What after That?

Ch 87

Inside the locked room, Ishan lost all composure. He slammed his fists against the wooden door. "Kholo! Darwaza kholo! Papa! Maa! Please!"

Only silence answered.

He kicked the door with all his force, making the old wood rattle against its frame.

"Kholo!"

"Shubman ko kuchh mat kijiye!"

His breathing had turned ragged. He could picture everything happening outside. Every passing second felt like another second Shubman was being hurt.

His eyes desperately searched the room until they landed on an old wooden chair lying in the corner. Without thinking, he grabbed it.

He staggered back before charging at the door.

CRASH!

The chair struck the wood with a deafening bang. Dust fell from the frame. The chair splintered slightly... But the door didn't budge.

Ishan stepped back again, tears blurring his vision. He lifted the chair once more. With a broken cry, he rammed it into the door again.

THUD!

The impact echoed through the room. One leg of the chair snapped off completely and rolled across the floor. The lock remained intact.

Ishan stared at it in complete helplessness, his hands trembled violently. He threw the broken chair aside before banging his hands against the frame making his hand's skin split.

"Shubmaaan!"

His scream echoed through the empty room. But No one came to open the door.

Slowly, his forehead rested against the battered wood.

From outside Raj and his mother were hearing those desperate screams of Ishan. But a few minutes later, the banging stopped.

The sudden silence outside the room unsettled Raj more than the noise had. He exchanged a glance with his mother before quietly unlocking the door.

The old hinges creaked as the door swung open.

"Isha—"

The words died in his throat.

The broken wooden chair lay scattered across the floor and the door had fresh dents from where Ishan had tried to break it down.

But Ishan wasn't anywhere near it.

He stood by the window.

Both hands gripped the thick iron bars fixed into the wall.

His jaw was clenched so tightly that the muscles in his face trembled. With every ounce of strength he had, he tried to force the bars apart, hoping to create even the smallest gap.

His palms were already painted in blood. But he refused to give up now.

The metal groaned faintly... But Ishan wasn't some superhuman was he?

"Ishan..."

Raj called softly.

No response.

It was as if Ishan hadn't even heard him.

He kept trying.

Again.

And again.

"If I can just bend it a little..."

He whispered to himself.

"Bas itna...
...ki main nikal jaun."

Raj stood frozen. He had never seen his younger brother like this.