Chapter 6: The Roommates' Pact

Just then, someone knocked on our door again.

The knock was softer this time, almost hesitant. It sent a jolt through all of us, breaking our angry mutterings. I froze where I sat, hardly daring to breathe. Kabir whispered, "Bro, check kar na."

Looking through the peephole, we saw the madman really was as the warden described: large patches of festering skin, pus and blood oozing everywhere. He really did look like he had some terrible disease.

He stood there, breathing heavily, his eyes rolling back in his head. It was even worse up close—his skin looked like it was melting, blood mixed with some yellowish fluid dripping onto the tile. For a moment, I wondered how he was even standing, how he hadn’t collapsed from the pain. Aman pressed his hand to his mouth, fighting the urge to gag.

Only Aman, our Sixth, spoke up:

"Doesn’t this madman… look like Arjun?"

Aman's lips trembled, as if he was about to say something he’d regret forever. His voice was small, almost lost in the stillness of the room. But the moment he spoke, we all felt it: that chill, that sudden, horrifying recognition. The way he said Arjun’s name—it was like someone had turned off all the fans in the room, the air suddenly heavy and still.