Chapter 14 : Panic, Prank, and Laughter in the Darkness
Inside the pitch-black bunker, only the thin, trembling beam of Sid's emergency torch cut through the choking darkness.
Dust floated in the stale air like ghostly wisps.
Sid's voice came low and urgent:
> "Akash… whatever you do, don't move your foot."
Akash stood frozen, his foot slightly pressed on something metallic. His whole body stiffened like a statue.
> "Bro... bro... tell me honestly... is it a landmine?!"
His voice cracked under the weight of pure terror.
Sid's heart was racing too — the echo of a click sound like that could mean serious trouble.
Very carefully, Sid moved closer, keeping the torch low, examining Akash's foot and the object under it.
Shiva, usually composed, was tense too. His hacking skills couldn't disarm a bomb — this was pure survival.
As Sid crept closer, Akash started babbling nervously:
> "Bro, there's so much left I wanna do, man!"
"I never even told Pooja I liked her!"
"Or Meera... or maybe Rhea too — she smiled once, right?"
"I still didn't finish my gaming marathon, and—"
"Oh god, I don't wanna die soon bro !!"
Sid almost laughed out loud but controlled it. Shiva's face twitched trying to stay serious.
Sid finally got a better look under Akash's foot.
And then — realization struck.
It wasn't a landmine.
It was just a crushed, rusted, empty tin food can — probably from some abandoned old army supplies.
A normal piece of trash.
Nothing deadly.
But seeing Akash on the verge of tears, Sid couldn't resist.
He gave Shiva a quick glance, a mischievous grin passing between them.
Sid put on his most serious voice:
> "Akash... listen carefully."
"It's an old, unstable landmine. Very old. Even Shiva and I might not be able to disarm it..."
"I'm... I'm sorry, bro."
Akash's face crumpled in horror.
His eyes filled with tears, shimmering in the weak torchlight.
> "No! No!! I don't wanna blow up!! I didn't even kiss anyone yet!"
"Tell my family I love them—no wait—don't tell them I cried, tell them I was brave!"
Sid and Shiva's faces were red from holding in their laughter.
Finally, Sid stepped forward, tapped Akash's shoulder lightly —
and whispered:
> "Bro, it's just a freakin' tin can."
For a moment, Akash's brain froze.
Then Sid kicked the harmless tin can aside with a metallic clank.
The truth hit Akash like a bullet.
Sid and Shiva burst out laughing, loud and free, their voices echoing in the empty bunker.
They leaned on each other, laughing so hard tears came out.
Akash stood frozen for a second, then joined the laughter — half embarrassed, half relieved — letting out all the tension.
For that brief moment, deep in enemy-infested darkness, laughter became their shield.
But after a while, Sid straightened up, wiping his eyes.
> "Alright guys, joke's over."
"Listen seriously now—there could still be real mines and traps ahead. Every single step matters. Stay alert."
The mood became serious again.
They had survived one false scare.
But the real dangers were still waiting for them in the shadows of the abandoned, death-trapped bunker.
And they had a mission to complete — restore the power supply and reactivate the island's defense systems — before the destroyer arrived to unleash destruction.