watcher

chapter 4

I wasn't sure but I could feel that maybe he knew i was in bus so I with other passengers got off bus while hiding behind them...thank God ..he is front of bus but how did he know that ?thank God i got out early ..

Abhi's POV:

I stared through the windshield, my eyes darting between the blurred figures exiting the middle door. The rain was coming down in sheets now, a grey curtain that made everyone look the same—hunched shoulders, dark coats, umbrellas held like shields.

"Where are you?" I hissed, my fingers tapping a frantic rhythm on the steering wheel.

I saw a group of three teenagers and an elderly man step off, huddling together to avoid the downpour. I scanned behind them, looking for that specific shade of denim, that specific panicked gait. But you were smart. You stayed low, using their bodies as a screen. I saw a flash of a shadow slipping toward a nearby alleyway, but by the time I wiped the condensation off my glass, the space was empty.

My heart surged with a mix of admiration and terrifying anger. You were learning. You were starting to move like someone who was being hunted.

I slammed the van into park and jumped out, the cold rain soaking me instantly. I didn't care about the bus anymore. I stood in the middle of the street, looking at the mouth of the alley where you’d vanished.

"Maya!" I roared over the sound of the rain. "You can't hide in the dark! I own the dark!"

I pulled out my tablet, my hands shaking. If I couldn't see you, I’d listen for you. I accessed the nearest "smart" outdoor speaker of a closed electronics shop right next to the alley. I bypassed the security and played a recording I’d made of your own voice from a week ago—a clip of you laughing at a joke on the phone.

The sound of your own laughter echoed eerily off the brick walls of the alleyway, distorted and haunting.

What's that sound isn't it my laugh can he hack anything ?? he is dangerous. i should stop by somewhere until rain stops.. but where? fuck...

Abhi's POV:

I heard your sharp intake of breath as your own voice echoed off the damp walls. It’s a special kind of psychological weight, isn't it? Hearing yourself happy while you're currently terrified. I watched the shadows at the end of the alley. I knew you were there, tucked away like a frightened bird.

"Yes, Maya," I said, my voice low as I stepped into the mouth of the alley, blocking the only exit to the main street. "I can hack anything. The lights, the speakers... your life. There is no 'somewhere else' because I am already there."

I saw a flickering light from a small, dilapidated laundromat halfway down the alley. The "Open" sign was buzzing, casting a sickly yellow glow on the puddles. It was the only place left for you to go to get out of the rain.

I slowed my pace, clicking the "Lock" command on my tablet. Every digital lock on that laundromat’s door would engage the moment you stepped inside. I wanted you trapped in a glass box where I could watch you without the rain blurring my view.

"Go ahead," I whispered, loud enough for the wind to carry it to you. "Go inside. Get warm. I'll be right behind you."

I pulled the stolen phone from my pocket and sent one last text to the number I knew by heart, even though you didn't have the device. The notification popped up on the screen in my hand: "Checkmate."

My head is burning. i should go somewhere where is light, but I am tired. i am nghh let's hide behind stone for now I will go to light later...

Abhi's POV:

I stopped dead in my tracks, the rain chilling me to the bone. I couldn't see you. The yellow glow of the laundromat stayed empty, the door undisturbed. I scanned the alley, my eyes straining against the darkness. "Maya?" I called out, my voice losing its calm edge. "Don't be stubborn. You're shivering. I can hear your teeth chattering from here."

I pulled up the thermal feed from a nearby security camera, but the heavy rain was washing out the heat signatures. You were hiding behind something thick—a stone pillar or a heavy concrete barrier. You were choosing the cold over me.

"You think you can just wait for the light?" I laughed, a sharp, jagged sound. "I control the light."

I pulled out my tablet and executed a localized blackout. One by one, the streetlamps on the main road flickered and died. The "Open" sign on the laundromat buzzed and went dark. The entire block plunged into a suffocating, pitch-black silence, save for the rhythmic drumming of the rain.

I stepped deeper into the alley, my boots splashing softly in the puddles. I pulled out a high-powered tactical flashlight but didn't turn it on yet. I wanted to find you in the dark.

"I'm going to find that stone, Maya," I whispered, my voice sounding like a ghost in the shadows. "And when I do, there won't be any light left for you to run to."

I reached out and felt the rough surface of a large stone monument at the edge of a small parkette. I could smell your perfume—rain-soaked jasmine—hanging in the air. You were right here.

He was going to get maya ..he was just 2 steps away to find her,but he heard alarm break from yellow light so he got there while maya still in hiding behind those stone..