Shadows

The room was thick with tension as Shayaan broke the silence, "So, how did you manage to escape?"

They were in the Usmani Medical Center, the most renowned hospital in Sylhet. The hospital's circular design surrounded a massive, mystical tree that seemed to stretch endlessly toward the sky. Akib and Shayaan were alone in the room, everyone who had come to check on Akib had left, including his mother, who had gone to fetch food. Akib was recounting the harrowing events of the previous night.

"So, there was a power outage, and you heard a strange noise?" Shayaan's voice was laced with disbelief.

Akib nodded, "Yes, and before I could process anything, they were all on the ground. To save my life, I grabbed one of the grunts, took his clothes, and knocked him out with a falling bookshelf. I made sure nobody would find him."

Before Akib could continue, Shayaan cut in, "And then you wore those clothes, covered your face, and pretended to be unconscious, right?"

Akib nodded again, this time with a resigned expression. "Yeah."

Shayaan, however, looked past Akib, his face suddenly filled with shock. Without a word, he bolted out of the room, screaming, "Don't worry, I'll get it back!"

Akib spun around, only to see a shadowy figure sprinting away with his backpack. They were on the ground floor now, and Akib could only manage a stunned, "My key..."

---

**Four Years Ago**

It was a blistering hot day. Akib, drenched in sweat, was running frantically. He was still in his school uniform, but his backpack was nowhere to be seen. He burst into the very room he was in now, only to be met with the sight of nurses with downcast faces, a doctor who looked defeated, and his mother, who was crying uncontrollably. His father, Lisan Mazumder, was dead.

Akib approached his father's lifeless body, his mind a whirl of emotions. Lisan had been abusive, a man of iron will and brutal discipline, but he was still his father. As Akib stood there, silent tears streaming down his face, the doctor quietly approached him.

"Your father's last words were, 'Tell that kid to open my closet. There's a small drawer on the left. He'll find a key and a paper there. He'll understand the rest.'"

Akib was taken aback. His father had never allowed anyone near that closet. When Akib finally opened it later that day, he found a key and a note that read, *'Don't you dare open it before you're an adult.'* Beneath those words was an account number linked to a vault in the national bank. Akib had carried that key with him every day since. But why would a shadowy beast want it?

---

Shayaan was cycling furiously, chasing after the shadowy figure. "Stop, you bastard!" he yelled.

The figure led Shayaan to a fork in the road. The creature veered left, and Shayaan attempted to follow, only to nearly collide with a speeding truck. He managed to swerve just in time, but the truck's tires crushed his bike, sending him flying to the ground. As he struggled to his feet, he noticed something that sent a chill down his spine—the truck driver had no head.

---

Back at the hospital, Akib looked down at Shayaan, who was now lying beside him on a makeshift bed, one arm in a cast and bruises covering his body. "Seriously?" Akib said, exasperated.

Shayaan, wincing in pain, replied, "But I got your backpack back!"

Akib sighed, "I guess I can forgive you for the bento, then." He unzipped the back pocket and found the key still there. He stared at it, lost in thought.

---

Two weeks later, Shayaan was discharged.

---

Inside the office of Sylhet City Corporation, all 42 councilors had gathered at the mayor's request. As they took their seats, the mayor raised his hand. In an instant, all 42 councilors were shot dead by soldiers standing nearby. The mayor then clenched his hand into a fist, and the soldiers, without hesitation, turned their guns on themselves and pulled the triggers.

The sound of multiple gunshots echoed through the building, drawing people toward the office. But before anyone could reach it, a strange, shadowy beast emerged from the mouths of the soldiers and the mayor. The creature had no defined form, a writhing mass of darkness that shifted and twisted until it took the shape of a massive centipede, its body lined with grotesque heads.

In a matter of seconds, the centipede devoured the bodies of the dead councilors and soldiers, leaving only blood splattered across the chairs, tables, and floors. When the first responders arrived, they were met with a gruesome scene—pools of blood, but nothing else.