Chapter 6 – The City Turned Black
Part 2 Begins: Andhera Jisme Sach Chhup Gaya
It was past midnight.
But the city was unusually silent. No traffic, no honks, not even the barking of street dogs.
Ravi sat on the edge of his bed, looking at his phone.
There were no new messages, no missed calls.
Just silence.
The walls of his room felt heavier tonight. Maybe it was the weight of the things he had recently discovered, or maybe it was the city itself — holding its breath, waiting for something dark to unfold.
The fan rotated slowly above, creaking at regular intervals.
It was the only sound left in the room.
Suddenly — the lights went out.
The fan stopped. Laptop screen black.
Everything around him disappeared into darkness.
Ravi stood up slowly.
He walked to the window and opened the curtains.
The entire city had turned black.
No street lights.
No house lights.
Even the glow from phone towers had disappeared.
For a moment, he felt like the city had been shut off. Like someone had pressed a switch and erased the light from everything.
His phone screen lit up with a faint notification.
> “1 video saved from SD card. Location: Desktop.”
He had forgotten about it.
The SD card. Priya’s camera.
He rushed to his laptop, connected it to power backup, and opened the folder.
There it was — a single video file, saved just minutes before the blackout.
Its name was strange:
“The Truth You Never Looked For”
Ravi played the video.
It was dark.
Just a black screen for the first few seconds.
Then slowly — a voice.
It was Priya.
> “Ravi… if you’re watching this, it means you’re closer to the truth than anyone ever was. But they know. And they’re coming for you. Don’t trust anyone. Not even the police. Not even the ones who say they’re here to help you.”
The screen flickered.
A flash of Priya’s face — her eyes looked terrified. Her voice cracked.
> “Block C ke neeche kuch hai… kuch aisa jo sirf ek baar dikhta hai… aur uske baad sab chup ho jaate hain…”
And then — static. Loud. Piercing.
Ravi covered his ears. The screen went black again.
Just then, a knock at the door.
Once.
Then again.
Slow. Precise.
As if someone knew exactly what they were doing.
Ravi didn’t move.
He picked up the baseball bat lying beside his bed.
The knocks stopped.
Then a voice from the other side of the door:
> “Electricity gayi hai... lekin kuch cheezein ab bhi on hain. Tum jaise log.”
Silence again.
Ravi looked at the dark window, then back at the screen.
His heart was racing.
The city was black.
And someone had just spoken to him through the darkness.
Something had changed tonight.
And this blackout… it wasn’t an accident.
It was the beginning.
——————————————————————
Chapter 7 – Shadows on the Wall
The silence wasn’t empty. It was watching him.
Ravi didn’t sleep that night.
He couldn’t.
The blackout still stretched across the city. The digital clock on his wall blinked at 3:27 AM, but the time no longer mattered. Outside his window, darkness still clung to the buildings like a shadow refusing to leave.
And that knock…
That voice.
He replayed it in his mind again and again, but it made no sense.
> “Electricity gayi hai... lekin kuch cheezein ab bhi on hain. Tum jaise log.”
Tum jaise log? What did that even mean?
He moved carefully across his room, unplugged the SD card from the laptop, and slipped it into the inside pocket of his jacket. Whatever this was, he knew one thing now — this wasn’t just about Priya.
This was bigger.
And far more dangerous.
---
4:15 AM
The city outside still hadn’t woken up.
Ravi decided to leave. He couldn’t sit here waiting anymore. He threw on his hoodie, zipped it up, and stepped out. The air outside felt colder than usual — not weather-wise, but... emotionally cold.
Like someone had wiped out all life from the streets.
He walked briskly through narrow lanes, sticking to the shadows.
Even the streetlights, though dead, felt like eyes staring down at him.
When he finally reached Block C, the apartment building where Priya had once lived, he stopped.
The gate was locked.
But someone had broken it.
The metal latch was cut — clean, sharp, fresh.
Ravi bent down, touched it. It was still warm.
He was not alone.
---
Basement – Block C
There was no power, but Ravi used his phone’s flashlight.
He slowly stepped down into the basement — where Priya’s message had hinted something was hidden.
The air smelled of rust, dampness, and something else — burnt plastic maybe.
The walls were filled with cracks.
As he moved deeper in, the light caught something unusual.
A mirror.
Just... one large mirror mounted on the basement wall.
But this wasn’t there before — he had been here once, weeks ago, after Priya's disappearance. The place had been empty then.
He walked closer. The reflection was faint, distorted. But something moved in the mirror.
Not behind him.
Inside the mirror.
A flash.
It was Priya — just for a second — standing in the reflection behind him, her lips moving.
But no sound.
Ravi turned.
No one.
He turned back to the mirror.
Now the mirror showed something else — a hospital corridor, dark, empty, but with one door wide open. A faint red light blinked above it. Inside that room, someone was lying on a stretcher, covered.
Then — the mirror cracked.
Shattered from the center. His own reflection is gone.
And behind him, he heard something dragging.
Thhhhk… thhhk… thhhk…
Something heavy.
He turned instantly — but it was gone. Just a pipe fell from the ceiling.
His phone buzzed.
A message.
From an unknown number.
> “Look behind the wall. Break the mirror. The truth is always hidden beneath reflections.”
He grabbed a fallen metal rod and smashed the already cracked mirror. Behind it, he found… a door. Half-buried. Wooden. Locked with rusted chains.
He didn’t think.
He smashed the lock open and pushed the door. It creaked… then opened.
Inside was a small room. A desk. A chair. And a folder.
On the folder:
“Patient 002 – Ravi Deshmukh”
He froze.
What?
He opened the file.
Photos.
X-rays.
Reports.
Electrotherapy. Insomnia. Recovered Memory Trauma.
Ravi couldn’t breathe. His name. His birthdate. His handwriting on some forms.
A voice echoed faintly in his mind — something Priya had once said.
> “Tumhe sab yaad nahi hai, Ravi. Tumne sab bhoolna choose kiya tha…”
He dropped the file.
Backed away.
Just then — a whisper from the corridor behind.
> “Welcome back, patient number two.”
——————————————————————
Chapter 8 – The Man Without a Name
Some people don’t need a name… their presence is enough to haunt you forever.
---
5:00 AM
Ravi stood frozen, staring into the darkness of the corridor behind him.
The voice echoed again.
> “Welcome back, patient number two…”
But the hallway was empty. The air felt thicker — like the walls were closing in.
His heart raced. His breath grew shallow.
Who was patient number one?
He grabbed the file folder again and flipped through the remaining pages, hands trembling.
One page was red-stamped:
CONFIDENTIAL – Transferred to Facility Z.
Below it, handwritten:
> "002 was part of the H-Project.
Memory suppression confirmed.
Patient shows signs of reawakening."
And just beneath that, scribbled in red ink:
> “If he remembers, eliminate.”
Ravi stumbled back. The room around him started spinning. The shadows seemed to stretch longer, darker.
And then, from the darkness, a man stepped out.
---
He was wearing a long, black coat.
Face covered in shadows.
No name tag.
No ID.
No sound of footsteps.
He walked like someone who didn’t belong to this world.
Ravi froze. “Who are you?”
The man said nothing.
Just stared.
Then pointed at the folder in Ravi’s hand.
> “You shouldn’t have come here.”
His voice was deep. Calm.
Not angry.
Worse — it was empty. Like it wasn’t human.
Ravi backed toward the door. “What was the H-Project? What did you do to me? Who was patient number one?”
The man smiled. Slightly. Just enough to scare Ravi more.
> “You’re asking the wrong questions, Ravi. It’s not about what we did to you. It’s about what you agreed to forget.”
Ravi’s breath caught. “Agreed?”
The man nodded.
Then stepped forward, slow, controlled.
> “Do you know why Priya disappeared?
Do you know what’s really on that SD card?
Or what’s behind that final locked door in the city’s old hospital?”
Ravi shook his head slowly.
> “Because you locked it away yourself.”
He tossed something at Ravi — a worn-out ID badge.
Ravi caught it. His own face. His own name.
But the badge read:
Facility Z – Research Assistant
H-Project Division
Ravi’s knees nearly gave out. He dropped the badge. “No… that’s not true. I never worked there.”
The man’s voice sharpened.
> “You were not a patient, Ravi.
You were part of the team.
You created what you’re now trying to destroy.”
Ravi looked at him, wide-eyed. “You’re lying.”
> “Then why do you keep seeing flashes of a place you’ve never visited?
Why do mirrors show you corridors and rooms you recognize?
Why did Priya leave a message that said, ‘Tumne bhoolna choose kiya tha’?”
Ravi couldn’t speak.
---
The man walked away into the corridor again. Before vanishing, he said:
> “When the truth comes back, it doesn’t knock.
It breaks down the door.
Be ready.”
And just like that — he was gone.
---
Ravi stood alone in the dusty basement, sweating in the cold air.
He looked down at the file again.
One last sheet had fallen out.
He picked it up. It was a group photo — faded, old, grainy.
It showed six people.
All in lab coats.
One of them was Ravi.
Another was Priya.
And behind them, half-hidden — was the man in the black coat.
No label. No name.
Just a handwritten note at the bottom:
> “Project H: Shadows must remain shadows.”
——————————————————————
Chapter 9 – When Silence Screamed
Sometimes, the loudest screams are heard in complete silence.
---
2:35 AM
The city was asleep.
But Ravi wasn’t.
He sat alone in his apartment, lights off, holding the group photo.
His own face stared back at him from a past he didn't remember.
Priya’s eyes in the picture seemed to follow him — as if begging him to finally remember.
The only sound in the room was the ticking clock.
But Ravi felt something else…
A pressure. A hum. A scream inside the silence.
He remembered what the man in the coat had said:
> “You chose to forget.”
But why? What was so horrible that he would agree to erase part of his mind?
Ravi stood, walked to the mirror — the same mirror that had been glitching for days.
He looked at his reflection.
This time… he didn’t see himself.
He saw a hospital room.
And a woman strapped to a bed.
Screaming.
My mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Just silence.
But Ravi heard it.
He clutched his head and dropped to his knees.
Memories flashed — like lightning through fog:
A room full of screens.
A projector playing tapes of human behavior.
Ravi signing a paper.
Priya saying, "This isn't research anymore. It's torture."
Alarms.
A scream.
Then darkness.
---
3:10 AM
He finally opened the SD card on his laptop.
A video appeared: "Final Log – Priya.mp4"
He hesitated. Then clicked play.
---
[Video Begins]
Priya looks into the camera, visibly tired, eyes red.
> "If you're watching this, Ravi…
It means either you’ve remembered… or someone forced you to."
She takes a deep breath.
> "You weren’t a victim. You were a part of it.
You created the Simulation Protocol.
You tested it… on me.
Because I volunteered.
Because I loved you."
Ravi’s eyes filled with tears.
> "But the project… it failed.
It started affecting real memories.
Started locking away truths in people’s minds.
The city you live in now?
It's not real.
It’s a loop inside your head.
A constructed prison of your own making."
She looks scared now.
> "They’re watching you.
If you dig too deep, they’ll trigger the fail-safe.
And the simulation will collapse."
She leans closer.
> "If you want to find me…
Go to the one place you never dared — Room 217, old city hospital.
That’s where you shut it all down.
That’s where the silence began."
The video ends with static.
Then black.
---
4:00 AM
Ravi sat frozen.
He wasn’t just trying to solve Priya’s disappearance.
He was trying to wake up.
From a lie.
From a city that wasn’t real.
From a memory he himself buried.
And in that moment, the silence in his room screamed louder than ever.
He stood up.
Picked up his coat.
And walked out of his apartment — toward Room 217.
——————————————————————
Chapter 10 – The Truth That Never Came
The air inside Room 217 was cold—unnaturally cold. Ravi’s breath fogged slightly as he stepped in, the rusted metal door creaking behind him. This place didn’t just look abandoned. It felt forgotten by time itself. The peeling walls, the silent wires dangling from the ceiling, and the flickering tube light—it all screamed of a place left in a hurry.
At the center stood a single chair, hooked with strange wires and sensors. Across the room, a large cracked screen blinked to life as if recognizing Ravi’s presence.
> “Welcome back, Dr. Ravi Sharma,”
the automated voice echoed.
His heart skipped a beat.
“Dr…?”
That word again. Ravi clutched his head. The flashes were coming back—faster, stronger.
Hands typing on a keyboard. Priya’s laughter in the lab. A whiteboard with the words:
“Consciousness Isolation – Phase III”
The screen glowed brighter. Footage began to play.
Ravi himself, in a lab coat, standing in front of the very chair he was now staring at. Next to him—Priya. Laughing. Holding his hand. Then… the fight. Her eyes filled with pain, her words like knives:
> “You think you can fix memories like broken code? This isn’t healing. It’s a cage, Ravi!”
The memory played out like a nightmare. Priya had been part of the Consciousness Isolation Program—an AI-driven attempt to simulate and contain trauma within a closed mental loop. She had volunteered, trusting Ravi. But the simulation… it went too deep.
And then one day, she disappeared.
Not from the world—but from inside.
---
Ravi staggered back, the truth settling in his chest like a stone.
He wasn’t investigating her death.
He was reliving his own guilt.
This city, the murder, the clues—everything was a simulation.
A twisted loop designed by himself, where Ravi’s subconscious kept reshaping reality to hide from what he did.
> “Subject has chosen denial 43 times,”
the AI voice interrupted, emotionless.
Ravi looked up.
“Why am I still here?”
> “You keep choosing the lie. You created this loop to run forever—until you’re ready to accept.”
He fell to his knee.
“No… I didn’t mean to… I just wanted to see her again. Just one last time.”
From the shadows, Priya’s image appeared again—but not like before. This time, she wasn’t alive. She stood, distant, a projection. Eyes full of everything left unsaid.
> “Ravi,” her voice trembled. “You already know. You always did.”
The screen changed again.
Two buttons now appeared.
Exit the Simulation
Restart the Loop
His hand trembled. If he exited, he’d wake up in the real world—alone, exposed, maybe imprisoned for what went wrong. But he’d be free.
If he stayed… he’d keep seeing her. Keep pretending. Keep hiding.
Priya’s image stepped closer.
“You’re not choosing between truth or lie… You’re choosing between pain… or peace.”
Ravi stared at the buttons.
He reached forward…
And pressed—
RESTART THE LOOP
The room faded.
The chair vanished.
The screen turned black.
Somewhere, in a quiet apartment in a rainy city, a man named Ravi woke up to the sound of thunder. A body was found in the building. A girl in the window. A diary with a broken heart.
The game had begun again.
And the truth?
It never came.
---
THE END
