He is...

22. He is gone

Shubman's pov

"Leave."
I looked at him blankly, still too upset to process anything, the feeling of hurt and betrayal overpowering all others. Ishan readjusted the gun pointed to my head as if trying to tell me, he wouldn't hesitate to shoot.
"I said leave Shubman."
He ordered in a stern manner, but I stayed unmoving in my spot.
"No."

Ishan clenched his jaw and I stared at his face, taking him all in. This would probably be for the last time I'd see him.
"Shubman, leave before I change my mind."
I didn't care, I wasn't going to leave anyone behind. This may not have included him anymore, but I sure wasn't leaving my bhaiyas behind. So, hoping that he wouldn't shoot me, I decided to just go for it.

"Shubman. Leave the place. Right now."
Rahul bhai warned me from the ear piece, just as I was about to take a step forward. I hesitated and Ishan pushed me back by putting force on the gun, resting against my forehead.
"I swear to God, I will not hesitate to shoot you."
I was about to ask him to do whatever the fuck he wanted, because I would rather die here, then leave without my people.

Before I could say anything though, someone pulled me back. I was about to push the person off of me, when I realized it was Rishabh. Rishabh didn't look at me or Ishan at all and just continued to pull me away out of the door.
"Rish-"
"Shut up."
"I have to save th-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP SHUBMAN."
I instantly shut my mouth. This was the first time I had seen Rishabh this angry. This was the first time he had yelled at someone, seriously. So I let him pull me away, but not before glancing back one last time, only to find the spot where Ishan once stood, empty. We reached the cars and both of us got inside Rahul bhai's van. Our cars hadn't been discovered by the police because we had hid them pretty well.

All of us sat there in silence, when the severity of the situation finally dawned upon me. I had lost them. The people who were the closest to me, I had lost them all. I wanted to scream, I wanted to destroy everything and everyone, including myself, but I felt numb, completely numb. Everything around me felt foggy, and I had zoned out. I was pretty sure someone was trying to speak to me, but when I looked up at Rishabh, sitting across from me, he was looking out of the window.

Rishabh for the first time since I had met him, was completely silent and looked lost. I followed his gaze and he had been peeking at the gate from which we had exited. There was no one at the exit, but Rishabh kept on staring. I turned around, to look at Rahul bhai just to realize that he had been staring at the exit aswell.

Hope. They had hope that the others would still make it. Walk out of that door and make their way towards us safe and sound. Which is why, we hadn't left yet. The cars were rooted to it's spot. I heard Rahul bhai order the others to leave. I tried to open the van, wanting to go back inside, but it was locked and I had caught Rahul bhai's attention, who glared at me narrowing his eyes.

"What? So are we just going to sit here and wait around forever!? I would rather go-"
"They're here."
Rishabh said softly, he had a small smile on his face, though his face still looked pained. I snapped my head at the direction he was looking at and sure enough, Vi and Ro bhai emerged out of the exit holding someone who seemed heavily injured. I looked at Rahul bhai and he unlocked the door right away and I opened it.

I got out of the van right as they reached us and Rishabh and I helped them get inside. We looked at the two of them and then at the almost unconscious male sitting in between Ro and Vi bhai.
"Is he going to be okay?"
Rish asked and at that the said male opened his eyes and looked at Vi bhai with a small smile and Vi bhai sighed in relief, reciprocating the smile.

"Yeah, we are going to be just fine."
Vi bhai replied and I closed the door and was tempted to look back, but stopped myself and focused on Abd bhai who was in front of us, alive and well. Rahul bhai drove off in speed. We soon reached our warehouse and sat there in Abd bhai's room in silence as the doctor tended to his wounds. He was unconscious for about two hours but all of us stayed in our positions unmoving.

"Are you all just going to sit here?"
Vi bhai, now more relaxed after Abd bhai had been found and so he casually asked, but no one answered, so he let it go. Someone said something about revenge and a couple people agreed. I was completely lost and all their chatter fell on my deaf ears.
"-Ishan do this?"
My head snapped up at the mention of his name.

I had looked up at them for the first time since our return, but no one seemed to notice as they continued speaking. I looked around noticing that other than myself, Rish, Vi bhai and Ro bhai had also been completely silent on the matter. It was ironic how the people who spent the most time with Ish- that traitor, had been the most uninterested in this so called revenge plan.

We should've been angry, but we just looked defeated.
"Rish, weren't you the one who got Shubman back? You should've-"
Surya bhai started but then couldn't complete his sentence and just sighed.
"Should've what? Should've killed him? If you were in my position, would you have?"
Rish asked angrily and when he didn't get a response, he just got up and left the room.

I was about to follow him out, wanting to be alone, when Abd bhai woke up.
I stayed there watching over him for a while, looking at him and Vi bhai smile at each other.
"Is his family safe?"
Rahul bhai asked Vi bhai. Vi bhai just looked at Abd bhai and sighed, shaking his head. Meanwhile, Abd bhai looked at Vi bhai with a smile.
"Yeah, my family is safe."

Everyone gave them a confused look and Abd bhai gestured to Vi bhai.
"He is my family."
He had surrendered to protect Vi bhai? I didn't know what relationship they shared. Whether they were bestfriends, brothers, or more, but it wasn't my place to probe. I just sighed looking at them with envy and left the room.

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I'll be giving Ishan's pov from the next chapter.