Page 100 of Born in Sin

Ishaan groaned. “He’s got that dopey smile on his face again. He’s thinking of her!”

Amay laughed, wagging a finger at Virat. “You know the rules. Today is only about us. The boys. You have the rest of your life to think about her.”

He did. And Virat planned to do exactly that.

“Where are we going to drink this beer anyway?” he asked now in a bid to distract his friends. “Are we walking all the way to Harvard to do it?”

“We’re here.” Ishaan stopped by the school garden.

“Here?” Amay asked, staring at the cucumbers growing on a vine near his head. “What is your obsession with the freaking vegetables in this garden?”

“Yes, here.” Ishaan pulled out the bottle he’d been hiding under his jacket. “We have food.” He pointed to the vegetables growing in orderly rows behind him. “We have drinks.” He waggled the bottle in the air. “And we have the company of friends.” He spread his hands out like he was moving in for a hug. Both Amay and Virat side stepped him making him stumble and fall in the dirt.

They were still laughing when an aborted scream rent the air. It cut off before they could process it.

“What was that?” Amay asked, instantly sobering. “Did you guys hear it too?”

“It sounded like a scream.” Ishaan got to his feet, the bottle of beer lying forgotten in the mud.

“Where did it come from?” Virat spun in a circle but all he saw was an empty school ground and endless night. A gust of wind slapped his face just as thunder boomed and a cloud burst above them. Rain gushed down, soaking them in minutes.

“There.” Amay pointed into the distance somewhere in the southeast corner of the grounds.

The grove! Unease swirled in Virat’s gut as he stared through the pouring rain towards the cluster of trees in the far corner. No way. They wouldn’t be that stupid, would they? Not today when the campus was just coming down from the high of Graduation Day.

Virat started to move in that direction, but Ishaan grabbed his arm. “Don’t get in the middle of their shit. We’re done with this place and them, right?”

“Someone screamed.” Virat’s wiped the water off his face and squinted into the darkness.

“It’s probably one of their twisted games.” Amay came to stand beside him, chewing on his lower lip in indecision.

“Come on,” Virat said. “We’ll just look from a distance and if it’s their usual shit, we’ll leave them to it.”

“This is a bad idea,” Ishaan protested but he followed them as they started to run towards the grove. They made it there in seconds, the torrential rain masking their approach.

Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky, a bright flash that illuminated everything on the ground. And as thunder boomed in his ears and his heart, he saw her.

Celina Fernandez, his best friend and the love of his young life, stripped naked and tied to a tree, her mouth taped shutwith duct tape. Her eyes, wide with terror, met his through the downpour.

“Celi!” Her name was torn from him on a scream as he started to run, slipping and sliding in the wet mud. Behind him, he heard his friends charging forward, even as the Dusty Devils turned to see who was coming.

Varun Gokhale stepped in front of them, his palm slapping into Virat’s chest, stopping his mindless run and shoving him back. He fell backwards, landing on his butt in the mud.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll fuck the hell off right now,” Varun said, a chillingly calm smile on his face.

A roar of fury escaped Virat as he launched himself off the ground and at Varun, his arms going around the other boy’s waist and dragging him to the dirt with him. All around them, he heard shouts and yells, and the thud of flesh striking flesh. But loudest of all were her silent screams.

Celi, his Celi!

He shoved Varun off him and ran towards her. He almost made it before someone grabbed him from behind and threw him back. Naveen smiled, his arms up, fists clenched. “Come on lover boy. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“Let her go.” Virat knew it was pointless, but he had to ask, to beg. “Please let her go.”

“We will,” Naveen grinned. “After we’re done with her.”

A red mist of rage clouded his vision as he launched himself at the other boy, fists pummeling him but barely making any impact. He heard someone cry out in pain behind him, but hedidn’t look. He couldn’t look. He could only see her. He could always only see her.

Naveen’s leg connected with his jaw and sparks dotted his vision, agony arcing through him. He landed on his back, wheezing and panting, his breath sawing through his lungs.

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