TANGLED IN THE SHADOWS

Part -21

Hardik woke up from a nightmare, finding Rahul sleeping peacefully beside him. Not wanting to disturb Rahul, he quietly got out of bed and headed to Krunal's room. On his way, he heard the sound of anklets, like someone was running. Curiosity piqued, he followed the sound, which led him to Shubman and Ishan's room. He opened the door to see them cuddling and sleeping. Just as he was about to close the door, he saw a hand with long nails appear around Ishan's neck, scratching it.

Hardik screamed, his heart pounding in his chest. The entity turned towards him with a sinister smile and started running at him. Hardik fell back in fear. Suddenly, the lights came on, and everyone rushed to the doorway. Shubman and Ishan woke up, confused.

Rahul helped Hardik up and guided him to the living room couch. Krunal scolded him, "Why were you walking around alone at this hour?"

Jadeja handed Hardik a cup of water. "What happened?" he asked.

Hardik took a shaky breath and explained, "I heard anklet sounds and followed them to Ishan and Shubman's room. I saw something... it was scratching Ishan's neck."

They all turned to look at Ishan, who touched his neck, feeling the fresh scratches. Dhoni stepped forward to check Ishan's wounds. "These aren't too deep, but they need to be cleaned," he said.

Jadeja nodded. "Let's all sleep in the living room together tonight. It's safer."

After they settled down, Hardik whispered to Rahul, "I didn't know Ishan and Shubman were a couple."

Rahul smiled fondly at him. "They are. I guess we missed a lot while dealing with everything."

Dhoni whispered to Jadeja, "Are you scared?"

Jadeja shook his head. "Not with you here. Are you comfortable sleeping on the floor?"

Dhoni smiled softly. "I can sleep anywhere as long as you're with me."

Meanwhile, Ishan lay wide awake, unable to sleep. Shubman hugged him from behind, equally restless. "We'll get through this," Shubman whispered.

"I know," Ishan replied, trying to believe it. Deep down, they all felt the invisible eyes watching their every move, but in the warmth of each other's presence, they found a small measure of comfort.