"You two head home. I'll be back by morning. I have some work left to finish," Abhimanyu said to Kunal and Riya.

  Kunal replied, "Alright. See you in the morning."

  Riya added, "Try not to die."

  Kunal and Riya rode off on their bike.

  The night was silent, filled only with the rotting smell of leftover flesh. The research team collected the meat of the infected man. Abhimanyu decided to leave the area. There was only one thing on his mind: the task Commander Karan had personally assigned to him.

  A year ago, Sonali Maheshwari was accused of taking part in a human sacrificial ritual. But due to lack of evidence, she was declared not guilty. Recently, Jagdish, one of her coworkers, had gone missing. Sonali had been seen arguing with him and was rumored to hold a grudge against him. Security camera footage also showed her with some black sludge in her purse on the night of Jagdish's disappearance. Commander Karan hypothesized that Sonali might have some connections with the deadly parasites. Karan personally asked Abhimanyu to go to her apartment and search it thoroughly.

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  Abhimanyu reached Sonali's apartment. It was locked from the outside. He quietly broke the lock and went in. There were no signs of life anywhere—until he checked the wardrobe. He saw Jagdish tied up, with blood near every one of his holes. The body was as dry as autumn leaves, and the blood was completely solidified. Then he heard some footsteps. When he got to the door, Sonali was there. She looked at the broken lock. Abhimanyu drew his pistol—and so did Sonali. They didn't look just at each other's still movements-but also at each other's fear.

  "That pistol," Sonali said softly, "only works on humans."

  -To Be Continued