The air at Taraniketan Institution was thick with fear.
No one laughed in the corridors anymore. No one chatted in the canteen. Students walked in tight groups, teachers kept glancing over their shoulders, and even the guards held their rifles tighter.
Because everyone had seen it—
> "One has been spared. Four remain."
No one knew what it meant.
But everyone understood the message:
Someone was going to die.
---
At 12:22 p.m., it happened.
A scream tore through the silence of the chemistry lab.
By the time students and teachers rushed in, it was already too late.
A body lay sprawled on the floor—eyes wide open in shock, a glass beaker shattered beside it.
It was Mrs. Nilima Roy, the school's senior chemistry teacher.
Her face was pale, lips bluish. Foam still bubbled at her mouth.
Inspector Ratan arrived within ten minutes, heart pounding. The second death in two days—and this one, even more chilling.
The school nurse confirmed: Poison.
Something had been mixed into her afternoon tea flask. The flask was still there—half-empty.
Ratan picked up a folded slip of paper placed neatly on her desk.
One sentence, written in red:
> "Now there are three."
He clenched the paper, fury burning in his eyes.
> "Where is Jayasree Mukherjee?" he asked sharply.
A constable checked—she was missing.
So was her bag.
And her personal locker?
Broken open. Empty.
---
Meanwhile, in the archives room beneath the school library, the Masked Detective uncovered more files. Photographs. Journals. Strange symbols carved into old wood panels.
Then she found something else—an attendance sheet from twelve years ago.
Several names were circled in red:
Ananya. Sanchayita. Ishita. Debolina. Aaradhya.
She froze.
Her phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number:
> "Second one down. Ready for the third?"
She stared at the screen.
A game.
A ritual.
A revenge?
---
Back in the main building, chaos reigned. Students were shaken. Staff panicked. The school board wanted to shut the institution down—but Inspector Ratan had other plans.
> "This school is under lockdown," he said grimly.
"No one enters. No one leaves. Not until I find the one behind this."
He turned to his team.
"Find that doll. And find Jayasree."
But he didn't know yet...
That somewhere, on the roof, under the water tank, a third name had already been written in chalk.
A name everyone knew.
And a heart no one wanted to lose.
Suddenly—
A shadow passed near the classroom window.
It felt like someone had jumped.
Everyone rushed to the window.
Down below—
A figure lay still on the ground.
A girl.
Someone had jumped.
Or had been pushed?
---
To Be Continued...