Part 1: The Caption That Shouldn’t Exist The bell rang for the last time that Friday afternoon, and the hallways of Lakemount High flooded with bodies—seniors hollering, juniors buzzing, lockers slamming shut like punctuation marks on a chaotic sentence. Avani Kapoor walked slower than most, her earbuds in, her playlist whispering solace. She didn’t need to rush. No one was waiting for her at the front gate. No one ever was. She stopped by the main office to pick up her copy of the senior yearbook, sliding her name onto the clipboard with practiced awkwardness. “One copy left, Kapoor,” said…
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Aritra Basu No one really knows when the nightmares began. Maybe it was the night Rehan clicked the link. Just a glowing green phrase in a forum full of digital shadows: “The Deepest Link – Do You Dare?” Most would scroll past, but Rehan was no most. Nineteen years old, brilliant with code and reckless with curiosity, he had spent the past few months exploring the surface and submerged layers of the internet. The dark web was his newest obsession. Not for drugs or weapons or conspiracy forums—but for secrets. He didn’t want to buy; he wanted to know. He…
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राहुल शुक्ला भाग 1: धारावी का नया राजा धारावी की तंग गलियाँ उस रात कुछ ज्यादा ही चुप थीं। हवा में बारूद की गंध घुली थी और पुलिस की सायरन की आवाज़ दूर से गूंज रही थी। साया — मुम्बई अंडरवर्ल्ड का एक नाम, जिसे सुनते ही लोगों के चेहरे पर पसीना छलक आता था — आज रात एक और खून के बाद माफिया की गद्दी पर पूरी तरह बैठ चुका था। साया का असली नाम था रईस अली, लेकिन अब उसे कोई इस नाम से नहीं जानता। वो गुमनाम रहना चाहता था, पर उसकी कहानियाँ हर नुक्कड़-चाय की दुकान…