A Sew Through Time [Banbudh And Budbak]

20: Dangerous decision

Ananya rode down the lane to find Souvik across the little alley. After they met, he took charge of Rockit while she hopped on the backseat. They glided down the empty lanes, the cold wind hitting their eyelashes when he pressed the brakes in the middle of the road, making the other jerk back.

A black cow had guarded their way. Souvik raised an eyebrow, he hadn't seen the cow for ages. He remembered the name Khushi's brother had given the animal: Cinderella.

They headed towards Mahatma Gandhi road, their friend's place. Taking a right and two successive left turns, they parked Rockit under a tree.

Ananya took out her phone as Souvik looked on intermittently.

"This is the place!" She showed it to him.

Hr zoomed into the screen. A smirk appeared in his lips; internally saluting Khushi for her cleverness. She had turned on her location on her Snapchat that day; at first it did not come to their notice till Ananya had called him the last day in the middle of the night. It was foul to not notice this earlier.

The distance between the red pin and their location closed. Ananya looked up from her phone, noticing a big warehouse across the empty kachha road. Parking their cycle near the bushes, they walked to the front, trying to not make any sound.

Taking off her backpack, Ananya took out a tiny pin and started picklocking the rusty door. The attempt failed. Next, she proceeded to open the doors with a metallic lever they had found earlier. But it split into two. They began pushing their weight against the door together with full force. It did not budge.

"What do we do now?" Ananya inquired, rubbing her hands together to warm herself.

Souvik went around to find any opening, squinting his eyes in the dark. There were hedges near the base. Something in his heart told him to clear it,

"Over here!"

She ran towards the voice, noticing him pulling vines and leaves off the warehouse walls. Helping him clear it away, they discovered a hidden trap door leading inside which had the word "emergency" inscribed on the top. The door flung open with one strong kick, it had not been opened for ages.

Souvik crawled inside, bobbing his head around to find any soul. He signalled that it was clear. Ananya passed her bagpack and crawled inside, shutting the door behind.

"It's so huge!" she uttered in awe, observing the cavernous space inside, the labyrinth of corridors running from one end to another. Massive containers were placed along endless rows running for lengths. A faint fluorescent light dimly shone at the end.

"No sign of life" Souvik whispered.

"What now? Search?"

"Pagal hogayi hain kya? It would become dawn!"

"Then?"

He looked around carefully. There stood a door under the dim light, the glass pane reflecting the light. Pointing at the direction, he instructed her to follow him. On reaching there, Ananya tried to pull the door but failed.

"It's locked from the inside" she turned towards her friend.

"Give me the lever"

"Its broken"

"Just one piece"

"But what would you do with it?" She asked while handing it over to him.

Souvik's hand gripped tightly around the lever, his knuckles turning white. It rose high in the air, instructing his friend to move and cover her face. With one decisive blow,the glass pane shattered into pieces, scattering across the floor and their shoes.