Fumbling through the contents of the glove compartment, the steering wheel slipped from her right hand and the tyres screeched a little on the wet road.

"Let me take care of that, what exactly do you want? "

"there must be a map in there Ryan, just find it please"

"my phone battery is about to die, I don't think even if I find the map I would be able to switch on the torch. Your phone is already dead. And Damn this dome light, as soon as we made this wrong turn, this went off as well. I suggest that we just find someone around here and trying staying the night and recharging our phones. "

"Alright, seems fine. I hate driving at night as it is."

saying so Betty turned the car towards the few lights that could be seen.

They expected some small mountain cottages or govt. work sheds. These mountain passages had been closed down for some years now. This duo took a wrong turn and landed this side of the mountain. While trying to find their way back, they had seen some lights and were now driving towards it.

Driving really slow, in the light of the headlight they saw a figure walking ahead. They drove up to the person. It was a girl with long hair covering half of her face. But with the most beautiful eyes you will see- the kind of shade the sky turns after evening showers. most electrifying shade of violet. with her dark brown hair, it just got accentuated. the only thing weird was that she was wearing a tee-shirt.

Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a tee shirt but a mere tee when others are wearing 3-4 layer of clothing due to cold, now that's weird. It's the middle of the mountains after all.

"Excuse me Miss? " Betty called out

The girl turned. And saw him there. on the passenger's seat. His hair a shade darker than dry hay and eyes, emerald green. Something inside her swirled. A warm sensation crawled up her knees right up to her chest.

"Miss? "

"Ye-Yes? "

"Is there some place for us to spend the night? "

"us? "

" I meant my younger brother and I" Betty frowned a little. Maybe this girl was cuckoo in the head.

" You can stay in the village guest house, I guess. "

"there is a village here? can you please lead us to it? " Betty remembered not seeing anything on the map when she had earlier scanned the area during the day. But maybe it was a new settlement.

The girl sat in the car and then drove towards the village.

She couldn't describe but it felt as if she was going in a state of trance. she had never felt this way in her 18 years of existence. she suddenly felt warmer and realised that she had run out without her jacket. She had too much on her mind after that night and she couldn't stop thinking. she swept her dark reddish brown hair behind her ear and looked up towards the boy. what was so different about him? why did she feel this way? was it the feeling they were taught in sex Ed. ? lust? Thinking that the area between her legs suddenly felt warm.

"what is your name? " Betty asked. This broke the girl's chain of thoughts. This older lady looked kind but neither her physique nor the ageing face looked anyway similar to the boy. Maybe he is adopted. She answered the lady a bit loudly, she wanted him to know her name

"Alisa"

"Nice name! " the boy replied and Betty smiled looking at him.

"I am Betty and This is Ryan" Ryan smiled at Alisa when Betty introduced him.

"Oh we are almost there, take a left here and that dark lane leads straight away to the village" Alisa exclaimed.

And car moved ahead till they reached a lamp post.

"I must get my identity verified so that I can register you as guests"

"identity what? " Betty mouthed towards Ryan but Alisa caught her expression and explained-

"it's the verification pole, don't you have one? "

saying so Alisa got out of the car and upto the pole.

"what on Earth was that? " Betty turned towards Ryan.

"It's normal, please don't react unless you want to be investigated. Just keep up with the act."

saying so he rolled down his window and said to Alisa "tell us if you need any help! "

Betty was resting on the bed, it had been a long day. It didn't make sense, actually nothing did but yet for "his" sake, she kept her questions inside her.

After they were "registered", Betty, Ryan and Alisa drove ahead to enter a man made tunnel which led them straight to a small settlement. It was small in size but most definitely not small in the terms of amenities. It was almost a miracle seeing the same appliances and services which one would see in any metropolitan city. The village folk had given various reasons which seemed valid as well if she didn't know in advance that there were secrets here, she would have believed them without a question.

Currently, she lay in the bed arranged for her in the village guest house. There was another bed in a separate bedroom in the guesthouse. Ryan was supposed to be sleeping there but she wondered where he was. He had told her that he will be sneaking out when everyone is asleep. it was quite late so she assumed he will be out. she turned to her side and closed her eyes.

Ryan

There is a switch which goes off in our minds, everything goes and then madness reigns. He had seen it. He lived it. Blacking out and doing things that a normal person wouldn't have the strength to do. He knows it well, too well now. And that is why this all has to be fixed. He put on his hoodie and fastened his shoe laces. A lot had to be done today, but only after he met her again. He wanted to see himself in those Violet eyes again, wanted to caress that pained face again, wanted to hold her soft hands again, once again. She was suffering so much. It was evident in her eyes, he must fix it. He cracked the window open and locked the door as he left.

There was a sound outside, like a bird song. Alisa peeped outside her window. It was almost 2 a.m., in about 30 mins, she would have to join others for their night lessons. Below her balcony was the same boy standing. She quickly withdrew from the window. She clutched her chest, her heart thumped so fast! she looked into the mirror. seems like all her Barbara Cartland and Mills&Boons stories were finally coming true. She fixed her hair, put on some scented lipbalm her mum gave her gave last birthday. After putting some 10 mins into it, she decided that if he has to like her he will like her anyway. And she started moving to the floor below and opened the main door. He waited. He was there when she hadn't said anything. Was he weird? He didn't seem so. She prayed in her heart that he was alright.

she realised she wasn't wearing any footwear. she ran upstairs leaving him standing at the door with the door ajar. Good, now she was the weird one, she snickered like a fool. she picked up her night school notebook and a pen and ran downstairs. He saw her coming towards him and relief spread over his face. He looked cute. He was square jawed and the smile looked divine. He slightly built at the arms and was standing there folding them.

"Hi" She said and her eyes met his eyes. He was taller and yet she somehow felt it was the correct height balance.

Have you visited any beach at night? The waves are dangerously moving so as to wrap anything and everything that comes in their way to fine oblivion or the depths of the bed. Yet, when you stand there watching this tumultuous symphony, there will settle down this immense calm on your mind and soul and tell you to drop your worries and issues from your mind.

His eyes felt like the wave meditation to Alisa. They were in this trance when suddenly he stooped and kissed her.

Alisa blacked out as soon as she was kissed. She couldn't think anymore. An old dream embraced her and she fell into its arms. After ages, it seemed, they parted.

She looked at Ryan dumbfounded, he smiled.

After some good ten minutes, she found her voice-

"cillian? "

"Yes, Ella." And his eyes sparkled.

Alisa couldn't figure this out but she felt she knew this boy from her past but not as a boy rather as a man. As someone whose shoulders she had often used to lay her head on, as someone whose face she had often caressed and eyes she had often tried to read. This felt like an age old bond. She saw flashes of them holding hands, laughing, she heard his voice but it was slightly deeper he said-Ella my beautiful wife. She saw herself turning and calling out his name with a hint of laughter in her voice- cillian. Marriage? When? She had no idea. Was it her imagination? she wasn't even aware anymore. It felt so real, she kept having flashbacks of them holding hands, laughing, cooking together. But everything felt so different. They didn't even feel like the same people, they were older and looked different but somehow she was sure that this was them. Him and her.

Then Ryan took a step back and all those flashbacks stopped in an instant. She recollected where she was and looked up.

Alisa looked at him and said "cillian? "

"Yes Ella" he smiled widely.

Having seen those flashbacks suddenly the air didn't seem breatheable to her. She felt heavily nauseated. It was almost like the incident of yesterday night which troubled her all day and eventually, led her to run out to have fresh air in the mountains when she met Ryan and Betty.

She slightly pushed Ryan aside and gasped for air. Seeing her reaction, Ryan stayed back. He looked inside the house and saw a bottle of water on the dinning table. He rushed in and out with the bottle and gave her to drink. she took it and gulped nearly half of it. She sat down and kept looking down. Her head buzzing still.

"Are you alright? Perhaps I shouldn't have been so hasty? " he questioned but he spoke so softly that it sounded like murmer.

she looked towards him, tears in her eyes. "What did you do to me? My head is hurting so bad" And her voice almost broke.

"I am really sorry. I was really selfish and greedy. I didn't realize what this swould do to you." Ryan spoke really concerned.

"Who are you? And why am I going through all this? " she spoke in a really low voice still trying to breathe better.

"I shall answer all your questions but first take me to others" saying so Ryan gave her his hand to lift her up.

" Others? where? who? " Alisa looked very puzzled.

"Take me to your friends, They shall all be at night school right?" He spoke his hand still held out waiting for her to patiently take it.

" Yes, But how do you know that? " Alisa asked suspiciously

"Trust me Ella, I shall explain everything. Just take me there for now! I promise I shall tell you everything."

"My name is Alisa and there is still time for the night school to start! "

"Just take me there, we can wait for them to arrive but I need to see them all" He said growing a bit impatient by the minute.

Wiping of the remainder of the tears in her eyes, Alisa took his outstretched hand and got up.

She wasn't sure why she was trusting him but from the moment she had set her eyes on him. Something in her called out to her to trust this person with all of heart. And even though she knew that since this did not make sense and she should tell her parents. She went ahead and took him to night school.

The night school was basically a building full of surveillance cameras and kids went there to study foreign languages as per their choice through videos. At least this was what it was made for, instead kids chatted, played games, plotted the maps and discussed where they would go once they were of age.

They were alone there, nobody had arrived yet.

"Have you never thought Alisa why you are all attending night school when everyone else in the village is sleeping?"

"What is there to wonder? We were infected as kids and although the vaccine saved our lives, it took away our ability to sleep. So, we use the night for more productive things like learning languages. You should be knowing this even if you were living outside. You must have read about us infected kids or that we were being bred separately" Alisa said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"The only news about you all outside this place is that years ago a virus outbreak happened and it infected some 500 people including babies and now there are only 30 kids remaining out of those 500 as When they were given vaccines they responded well to the vaccine, others couldn't survive. But since you still carry the virus inside you, you all have been quarantined and shall never come out of these bounds! People don't even know where exactly is this place. And have been advised to report authorities as soon as someone claims to be one of those kids." Ryan said in a pitiful voice.

"What? That is absolutely rubbish. why haven't we been seeing anything in that regard on the internet or anything? We watch the same news as the others or the same entertainment as the outside world." Alisa questioned almost aggressively.

"I know this will be a shock but the internet here is heavily guarded, even news channels have been advised to never talk about the quarantined kids and similarly for the entertainment channels. Any speculation programmes made about you guys are banned before release." Ryan spoke softly.

"But.. but.. " she went quiet then suddenly determined she asked "And how do you know this? If nobody knows how come you do? And what exactly did you do to me when you kissed me? "

"I have come a very very far way just to talk to you all. I shall explain everything, let everyone come. Give me few minutes, it's almost time now. "