Shadow venom - The Alchemists of Pain

It was already 9 PM.All four boys — Izaan, Aviral, Nirbhay, and Kavin — were gathered in a single hostel room.The room was silent. No one knew what to do or say.After the threats they had received earlier that day, and considering how many of them there were — fear was only natural.

These four were just regular schoolboys, who didn't bother anyone. They lived in their own world.Complaining to the teachers or principal was pointless — their attitude was already known.And if they refused to show up, those goons would barge into the hostel and beat them up anyway.

Better to get punched a few times and say — "We slipped in the bathroom,"than to go through the humiliation of being dragged out.

With that thought, the four quietly changed their clothes, tied their shoelaces tightly, and with heavy hearts, stepped out toward the school ground.

As soon as they arrived, the sight before them left them speechless —A crowd of bike-riding boys, flashing headlights cutting through the darkness, the roaring sound of engines shaking the ground.

All four stood frozen, their breaths rapid.

"So you're Izaan, huh?"A boy approached them and asked.

Izaan quickly nodded, but his heart was pounding uncontrollably.

"Come on, the boss is calling," the boy said, grabbing Izaan's arm and practically dragging him away.His three friends tried to follow, but other gang members stopped them.

Izaan was thrown in front of Anay Rana like a sack of potatoes.His knee scraped the ground, and he winced in pain.Looking up, he saw Anay Rana standing with a cigarette perched on his shoulder, staring coldly.

"Listen, kid... from today, you and your friends will join Gang of Hell. When we call, you show up. The rest of the rules... my boys will explain," Anay said in an icy tone, taking a long drag.

"I won't... and neither will my friends," Izaan tried to steady his trembling voice, though his whole body was shaking inside.

"What did you say?" Anay glared at him.

Izaan glanced at his friends and shouted —

"I'm not joining! Got it? You have no right over our lives!"

A wicked smile crept onto Anay's face."My belt... bring it," he gestured to his boys.

His friends' faces turned pale.Izaan had just gotten out of the hospital a few days ago — and now they were about to beat him with a belt?

Izaan was terrified, but he firmed his voice —"Joining a gang is a personal decision. You can't force us… I don't want to be part of any gang."

He was still speaking when Anay pressed his burning cigarette onto Izaan's shoulder.Izaan screamed in pain.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Anay growled.

One of the boys handed him the belt.Anay grabbed Izaan by the collar and stared deep into his eyes —

"Tell me. Will you join or not?"

"No..." Izaan stood firm.

Anay began whipping his back with the belt.With every strike, Izaan's body twisted in pain, but he never backed down.Red welts covered his back.

"We need to stop this or he'll die," one boy tried to intervene.Anay laughed and kicked Izaan hard in the stomach.

Izaan fell to the ground, still muttering —"No…"

Anay's face turned red with rage."Bring his friends."

Fear deepened in Izaan's eyes.He crawled forward and pleaded —"Let them go... it's not their fault…"

But Anay smiled cruelly, like a predator enjoying the chase.On his command, Nirbhay, Aviral, and Kavin were dragged in —And their beatings began too.

Tears streamed down Izaan's face. He was helpless. Broken.

Eventually, he gave in.

He became a member of Anay Rana's Gang of Hell.A slave — and so did his friends.

Anay walked away, victorious.

"These guys don't look like students, man…" Kavin groaned in pain."Are school boys really this cruel?"

"They're animals," Aviral muttered, holding his bruised arm."No second thought before beating us... I think my bone's broken…"

Izaan's eyes were still fixed toward the sky.Looking at the stars, tears continued to fall.

Just yesterday, he was laughing, eating, living with these very friends.Today, the shadow of the Gang of Hell had consumed them.

He turned to Nirbhay —He had fainted from the pain.

The four friends lay there all night —Too broken to get up.

The next morning, their lives turned into hell.

The Gang of Hell boys ruled over them openly.They spent their pocket money, forced them to steal, and beat them for the smallest things.They were treated worse than prisoners.

Among them, Nirbhay was the weakest —Both physically and mentally.He'd cry at the smallest things — and that became his curse.The gang had even tried to molest him once or twice.

Nirbhay was broken.Day after day of humiliation, beatings, and fear had pushed him to the edge.One evening, he climbed to the terrace, ready to end it all...

Just as he was about to jump, Aviral grabbed him — hugged him tightly, and brought him back, crying uncontrollably.

That night, Izaan had only one name echoing in his head —"Yug..."Yugant Singh Rawat.

He told his friends the same.

Everyone agreed — except Aviral.He didn't like Yugant.His attitude, his aura — it all rubbed him the wrong way.

But after seeing Nirbhay's condition, Aviral silently nodded.

That very day, after school,They decided to go meet Yugant.They headed to the football field — Yugant was often there.

But unfortunately…

Yugant didn't show up that day.

And all their hopes were crushed.

That evening, the Gang of Hell summoned them again.

But this time, the atmosphere was different —There was a crowd, noise, and a circle marked on the ground.Bets were being placed on fights.

Two boys would be forced to fight, money was bet on them,And the rest of the gang enjoyed the brutal spectacle.

When Izaan and his friends arrived, the crowd was already there.They quietly stood in a corner, confused.

Suddenly…

One gang member shouted —"So today's match — Rohaan from Gang of Hell vs... Nirbhay!"

All four friends were in shock.

Nirbhay?He couldn't fight.His body was weak, and mentally, he was already shattered.

Their faces turned pale.

Izaan rushed through the crowd to the center, shouting —

"Nirbhay won't fight! If someone has to — I'll take his place!"

Anay Rana glared at him and roared —"Move aside! What's decided will happen!"

Izaan didn't budge.He repeated —

"Nirbhay won't fight. No matter what."

Anay didn't argue.He simply signaled his boys.

In an instant…Izaan and his friends were forcibly restrained.A thick leather belt was tied around Izaan's mouth —So tightly that his lips split open, and blood trickled down to his chin.

Meanwhile…Nirbhay was thrown into the ring.He fell, trembling, breath rapid, eyes darting around in fear.

That evening, Nirbhay was beaten so badly —Blood streamed from his nose and mouth, refusing to stop.

As soon as the match ended,Izaan, Aviral, and Kavin rushed him to the hospital.Nirbhay was unconscious.

Doctors examined him and said —

"Five broken bones... and internal injuries are serious."

Hearing that, Izaan couldn't hold back his tears.He broke down.

"Why is this happening to us...?What wrong did we do...?We just came to study... and they won't even let us live."

He muttered with a trembling voice:

"Do our parents even care?They just send money and think they've done their job.The principal?He seems like he's part of all this.No one wants to help us…If this continues…Nirbhay won't survive."

"So who'll be responsible for his death?The school...?The principal...?His parents...?Or the Gang of Hell?"

"No... no one will take responsibility.They'll just dump his body like it meant nothing."

He was helpless... shattered...Completely hopeless.

Suddenly, he picked up a sharp pair of scissors —The same ones doctors used for dressing wounds.

"Now it's do or die...Either I end Anay Rana…Or I die trying.But I will not bow.And I won't let my friends die."

He looked outside —Aviral and Kavin were sitting outside Nirbhay's room, crying.

Tears no longer flowed from Izaan's eyes —Only the fire of war burned now.

He clenched the scissors tightly in his palm.Turned swiftly — and walked out.

He knew —Anay Rana would be on the ground at this hour.The very place where it all began.

Now Izaan had only one thing on his mind —Blood.