When Dev suddenly appeared in front of Harshit, everyone was shocked, but no one was more surprised than Aman, because standing next to Dev was Zaid. He muttered to himself, "He was just beside me a moment ago, and now he's over there? What's going on?"
Everyone was confused about the two of them, but they still had to win the match. Harshit noticed that both Dev and Zaid weren't moving, so he decided to take advantage of the situation. He told his teammates, "This is our chance, we can still win!" Hearing that, all the players on the Force team became alert and started moving toward the duo.
Zaid then raised his eyes, his gaze fixed on the goal — his target. He placed a hand on Dev's shoulder and said, "Let's finish this." As soon as he removed his hand, Dev bolted forward like lightning. One after another, he passed the players, heading straight for the goal, and no one could stop him.
As he passed by Abrar, it felt like a storm had brushed past him — no one even realized when he came or went. When Harshit's team couldn't think of any other way, all the nearby players gathered in front of the goal to block him. They knew winning was difficult, but they didn't want the opponents to win either.
Dev managed to reach near the goal, passing everyone. All the players, including the goalkeeper, stood ready to stop him. They assumed Zaid would kick the ball and were prepared to block it as soon as he did. But something strange happened.
Dev didn't kick the ball. Instead, he lobbed it into the air. Before anyone could understand what he was doing, Zaid suddenly appeared next to him, ready to strike the ball mid-air. Then he spun and struck the ball with such force that it not only went past the defenders and hit the goalkeeper, but both the ball and the goalkeeper tore through the net and landed in the crowd.
Two school kids had just done something no one could have imagined — speed and power far beyond any normal human. The spectators couldn't believe their eyes. Silence fell across the ground. Everyone was staring at the two of them. Just then, Dev staggered and collapsed, while Zaid stood frozen in place. When people looked at him, they felt like they were looking at a completely different person, not the same boy they'd known for so long.
His eyes were as cold as ice, and his body looked like it was forged from hot iron — a frightening sight. But after a brief moment of silence, people remembered they had won. The ground erupted in celebration. All the players started running around in joy. Zaid's eyes suddenly returned to normal, and Dev got back up. Neither of them — nor Abrar — could understand what had just happened. It was as if they had woken from a dream. Sensing this, Abrar quickly took them away from the field.
Prem Sir had also been watching the match, but he didn't seem surprised by what had happened. His gaze was fixed elsewhere. He had noticed a strange-looking person standing near the school ground — someone who didn't look human. What was more peculiar was that the moment this person appeared, Dev and Zaid's behavior had changed dramatically, and once he left, the two of them returned to normal.
After the sports match, it was now lunchtime. Dev, Zaid, Abrar, and Nidhi sat quietly in the canteen. A strange silence hung over the group. Dev and Zaid were focused only on their food, but Abrar and Nidhi were still thinking about what had just happened on the field. They had known Dev and Zaid for a long time, but this had never happened before. What those two had done was strange and shocking for everyone.
Even though they weren't saying anything, Dev could tell that Abrar and Nidhi wanted to ask something, but were hesitating. At that moment, Zaid said, "What's wrong? You two seem really quiet today. Something bothering you?" Abrar replied, "Yeah, something's definitely up." Dev added, "Yeah, just say it. You've been staring at us forever."
Nidhi said, "We just want to know what happened to you two a little while ago. How did you suddenly change like that?" Then she looked at Zaid and said, "And to be honest, you scared me for a moment. Your eyes looked so different."
Zaid seemed confused and asked, "When did you see all that? Were you even there?" Abrar said, "Don't dodge the question — and yes, she was there watching the match." Dev added, "What are you guys talking about? I don't understand anything."
Abrar looked at him in disbelief and said, "You seriously don't remember anything? What about you, Zaid?" Dev and Zaid looked at each other and replied, "What are you trying to say? We really don't understand anything — just tell us clearly."
At that moment, Nidhi said, "Wait, I have a video of the match. I'll show you right now." She pulled her phone from her bag and showed them the video. As they watched it, both of them were stunned. Even after seeing it with their own eyes, they couldn't believe it.
Dev said, "That's us, but I don't remember doing any of this." Nidhi looked at them and said, "How is it possible that you don't remember anything? Try to think harder — try to remember."
As they were talking, Zaid noticed someone was standing near them.
TO BE CONTINUED...