Chapter Text
Charan was dying.
He knew that, as well as he knew that the reason why he was dying was that his best friend, one of the people he trusted the most, with almost all his secrets, had been the one who delivered the last stab.
He didn’t want to die.
As he laid on a pool of his own blood, he thought of his mother, of the friends who hadn’t betrayed him, of the people who counted on him.
He needed to live. He needed to survive.
But each heartbeat was coming slower, and slower, and the darkness was swallowing him whole.
Sathya was dying.
He knew that, as well as he knew that Deepthi had died in front of him seconds earlier. He could feel the blood leaving his body with each heartbeat, and the heat coming from the fire that was soon to engulf him.
He wanted to die.
As he laid on a pool of his own blood, all his thoughts were on Deepthi, on her smile, her eyes, and her laughter.
He couldn’t live without her. He wanted to join her in darkness.
But his heart continued to beat, and the darkness refused to engulf him. There was movement around him, but all he wanted was to die.
The darkness suddenly gave way to the image of Deepthi getting her throat cut. He took a deep breath and woke up, his eyes completely covered with bandages. He tried to get them off, but hands were stopping him.
Only then he heard the woman’s voice. A voice that was familiar, but shouldn’t be.
“This isn’t your life, it’s mine!”