.
"MANAV!"
She dropped her kit.
Ran.
She hugged him so tight he couldn't breathe.
"I told them… I told them I'd keep you safe…"
Her voice cracked.
"I promised mom… I promised dad…"
Manav finally cried.
Not loud.
Silent tears.
"I got scared," he whispered.
Priya pulled back.
Checked his head.
His arms.
His pupils.
Professional first.
Sister second.
"You have shock," she said softly.
"And dehydration."
She cleaned a cut on his forehead.
Manav hissed.
"Stay still."
"Does it look bad?"
"You look ugly anyway."
Manav almost laughed.
Almost.
Raghav returned.
Carrying ammo.
Breathing hard.
"Commander says relocation soon."
Priya frowned.
"Again?"
"Enemy pushed Sector 9."
Silence fell.
That was close.
Too close.
Manav listened carefully.
He hated not understanding.
"Why are they attacking us?" he asked.
Raghav and Priya exchanged a look.
Truth or protection.
Priya chose truth.
"They want what's left."
"Of what?"
Raghav answered this time.
"Everything."
A distant siren started.
Everyone froze.
Then it stopped suddenly.
Too suddenly.
That was wrong.
Raghav looked up slowly.
"Why did it stop?"
No one answered.
A radio crackled.
Static.
Then shouting.
"Unidentified aircraft… repeat… unidentified aircraft…"
Priya grabbed her medical bag tighter.
Raghav grabbed his rifle.
Manav felt something change.
Not outside.
Inside.
Fear was becoming something else.
Something colder.
"I don't want to be useless," he said suddenly.
Raghav looked at him.
Really looked.
"Then survive," he said.
"That's your job."
Manav nodded.
For the first time.
Not because he was told.
Because he chose.
Wind rushed above the trench.
A deep mechanical roar.
Everyone knew that sound.
Aircraft.
Enemy.
Someone shouted:
"TAKE COVER!"
Men pressed against dirt walls.
Helmets down.
Breath held.
Manav's heart hammered.
Raghav pushed him down.
Priya covered his head with her arm.
The sound grew louder.
And louder.
And louder.
Dust fell from trench edges.
Pebbles jumped.
Manav looked up.
Just a little.
He saw it.
A massive dark aircraft cutting through smoke.
No markings.
No flags.
Just a symbol painted underneath.
A circle with a broken line.
"What is that?" he whispered.
Raghav didn't answer.
That scared him more.
Planes that slow are not scouting.
They are choosing.
Raghav's jaw tightened.
"Why here…"
Priya realized first.
Her face went pale.
"Oh no."
The aircraft belly opened.
Time slowed.
Metal doors separating.
Dark interior.
Something large inside.
Manav's pulse jumped.
Every sound seemed amplified.
His teeth chattered, not from cold.
His fingers dug into the trench dirt.
He wanted to scream.
But no sound came.
The air smelled metallic.
Tense.
Like before every explosion.
Something dropped.
At first it looked slow.
Almost peaceful.
Then gravity took it.
Faster.
Faster.
Someone screamed:
"BOMB!"
Raghav grabbed Manav.
Priya tried to pull them both.
Too many movements.
Not enough time.
Manav stared at the falling object.
He noticed one strange detail.
It was humming.
Like it was alive.
The vibration went through his teeth.
It made the air feel thick.
Every breath a struggle.
His chest tightened.
His vision blurred.
He could hear nothing but the buzzing hum…
And the deep roar of the approaching bomb.
A shadow passed across his face.
Heat hit the trench walls.
The dirt seemed to shiver.
Manav closed his eyes tightly.
He thought of Raghav, Priya, everyone.
All those lost.
Would they survive this?
Would he survive?
Time seemed to stretch.
One second.
Two seconds.
The trench quaked beneath them.
Manav's hands gripped Raghav's arm.
Priya's fingers dug into his shoulder.
Eyes squeezed shut.
Then the air pressure changed.
A low thud vibrated.
The humming grew louder.
It was terrifying.
Manav wanted to run.
He wanted to disappear.
But he couldn't move.
The world had stopped.
And yet, everything was falling.