The Revenge Protocol

The Face In The Jar

Evening had settled over the campus.
The sky was painted with streaks of pale red and yellow, blending into a deep orange glow. The final bell rang through the corridors of the college, echoing across the quiet buildings.
One by one, the classroom lights began to flicker on.
Students poured out of their classes, breathing out loudly in relief after a long and exhausting day.
Among them was Riya, a second-year student. As the class representative, she had an extra responsibility. She needed to collect everyone's notebooks and arrange them in roll-number order, which made her leave the classroom much later than the others.

By the time she finished, the corridor was nearly empty.
Riya hurried down the hallway. Her footsteps echoed against the tiled floor as she ran toward the girls' bathroom. On the way, she met two of her friends standing near the corridor window.
“Wait for me,” she said quickly. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Her friends nodded.
Inside the Bathroom
Riya walked toward the sink and turned on the tap. Cool water splashed against her hands as she washed them. Then she cupped some water and splashed it on her face.
She looked up at her reflection in the mirror.
For a moment… she froze.
A strange feeling crept over her skin.
It felt as if someone was watching her.
Slowly, she turned around.
No one was there.
The bathroom stalls were empty. The lights buzzed softly above her head.
Riya smiled a little.
“Maybe I’m just too tired,” she murmured to herself.
She wiped her face with her sleeve and began walking toward the exit.
Then something caught her eye.
A glass jar was lying on the bathroom floor.
Riya frowned and stepped closer.
Inside the jar was a pale yellow liquid.
Curiously, she moved nearer and slowly knelt down. Something round floated inside the jar, but the cloudy liquid made it difficult to see clearly.
She leaned closer.
Her heart skipped.
At first it looked like a face of a doll, but then the shape became clearer.

A human face.

The skin was pale and lifeless. The eyes of the severed face were closed, and the lips were slightly parted as if frozen in a silent breath.
For a second, Riya couldn’t move.
Her eyes widened in horror.
“AHHHHHHHHH!”
Her scream shattered the silence of the corridor.
She stumbled backward, her body crashed against the wall.
Moments Later
Hearing the scream, students rushed into the bathroom. Her friends were the first to reach her.
“Riya! What happened? Why are you screaming like this?”
Riya trembled violently. She lifted her shaking hand and pointed toward the jar.
“S-See… see… there’s a—”
Before she could finish, her vision blurred and she fainted.
The girls slowly approached the jar.
One by one, their expressions turned pale.
Inside the glass jar, floating in the yellow liquid, was a severed human face.
Minutes Later
Police sirens wailed outside the campus, Red and blue lights flashed across the college walls.
Students gathered nervously in the courtyard while the college gate was sealed for investigation.
Several police officers rushed into the bathroom.
One of them stared at the jar in disbelief.
“Only the face?” he muttered. “Where is the rest of the body?”
Another officer carefully examined the floor.
“Sir… there’s no blood. No footprints either.”
The first officer shook his head slowly.
“That’s impossible.”
He looked again at the jar.
“Maybe the killer wanted to preserve the head.”
Turning to one of his subordinates, he ordered,
“Rakesh, take the jar to the forensic lab immediately. I want the report as soon as possible. And get the CCTV footage of the entire college.”
He paused for a moment before adding,
“And seal the campus.”
Another officer marked a boundary around the spot where the jar had been found.
No one noticed something on the floor, A strange playing card. The scene cutted.