- What if the world told you 'men never change'. Would you still believe in redemption?
- What if your whole life is shrouded in secrecy. Would you shed your mask for one person anyway?
- What if an avatar intrigued you. Could you fall in love with...
A/N: Goes without saying - I am loving your theories on Ameerah's mystery! Please keep 'em coming ❤️
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Zain
The three story building with its dilapidated structure stood no chance against a raging inferno lit by the escaping criminals after a protracted gun battle. The weathered facade had obviously seen years of neglect and decay. Now its windows too were shattered and its walls blackened by the flames that licked hungrily at its exterior.
It had once been an orphanage, entrusted with taking care of the most vulnerable amongst us. Now it was a haven of human trafficking.
"Three of the gunmen are dead," a colleague reported, but there were others that had escaped.
"Send five units after them," the senior Rangers official ordered. Dozens of men scrambled to their armored vehicles leaving my unit with its five men behind at the scene.
"Zain, go with the others and search the perimeter for any signs of explosives or suspicious activity," commanded the team leader. My partners, following his instructions, fanned out around the building. I had bigger concerns.
If this was an orphanage, there could be civilians inside. We had no time to conduct surveillance of the premises before being ambushed by the gunmen. Now, with them having escaped, we were faced with a new challenge - the fire they had lit, probably to burn evidence, made it nearly impossible to step inside the building.
"Look through any window, door or gap in the wall for any sign of children," I told my partners.
It took only a minute for someone to call out. "I see toys."
"There are small sized shoes on the stairs," another noted.
That was all the proof I needed but someone grabbed my arm when I tried to step inside. "What is wrong with you, Zain? It's suicidal to go in. Wait for the fire department."
Ignoring the cautionary voices around me, I went in anyway. The air, thick with smoke, but the acrid fumes burning my lungs were nothing compared to the searing pain in my heart that I had carried for almost a week now.
After all, was death such a bad thing? I wondered.
Ameerah
Where was Zain?
For seven days and nights I had searched for an answer to that question without success. He had simply left a text message on Kiran Api's phone that he was taking a taxi home on the day my mother tricked me into a meeting I was yet to forgive her for.
He never made it home that night.
In fact no one knew where he was until two days ago, when Junaid Bhai and Fiza went from telling me, "We don't know where he is," to "We can't tell you where he is."
