Scapegoat

The dining hall smelled of hot rice and fried onions. Everyone sat around the long table, talking in low voices, waiting for their leader.

The moment Harshal walked in, the talking died. Cutlery stopped. The room went still.

He halted in the doorway, leaning on his stick, and looked from face to face. “What? Why did everyone go quiet?” A faint smile crossed his face. “So, how are you guys?”

He went to Sahil, patted his shoulder, and took the empty chair beside him, propping the stick against the table. Sahil kept his eyes on his plate.

“Nothing much,” Saanvi said. “We were just worried about what atrocity you’d bring now that you’re awake.”

“Sorry?” One eyebrow lifted.

Saanvi took a bite and chewed deliberately. “You heard me.”

“So you’re still angry over that Riya thing.”

“It’s not any Riya thing,” Diya said. “You disrespected her.”

“Oh? And what will you do if I destroy that shitty grave?”

Under the table, his hand curled into a fist.

Every head turned toward him. Aditi Ma’am closed her eyes. Sahil never raised his head, but the fist sat at the edge of his vision, and he saw it.

“What did you say?” Diya shoved her chair back and half rose. “You stay in your...”

Himani Ma’am’s hand closed over her knee. One small nod, and Diya sank back into her seat, jaw tight.

Harshal pulled his plate toward him and began to eat, unhurried, as if nothing had happened. Himani Ma’am drew Diya’s chair back to the table and murmured to her until the shaking left her shoulders.

Harshal looked up mid-bite. “By the way, don’t you guys train? You look thin.”

“We do,” Himani Ma’am said evenly. “We sleep eight hours a night, not a month.”

“Better to sleep a month than get killed by that guy whose name isn’t worth remembering.” He tilted his head. “Oh, wait. I killed him. And who was strong enough to do any damage? Not the ones standing on the sidelines like cowards.”

Nobody answered. Heads dropped back to their plates. He leaned back and pushed his food away.

“Oh, now you’re all quiet. Just like when Kabir was about to assault Priya and I almost died protecting you.”

Priya’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth, and the color drained from her face.

“And you know what? You deserved Kabir.”

He stood. “Do whatever you want. The barrier is open. Go or stay, I don’t care anymore.”

He left the stick leaning against the table and crossed to the door. His hand was on the handle when a voice stopped him.

“Harshal. Babe, wait a sec.”

He turned. “What is it?”

Priya pushed back her chair and walked toward him.

“Priya, wait,” Aditi Ma’am said in a low voice.

Priya didn’t slow. She took Harshal’s face in both hands and kissed him on the cheek.

Warmth crept up his neck and into his face. “What was that for?”

“Thank you for saving me.”

“I didn’t need a than...”

Her palm cracked across his cheek, hard enough to turn his head. He looked back at her, stunned.

“Don’t ever let my name come out of your mouth again.” Her eyes were wet. She pulled the door open and stepped through, then paused at the threshold without turning. “And this is why we broke up.”

She was gone.

Harshal stayed where he was for a moment, a hand against his cheek. Then he walked out, and the door slammed behind him so hard that the whole floor shook.

“Motherfucker! Fuck them all!” His shout echoed down the corridor, fading with every word as he stormed away, until it was gone.

Sahil pushed back his chair. “I should go see him.”

“No,” Dhruv said, catching his wrist. “I’ll go.”

Before Sahil could answer, Dhruv let go and went out after him.

* * *

Dhruv caught up with him just outside the base. Harshal had his back to the building, shoulders rising and falling.

“What is happening to you?” Dhruv asked.

Harshal closed his eyes, looked down, and let out a long breath. “Nothing,” he said, his voice rough. “This is who I am.”

“No, it isn’t. None of this is you.”

“And what do you know about me?” He spun around, shouting.

“Everything!” Dhruv moved closer. “We’ve been best friends for three years. I’ve seen you. You say sorry for silly mistakes. This is not you.”

“Whatever.”

“Whatever?” Dhruv shook his head. “That’s all you’ve got? What has happened to you? The Harshal I know wouldn’t shut up for a minute, even when we were getting scolded.”

“Nothing has happened. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. You might not know this, but Priya was crying when you left. Was that okay to say to her?”

Harshal’s hand shot out and seized his collar. “I say whatever I want. I don’t care about them.” But his eyes had filled with tears.

Dhruv knocked the hand away. “Look at you.” His voice dropped. “At least be true to your own words. If you don’t care, why are you crying?” He jabbed a finger at Harshal’s chest. “And don’t grab my collar. Ever. I’m not your personal dog.”

“And I’m not what you expected, so please leave me alone.”

Dhruv’s fist caught him across the jaw, and he stumbled back. “Really? Then why are you crying?”

Harshal dropped to one knee, head down, wiping his face on his sleeve. “I’m not crying.”

He stayed there a second, his face hardening. Then he shoved himself up on shaking legs and charged, driving a knee into Dhruv’s stomach and following it with a kick that sent him staggering back.

“And don’t punch me.”

Priya ran in between them. “Stop it, both of you!”

Sahil came pounding up behind her.

“Don’t come between us,” Harshal said, breathing hard. “I don’t mind some collateral damage.”

He took a step toward Dhruv, and his legs gave out. He hit the ground and lay there heaving, each breath ragged and shallow, so close to a dying man’s that Sahil’s stomach dropped. Sahil rushed to him, but the moment his hands touched Harshal, he went rigid.

“Okay, please,” he whispered. “Not again. Not again.”

“I’m fine, Sahil,” Harshal gasped.

Sahil swallowed, nodded, and lifted him. The ragged breathing eased a little, but Sahil could feel his heart racing against his arm.

“Boss, are you sure?”

“Yeah. Just take me to my room.”

“Why were you two fighting?” Priya asked.

“I was trying to knock some sense into this bastard,” Dhruv said, pressing a hand to his stomach.

“Yeah, get some sense yourself first.”

“Stop it, both of you. Please.” Priya turned to Sahil. “Please take him to his room.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Priya and Dhruv went their separate ways, and Sahil carried Harshal upstairs.

* * *

Harshal lay on the bed while Sahil sat at its edge, working his hands over Harshal’s legs, one after the other, pressing slow circles into the muscle.

“You can leave now, Sahil,” Harshal said. “I’m fine.”

“If you need anything, call me.”

As Sahil spoke, Harshal’s gaze drifted past him to the clock on the wall. 11:30 p.m.

* * *

Light spilled into the room, and Harshal woke, rubbing his eyes. He glanced at the clock again. 6 a.m.

“Finally. Not that irritating alarm.”

He swung his legs off the bed and stood. They held. “Birdy.”

Birdy appeared on the bed. “What do you want now?”

“Why did my body give out last night?”

“Conviction.”

“Conviction?”

“Yeah. In the fight with Kabir, you got too lost in killing him, and conviction made it worse. It pushed you forward without letting you feel any pain. Your conviction to protect them is what gave you that damage. Your bones, your nervous system, they couldn’t take it. Honestly, it’s a miracle you’re awake. I expected a coma.”

“What? Then why did you give me so much power? I could have beaten Kabir with half of that.”

“Sorry. The system doesn’t work like that.”

“Who even created this shitty system?”

“Hey, don’t disrespect the boss. You’re alive only because you’re one of his favorite people.”

“So it’s a god.”

“Yeah.”

Harshal leaned toward Birdy and pointed a finger at it. “Tell that shitty god that the day I die, I’ll make sure he’s no more.”

Birdy lunged and bit the finger. Harshal flinched and jerked his hand back.

“Okay, whatever,” Birdy said, hopping away. “I don’t like that god anyway.”

* * *

Harshal stepped out of his room, walking perfectly steady, and found Sahil curled up on the floor beside the door. He crouched and shook Sahil’s shoulder.

“Hey, Sahil. Wake up.”

Sahil jerked awake. “Sorry, boss. I fell asleep.”

“Man, sleep in your own room. And if you really want to be on my side, there’s an extra room next to mine. Go there. Ple...” He stopped himself.

“I think you meant please,” Sahil said, a tired grin tugging at his mouth.

Harshal ignored him. His eyes had gone unfocused as the tracker’s dots spread through his awareness. Then something new brushed the edge of it: five faint presences near the barrier. He couldn’t tell who they were, only that they were there.

“Wait. I’m sensing something. There are people near the barrier.”

Sahil sat up. “But everyone’s in the base.”

“Not ours. People from a different city.”

“What?”

“Gather everyone. We need to meet these new people.”

* * *

Everyone had gathered in the meeting hall. Harshal stood before the city map, which Simran and Sana held up between them.

“So, have you located them?” Saanvi asked.

“Yeah. They haven’t moved since I first sensed them. They’re just waiting near the barrier. They’re not heading to another city, but...”

“What?” Pranav Sir cut in. “Why don’t we simply keep them from entering the base?”

“Of course. But we need to confront them.”

“No,” Aditi Ma’am said. “We’re not strong enough to fight. We’ve only trained for a month.”

“Don’t worry. They might not be trained either.” Harshal turned away from the map and stopped. The two girls were still holding it up at either edge, their heads lowered. He studied them for a long second.

“Boss,” Sahil said, “what is it?”

“Tell me one thing.” Harshal kept his eyes on the girls. “Why don’t you two ever talk? I get that you’re both introverts, but can’t either of you speak?”

Himani Ma’am tapped his shoulder. “Harshal.”

He didn’t turn.

“Harshal!” she shouted. “We have a whole fucking problem, and after a month of sleep, the thing you notice is that they don’t talk? Really?”

“Yeah,” Sana said quietly. “I think the people near the barrier could be a problem.”

“Thank you.” Harshal looked at her. “Finally, you said something.”

The whole room stared at him.

Someone muttered, “What the fuck, man.”

“Okay, about those people,” Harshal went on. “The barrier only opens when I allow it. I shut it again at dawn, so they can’t get in unless I let them.”

“So we keep it closed,” Pranav Sir said.

“I actually want to confront them.”

“No,” Aditi Ma’am said. “We don’t need to.”

“He has a point,” Dhruv said, his bandaged knuckles resting on the table.

All eyes shifted to him. He peeled the bandage off and dropped it on the table.

“Look, we need strong opponents to get strong. If we take their territory, maybe we get more supplies and resources. And if we just sit here and wait, nothing changes, and someone stronger might come and take us.”

Harshal smiled. “See? This is what I mean.”

“That’s not what you meant,” Saanvi said.

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Harshal said, a devious smile spreading across his face.

Sahil swallowed. “Okay, I’m scared now.”