Opening Scene – INT. NATIONAL SPACE RESEARCH CENTER – ANYA'S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Dim light flickers from Anya's laptop as she types furiously. The decoded coordinates pulse on her screen, but something feels… off. The transmission isn't just guiding them—it's watching.
Her phone buzzes. It's Ishaan. She hesitates before answering.
ISHAAN (softly):
"You're still working, aren't you?"
ANYA (exhales, smirking):
"And you're still calling me at 2 AM. What is it?"
ISHAAN:
"Something about this new location… I can't shake the feeling that we're being led into something bigger than we understand."
ANYA:
"We always were."
Silence. The weight of everything hangs between them.
ISHAAN:
"I should get some rest. We leave in the morning."
ANYA:
"Wait."
She grips her phone tighter.
ANYA:
"Just… don't shut me out, okay? I know how you get when things get overwhelming. You pretend like you can handle everything alone, but you don't have to."
Ishaan doesn't respond immediately. When he does, his voice is softer.
ISHAAN:
"I won't. Goodnight, Anya."
As she ends the call, a shadow flickers in the reflection of her laptop screen. She turns—nothing. But she can't shake the feeling that she's not alone.
---
INT. PRIVATE JET – MID-FLIGHT TO RAJASTHAN
The team is en route to the coordinates. The atmosphere is tense. The weight of their discoveries presses down on them.
Anya sits by the window, lost in thought. Ishaan, seated across from her, watches her carefully.
ISHAAN:
"You've been quiet."
ANYA (shrugs):
"Just thinking."
Ishaan leans in slightly.
ISHAAN:
"Thinking, or worrying?"
ANYA:
"What's the difference?"
Their eyes meet, the hum of the jet's engines filling the space between them.
ANYA (softly):
"If we find something worse than we expected… if we fail this test—what happens to us?"
ISHAAN:
"We don't fail."
He says it with certainty, but she can see the cracks forming beneath his resolve.
ANYA:
"And if we do?"
He doesn't answer. Instead, he reaches across the table, brushing his fingers over hers—brief, but deliberate.
---
EXT. ABANDONED TEMPLE – NIGHT
The coordinates lead them to a crumbling temple deep in the Thar Desert. Strange symbols line the stone walls—eerily similar to those in the vault.
A chill settles in the air as they step inside. The deeper they go, the more unnatural the silence becomes.
Then—static.
Anya's headset crackles with distorted whispers. The same ancient hymns from the decoded signal. But now, they sound… corrupted.
She stumbles, gripping Ishaan's arm.
ANYA:
"Ishaan… something's here."
Then, the temple doors slam shut behind them.
---
INT. TEMPLE INTERIOR – UNDERGROUND CHAMBER
The team pushes deeper into the ruins. The air is thick with the scent of burnt stone and something metallic—blood?
They find a room covered in inscriptions. But one thing stands out—a mural depicting celestial beings standing over a mass of dead humans. A prophecy… or a warning?
Anya shivers. Ishaan steps closer to her, instinctively protective.
ISHAAN:
"We shouldn't be here."
Before she can respond, a piercing screech echoes through the chamber. The walls tremble. The inscriptions begin to glow an ominous red.
SARITA:
"We need to leave. Now."
But as they turn, the ground beneath them collapses. Anya falls—
ISHAAN:
"ANYA!"
Darkness.
---
INT. UNKNOWN LOCATION – ANYA'S DREAM/VISION
Anya wakes in an ethereal void. She's floating, weightless. Then, a figure steps forward—a luminous, shifting form, neither human nor alien.
FIGURE (whispering):
"You are close. But you do not understand yet."
The figure reaches out, pressing a hand to her forehead. Visions flood her mind—cities burning, oceans swallowing land, humanity crumbling.
Then—one last image. Ishaan, standing alone in the ruins. Calling her name.
She gasps, waking violently.
---
INT. TEMPLE INTERIOR – REALITY
Anya bolts upright, gasping for breath. Ishaan is holding her, shaking her shoulders.
ISHAAN:
"Hey—look at me. You're okay."
Her fingers tighten around his jacket, grounding herself. The others watch, tense and shaken.
ANYA (whispering):
"We're running out of time."
Ishaan studies her carefully, brushing a strand of hair from her face. He doesn't say anything—he just holds her gaze, a silent promise passing between them.
The test isn't just about survival anymore. It's about them.
FADE TO BLACK.
TO BE CONTINUED…