"Listen up, everyone! you are strictly responsible for your own belongings!"

the professor's stern voice echoed through the aisle.

a rowdy crowd of college students excitedly piled into the massive college bus, settling into their seats for the highly anticipated industrial visit.

right at the back of the bus, occuying the coveted last row, sat the trio: chandu, darshan, and gowtham.

chandu leaned over the seat, tapping gowtham's shoulder. "hey, gowtham. biriyani is definately guaranteed for dinner today, right?"

gowtham sighed, rubbing his temples. "why does this guy constantly ask for biriyani? literally anytime, anywhere."

"hey, don't back out now," darshan chimed in, grinning. "you were the one who got our hopes up saying you'd treat us today."

gowtham looked at his two friends, realizing he was completely outnumbered. "alright, fine. leave it to me."

from the seat directly in front of them, a snooty classmate popped his head over the headrest.

"what is with this 'anytime biriyani, biriyani' obsession?" he scoffed, looking up thoughtfully.

"you guys should try thinking about a pure veg meal for once. the taste is on a whole different level...." he smacked his lips for emphasis.

chandu's head snapped toward him instantly.

"hey! if u don't like biriyani, shut your mouth!" chandu shot back, pointing an accusatory finger.

"you absolute vegetable eater! eat veg, eat grass, eat whatever you want ! but you do not speak against the supremacy of biriyani! if you don't eat biriyani, what is even your purpose on this earth?!"

throwing his handsup in the air dramatically, chandu declared to the back of the bus,

"society will simply not accept people who don't eat biriyani! so, let's get biriyani tonight!!"

darshan's eyes went wide, desperately trying to hold in his laughter.

"hey! what is all that noise back there?!" the professor barked from the front.

instantly, the three of them sank down in their seats, shutting their mouths and trying to look innocent.

satyam institution of technology, chennai.

the heavy college bus finally rolled through the massive iron gates of the satyam institute.

"no one is allowed to wander off on their own. stay with the group," the professor instructed firmly, leading the herd of students into the sprawling, high-tech campus.

they were soon ushered into a massive, state-of-the-art laboratory.

the professors and faculty were deeply engrossed in observing the new tech and engineering prototypes on display.

meanwhile, chandu, darshan, and gowtham were huddled at the back of the group, completely ignoring the tour to joke around the gossip.

but admidst the chatter, darshan's eyes were suddenly drawn away.

just adjacent to the main lab was a smaller, restricted room.

it wasn't lit by standard fluorescent bulbs; instead, an intense, pulsating orange glow was bleeding out from the slightly ajar door.

"what is that?" darshan thought. he nudged his friend. "hey, chandu."

"what?"

"look over there."

chandu squinted through the gap in the door.

"whoa.. why is it emmiting such a bright light in there?"

without a second thought, his curiosity got the better of him, and he slowly stepped away from the group, heading toward the glowing room.

"chandu, don't. get back here,"  darshan hissed, but his friend didn't stop.

clicking his tongue in frustration, darshan muttered, "tch..." and quietly broke off from the group to follow him.

when chandu pushed the door open and stepped inside, his jaw dropped.

"what kind of machine is this?"

it was a massive, complex piece of machinery, humming with an eeire energy.

darshan stepped in behind him, looking up at the metallic beast. 

"mostly, this must just be another new invention they haven't unvelied yet."

suddenly, the machine hummed louder.

the glowing orange light spiked intensely.

before either of them could react, a blinding, localized flash erupted from the machine, sweeping over darshan and chandu in an aggressive scan.

the impact of the energy wave hit them like a physical wall.

both boys were thrown backward, slamming hard against the wall before collapsing to the floor.

the heavy thud echoed out into the hallway. the visiting students and staff immediately turned their head toward the room.

but seconds later, chandu and darshan simply walked back out of the room, brushing off their shirts, looking completely normal.

Two days later.

the routine was exactly the same.

the late-night dinner bell. the casual, mindless scrolling through instagram reels on their phones.

but at 1:55AM.

inside room number 7.

chandu and darshan were fast asleep. the hostel room was dead silent, the only sound being the faint hum of the ceiling fan.

suddenly,

the space beneath their physical bodies began to glow. a surreal, cosmic pink light materialized directly through the mattress.

without warning, the laws of gravity inside the room broke. darshan and chandu's sleeping bodies slowly began to levitate off the bed, floating eerily in the air.

directly above them, near the ceiling, a portal-like white-blue circle phased into existence.

both boys began to tremble violently in mid-air. 

eyelids fluttered open, but their pupils had completely rolled into the back of their heads.

from the center of their chests, a wispy, glowing white smoke began to seep out. 

the smoke drifted  upward, drawn like a magnet straight into the white-blue circle above them.

those were their souls.

the moment the smoke fully derached, darshan and chandu's eyes turned entirely, lifelessly white.

instantly, their empty physical bodies dropped from the air, crashing lifelessly back onto the bed.

with a silent flash, the cosmic pink light and the white-blue circle completely disappeared, leaving the room exactly as it was.

***

back in the sprawling sanctuary inside the giant tree, the crackling fire cast shadows across the wooden walls.

sarunya stared at darshan and chandu, her expression softening with realization.

"oh..." she murmured. "so.... it that how you two were trapped in here as well?"

still sitting on the floor, absorbing the sheer magnitude of what had actually happened to them two days ago, darshan and chandu slowly nodded their heads.

TO BE CONTINUED.....