The night began to lose its grip on the carnival grounds as the dawn had approached.

  The iron bones of the roller coaster creaked like restless ghosts— and at the same time, the group couldn't hold Ronak together.

  "Ronak… get up!"

  What was left with the group was not hope, but the scream of Anaya Kapoor.

  Ronak struggled to stay conscious, his body trembling and his eyes refusing to stay open, as if his soul was fighting a war of its own.

  Yug and Tarun were still on shock, keeping their eyes on the Tara's still body on the ground.

  Kritika tried to stop the blood running out of Ronak's temple with what she could do.

  But neither did Ronak's grip leave Anaya's hand, nor did the blood stop oozing out of his body.

  But then, all of them felt something flying towards them—

  THUD!

  Rishabh's body flung across, his body crashing into the group.

  Everyone scattered and fell back, with Rishabh groaning in a lot of pain.

  Dust erupted, and from that suspended silence, a dominating figure emerged— the attacker.

  He was framed in the haze like a phantom, but Tarun recognised that stature in an instant.

  "So… that was the second attacker."

  Tarun dragged himself upright, spitting blood.

  Behind him, Yug slowly rose, wiping the trickle of blood and dust from his lips.

  Tarun cracked his neck, flexing his sore knuckles, and his eyes met Yug's.

  Without a single word, they stepped forward, falling into a fighting stance as if they read each other's eyes.

  Their postures were unpolished— Tarun's was honed by discipline and Yug's was desperate with rawness— but both of them burned with the same intent.

  "Ready?" Yug muttered.

  Tarun exhaled sharply, "Always."

  Tarun charged first, his fists crashing through the air like a sledgehammer.

  Every movement of Tarun was like a carefully forged weapon— efficient and dangerous.

  Yug darted under the swing, his attacks lighter but faster than Tarun's. He jabbed and kicked through the gaps Tarun created.

  Recklessly, Yug launched a spinning kick, aiming for the ribs. But the attacker twisted it just in time— Yug hit the air, rolling backward to regain balance.

  But both the boys simply smirked.

  Amidst all the commotion, a pair of eyes flickered, as if they came back to life.

  Those were Ronak's eyes.

  His vision still blurry, he recalled something— a distant memory of the past.

  ——————————————

  The creaking of the metal in the carnival was similar to how the fan of the orphanage cabin creaked a few years ago.

  The cabin was lit dimly, the chandelier casting elongated shadows across the wooden floor.

  Ronak entered the room, each step made the floor creak as the small body was almost swallowed by the shadows of the three people looming on him.

  The first was the owner of the place, the stern man that Ronak always considered his father figure— Harinarayan Chaturvedi.

  Beside him stood two people who gave Ronak life, but took the spark away from him.

  Arpit and Meera Sood, Ronak's biological parents, who were married— they had a great reputation, their expressions composed.

  "Son… we're sorry," Meera began, her voice slightly trembling.

  "We couldn't handle things back then, but we're ready now. We'll give you everything you lost."

  Arpit stepped forward, adding more to his wife.

  "We want to give you the family you deserve, and the life you should have."

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  Ronak's lips curled into a small smile, his stiff body stepping forward with more confidence than the two adults.

  "I already live my life. Hari sir is like my dad, and I'm Ronak CHATURVEDI."

  Meera approached Ronak with surprising calmness, trying to hug his biological son.

  "Please forgive us, son. Give us a chance and we'll turn everything right."

  As she began ascending, Ronak walked behind, pushing her arms away from his delicate body.

  "So, along with me, you need to take my friends— Tara, Anaya, Jay and Farhan."

  His tone had a charm, almost playful but also had unmistakable ego.

  The couple faltered, flustered. They began to weave promises, excuses and assurance with words of heavy charm.

  "We'll give you a home. We'll make it up to you."

  But, the stutter in their tone was way too easy to catch, even by a kid like Ronak.

  His smile didn't fade as he saw through the emptiness of their gestures.

  Without a word, he turned his heel and began to walk past the dim room.

  "Son, don't leave us alone!" Arpit shouted in a final desperate attempt, only to fail.

  Ronak spoke with sharp, hollow, yet true words, "Learn my name first, geezer."

  Ronak slammed the door shut, walking through the staff and other kids. But the words that he heard from them impaled him like a sharp knife.

  "Trash kid!"

  "He should have died that day…"

  "…The owner is wasting his money on this brat!"

  But, the young boy didn't break his calm.

  His smile didn't wear off for even a fraction of second throughout.

  He reached his room, shut the door close, walked to a corner of his room and rested his back against the worn frame of his bed.

  And then— he let it all out.

  A single sob tore through his eyes. It seemed raw and impossible to contain.

  His body rapidly shook with emotions of anger, grief and everything he had carried all along.

  He cried like he had never before, with no one looking at his condition.

  Each tear was a testament of the pain he carried, even as a kid.

  And all throughout, he muttered a single thing,

  "I'm— I'm Ronak Chaturvedi!"

  "Ronak… Chaturvedi."

  ——————————————

  "Ronak…"

  The same name was whispered by Jay in the present, as he stood lifeless in a corner.

  His body trembled, with his eyes twitching between Tara and Ronak, distance shrinking and growing.

  Each second was like a drumbeat pounding against his heart.

  He wanted to move and fight, but each step felt cemented to his past— haunted and frozen.

  Yug was still in the flight towards Tarun as he was thrown by the attacker like a ragdoll.

  As Yug came closer to Tarun, Tarun quickly changed his cover and held his palms in front.

  Yug changed his trajectory, kicking on Tarun's palms with all his force.

  The momentum changed, and Yug flew towards the attacker like a sharp bullet in motion.

  The attacker raised his forearms as a defence— but instead of attacking, Yug grabbed onto his arms and tried to create a blank spot.

  But even if he improved, Yug was still weak.

  He failed to do what he was supposed to.

  But Tarun was no less— he slid through the dusty ground, picking up speed and struck the attacker's spine with deadly precision.

  It sent a chill through the attacker's whole body, leaving him staggered and overwhelmed.

  With the idea that he can't win against the boys, the attacker began to retreat and headed towards the control panel.

  Then—

  A voice tore through the air, "Hey, listen!"

  It was Rishabh, who finally got back to his senses.

  Jay's eyes finally came to a stop as they followed Rishabh's arm pointing towards the attacker's retreat.

  Ronak's eyes were teary, remembering when he saw his biological parents for the first and last time, but Anaya was there with him.

  She noticed the tears quickly, and wiped it as soon as she saw it while her own tears fell on Ronak's face.

  Ronak giggled a bit, back to his senses.

  "Good… Clean my face… Those tears will make me look like I'm weak."

  Slowly, his head turned towards the chaos, and he saw something that he never expected in his wildest dreams.

  His eyes stuck to the retreating attacker, and it took him no time to recognise that familiar person— Harshit Jindal.

  He muttered, his voice highlighting hopeless pain, "No… not him."

  ——————————————

  "…but I'm Rishabh!"

  A few moments ago, Rishabh's eyes were scanning the battlefield.

  The attacker, Harshit, grinned at the helpless Rishabh, but was unable to read his ever-calculating eyes.

  He took one step forward, and then another.

  The dust lay on the floor like a veil— Rishabh knew exactly what he had to do.

  A quick glance at the angle of his left foot, the direction of the wind and the loose dirt— and BOOM— he kicked.

  A cloud of dust erupted at a parabola 45 degrees, straight into Harshit's line of sight.

  The swirling particles stung his eyes, blinding and breaking his rhythm.

  Rishabh didn't let his gaze divert from Harshit.

  Every twitch, each inhale— he observed all of it.

  He knew the nervous system of the body would react a fraction of second late.

  "0.2 seconds… or maybe 0.25!"

  Adding the muscle fatigue caused by the tension of the attacks of Farhan still lingering, the opening was right before his eyes.

  Rishabh shifted his weight, lowering the center of mass and let his body do the talking.

  Knowing that he was physically heavy, he had only one chance— arms swinging, torso twisting and Kinetic energy gathering in a single strike.

  His body hit Harshit's ribs, sending a staggering sensation through his body— a momentary paralysis.

  As the dust settled, Rishabh planted his feet on the ground. His eyes blazed with a quiet triumph, despite the trembling stance

  "I can do it alone…" he whispered to celebrate his silent victory. But then—

  His eyes widened as air pushed against his body— his feet were not on the ground anymore.

  Harshit threw him in the air, not giving him time to plan any further.

  Still, even in a severe moment like that, Rishabh keenly noticed something trivial that could be crucial.

  An iron rod was hanging exposed, its surface slick with water and rust, and right in front of it, sparking wires were attached to the control panel.

  Rishabh's brain raced.

  His mind making a map, geometry giving him angles for a jump and the knowledge of electric circuits making him aware of the connections.

  "Maybe… there can be an overdrive…"

  And then, he crashed against his friends, falling down with great force.

  THUD!

  ——————————————

  Back to the present, Harshit had his hands on the controller with a plan in his mind.

  He was going to remove the fail-safe option, so that there would be no chance to get the power supply back.

  The group— Yug, Tarun, Kritika, Anaya, Rishabh and even Harshit— felt a sudden gust of wind whip past them, slicing through the chaos.

  It wasn't random. It was Jay, running faster than anyone could track, a blur of determination and adrenaline.

  Jay's eyes flicked to the iron rod ahead, remembering Rishabh's precise warning.

  "The force to jump without bending the wire is around 150 Newtons, so leap before it bends."

  In the next moment, Jay launched himself with the rod as the lever.

  His body arched, limbs stretched and he calculated trajectory— all in an instinctive unison.

  The rod creaked dangerously, threatening to snap on impact.

  Jay twisted his body mid-air, snagging the wire connected to the control panel and remembering Rishabh's next order.

  "The rod would be around 1.2 metres away from the wires. There is a risk of electrocution, but only if you don't touch the insulators at the top."

  Sparks flew and electricity raced.

  A wire ignited, and a huge current initiated.

  Harshit froze, powerless as the panel surged, halting him in his path towards the roller coaster tracks.

  Jay felt a slight electricity racing through his body as he fell down, and he recalled the final words that Rishabh told him.

  "If you manage to pull the wires, it'll all be in place. Do it for Ronak, at least. It will be an overdrive!"

  Jay's back slammed on the ground, and after a time that felt like ages, he faintly smiled and whispered,

  "For Ronak…"

  ——————————————

  Meanwhile, echoes of shouts ricocheted across the carnival ruins.

  "Stop him!" Kritika yelled, but it was too late.

  Anaya desperately ran before the other person.

  Yug and Tarun felt another violent gust of wind rush past them.

  Tarun groaned, "It's the third time, man!"

  But, the shock of who the person was overtook.

  Bleeding, limping, but still alive, it was Ronak who ran, clutching onto Harshit just before he tried to rise from the shock.

  As he lunged, both the boys were pushed towards the roller coaster car, like it was their destiny awaiting them.

  In the struggle, Ronak's hand hit the control panel in a pure accident.

  And instantly—

  The roller coaster roared back to power, energy crackling through its metal frame in the form of electric sparks.

  Machines shuddered, wheels screeched and lights flickered in wild synchronisation.

  Both Ronak and Harshit tumbled on the moving coaster, their bodies bouncing and sliding as raw and fresh power surged all around.

  The group glared in pure shock, the dawn and its tension reaching its zenith.

  On the roaring flow of energy, the blur of motion and the heart-wrenching uncertainty of what would happen next took over everyone.

  Ronak hung to an edge, barely able to maintain his grip on one of the seats.

  But he roared in anger and guilt.

  "Why did you do this!"