The Boy Who Walked Out

England – Swindon Military Base | 9:47 AM

The morning chill hadn't lifted entirely from the air as a sleek black car halted in front of the towering gates of the Swindon Military Base. From the driver's side stepped Kiaan Verma, sharply dressed in standard cadet casuals—plain boots, no insignia, not a hint of his real identity.

He walked with the confidence of someone who belonged, slipping his ID card past the gate scanner, which blinked green without hesitation. No officer stopped him. No salute was exchanged. He was invisible—exactly as he wanted.

He didn't move toward the officers' wing this time. He turned with the flow of young cadets toward the seminar hall.

---

Back at HQ – 9:55 AM

Inside the control room, Tara's fingers flew across her keyboard, eyes widening.

"Wait—What the hell…?"

She pulled up the schedule projection on the shared screen.

Dev leaned in. "What is it?"

"The next seminar we predicted to be in five days? It's been preponed to today. This afternoon. Out of nowhere."

Rehaan frowned, flipping through the printed logs. "That's impossible. These seminars are planned a week ahead. This isn't just fast—it's planted."

Zid joined in, expression turning serious.

"Then that means whoever's behind this… wants it fast. They're accelerating their timeline."

Tara snapped to action. "Where's Kiaan?"

Zid checked his phone. "He's not answering. No location tag either."

Dev muttered, "Which means he's already in."

---

Seminar Hall – Swindon Base | 11:08 AM

The seminar had begun. Around 100 cadets filled the space in tight rows—male and female, sharp postures, silent focus. The man on the dais—a military behavioral expert in clean-cut uniform—spoke calmly about "mental strength under stress," but Kiaan wasn't listening.

He was scanning. Every face. Every motion. Every flinch.

But none of the attendees stood out. Every single person wore standard military gear. No civilians. No scar-faced strangers. No anomaly. It almost made Kiaan's instincts itch.

Then it happened.

A boy—tall, buzzcut, maybe 20—slipped quietly out of the hall. Nobody noticed. Nobody reacted.

Kiaan clocked it.

"Too quiet. Too clean."

The seminar continued another 40 minutes, but the boy hadn't returned. And when he finally did—

Kiaan's eyes narrowed.

The cadet re-entered the room slower. Pale. Trembling fingers. His eyes darted around as if someone was watching him even indoors.

Kiaan leaned slightly forward, his entire body focused on that one individual now.

After the seminar ended, cadets started dispersing. Kiaan made his move.

---

Outside the Hall – 12:10 PM

He casually walked up to the boy, throwing on a light smile.

"Hey man, you okay?" he asked, nodding like just another cadet.

The boy blinked, caught off guard. "Uh… yeah, yeah. Just a bit of a headache."

"Right, same here. These lectures, man. Always either make you smarter or give you migraines." Kiaan grinned, elbowing him playfully.

The boy relaxed a little, smiled faintly. "Yeah, I guess so."

Kiaan lowered his voice. "Heard you slipped out for a bit. Must've needed air?"

A pause. A beat too long.

The boy shrugged. "Yeah… just stepped out. Nothing much."

But the tremor in his voice told Kiaan everything. He was lying. And he was scared.

"Name's Kian," he said smoothly, offering a handshake.

"Mason. Mason Clarke," the boy replied.

Kiaan filed the name instantly.

"Hey, Mason. Listen, if you ever wanna talk, or if something weird's going on… don't hold it in. I've seen what stress does to guys. Makes things worse if you keep it shut."

Mason hesitated. His eyes flickered like he wanted to say something… but fear held his lips.

"I'll keep that in mind," he whispered, then walked off.

Kiaan watched him disappear down the hallway, his mind already racing.

---

Meanwhile, Back at HQ

Tara's voice came over the comms, encrypted.

"Kiaan, that seminar was planted. There's a signature in the base system—it was edited from an external entry-point. Someone tampered with the schedule from outside."

Kiaan's voice came low over the line.

"Then we're being baited. And someone here knows more than they're letting on."

"Did you find anything?"

He replied, "Yeah. A boy who walked out and came back looking like he'd seen the devil."