AUTHOR

That Afternoon.

Outskirts of Jodhpur,

The Shadow base —The Shadow dungeon.

The Shadow dungeon — place so dark that even with the lights off, you wouldn’t notice a difference. Sunlight never reaches here because it’s deep underground, beneath the Shadow Base.

It is a place where even thebravest toughest guards get scared. A place full of pain, fear, and endless screams. There is no kindness here—only suffering.

A place only created to torment.

Inside the Shadow base, a man ran at an insane speed like his life depended on it. He ran until he reached a black door camouflaged in the black wall. Breathing hard, He lifted his hand and kept on the door and the computer sensor on the door scanned his palm and soon, the door opened so silently.

Once inside, his eyes fell on a figure and his whole body trembled seeing that person standing near the window and looking outside. Though he was looking at the trees surrounding the base, his eyes were sharp; it looked like he was looking at his prey, not trees.

“ Greetings, Sir Abel.” The man said, his voice trembling. Abel turned around and glanced at the man and gave him a nod, telling him to continue.

“ The target is here, Sir. Would you like to take a look before Madam boss sees it?”

The corner of Abel’s lips curved up in a slow smirk.

“ Nope, let Madam Boss see it herself first. And make sure, the target is ready for Madam Boss.” The man nodded and left.

Abel sat on his chair and looked at his Computer screen. where, through a CCTV like camera which is far more advanced than it. He can see Four guys pulling out two people from a large van. Whose body was covered like dead bodies but instead of white clothes they were covered with black. their eyes were blindfolded and their mouths were plastered.

A sadistic smile curved up on his lips. At this moment he looked like nothing but pure evil.

“ Looks like our Madam Boss is going to love these targets a lot, isn't it Cherry?”

“ Grrrrrrrrrrr” He heard a loud beasty growl from the right side of the room. It was as if that thing approved of his words and Abel smiled.

Half an hour later.

A woman walked in, dressed in a black hoodie and pants, her face hidden behind a mask. Even though she wore normal clothes, the guards in front of and behind her trembled with fear. Sweat ran down their faces as the sharp clicks of her shoes echoed on the tiled floor.

Behind her, Abel and another girl followed closely, their presence just as intense. The same dark, powerful energy seemed to pour off them too.

As soon as they reached the dungeon. A Guard opened the door and soon they were greeted by the cold air of the dungeon and with the sight of her targets tied to the glass wall.

She smiled looking at the targets. And turned to Abel.

“ Looks like you are taking good care of them, Abel.”

Abel smiled—a rare, genuine smile that left all the guards stunned. For a moment, he didn’t seem like the terrifying boss they feared every day, but more like a ghost of someone gentle they had never seen before.

“ It looks like though,” the other girl said and turned to him, “ Good Job, Abel”.

He smiled scratching the back of his head.

“ I just did my work, Jennie.”

Jennie smiles, giving him a thumbs up.

“ Okay, enough of our convo. Let's wake them up.” The lady Said And looked at the head guard who nodded at her and looked at his fellow guards, who nodded and picked up the hot water buckets and threw them on the two persons tied to the glass wall.

They screamed the moment the scorching hot water hit their already bruised and delicate bodies.

“Good morning, children. It’s time to wake up and follow your master’s orders,” she said with a chilling smile.

“Remove their blindfolds,” she ordered, and the guards quickly obeyed.

“Hi there,” she said, looking at both of them with cold amusement. “I hope my people treated you well.”

The two tried to speak, but no words came out. Aa their mouths were plastered.

“ Remove the Man's tape,” she ordered again and the guard quickly obeyed.

As soon as the tape was removed the man screamed at her. “ You bitch, how dare you kidnap us?!! Do you even know who we are??”

She smiled while sending Shivers down their spines even the guards gulped.

“ Oh old man, I didn't kidnap you. I erased your existence from the world.” She said as it was the most casual thing to say.

The old man's eyes widened, he looked like he was hit by a truck.

“Oh, don't look so shocked. I just erased you from the surface of the world but to the inside earth you are still alive—,” she paused and moved closer to him and looked dead into his eyes. “ Though I don't know how many minutes you would be alive here.”

The man's face turned red, as rage surged through him, he wiggled and tried to break the metal chains that cuffed him to the glass wall but failed miserably.

“Still don’t believe me? Jennie,” she said without turning, “show him what the world thinks happened to him.”

“ The owner of Dixit Corporation, Mr. Manoj Dixit, and his wife, Rajini Dixit, met with a tragic accident on the highway last night. By the time the police arrived at the scene, their bodies had already been burned beyond recognition.”

“ The reports said Their only son, Piyush Dixit was devastated and locked himself in his room for 15 hours. And doctors said he was under shock after hearing his parents tragic death.”

Jennie stepped back, and The Dixit looked at The Boss, his expressions were something no one in the room could name. The guard looked like they could smile at any time if he maintained that expression for a minute more.

“Wha—Why did you do that?! What have I ever done to you?!” he screamed at her, voice shaking with confusion and fear.

But the boss looked completely unfazed, as if his words meant nothing. Slowly, she turned her eyes toward him—eyes that seemed to darken with rage as she pulled down her hood, revealing her head. Her face, however, remained hidden behind the mask.

“Mujhe kuch kiya nahi hai, nahi kar paoge,” she said, her voice low and chilling. “Par jiske saath kiya hai, usne bheja hai mujhe.”

“Kya—Ahhhhhhh!” he tried to say something, but his words turned into a blood-curdling scream as the guard poured high-concentration acid onto his body.

The moment the acid touched his clothes, they began to melt away, followed by his skin, as smoke rose and the sharp stench of burning flesh filled the air.

“ You don't get to question me here, Dixit.” She said, her voice stren. “ If there is someone who questions you then it is me and only me. And if you disobey me and try to speak except for the time I ask you something, then you will be getting another bath of acid. Understand?”

Dixit nodded, desperately. And the lady smiled.

“ Let's start your trail. Mr. Manoj Dixit.” She said, And motioned Jennie.

Jennie stepped forward with her ipad where, the things about Mr. Dixit was present.

“ Name - Manoj Dixit.

Age- 63

Crime - impregnated a twenty year-old girl forcefully whose father refused to get him the information from his rival company and tried to stop him doing illegal things. And then when he got to know she was pregnant, he waited for the right time and drowned her in the lake of crocodile's and killed her family too, to remove the traces. And then came home and slept peacefully.”

Jennie finished, her grip on the iPad tightened, her jaw clenched as she looked at the man in pure hatred.

Abel fisted his hand, the veins on his hand and head popped out. The guards strighed too, their faces looked like they could kill him right now but stopped because of their boss.

If there is only one person who is calm then it is the Boss. Who looked at the man with pure rage in her eyes. “ So, do you still have any questions left of why we are doing this?”

Before the man could say anything Abel stepped forward and stabbed him in his toes, one of the body parts where pain will be immense if you get hurt.

And the man screamed out. His wife beside him, closed her eyes in dread. Her whole body Shivered but couldn't do anything.

Abel stabbed him again and again in the same leg all over again. At this point blood was oozing out of his leg and he had already lost a lot of blood. Jennie and Boss along with the guards watched it as if it was some movie but didn't say Anything. Why would they? The bastard deserves more of those stabs.

But when the boss thought he would die, she commanded Abel to stop. “Abel, that's enough. He needs to stay alive until the end.”

Abel turned to her, his eyes burning with Vengeance as he said, “ Okay Jade. But promise me you will hand him to me.” Jade the boss nodded and Abel stepped back with a manic smile.

“ So how was that, Dixit? It's fun isn't it?” Jade and leaned closer. “Tell me, Manoj, was her scream louder before you threw her in… or while the crocodiles ripped her apart?”

The man slowly lifted his head and glanced at her, through his fogged eyes. “ Why…..are…yo..u doing this?” he asked through his trembling voice.

Jade signed, frustrated. She looked at the man uninterested, “ I’m pretty sure, I told you what you did. Then why the hell you are asking me the same question??” she yelled at him at last.

“ I think you won't stop questioning me, Jennie go and plucks his nails off.” She commanded and Jennie happily obeyed her.

“ Oh no wait Jennie, chop his fingers off and guards make sure to burn his fingers well,” the man's eyes widened as he tried to protest but his voice gave up as he lost too much blood.

Jennie smiled and walked to the man, her face too covered with Mask. As she approached him, the man looked at her in pure dread. Jennie smiled seeing his reaction and tilted her head to see Jade over her shoulder. “ He is scared, Jade.”

Jade smiled and nodded, “ he should be, Jen.”

Jennie picked up the axe and slowly turned toward him. Without a word, she swung it hard—slamming the blade into his leg in one brutal strike. He screamed in agony as his leg gave out.

He was about to collapse when the guard threw another bucket of acid on his now freshly cutted thigh.

And he screamed out loud again.

His wife beside him started to cry not because her husband was getting brutally tortured but because she knew that it was her turn next and Jade would show her no mercy on her even if she begged.

The man looked at jade, his eyes filled with nothing but pain and agony. The earlier rage in his eyes disappeared and now every pore of his body is begging her to spare him. Even just as a body without legs he just wanted her to spare him life.

“ You know if our King gets to know you did this to me, he will kill you.” Dixit said and the whole crowd of guards along with Abel and Jennie laughed out loud. As if he just cracked the joke of the century.

Jade smiled, a smile that made both husband and wife Shivered. “ What a fool you are Dixit to think that your King will spare you after knowing what you did to his people.” she Said.

“ How dumb a person can be?”

The man gritted his teeth and shouted with all his strength, “Who the hell are you to do this to me?!”

“Me?” Jade smirked. “I’m Jade. Death to people like you… and justice for those who lost their lives because of monsters like you.”