Crimson red

He was twisting my arm, and I was on the ground.
Despite the inhuman strength I had, that person grabbed my hand effortlessly—pinning me down like it was nothing.
While I lay there, I felt something inside me… a weird fragment of energy. Faint, but there.
I kept asking, “What’s the deal? Did I do something wrong?”I was terrified. Very terrified.
The person who was scanning everyone,

stood up and began walking toward me, his boots tapping against the floor echoed in the hall.

He crouched beside me, rummaged through my pockets, and pulled out a small white fragment—something I had assumed was bone. I found it at the dead end.
He looked at it and asked, “What is this fragment of corrupted D-energy doing in your pocket?”
“It’s not mine. It’s from that dead end—I just found it,” I replied.
He glared at me with a terrifying gaze.“The dead end, huh? You think we’ll buy that?”“You’re with them, aren’t you?” the scanner guy said, while reaching for his lower back.
“Hold him properly!!” he barked.
The guard holding me slammed me harder against the ground.
“Ahhh!! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I cried out.
My heart was pounding. The scanner pulled a gun from his back.I felt something from that gun—it was cold.That same terrifying sensation I’d felt in the alley.
I wasn’t sure if the gun was shaking… or if it was just my eyes.
He aimed it at my head.
I closed my eyes.
Then suddenly, someone came running—another guard.“Sir, the cleanup team left some leftovers last time,” he reported.
The scanner guy sighed and slowly lowered his gun.“Release him,” he ordered.
The guard let go of me immediately.
The scanner scanned me again.“All clear. We apologize for the mistake. You can go now.”
The red lights shut off.
I wanted to say something. Ask a question. Anything.But I didn’t.Why push my luck?
“Just for that white thing? It must be something important,” I thought.Still, my whole body was trembling.
I had been an inch from death.



I continued walking with the line.Up ahead, a guard was handing out bands.
He gave me one.
I glanced at him with curiosity, but didn’t dare speak.
“Wear it on your arm, close to the bicep,” the guard told me.
I looked at the band—it was yellow. Just a plain yellow band.I wore it as instructed.
Then I noticed something strange.
The line was heading toward a door that hadn’t been there a minute ago.“Maybe it was hidden,” I thought.
We walked through it.
The new hall wasn’t much different from the last one, except the screen was on the right this time.
“Does that mean something?” I wondered as I kept walking.
They told us to wait in the hall.
People started chatting. I thought to myself,“I should find Kaal... he seems to know his way around.”
But then I saw someone near the wall—gazing at the screen with a blank expression, but with serious, focused eyes.
It was Naman.
“What is Naman doing here? And why’s he staring at the screen like that?”
I walked toward him. He didn’t notice me.
“Hey, Naman. What are you doing here?” I asked.
He turned to look at me, and his face changed—like someone meeting an old friend in a prison cell.
“Hey Yash. What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you,” he said with a smile.
“Oh, let me guess. They abducted you too, right?” he added, wearing an annoyed expression.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here either,” I said.
“This place is kinda cool, right? But these café guys seem pretty serious. Kinda scary, hehe,” he said with an oddly excited grin.
I wondered how he could be like this in this situation.
I also wondered how he hadn’t seen what I just went through.Maybe he was in a different batch?
Then someone tapped my shoulder.
“Hey... What are you two talking about?”
It was Kaal, standing behind me with a bright smile.
“Hey, you surprised me,” I said.
Like hell I’ll tell you, I thought.
I was about to introduce Kaal to Naman when suddenly, Naman’s gaze shifted back to the screen.
His smile disappeared. His face turned blank again.And those serious eyes returned.
I turned to the screen too.



The screen flickered. That stylized “W” logo appeared again, and his voice echoed through the hall.
“Hello. I guess the checks went smoothly.”
“So, you must be curious what we’re going to do with you.Actually, you’re chosen to become Shards, like I mentioned before.”
“A Shard is basically a mutated being—like you.But you’re sane. So you won’t become monsters.Not like that mental hospital we had to eradicate entirely…Ah, I hate hospitals.”
“You’ll basically be super-soldiers. You’ll help fight mutated beasts and do whatever’s necessary to protect civilians.”
“Now, let’s talk about your ban—”
Suddenly, someone from the crowd shouted:
Random Person: “You’re gonna make us work, right? Are you gonna pay us?”
W: “Yes, we’re going to pay. But not you, mister.”
Random Person: “Huh? What do you me—”
BANG!!
Someone shot that guy.



The crowd panicked.
People ran in all directions, stomping over each other in corners.But a few didn’t flinch—Naman, Kaal, and a few others.I didn’t run either—because of them.
There were five who stood calm—an old man, some teenagers, and adults.
W's voice returned.
“This is my politest request: never interrupt me while I’m speaking.I’ve already told you—we won’t kill you, as long as you cooperate.”
The panic stopped.People returned to their spots—not out of obedience, but out of pure fear.
I looked around.
I noticed the girl who had interrupted him earlier—I couldn’t see her face.But I knew she was just thankful W wasn’t in a bad mood… that time.



I sensed something.
Then I saw it.
The guy who was shot—he was moving.
He started getting up…It was like every bone in his body had been shattered.
Was the bullet that strong?Maybe.Maybe not.
But it was like watching a boneless corpse stand up.
Creepy.
Was he this terrifying before?Was he even human now?
Pink is a beautiful colour, but the pink glow coming from his body was way more terrifying than darkness itself.
He was almost upright when someone dashed in.
He grabbed the creature’s face and smashed it into the ground.
It didn’t get up again.
The man who did that—he was wearing black ankle pant, a white shirt, and sunglasses.His short black hair was slicked back effortlessly, and his crimson red eyes glowed through the lenses.
He was tall. Muscular.
Like Lord Hanuman himself.
He stomped on that thing’s head.
And that’s when I understood something:
> Fear is fear.Whether it’s from a surveillance god...From a creature that defies nature...Or from an overpowered human.


And right now…The most terrifying being in that room—was that overpowered man.
And he was grinning at the screen.



— END OF CHAPTER —
> Note: Lord Hanuman is a Hindu deity known for his immense strength, loyalty, and devotion. Often considered the inspiration behind monkey god Sun Wukong.