Chapter 7: The First Subject

Shekar went to the jail where the headless person was supposed to be to catch him and question him. When he reached the jail and inquired, he found out that the headless person had already been released on bail.

Shekar got angry at the jailer. "Hey, how could you let him go? He committed a brutal murder. How could such a brutal murderer get bail so easily?"

The jailer said, "Look, sir. They came with a lawyer and took him away, and it happened a long time ago. Everyone has to abide by the law, don't they?"

Shekar was still angry but couldn't say anything to them and left the place, because it wasn't their fault.

Shekar remembered Raghav. He immediately went to Raghav and showed him the photo of the headless person, asking, "Who is this? What's your connection to him? Where can I find him now?"

Raghav said, "You found out already? What? It took you this long to get here? I heard you weren't very intelligent, but I didn't think you were this dumb. If you couldn't figure it out even after the headless person gave you a hint and killed you, it's clear how dumb you are."

Shekar thought, The headless person gave me a hint?

Shekar yelled at Raghav, "Enough of these puzzle games! Tell me where he is."

Raghav tried to scare Shekar. "If you run into the headless man, you'll die and have to repeat the cycle again. And then, I won't come to surrender again."

Shekar: "How do you know all this...?"

Raghav: "All of us subjects know everything about each other. And we're all connected."

Shekar: "What is all this? What are you trying to do? Why are you killing them? Who are the people who died?"

Raghav: "They're all subjects like us. And everything has an expiry date. We do, too."

Shekar: "So, I'm just like them, too?"

Raghav: "Yes, you guessed it right. You're not as dumb as I thought. We'll also die just like them. You think these powers are a great power, don't you? It's a curse. We'll also die brutally."

Shekar didn't know anything about this, but after finding out now, he didn't know what to do.

Shekar asked in fear, "How much more time do I have?"

Raghav: "You find out. You're a smart police officer, aren't you?"

Shekar: "Then why did you kill them? They would have died in a few days anyway."

Raghav: "No one wants to die. Everyone wants to live. But did any scientist tell their subjects to live a happy life? Lab rats have to die at some point, don't they?"

After hearing those words, Shekar was filled with sadness and fear and walked out of the jail. After hearing such a huge truth, his mind couldn't function properly, and who could remain normal after finding out that they were going to die?

Shekar reached home with the files. He sat on the sofa, lost in his thoughts. He couldn't understand anything, and he didn't know how to process it. Even when Meera called out to him, he didn't pay any attention. When Shekar didn't respond, Meera poked him on the shoulder and called out to him.

Shekar said in irritation, "What? What do you want?"

Meera: "Why are you always with one case lately? And why are you hiding it from me? What's wrong with you? And why aren't you helping me with my cases?"

Shekar said in irritation, "What's wrong now?"

Meera: "We decided we'd work together, didn't we? Why are you separating everything and staying to yourself?"

Meera: "Why are you so private, man? Did your other girlfriend give you a new case?"

Shekar yelled, "Why are you making this an issue now?"

Because Shekar yelled, Meera's voice became low. "I was just kidding."

Shekar: "I can't explain everything to you every time."

Shekar's mom and dad were also listening to Shekar's yelling from their room.

Meera: "What did I do now?"

Shekar: "Stop getting involved in everything."

Meera: "Why are you talking like that?"

Shekar looked at Meera with anger and left the place.

Meera didn't understand why he reacted that way. She couldn't handle the words Shekar said and started crying.

Shekar went up to the terrace, still annoyed.

Shekar's mom came up to the terrace. She looked at Shekar and asked with concern, "Why are you so annoyed lately, son? What's going on? If there's a problem, tell me. Is it because of Meera?"

Shekar: "Meera is a very good person, Mom. She's very intelligent and very beautiful. She works very hard. She could have found a better life than this. I wish she hadn't married me. She would have been happy and in a better position. Do you know she's much smarter than me, Mom? She should be in a higher position than me, but she's working under me."

Shekar's mother: "Why are you putting yourself down, son? I agree that Meera is better than you, but the reason she's doing this is her own."

Shekar: "No, Mom. This is not the life I wanted. I wanted a simple life. I never wanted to be a police officer or solve cases."

Shekar's father was standing at the entrance to the terrace, listening to all this.

Shekar: "No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do well in my studies. I barely passed. I got this job through a recommendation. The less said about this position, the better. I'm scared, Mom. Scared that I can't protect you or myself and something will happen. I got respect because of this police job, but I didn't know how many responsibilities would come with it and that I'd have to bear all of them. I'm scared of what will happen now, Mom."

His father couldn't listen anymore and walked forward. "Hey, I thought you'd get the respect I never got with this police job. I thought this police life would give you a better life than the one you chose. Now that you're crying, I understand. No job is small. I also had days when I felt this sad. I thought your police job would bring you happiness, but seeing you cry, I feel sad that your life has become like mine. I might have made a mistake, but you're not a useless person. You worked hard. Don't give up now. Give up after you win. Not out of fear. If you run away like this, how will you do the job you like? If you face problems there, will you run away in fear like this, too? What have you learned so far? You're scared of dying, aren't you? Police and army people go forward even when they know they'll die. Don't be Shekar, be a police officer. Fight. I admit I'm wrong, but what have you done right? You don't have to tell me. Tell yourself."

Because of his father's motivation, Shekar decided to explain everything to Meera. He decided to tell her about MEDS but not that he would die.

He went downstairs to Meera. He saw Meera in his room. She was checking Shekar's MEDS case files.

As soon as Shekar entered the room, he slowly tried to explain to Meera.

Meera said, "This is the case. Is this what you were angry at me about? What is this MEDS? And why are you referring to an already solved case file?"

Shekar was a little relieved because Meera didn't understand everything.

Meera said, "I don't know what you found, but there's a signature in this."

Shekar asked with a question mark on his face, "A signature?"

Meera: "Yes, look at their necks."

Shekar looked at the dead bodies' necks more carefully. "It's a tattoo."

Meera: "Yes, three circles. Gold and black. One has two gold ones, and the other..."

Shekar: "One..."

Meera: "Correct... That must be a pattern, or it could be the victim's number, or..."

Shekar said softly, so only he could hear, "Time left..."

Meera: "What...?"

Shekar: "Nothing. I have to go now," and he hurriedly gathered the files to leave.

Meera: "Hey, but I'm still angry. You haven't consoled me yet."

Shekar suddenly kissed Meera. "I'm sorry for what I said. You're my lucky charm," and he left in a hurry.

Meera was in shock and happiness. "Wait, I'm coming with you, too," she told Shekar.

It was raining heavily outside. Meera and Shekar were traveling in a police jeep. Meera said, "Finally, we're going together for a case. I'm so excited."

Shekar smiled at Meera and said a little seriously, "Listen, now you have to observe everything that happens. Don't ask any questions. I'll explain everything to you later. Okay?"

Meera: "More conditions? Okay, whatever."

Shekar and Meera reached the jail where Raghav was. Shekar requested the jailer to let him see Raghav. Everyone there was anxious. They said the prisoners in the jail were fighting. They said it was difficult at that time. Shekar went inside the jail but told Meera to stay outside. He went to help them. Raghav was the one causing the fight. Raghav was hitting everyone. Everyone was also hitting Raghav. The entire jail was chaotic. The jail police came inside. It was raining heavily, and everyone was getting drenched.

The jail police tried to stop all the prisoners, but no one stopped. The chaos got worse. There were shouts and screams. No one was giving up. The police were hitting them, and the prisoners were hitting the police back. Shekar also went inside to stop them, but Meera didn't go inside. She watched what was happening from outside.

Shekar: "Raghav! What are you trying to do? What is all this?"

Raghav: "You've come, sir. You asked me how much time I had left, didn't you, sir? You don't know how I kill people, do you?" he said and showed everyone the power he had. The cloth of his shirt tore at his hands. His hands turned into drills. He killed some of the prisoners and police with his drill hands. After witnessing such a horrible sight, Shekar, Meera, and everyone else there were shocked.

Meera: "He's not human. He's a monster. He's a monster," she said, and she fainted.

Raghav's body was covered in the blood of others. Raghav talked to Shekar again, saying, "You must have seen this tattoo on the dead bodies," and he showed Shekar the three circles on his neck. One was gold, and the others were black.

Raghav: "After seeing this, you must have understood what this is."

Shekar: "Time..."

Raghav: "Ha... The time we have. You haven't seen what happens when that time runs out, have you?"

The sound of rain drops could be heard. Everything went silent for Shekar. Shekar was ready to witness what would happen to a MEDS subject when their time ran out.

Shekar looked into Raghav's eyes. Suddenly, Raghav's head exploded like a watermelon. Blood splattered everywhere. The headless person was behind Raghav in the crowd. No one noticed him properly, but Shekar could see the Grim Reaper who wanted to kill him.

Shekar, in fear, ran away from there. He saw Meera lying on the ground. He tried to lift Meera. She was unconscious, so she wouldn't wake up.

What will happen to them next?