As the paramedics came over with the stretcher and other crew members, Ragini watched. Either her best friend would be on the stretcher or else she was still lost. She could make out that the first had someone clad in grey, that was good because it was Ms Sharma. After nearly ten painful minutes the second one arrived with someone clad in red flannel. Tears ran unchecked down her face and wetted the tinder-dry soil at her feet. Too overcome to run to her or even call out she sat in the tall grass hugging her knees. Soon lakshya and shikar along with the other staff members poured out of their tents to greet the previously missing people. Then after a few minutes to compose herself the guitarist's best friend was pushing her way through a thicket of legs.

The first jarring thing she saw was the large bandage covering the musician's feet and ankle. She held back a gag at the discoloration and hugged her friend mindful of the multiple bruises and gashes covering her body. Then she realised it wasn't reciprocated. Parting, she understood why.

"Jaan?" she shook her unconscious friend. Lakshya and Shikar finally managed to get to the front and joined her.

"Why isn't she waking up?" Shikar asked frantically. Lakshya stopped Shikar from further shaking their friend because it would have done more harm than good.

"Don't worry. It's because of anaesthesia. We are going to the hospital. Wanna ride?" the paramedic asked with a soft smile. They nodded and moved to give space to get the two patients into separate ambulances before climbing in themselves in the back of the ambulance.

Ms Malhotra and rakshit joined Drishti in the other one knowing the friends needed some space. Drishti wasn't as bad as the student. Hopefully, she could tell them what happens when she wakes up.

After securing their seats beside their best friend, Ragni squeezed Lakshya's arm when the images of the last time this happened flashed across. She couldn't hold back the contraction of her diaphragm and released a loud sob when the doctor inserted the drip into them. Her chest tightened and it was hard to breathe in the sterile air.

She hid her face in the crook of his neck as Shikar ran a hand up and down her back in an attempt to comfort. "shhh. It's okay. She will be fine. Everything is fine. It's just dehydration." he whispered in her ear whilst securing her in his warm embrace.

Shikar gently turned her head to get her to look at him. "You gotta be strong Ragini. She is fine. Nothing happened."

"Will she be okay?" Ragini desperately searched his eyes for the answer wanted to hear.

"Of course. Right doc?" the doctor nodded in affirmation and went back to work. "see. Besides, she will get scared seeing that mascara staining your cheeks. You look like a ghost." he joked, receiving a light shove and a watery smile from her.

"She will kill you for saying that."

"I will," a raspy voice said, catching their attention. "Don't make fun of her, you monkey."

The three of them turned to look at their friend who had just regained her consciousness but was still slightly groggy. "Welcome back to the land of the living," Lakshya said sarcastically.

She choked out a sound of irritation. "Thank you lucky donkey."

"Shut up. Do you have any idea how worried we were? You were supposed to join us at the next checkpoint, not in the ambulance dumbass," Ragini chided, relief and anger echoing themselves in those words. "The hospital isn't that appealing either, you know."

"Yeah. The food isn't as nice either. Or maybe you just like the attention." Shikar drawled carefully as if he made a huge discovery. "Oh my god. You cheater!" he whacked her arm where a throne had given her a cut.

Divya winced and recoiled further into the cot-like mattress. "Ow! Ragini, lucky. He bullied me." she cried childishly to the older two. The former worked on soothing her down while the latter hit shikar upside the head for his stupidity.

"Drama queen." he rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"All of you shut up," Ragini declared. She turned her full attention to Divya who was looking at her intently. She knew this was about to happen. "Please, don't ever do that again. I am sorry for asking you to help miss Sharma. I promise I won't ever do that. But please stop scaring us like that. It wasn't funny then and it isn't funny now."

"Yea. you need to stop doing that. You know how important we all are for each other right. We are family and it hurts to see you like this. Next time, think before you act. I've gotten ten extra pounds from all the stress eating." shikar added.

Lakshya nodded, coming in support of the other two. "And Ragini almost went out into the jungle in search of you. Not to mention how we thought for a moment she switched places with you. Your actions affect all of you. So no more stunts like this."

Divya sloppily looked for Ragini's hand and clasped it with her own. She gave the bravest look she could with the medicines starting to take effect and spoke. "I promise I will try. And this isn't any of your faults. It's mine. I didn't stop Miss Sharma when I thought we were moving in the wrong direction. I am sorry for that and for scaring all of you. Next time, we will all get lost together. That way we won't be scared of losing anyone. Deal?" she helped her pinky out with her free hand for a promise.

They gleefully accepted it, linking all four of their pinkies. "All for one, one for all." They chorused together. Just as they neared the hospital, Divya went back into a deep slumber.

The hours were long yet only one thought was constantly pounding their heads; of their missing friend. Their chest grew tighter over time and breathing became harder each passing second. With the chaos going on around, the air felt heavy and pushed against their broad shoulders. Aditya and Anjali were also on their way and had a lot of questions they needed to answer.

Now, all their worries finally dissipated as they sat in the waiting room for their friend to finish her treatment. The air felt lighter and breathing was like it was before. They sank into the hard plastic chair and leaned on one another, soaking in the presence of comfort and familiarity in the gloomy white room.

They had eventually lost all track of time, though a quick glance at a clock hanging on the wall told them it had been a great deal longer than the estimated time. When the lumbered footsteps of someone approaching the room were heard, they straightened themselves and waited patiently. A doctor in a crisp white coat approached them with a professional demeanour. It took them a moment to recognize him from the last time they were here.

"Mr Blake, it's good to see you again." Lakshya smiled, giving the older man a firm handshake. "How is our friend?" he questioned, worry evident in the slight tremor of hands.

Coming to a halt he motioned for them to remain seated, noting the exhaustion on the band's face as he delivered the news. Usually, he gave the details to immediate family members but the girl's parents had told him previously that these kids were part of the said family. "She is fine and out of danger. Just a few incensed cuts and bruises along with a sprained ankle and wrist. A concussion as well," he paused before asking with curiosity as well as concern. "Does she have anger management issues?"

They nodded slightly wondering how he found out. "How did you know or rather why do you ask?" Shikar spoke on their behalf.

"To the first one, as you all know I handled her case the last time. There were similar skin tears on her knuckles which Miss Khanna told me were from punching the wall. The same ones are on her knuckles again. The previous one barely healed before this one happened. It looks like the surface she hit was rough as well. So I guessed she got violent when emotional."

Ragini sighed leaning back in her seat. "Yes, doc. Jaan starts punching and throwing this around when she's pissed. Or sometimes just refuses to talk."

"I see. I suggest seeing a therapist. I understand you guys are musicians and she is a guitarist. We are lucky the damage is not permanent. But if this continues she could very well do something serious that may cause her to stop playing."

"We understand, doctor. Thank you." Lakshya said. "we'll look into it. Can we go see her now?"

"Yes. I'll see you guys later. All the best." with that he strutted out the door to attend to other patients.

"I guess it's time to attend Mr Shergill's counselling sessions," Ragini announced, leaving no room for argument and standing up to leave through the door before anyone could protest. If the doctor was suggesting this, it was important.

---broken promises---

Eyeing the room around her, she immediately understood why her mother told her to take flowers to the hospital. Its walls were cream, not peeling or dirty, just cream. The tv hung on the wall in front of her replaying the match from the day before. The door was brown and dull. Just like its contents. Simply put, sparse and functional. The principal and counsellor had left once Drishti finished narrating the version of the incidents that led them here. The only thing left out was her breakdown which rakshit knew about.

The saving grace was her parents who were by her bedside. It had been hours but they refused to leave anytime soon. For the first time, she didn't feel the need to push them away. She watched them talk among themselves. They took note of how comfortable they were with each other. She had seen it nearly every day but today it looked different.

"Yeah, that's right vidya, just wasting my life as usual." Sarthak sat back in his chair with a grin, winding her up like it was too easy but to be honest, it just had to be done.

"Excuse you." Vidya narrowed her eyes. "Staying with me is wasting your time?"

Sarthak's grin grew wider in order to tease her more. "That's what you said. I said listening to all your blabbering is a waste of my time."

"I do not blabber."

"Yes, you do."

"Yea mom, you do," Drishti said, surprising all three of them. "Especially when you are preparing meals. That's a whole different tangent."

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Vidya asked, keeping the back of her hand on her daughter's forehead. "I'll get the doctor."

Sarthak beat her to the door. "Already on it."

"Dad! Wait." she gestured for him to return to his seat and took a deep breath. "This camp has given me a lot to think and reflect on. I...whatever happened caused me to become what I am today."

Vidya held her breath in anticipation. She sensed something off when she stepped in and Drishti had clung to her longer than usual. The little upward curve never left her lips. She shared a glance at sarthak. Both parents knew what was happening and had no intention of stopping her.

"We are here to listen. kid." the father said reassuringly.

Drishti nodded. "After d...divi left, I pushed everyone away. I shouldn't have done that. It wasn't fair to you guys. We all were suffering and I should have been there like you were there for me. And now...because of that, I am so damn afraid to get close to people because I think they will leave."

"It's not your fault. There's nothing to be sorry about. You were a kid and that's how you dealt with the situation. If anything we should be sorry for not trying harder." Vidya reasoned. She changed her position to be sitting right in front of her daughter, softly grabbing her hands.

Drishti kept her sight on their intertwined fingers on her lap as she continued. "It's not about whose fault it is. After divi left, I blamed myself and nothing was going to change that. But I can't open up to people and that's a fact. I don't have friends or anyone to talk to." She placed her free hand on Sarthak's arm as he was about to interrupt. "I know, I have both of you but it's not easy. I've grown so distant from anyone...I don't want to be that person any-more," her voice cracked just as she was wrapped in a warm embrace. Vidya held her in silence, rocking her slowly as the tears soaked her shoulder. She let herself melt in not having the strength to fight back. "I want to open up and be free. It's tire-ing to keep holding it in."

Sarthak got up to rub her back and his wife held Drishti in a secure embrace. "Let it out, darling. The right way." vidya cooked. With that she silently broke down, dampening the fabric of her mother's blouse. She didn't know how much she needed until now.

"It's okay to not be okay. We'll get through it together." Her father assured, joining them.

the muscles of her chin trembled and she looked toward the window as if the stars could soothe her. There is static in my head once more, the side effect of this constant fear, constant guilt she lived with. She could her wailing, raw from the inside. The tears were like the thief of an injury no other person could see. She finally learned how to cry.

---broken promises---

"you are hopeless," Anjali sighed, adjusting the bandage on her adopted daughter's ankle. "I left you alone for two days and you end up here again."

"To be fair I didn't plan on this. It just kinda sorta...happened?" the guitarist shrugged, the statement coming out as more of a question.

"People don't just end up in the hospital."

"Shikar did when he gave lucky a spoiler for legacies. He also didn't plan that. It just happened."

Anjali folded her arms adamantly and narrowed her orbs. "That's different."

"No, it's not, that wasn't his fault. And this wasn't exactly my fault either."

"She's right," Aditya announced as he entered their ward having finished speaking to Ms Malhotra. She had briefed him on Drishti's version of what happened because his daughter wasn't awake yet. He was visibly pissed and ready to sue the school but stopped. Divya wouldn't want that to happen. Choosing to let the matter go, he left with a stern warning to never let anything like that happen again. "The teacher doesn't know how to read a map. Pretty stupid but yeah."

"I am sorry. what?" Anjali asked incredulously while the five in the room giggled. Midnight spirits had heard this from Divya when she first roused. They were very unhappy at that time, but the electric guitarist convinced them to not violate their truce. Now it was funny. "She is the housemaster. She went on recee, of course, she knows the route."

Divya fondly rolled her eyes at the reasoning her mother gave. "Would you believe she did not? Because that's true. Recee was apparently optional for whatever reason so she did not attend." she conveniently left out how they got into that situation in the first place. She fully intended to keep the promise made to Drishti and she respected her decision to not tell anyone else.

"Then...I am going to ask her myself." the livid mother declared.

"Mom...'' Divya started a desperate attempt to diffuse the situation before Anjali all but charged towards the door.

Divya sighed, meeting the gaze of her father silently asking him to take care of the situation. He nodded with a smile and left behind his wife to stop her from throttling the classparent.

"So..." shikar started when it was the four of them again. "When are we gonna start practice?"

Lakshya facepalmed whispering, "idiot."

Ragini glared at him when Divya lit up and bounced on her bed hearing the prospect of going back to her guitar. He shrugged and sat on the other side of the bed.

"Tomorrow! Musicana is only a month and a half away. And guys the competition is getting tougher with the number of bands increasing on campus." said gleefully, bringing their attention back to her.

Ragini who took over Anjali's spot whacked her best friend on the back of her head. "Don't look at me like that," she scoffed. "You looked like you just crawled out of a grave and you still want to get back to the instruments. Use your brains for once."

"So what if I look like that? I don't feel like that. I am perfectly fine and in the mood to jam," she exclaimed proudly sitting back on her bed with her hands on the back of her head. "Besides, we don't have much time."

"You have cuts, bruised knuckles, sprained ankles and wrists. Not to mention a concussion the size of shikar's bird brain. I don't think any of that spells fine."

"but..."

"Shut up," Lakshya intervened. Ragini was right and he was going to support her decision. "Ragini is right. We already prepared our song. All we need to do is practice, which can be done two weeks later when your right hand heals because in case you forgot, you are right-handed."

Divya groaned in annoyance at her overprotective and too logical for her liking friends. "I didn't forget that I am right-handed. But I can still play."

"Jaan," Ragini said softly. "Please don't be difficult. We don't want you to get Septicemia. You know how serious that can get. Not practising is not going to affect us. Remember what happened two years ago? The performance was all last minute but we won musicana. This is just for two weeks."

Divya finally relented. Ragini always had a way to make her give in. she didn't want her best friend to be upset because of her either. If it meant laying off the practice for a while so be it. "Fine. but only and only two weeks."

"Deal," she conceded with a sly smile, happy to have the patient listening to her. "Now what did you guys do while lost?" she asked, settling into the chair beside the bed with her elbows on it.

Divya grimaced at the thought of having to recall what happened. Without realising herself she had shared things with the classparent that otherwise, she wouldn't tell anyone. She had let someone other than her adoptive parents and best friends into her circle. The teacher had made a soft corner for herself but the guitarist refused to admit it. It was almost like she had lulled her in and opened the door that she had closed years ago. It was supposed to screech as it was moved from this spot. Instead, it was as silent as a spy. Warmth flooded the open gates and made her comfortable. It had been so long that the feeling felt new.

she guessed the trust was developing as a photograph does, needing the light to come when the picture is well-formed. Only the picture didn't see the light before she was led down a slope of rocks. The trust-breaking- chipping with each branch that pricked her skin. The door slammed shut. But a window opened and she found herself aggravating towards this new comrade again. It was indefinite but very much present. There are some things the brain can't understand but the heart knows what to do.

"I took the leap of faith," The three of them scrunch their noses in confusion and looked at her expectantly. "I trusted her to get her to the next checkpoint. It was a mistake. After having an argument about it I took the lead. But slipped down the slope taking her with me."

"Is that how the paramedics find you?" Shikar asked.

"No," she took a deep breath. This was the moment she dreaded. "When I woke up, all that was around me was darkness. My mind was foggy and I thought I was back at the cabin when I got...kidnapped. It was cold just like in there," Her family moved from their positions and onto the bed. Each trying in their own ways to comfort their friend. "When I finally calmed down I snapped at her a few times but later...I told her about how we met and became what we are today. I started to feel comfortable, open even around her. There were moments I was rude but I opened up to someone other than you guys. This feeling...familiarity I think. It's new and scary but good at the same time."

"You have grown a soft spot for her. Maybe that's why you feel this way. And it's okay to tell people about ourselves. There's nothing wrong in that." Lakshya said carefully, trying to understand this new change in his friend.

"Why now? Why her?"

"She is different." the male guitarist explained unknowingly using the same words Drishti had. Divya stared at him in surprise as he continued missing the look on her face. "We said it before. She apologised, we called a truce and all that. No one in all these years has done any of those things. But that doesn't change anything. You are still you. We are still midnight spirits and best friends. It doesn't matter that someone else has made a soft corner in you for them."

"I don't know, lucky. These emotions...I don't understand them. When I met Ragini and you guys ninety per cent of the time I didn't care about anything or anyone. That still carries on now. I don't care about people other than you guys, mom and dad. But this teacher..." she trailed off unsure about what she was saying.

Ragini silently listened, thinking about what doctor Blake had mentioned. She carefully got Divya to look at her and pulled her in for a warm embrace. "We don't have the answers to your question but Mr Shergill might. Maybe counselling can help you. He can help you understand what you are feeling or how to deal with these emotions." she rubbed her back comfortably feeling the slight tremor of her best friend as she fought to gain composure.

"He doesn't know shit and it's not going o to help. Counselling is a waste of time."

"That's what you think. Look at all those students who walk out of his office with a clearer mind. There are obvious positive changes in their behaviours. Divya, this isn't about whether you want it or not."

"Of course it is. I dont want his so-called help. I am just going through a phase. I don't need a shrink." she said still in the hug resting her head on Ragini's shoulder.

The brother shared a quick glance, both knowing what the other was thinking. "I agree with Ragini," they said in unison. Doctor Blake had a point and they could see that their friend needed help.

Shikar took over Ragini's position to convince the stubborn girl while lakshya stood up to stand beside Ragini, bringing her in for a gentle hug. "It is about the need, not the want. You may not want it but you need it. Divya we can see the changes and we ourselves don't understand it. A professional can help you."

Divya crossed her arms definitely in front of her chest. She wasn't naive. They had a point and she knew it. Admitting to needing help was not something she was used to. "It's not going to make a difference. I will figure this out on my own."

"If you could, then we wouldn't be having this conversation. How about you go for one session? If you like it, then continue."

"I am not going to like it."

"With that attitude definitely not. Anyway, if you don't, we won't force you to go for the next one. Fair and square."

She read her friends instantly. Giving them each a staredown. They were going to be persuaded. "When do I go for my first session?" she asked unbothered to continue arguing. It was better to just get it over and done with.

"The first day after musicana," Ragini told her. Divya nodded and they remained silent each in their own thoughts. She had walked the fine line between life and death. Maybe it was a dream- she didn't know but it was another life, an awakening. The blinding pain in her ankle was the least of her concerns. She was dying, at least she thought it was death calling her. No! She had put down firmly. This wasn't what she wanted. There was so much more life had to offer. Divya Singhania was not about to go down without a fight. So she did. Pushing against the searing light in her face she stood and she saw it. The black sky- the actual awakening.

Ragini had sensed this situation when she talked to the guitarist after the bromine incident. A lot has happened since then. Ragini had clearly seen its effects and changes in her friends.

Divya had let herself open up to a stranger. She was feeling emotions for that person. The most important was her revelation of her past that had shaped her into what she was today. She was feeling more than she normally would have, which was not possible for the longest time. Their conversation would have to wait even longer before all of this blew over.

Lakshya had been thinking about his father more often. Going to visit the orphanage that was otherwise never an option was now his plan for next weekend.

Shikar was getting angry at the smallest thing. There was a slight hint of him getting his episodes again that had not occurred in a very long time.

With Mr Blake's recommendation and this confession, she realised something crucial. This new teacher had shaken their carefully carved bubble and caused changes in their whole outlook. Maybe not just Divya but all four of them needed help. It came like a powerful punch to the guy that knocked the wind out of her when she concluded that they were no longer enough for each other.

A/N: Don't forget to R&R!