"It is so sad that he had to go this way." remarked an attendee sadly.
"I know. He was a bit towards the restless side, but it was cruel to take him away in such fashion." agreed another.
Shramya nodded benignly.
Though they were relatively new to this place, a death in the family usually attracted a fair number of people due to the sensitive nature of the incident. And so it was that quite a few people from the neighbourhood had turned up to the funeral.
"So sad all this is. It was just the day before that young Amar lost his life to cancer." said one.
"This town isn't really going through the best of times, is it?" questioned another.
No one really agreed, nor denied. Well that was the kind of talk you had going around in a funeral anyway.
Shramya walked over to Yash and patted his shoulder. He gave a half smile to her. He seemed much better now to her. Maybe it had a bit to do with the sense of purpose that they both had. They had planned to anonymously intimate to the police about the killer and his organization.
By giving the death of Karan a fake but natural reason, they had removed any doubt from themselves. This would protect them from both the police and the gang if they ever decided to come looking after them. Which they both felt was bound to happen.
They had, after all infuriated the gang in the most dramatic fashion.
Amar's mother came over to them. Yash smiled politely and asked her if he could be of any help.
"Well, actually yes. Just like you do, even Amar had a thing for old songs."
Yash nodded sadly, "I know. We once discussed it for hours."
"Well, yes. Now that he's not.. around, I want to listen to some. In memory, you know? I think you might have some with you, given your love for it."
Yash gave an amused expression and nodded. He turned to Shramya and beckoned her,
"There are a few songs in my phone. Transfer it to hers, will you? One of them is even my ring tone. Transfer that too while you're at it."
Shramya smiled and took the phone in her hands, ignoring the technical mistakes in Yash's request. Then she proceeded to transfer the said data.
At that precise moment, Mirza, along with the thirty nine living members of the Quarantine, set foot in the quaint little town.
