Chapter 6: Morning Mayhem

Morning sunlight streamed into the house, filling the kitchen with a warm, golden glow. The day had just begun, but the house was already alive with chaos. Plates clattered, chairs scraped against the floor, and hurried footsteps echoed through the halls.

"Ali! Have you seen my tie?" their dad called from his room, his voice muffled as he rummaged through drawers. He was late for work—again.

Ali was lying lazily on the couch, eating cereal, and barely looked up. "Abu, have you tried asking the cat?" he said, pointing to Billu, the family cat, who was proudly playing with the missing tie in the corner.

Their father, still half-dressed in a under shirt and diffrent socks, came into the living room, a toothbrush hanging from his mouth. "I've already checked! Where is it?"

"There it is!" Ali smirked.

"Oh, for the love of…" their dad groaned, snatching the tie from the cat and grumbling as he darted back to his room.

Before Ali could reply, their mom appeared with her classic morning energy, holding a belan (rolling pin) in one hand and a cup of chai in the other. "If you spent as much time working as you do complaining, you'd be the Prime Minister by now!" she teased, as she picked up the cat and gave it its breakfast.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Ali's little sister Sana was running late. Her backpack was half-packed, and she frantically searched for her shoes. "Where's my other shoe? I'm going to miss the bus!" she yelled, her voice filled with panic. Ali leaning back just rolled his eyes, hearing the commotion from upstairs. "You always miss the bus," he muttered under his breath, flipping the TV off. He sighed as he reluctantly stood up, knowing what was coming next.

"Ali! Drop Sana at school, she missed the bus again," Mom added, sending a dramatic sigh toward the kitchen and Bingo, Sana came barreling down the stairs, her hair half-brushed, one shoe in her hand, the other nowhere to be found. "Ali!" she screamed. "The bus is gone, and I can't find my shoe!"

Ali stood up "Alright, alright, don't freak out. I'll drop you off." He grabbed his jacket and keys, shooting her a playful look. "You owe me one, though."

Sana still hopping around on one foot, trying to find her missing shoe. "I'm never gonna make it. You're too slow!"

"Hello Miss everyday late, watch it. I'm doing you a favor here," Ali shot back, grinning. He reached down and handed her the missing shoe, which had somehow ended up under the coffee table.

She snatched it up "Thanks, genius. Now hurry!"

The Ride to School

As they zoomed off on Ali's bike, Sana clung to him for dear life. "Ali, slow down! This isn't Fast & Furious!"

But Ali just laughed. "This is the only way to get you to school on time, Ms. 'Missed-the-Bus.'"

Halfway there, they stopped at a small shop to grab Sana's school supplies. "Just hurry up," Ali said, leaning on the bike, half-asleep.

Sana returned with a bag full of supplies, grumbling about overpriced notebooks. "Alright, let's go. I'm already late," she said, climbing back onto the bike.

But as Ali moved to start the engine,there was nothing to hold.

"Wait... where's the bike?" he muttered, his eyes darting around.

Sana blinked, looking at him in confusion. "What do you mean, where's the bike? It's right—"

and The bike was gone.

"WHAT?!" Ali yelled, "Who steals a bike in broad daylight?!"

Sana gasped, eyes wide. "Bhai, your bike!"

"Oh, hell no!" Ali growled. Without a second thought, he took off searching for the thief and he soon finds him taking his bike on foot with him and ran after the thief on foot, his speed catching everyone's attention.

Sana, wide-eyed and amazed, ran after her brother. "Ali, wait! How are you gonna catch up to him?"

But Ali was already sprinting, . He zigzagged through the crowded streets, his eyes locked on the thief. The stolen bike wove through the morning traffic, 

In a matter of moments, Ali closed the gap. With a final burst of speed coming from the morning breakfast, he lunged forward, grabbing the back of the thief's hoodie and yanking him off the bike.

BAM!

The thief hit the pavement with a grunt, rolling across the ground as the bike skidded to a stop. Ali stood over him, breathing hard but with a grin on his face.

"Did you seriously think you could steal my bike?" Ali growled, his blood-red eyes from the night before flashing momentarily as he picked up the trembling thief by his collar.

"W-wait, man! I didn't know it was yours!" the thief stammered, his voice shaking as he looked up at Ali in terror.

"Oh, you knew," Ali said, cracking his knuckles before delivering a swift punch to the guy's stomach, sending him crashing back to the ground. "Don't touch my bike again."

Sana finally caught up, her eyes wide with admiration as she watched her brother take down the thief. She couldn't help but smile, stars practically twinkling in her eyes. "That was so cool!" she gushed. "You're like a superhero!"

Ali smirked as he dusted off his jacket, looking back at Sana with a wink. "Just doing my job as the big brother."

They hopped back onto the bike—Ali now proudly reclaiming his ride—and sped off toward the school, Sana still buzzing with excitement over what she had just witnessed.

The Shift in the Air

As they reached the school gates, Sana waved goodbye and ran off toward the entrance, still chattering about how amazing her brother was. Ali smiled, watching her disappear into the crowd of students before turning his bike around to head home.

But as he rode back through the busy streets, his phone buzzed.

Ali pulled over to check the message, expecting it to be something trivial.

But it wasn't.

As he read the text, the playful smile faded from his face. His expression darkened, the carefree, goofy look from earlier replaced by something cold and dangerous. His jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing as a sense of foreboding settled over him.

The message was short, but it was enough to wipe the morning's lightheartedness from Ali's mind.

It was time to return to the shadows.

Without a word, he tucked the phone back into his pocket and revved the engine. The streets of Lahore blurred around him as he sped off, his face now that of the Blood King, prepared for whatever awaited him next.

To be continued…