*Hit*
Someone runs into Hardik
*Stumble*
Hardik stumbles a bit but that was enough to get him back to his senses. He quickly took out his phone to call his sister.
"Aditi, where are you right now?"
"I am at home bhai. Where are you? Did you see that black thing it the sky? What is happening? I am too scared bhai."
Bhai = Brother
"Yes, I saw that, I am on my way home right now. Listen to me, it is going to be ok, yeah? Lock yourselves inside the house and take some kind of cover and whatever you do, do not come out of the house."
"Ok. But come home fast, pleaseee."
Hardik hung up the phone and started walking towards the train station. As he starts to walk, he hears a loud scream.
"WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS? WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM?"
As Hardik turns his head towards the sky, he sees monsters, unlike anything anyone would have ever seen. Twisted, grotesque forms, the kind of nightmares that no one could imagine, let alone survive just like in an Isekai anime. Some can fly, while others just keep freefalling from the sky. Their skin shimmered like molten tar, eyes glowing with an unnatural blue fire. Wings jagged like broken glass sliced through the air as they descended.
Some of them died from the impact of falling but those that survived started to attack people indiscriminately. buildings started falling apart from the impact of those monsters. The fire started to erupt.
Just one thing came to Hardik's mind. Run.
He started running as fast as he could. Without looking back, without caring for anything, he just kept on running until he reached the station only to find that the station had collapsed.
Not losing hope, he looks for a way to get home fast. He sees an abandoned bike. He could hear people struggling, people crying for help. He wanted to help them but for him, the safety of his family was his priority. He takes it without a second thought and starts to ride it back to his house.
After riding the bike for an hour, he finally reaches home. He felt a little relieved that the strange monsters were not here yet, but he knew that they were coming.
"Pack some food and essentials quickly, we need to get out of here."
Hardik asks his family as soon as he steps into the house.
"What is happening outside beta? We say something horrific on TV, but the channels are not working anymore."
Beta = Son
"Something horrible is coming Mom and I cannot explain it here we need to get to a safe place."
"Oh Ram, please keep us all safe."
Ram = Hindu God Rama
Hardik's mom goes to the small temple inside the house.
"Mom, we do not have time to pray right now, let's go quickly"
"But where are we going?"
Hardik's Dad asks him as he is quickly getting the family photo album.
"Why are you taking the album, Dad? Just get some snacks and ready-to-eat stuff. We are going to the Raj Bhavan Museum. It has a bunker built during the British Era. I am sure if we go there, looking at how the situation is, they should help us in one or the other way."
The family quickly packs some change of clothes and food and gets ready to go to Raj Bhavan. It was supposed to be an hour's drive from their house, but the road was packed with people trying to flee the city. Roadblocks everywhere, cars honking, and cows mooing. Even the cows who are considered holy and well-protected in India were being ignored at the very sight of the danger to human life.
Time was slipping through their fingers, yet the traffic remained paralyzed, an unmoving sea of vehicles.
"THEY'RE HERE! THE MONSTERS! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
A piercing scream shattered the tense silence. Hardik's heart lurched as he instinctively glanced into the rearview mirror. His blood ran cold.
The monsters were there. Hulking, inhuman shapes tore through the crowd, their claws glinting as they ripped through anyone in their path. Panic erupted, and the once-stagnant traffic turned into a chaotic stampede.
"We need to get out of here! The car's useless—we'll have to run!" Hardik said, urgency sharp in his voice.
Without waiting for a response, he flung the car door open and stepped into the chaos. His family followed as they joined the frantic crowd surging away from the approaching beasts.
"MOMMY… MOMMY!"
The faint, heart-wrenching cry broke through the cacophony of screams and shouts. Hardik froze, scanning the crowd. Somewhere, a child was calling for help.
"Hardik, what are you doing? Let's go!" Aditi tugged at his arm, panic evident in her trembling voice.
"Wait—can you hear that? Go ahead, I'll catch up!" he replied, his eyes darting across the sea of terrified faces.
Against the current of fleeing people, Hardik moved, shoving through the panicked throng. The cry grew louder, more desperate, until he spotted her: a small girl curled up beside a dented car, her tiny hands pressed tightly over her ears. Beside her, a woman lay sprawled on the ground, clutching her leg. Blood pooled beneath her.