Chapter 4: Dust And Memories

They hit the ground floor compound, their feet landing on the cracked concrete near the overflowing trash bins. The smell of rotting food and damp walls was everywhere. Heer was shaking, her legs feeling like jelly from the climb down.

​Just as they turned to run, her phone started vibrating. Bzzz. Bzzz.

​In the quiet alley, the sound was loud. Too loud.

​Up on the fourth floor, the flashlight stopped moving. "Did you hear that?" a man’s voice shouted from her balcony.

​"Heer, move!" Daksh hissed. He didn't wait for her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a row of heavy, rusted metal trash cans.

​A second later, a loud THUD-sound echoed through the compound. One of the men had jumped down onto the service ledge, and then to the ground. Then another thud. They were fast.

​Heer pressed her back against the cold, smelly metal of the trash can. She held her breath, her hand clamped over her phone screen to hide the light.

Through a small gap, she saw a bright torch beam cutting through the dark. It swept over the walls, the ground, and finally right across the trash cans.

​Her heart was thumping in her ears. The light stayed on the bins for three long seconds. If she moved an inch, they would see her.

​"Nothing here," the man muttered, his boots crunching on the gravel just a few feet away. "Check the main gate!"

​As soon as the footsteps moved toward the front, Daksh pulled her up. He didn't say a word. He led her to a beat-up silver car parked in the shadows of the next building. He unlocked it quietly, pushed her into the passenger seat, and started the engine.

​He didn't turn on the headlights until they were two blocks away. Heer looked back at her building, her hands still shaking.

​"Where are we going?" she asked, her voice cracking.

​"Somewhere they can't track your GPS," Daksh said, his eyes fixed on the road. "For now, you’re officially a ghost, Heer. Just like your father."

Heer didn’t know what to feel. Her head was spinning, and the only thing she could hear was the loud, steady thumping of her own heart.

​Before they even reached the main road, Daksh reached over and snatched the phone out of her hand.

​"Hey!" she started to protest, but he ignored her.

​He quickly swiped through the settings, killing the GPS and the location tracking. Then, he held the power button until the screen went black.

"No calls, no messages. If it’s on, they can find us in minutes," he said, throwing the dead phone into the glove box.

​The car moved through the narrow, dark streets of the industrial area. Eventually, Daksh pulled up in front of a massive, rusty gate. It was a dusty old warehouse that belonged to his friend, Arjun. The place was tucked away between tall, empty buildings.

​It was the perfect hiding spot—no cameras, no GPS signals, and no way for anyone to predict they were here.

​Daksh killed the engine. The silence was sudden and heavy.

​"We’re safe here," he said, though he didn't look relaxed. "Arjun doesn't ask questions, and the lease isn't in my name. Even the cops don't know this place exists."

​Heer looked at the dark, hollow building. She had gone from her cozy apartment to a dusty warehouse in less than an hour. She looked at Daksh, her voice barely a whisper. "What happens in the morning?"

​Daksh leaned his head back against the seat and let out a long breath. He looked exhausted, not like someone with a grand plan, but like someone just trying to survive the night.

​"Everything is a mess, Heer," he said, his voice low. "But we can't do anything until it's light out. We'll wait here. Tomorrow, we’ll try to figure out why your Dad did this and who is actually after him."

Heer looked at Daksh, her voice barely a whisper. "What if they find us before then?"

​Daksh didn't look at her. He just stared at the warehouse doors. "They won't. Nobody knows about this place except Arjun. Just try to breathe, okay?"

Heer tried to steady herself, pulling her jacket tighter as she stepped deeper into the shadows of the dusty room. She wanted to move past the panic, past the smell of the trash cans and the sound of those heavy boots. But as she turned, her eyes landed on Daksh again.

​Under the dim, flickering light, the reality finally hit her — this was the boy who had been her 'world', the crush she had spent years dreaming about.

She used to close her eyes and imagine him coming back to her, picturing them together in a life that was simple and happy and now, that same first love was standing right in front of her. He wasn't the boy from her memories anymore; he was a grown man, steady and protective, a silent gentleman standing between her and a world that had suddenly turned dangerous.

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