Nobody spoke for a while.
Even the wind felt quiet now.
Manav stared at Arjun.
"The next target… was our sector?"
Arjun nodded slowly.
His face looked tired.
Not body tired.
Life tired.
Priya interrupted,
"Why?"
Arjun looked at the fire again.
Because looking at people was harder.
"I followed them."
Manav leaned closer.
"You said that."
Arjun nodded.
"I followed them to an old command building."
His fingers slowly started shaking.
"I was not supposed to be there."
"I knew that."
"But I still went."
Manav asked,
"Weren't you scared?"
Arjun gave a small smile.
"I lost everything then why should i be scared."
That answer felt heavy.
"I climbed through a broken window."
"I hid behind sofas."
Priya asked softly,
"What did you see?"
Arjun answered,
"Maps."
"Big maps."
"Red circles on cities."
Manav swallowed.
"Like targets?"
Arjun nodded.
"Yes."
He continued.
"There were officers talking."
"They sounded normal."
"Like teachers talking about homework."
That part scared Manav.
"What were they saying?"
Arjun answered slowly.
"They were saying which cities had no value."
Silence again.
"They said some places had no resources."
"No factories."
"No future use."
Priya whispered,
"So they just…"
Arjun finished the sentence.
"Marked them for removal."
Manav's hands slowly turned into fists.
Arjun continued.
"I heard one officer say…"
He stopped.
Manav asked,
"What?"
Arjun's voice became quieter.
"He said… saving everyone is wasteful."
Priya looked sick hearing that.
Arjun continued.
"They said they needed to make Earth lighter."
"Less mouths."
"Less chaos."
Manav felt anger rising.
Real anger.
New anger.
Arjun continued.
"Then one man asked…"
"What about civilians?"
Manav listened carefully.
Arjun said,
"And another answered…"
He paused again.
Manav whispered,
"What did he say?"
Arjun answered.
"Civilians are numbers."
Nobody spoke after that.
Because nobody knew what to say.
Arjun continued.
"I wanted to leave."
"But then I heard something else."
Manav asked,
"What?"
Arjun looked directly at him.
"They said Sector 12 had military children."
Manav froze.
That was his sector.
"They said removing it would weaken future resistance."
Manav's chest felt tight.
Priya grabbed his shoulder hardly.
Arjun continued.
"I understood something that day."
Manav asked,
"What?"
Arjun answered,
"This war was not just against enemies."
A pause.
"It was against weakness."
"I tried to leave quietly."
"But I stepped on broken glass."
Manav's eyes widened.
"What happened?"
Arjun answered,
"They heard me."
Priya whispered,
"Oh no…"
Arjun nodded.
"I ran."
"Down stairs."
"Through a hallway."
"I heard boots behind me."
"They shouted stop."
Manav asked,
"Did they catch you?"
Arjun shook his head.
"I jumped through another window."
Priya looked shocked.
"From how high?"
Arjun rose his shoulder slightly.
"High enough to hurt."
He touched his side without thinking.
Memory pain.
"I ran until I couldn't breathe."
"I hid in drainage tunnels."
Manav asked,
"Did you tell anyone?"
Arjun nodded.
"Yes."
Hope appeared for a second.
"I told the shelter leader."
Hope died quickly.
"He told me to forget it."
Manav frowned.
"Why?"
Arjun answered.
"He said panic kills faster."
That felt wrong.
But also real.
Arjun continued.
"I tried telling others."
"Nobody listened."
His voice became empty again.
"I was just a kid."
Manav understood that feeling.
Arjun continued.
"So I made a choice."
Manav asked,
"What choice?"
Arjun answered,
"I went back to warn people myself."
Priya looked surprised.
"You went back alone?"
Arjun nodded.
"Yes."
Manav asked,
"What did you do?"
Arjun answered,
"I told families to leave."
"Some believed."
"Some didn't."
His eyes looked distant now.
"One man told me to stop lying."
"He pushed me away."
Arjun swallowed.
"I still see his face sometimes."
Manav said quietly,
"You tried."
Arjun nodded.
"But trying doesn't always save people."
"I found a small group who listened."
"A mother."
"Her son."
"An old teacher."
His voice softened.
"We tried to escape together."
Manav asked,
"Did you make it?"
Arjun didn't answer fast.
That was the answer.
He continued.
"We were almost outside the sector."
Priya held her breath.
"Then the sirens started."
Manav felt his stomach drop.
Arjun continued.
"The same sound from my first city."
He looked down.
"I knew what it meant."
Silence.
Manav whispered,
"What did you do?"
Arjun answered.
"I pushed them ahead."
"I told them run."
His hands were shaking slightly now.
"The little boy asked if I was coming."
Manav asked quietly,
"What did you say?"
Arjun closed his eyes for a second.
"I said yes."
Another lie.
Priya's eyes became wet.
Arjun continued.
"I turned back."
Manav looked confused.
"Why?"
Arjun answered simply.
"Someone had to slow the soldiers."
That sentence changed everything.
Priya whispered,
"You stayed behind?"
Arjun nodded.
"I threw rocks."
"I made noise."
"I ran different directions."
Manav asked,
"Did they follow you?"
Arjun nodded.
"Yes."
A small breath.
"It worked."
Priya asked softly,
"Did they escape?"
Arjun looked at the fire.
Long pause.
Too long.
Then he answered.
"I don't know."
That hurt more than a no.
Arjun continued.
"I hid until morning."
Manav whispered,
"And then?"
Arjun's voice became very quiet.
"Then the bombs came."
Nobody moved.
"I watched from far away."
He swallowed slowly.
"The sky became white."
Priya closed her eyes.
"I remember thinking…"
He stopped.
Manav asked,
"What?"
Arjun answered.
"I hope they ran far enough."
Silence again.
Heavy one.
Arjun continued.
"When I went back later…"
His voice almost stopped.
"There was nothing left."
Manav felt tears forming.
Even without seeing it.
"No houses."
"No roads."
"No voices."
Arjun breathed slowly.
"Just dust."
Priya whispered,
"I'm sorry…"
Arjun shook his head again.
"That day I understood something."
Manav asked,
"What?"
Arjun answered.
"War does not ask who is good."
A pause.
"It just takes."
Wind passed again.
Cold one.
Arjun reached into his pocket.
He pulled out something folded.
Old paper.
Manav asked,
"What is that?"
Arjun opened it slowly.
Carefully.
Like it could break.
"A drawing."
Manav leaned closer.
"The house?"
Arjun nodded.
"Yes."
Priya asked,
"You still carry it?"
Arjun nodded.
"Always."
He looked at it quietly.
"My sister said keep it safe."
Manav asked,
"Why fight then?"
Arjun looked at him.
This time his voice was different.
Stronger.
"Because someone must remember."
A pause.
"And someone must stop them."
Manav felt something burning inside him now too.
Not fear.
Not sadness.
Something else.
Arjun folded the drawing again.
Put it back carefully.
Then he said something unexpected.
"I never told anyone this part."
Manav asked,
"What part?"
Arjun looked at both of them.
Serious again.
"The day I joined the army…"
He paused.
"I saw the same symbol again."
Manav froze.
"A circle."
Priya whispered,
"No…"
Arjun continued.
"The broken line."
The same one.
Manav asked slowly,
"Where?"
Arjun answered.
"On a killing file."
Manav asked,
"What file?"
Arjun's face became cold again.
"The file that decided which children would be removed first."
Manav felt fear again.
Arjun continued.
"And your name was almost on it."
The fire snapped again.
Loud.
Manav whispered,
"What do you mean almost?"
Arjun looked at him.
And said quietly,
"Because someone removed it."
Manav's heart stopped for a second.
Priya asked,
"Who?"
Arjun answered softly.
"I don't know."
A pause.
"But I know why."
Manav asked,
"Why?"
Arjun looked straight into his eyes.
He said,
"Because someone needed you alive."
The fire finally burned very low.
Night became very dark.
And Manav could not stop thinking one thing.
Who decided he should live… and why?