6:00 AM – Dawn of Retaliation
The house was quiet… but not at peace.
Ash still lingered in the air. Smoke hung over the trees like a warning. And inside, nobody truly slept.
Ayush stood by the front porch, machete strapped to his back, eyes scanning the fading mist.
Ananya (approaching softly):"You didn't sleep?"
Ayush (without looking):"Not a second."
Ananya leaned against his shoulder, silent for a moment.
Ananya:"Do we really have to go out there?"
Ayush (softly):"If we don't, they will come again. And again. Until we're all ash and regret."
She nodded.
Ananya (quietly):"Then promise me… you come back. I don't care if you win or lose — just come back."
Ayush (turning to her, serious):"I'm not dying today. We have too much to live for."
7:00 AM – Mission Briefing Begins
Everyone gathered around the dining table — the battle map in front of them.
Shivam had marked the known patrol routes. Suraj had drawn a crude layout of the area where they suspected the Scorchers' camp was hidden.
Suraj:"Based on their attack angles, movements, and the injured we caught — their base is here. Near the old iron mine. 6 km south."
Ayush (nodding):"That's where we go. Burn it down. Take every last resource they have."
Kartik (bandaged, stubborn):"I'm coming too."
Sanaa (firm):"No. You're staying here."
Kartik:"Sanaa—"
Sanaa (snapping):"I'm not asking. You're injured. And I'm carrying your child. You want to fight? Stay alive. That's your mission."
He fell silent. The room did too.
Ayush stepped forward.
Ayush:"Shivam, Suraj, and I will go. Three is enough. Swift, surgical, loud. We don't give them time to breathe."
He looked around.
Ayush (calm but cold):"Everyone else, fortify the base. Today, we end the fear."
8:00 AM – Into the Wild
The trio moved fast through the dense forest. Silence was their armor.
Ayush led the front. Shivam's axe was slung across his back. Suraj moved like a ghost, reading the trail.
Suraj (quietly):"Three sets of fresh prints. Two hours old. They're nearby. Maybe guards."
They crouched low near a mossy log.
Shivam (muttering):"Let's kill the guards first. No alarms."
Ayush (nodding):"On my mark."
Three shadows appeared ahead — two armed, one limping.
The trio leapt into action.
Ayush's blade sliced through the first guard's neck.
Shivam tackled the second, driving his axe down into the man's chest.
Suraj covered the last one's mouth, dragged him silently into the bushes, and slit his throat without blinking.
Ayush (cold):"Three less."
9:00 AM – Eyes on the Enemy Camp
They reached the old iron mine.
It wasn't just a camp — it was a full hideout.
Metal walls. Watchtowers made of scrap. Over 20 armed guards.
But they had a weak spot — the back was open, where a supply truck had crashed into the wall. No repairs.
Suraj (grinning):"That's our door."
Ayush:"Not yet. First, we poison their breath."
He pulled out a pouch of powder.
Ayush:"Chlorine dust. We blow it through the vents. They choke, we burn them."
Shivam (smirking):"You're a dangerous genius."
9:30 AM – The Silent Chaos
The vents were rigged. Ayush threw in the powder bombs.
Seconds later — coughing. Screaming.
They rushed in through the broken wall.
Gas-masked. Blades drawn.
The enemy was disoriented.
Ayush slashed through three men before they even reacted.
Shivam used his brute force — smashing skulls, breaking bones.
Suraj — fast, precise, silent.
Blood painted the metal floors. Gunfire echoed. But they moved like ghosts of vengeance.
One man tried to run — Ayush caught him, slammed him against the wall.
Ayush (calm):"Who do you work for?"
Scorcher (gasping):"Th-the Reset… They're watching us all… all of us..."
Ayush (cold):"Wrong answer."
His machete ended the sentence.
10:15 AM – Explosion
Suraj placed homemade charges in the fuel area.
Suraj (lighting the fuse):"Goodbye, boys."
They sprinted back through the woods just as—
BOOM.
The whole mine lit up behind them — a cloud of fire, black smoke, and shattered dreams.
11:00 AM – Return to Base
The house was waiting.
As they stepped through the tree line, cheers erupted.
Ananya hugged Ayush like she'd been holding her breath for hours.
Ananya (crying):"You did it… You actually did it."
Ayush (hugging her back):"One camp down. Many to go."
Kartik (limping forward):"Any survivors?"
Shivam:"One. A headless one."
Sanaa (quietly):"Then it's not over. They'll send more."
Ayush looked at the group. Tired. Bloodied. But victorious.
He walked to the wall.
Took his knife.
And carved:
"We won't wait for the storm. We are the storm."