Chapter 32 : The One Who Walks Alone
Location: Island Bunker – Nightfall, Day 6
The room was quiet. Too quiet.
Not the silence of peace—but the silence of impossible choices.
The traps were set. The weapons ready.
But one final piece—the bait—was missing.
Akash looked away. Shiva kept his eyes fixed on the floor.
Even Sid, the one who always found the words, stood speechless—until he finally broke the silence.
"I'll do it."
Three words.
Heavy as bullets.
Hauntingly familiar.
Every head turned toward him.
"I'll take the risk. I'll lead them into the trap."
Sid's voice was calm, but the tension beneath it cracked like breaking glass.
Old Man Krishnan froze. The color drained from his face.
His eyes glazed over—not in fear, but in memory.
A moment… long buried… surfaced.
A bunker.
A storm outside.
A younger voice, filled with fierce courage.
Captain Rana—his voice echoing from the past, the last order he ever gave—
"I'll do it. I'll lead them in. Let them come for me if they want. This is my island."
Back then, Krishnan had tried to stop him.
Back then. But Rana never came back after that.
The old man's heart clenched. The wound had never healed.
And now… Sid's words reopened it.
He snapped back to the present.
"No. You won't."
Sid blinked. "What? I—"
"Listen, boy," Krishnan's voice was firm, unwavering.
"This isn't just any island. It's a maze of forest traps, shifting terrain, and forgotten death holes. Even trained soldiers have vanished here."
He stepped forward, eyes sharper than his years.
"You're not a soldier. And you don't know this island like I do."
Sid opened his mouth to argue—then stopped.
He saw something in Krishnan's eyes.
Not just determination.
Not just honor.
Regret.
"If you go," the old man said, "you'll walk straight into a death sentence. I've already watched one brave fool take that path, believing he could change the tide. Someone said the same. And I lost him that day."
Sid's lips parted in stunned silence.
"But I… I was born here," Krishnan whispered.
"I bled here. I've survived these forests more times than I can count… even if I forget what I ate for lunch."
A weak chuckle broke the heaviness, but Sid didn't smile. His heart was heavy with unspoken truth.
"But your memory. Your age…"
Krishnan placed a steady hand on his shoulder.
"I may be old. But I am not done."
"Let me be the decoy. Let me be the bait. If this is how I protect my country… protect this island… then so be it."
Sid lowered his head, fists clenched.
He hated it.
He hated feeling powerless.
But… the old man was right.
And maybe, just maybe… this was his redemption.
Akash finally whispered, "Looks like it's what he's chosen."
Shiva closed his laptop slowly.
"Then we move at dawn."
---
Narrator Voice:
A leader steps forward. But a warrior steps in. Haunted by the past, driven by duty, a man walks into the forest alone—just as his friend once did. But this time… will the story end differently? The countdown ticks. The bait is set. The ghosts return. And the storm is coming.