THE SYSTEM

THE SYSTEM

By M-Faiz Sultan Qureshi


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* The Fall *

In a small foreign city, a family of three—a husband, wife, and their only son—lived far from their relatives. Their own blood refused to acknowledge them, considering them unworthy due to their financial struggles. Despite this, the boy held onto a dream: he wanted to work in the train industry, perhaps even own a station one day.
But dreams can shatter in an instant.
One tragic day, a train accident took his parents' lives. The boy, left completely alone, felt his world collapse. The very thing he once loved—the sound of trains, the rush of passengers—became a nightmare. He swore never to step into the railway business again.
Grief-stricken and without a home, he wandered through the small city, realizing there was nothing left for him there. He set his sights on the capital, hoping to start over. With no money in his pockets, he walked for miles, hitching rides from passing cars, sleeping on streets when exhaustion overcame him. Hunger clawed at his stomach, and desperation pushed him to beg.
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* A City of Shadows *

Begging was temporary. Over time, he found work in general stores, clothing shops, and shoe stalls. He thought he had finally found stability—until he noticed the truth. Every business he worked for was corrupt. Shop owners bribed police to evade taxes, to cheat customers, to bend the rules in their favor. The police, rather than stopping them, took their cut and ensured that the cycle continued.
The boy couldn’t stomach it. He left each job, trying to find one that was honest. But no matter where he turned, the pattern remained the same.
Sitting alone one evening, he thought hard. If we stop corruption, then corruption won’t exist. But if everyone does it, how do we end it?
Then another question emerged. Was the train industry also part of this corrupt system?
And so, against the vow he made to himself, he stepped into a train station once more.
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* The Truth Unveiled *

The station was just as he remembered—bustling, filled with the sharp sound of whistles and the murmurs of hurried travelers. But beneath that chaos, he saw it now. The corruption he had witnessed elsewhere was here too, deeply woven into the system. Workers stole, officers took bribes, and passengers were forced to pay extra for services that were meant to be free.
His anger boiled. He had hoped—desperately—that this one place, the place he once dreamed of working, would be different. But it wasn’t.
He quit.
Frustrated and lost, he roamed the city, sitting in cafes, listening to conversations, observing people. Days turned into weeks as he pieced together the reality—laws existed, but no one followed them. The police weren’t protectors; they were the ones allowing corruption to thrive. He started tracking their dealings, trying to understand how much money they were making. What he discovered shook him. The bribes alone amounted to millions, even billions.
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* A Dangerous Proposal *

One evening, as he sat in a dimly lit cafe, a mysterious boy roughly his age approached him. There was a sharpness in his eyes, a quiet rage that mirrored his own.
"You hate the system," the mysterious boy said. "I can see it in you. But do you know who’s really responsible?"
The boy frowned. "The police. The government."
The mysterious boy leaned closer. "And who let your family die? Who ignored the train accident?"
Silence.
"No one helped you. No one even cared. The government, the intelligence agencies—they're all part of it."
The boy felt a familiar anger resurface. "What do you mean by intelligence?"
The mysterious boy smirked. "The agency above all. The ones who pull the strings behind the scenes."
The boy narrowed his eyes. "And who are you?"
The mysterious boy leaned forward, lowering his voice. "I’m from the sleeper cells. We know the truth about this system, and we don’t just sit back—we act."
The boy hesitated.
"You want to fix the system? Then you need to understand how deep the corruption really goes. Join us, and you’ll see everything for yourself."
The boy took a deep breath. He had spent years trying to fight corruption alone. Maybe this was the only way.
He clenched his fists, looked the sleeper cell boy in the eye, and nodded.
"I’m in."
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* The Realization *

Three days. That’s what the sleeper cell boy had told him. Three days to decide his fate.
But those days weren’t peaceful. The boy couldn’t shake the unease crawling beneath his skin. Questions gnawed at his mind—Why hadn’t the government acted? What was intelligence’s role in all this? And what did the sleeper cells truly do?
Determined to find the truth, he began digging. What he discovered crushed him. Sleeper cells weren’t just rebels—they were terrorists, fueled by hatred for the government, orchestrating chaos in the name of revenge.
A suffocating weight settled on his chest. His stomach churned with unease. Was this what he had walked into?
Yet, when the third day arrived, he still went to meet the sleeper cell boy.
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* The Web of Lies *

The two met at the usual spot. The boy wasted no time. His voice trembled, but he asked the burning questions—What did the sleeper cells really want? Why did intelligence have a hand in everything? Why had the government turned a blind eye to corruption?
The sleeper cell boy leaned in, his voice a whisper of venom.
"Who controls the shops and the police?"
"The government," the boy answered.
"And who controls the government?" The sleeper cell boy smirked. "Intelligence."
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
"Your parents' accident? The government could have intervened. But they didn’t. And the reason? Intelligence."
The boy's breath caught in his throat. He wanted to argue, to deny it—but before he could speak, the sleeper cell boy cut him off.
"You’re still new. You’ll understand in time. Come with me. See for yourself."
Despite the unease clawing at him, the boy nodded.
And with that, he stepped into the lion’s den.
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* The Test *

The base was nothing like he imagined—it was worse. Guns lined the walls, men with hardened eyes moved like ghosts in the shadows. His heart pounded as he took it all in.
That night, he didn’t sleep.
By morning, the sleeper cell boy returned. “It’s time for training,” he said.
They entered a dark room, the scent of metal and sweat thick in the air. A man placed a gun in the boy’s hands. Cold. Heavy. Deadly.
His fingers trembled. His breath came in sharp bursts. Panic clawed at his throat.
Then—darkness.
He didn’t even realize he had passed out.
When he woke, he was in his room again. The sleeper cell boy stood over him, his gaze unreadable.
“Get ready,” he said.
The boy swallowed. “For what?”
A smirk. “Your first mission.”
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* The Breaking Point *

The mission was at a bus station. His heart pounded as he followed the team, his hands clammy against his sides.
Then, one of them shoved a gun into his hands. "If anyone gets in your way—kill them."
His stomach twisted.
The team scattered, each pairing with another. His partner moved swiftly, planting something near a bench. The boy’s blood ran cold when he realized—a bomb.
He couldn’t do this.
He wouldn’t.
Panic surged, and before he knew it, he ran. He darted into a small room, chest heaving. But he wasn’t alone. A man was inside. And he had seen the gun in the boy’s hand.
The man lunged.
The gun slipped from his grip.
Everything blurred. His hands scrambled for anything—a weapon, an escape. His fingers curled around cold metal—scissors.
He swung.
The man collapsed. Blood pooled. His hands shook. His breath came in short, ragged gasps.
Then—footsteps.
His teammate appeared. Their eyes locked. Fear. Suspicion.
Without thinking, the boy struck again. The body crumpled to the floor.
He was breathing too fast. His hands—red, trembling.
Then, he saw it—the bomb.
He grabbed it. Activated it. Ran.
An explosion rocked the air behind him.
The sleeper cells had failed. And they knew why.
The boy had betrayed them.
His face spread across footage. His name whispered in the streets.
Now, he was running. From them. From the police. From the government.
He had nowhere left to go.
And yet—he knew one thing for certain.
This wasn’t over.
Not yet.
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* The Boy with a Gun *

The boy, clutching a gun, ran through the dark streets, his heart pounding. He spotted a truck parked near an alley, its driver distracted. Without hesitation, he climbed in, hiding among the cargo. The truck rumbled to life, carrying him away from the city that wanted him dead.
Hours later, he arrived in a small, unfamiliar town. He knew the risks—he couldn’t afford to be recognized. Under the cover of night, he slipped into a roadside bar and stole a pair of scissors. In a secluded corner of the streets, he cut his hair, altered the shape of his eyebrows, and changed his style of dressing. He had to disappear, become someone new.
Days passed, and survival became a battle. Hunger clawed at his insides, and his body weakened. Desperation crept in. He thought of stealing, but he knew the risk—one wrong move, and he’d be caught. Instead, he turned to the only valuable thing he had left: the gun.
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* Entering the Black Market *

The boy found his way to the black market, deep in the city's underbelly. Unlike the outside world, where weapons were hidden, here men walked freely with guns in hand, fearless.
He stepped into a dimly lit shop and placed the weapon on the counter. The shopkeeper, an older man with sharp eyes, studied him for a moment.
“I’ve never seen you around here,” the man said.
Cold sweat formed on the boy’s back, but he kept his face expressionless. “Do you want to buy it or not?”
A long pause. Then, the shopkeeper smirked and tossed a bundle of cash onto the counter. “Fair enough.”
The boy grabbed the money and left without another word. He used it to survive for weeks, keeping a low profile, avoiding crowded streets. But as he sat in his hiding place one evening, eating the last of his food, a thought crept into his mind.
Had he become a part of the system he once despised?
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* Exposing the Truth *

Determined to do something, he changed his approach. The next day, he began exposing the police—revealing the bribery, the corruption, the secret dealings that rotted the city from within. He disguised himself, changed his posture, and went to crime scenes, collecting information before exposing it publicly.
At first, people were skeptical. But the truths he uncovered were undeniable. He wasn’t telling them things they didn’t know—he was confirming what they had always suspected. Slowly, trust grew. His name spread like wildfire. In no time, he became a voice the people listened to.
Then, everything collapsed.
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* Framed *

One night, as he rested in his hideout, he heard the news that shattered him.
“Breaking news: The foreign government investigating last month’s attack at the airport has confirmed that their citizens were killed by terrorists. Reports also indicate that one of the attackers was...”
A pause. Then, the reporter spoke his name.
His body turned cold. His breath caught in his throat.
They had framed him.
The people who once listened to him now questioned him. Suspicion replaced trust. He could see it in their eyes—the doubt, the fear. He knew what came next. The authorities, or maybe even the people, would come for him.
Without wasting a second, he disappeared into the forests, into deserted lands where no one would find him. The realization crushed him—his fight was over. He had to stop. He had to disappear completely.
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* A New Beginning? *

After weeks of hiding, he learned about an orphan school in a remote village. It seemed like his only chance at safety. Maybe, just maybe, he could start over.
But he needed to make sure no one recognized him.
Taking a shard of broken glass, he cut off all his hair, even shaving his eyebrows. Blood trickled down his face, but he didn’t stop. He had to erase himself. He had to become someone else.
A week later, he arrived at the orphan school. Weak, starving, and covered in dirt, he lay outside, pretending to be a beggar. Days passed before a teacher finally stopped and looked at him with pity.
“What’s your name?” the teacher asked.
The boy hesitated before whispering, “I... I have no one. My parents died in an accident. I had nowhere to go.”
The teacher sighed, then placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Come inside. You don’t have to live like this.”
And just like that, he was in.
His plan had worked.
But deep down, he knew—no matter how much he tried to run, his past would never let him go.
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* Lost in the Past *

The boy tried to settle into school, but months passed, and he remained distant. When the teacher who had brought him here died of cancer, the last thread holding him together snapped.
Loneliness consumed him. He drifted through classes, ignored the playground, and avoided everyone. His mind was stuck in the past. Nightmares haunted him. His grades fell. His body weakened.
Some students tried to befriend him, but he pushed them away. Others mocked him, bullied him. He endured everything—until one day, he couldn’t anymore.
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* The Turning Point *

A student tried to pull him into a gathering, but the boy snapped. In a blind rage, he struck the student, sending him crashing to the ground. Blood soaked the student’s shirt.
The sight of it froze him. The crowd gasped. His breathing turned shallow. His hands trembled. His mind spiraled, flashing back to the life he had tried to bury.
Panicked, he shoved past the students and ran. He found a quiet spot, curled up, and wept. He wasn’t fixing the broken system—he had become a part of it.
A decision formed in his mind. He would confess everything.
But before he could act, a group of students dragged him to the principal’s office.
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* A Friend in the Shadows *

Standing before the principal, the boy prepared to reveal the truth. But before he could speak, the injured student stepped forward.
“It was an accident,” the student said. “We were just playing. He didn’t mean to hurt me.”
The boy’s mouth opened in protest, but the student cut him off. “He gets bullied. I was doing the same. I deserved it.”
The principal’s face hardened. Instead of punishing the boy, he ordered strict action against the bullies.
As they left the office, the boy watched the student in disbelief. He wasn’t like the others—he had always tried to include him. And now, he had lied to protect him.
Days passed. Curiosity gnawed at him. He asked around and learned the truth—the student had lost his parents in a terrorist attack. And his left arm? It was artificial.
Guilt sank into the boy’s chest.
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* The Weight of a Secret *

One day, during break, the boy finally approached him. “Why did you lie for me?” he asked.
The student smiled. “Because you needed someone to stand by you.”
For the first time in forever, warmth spread through the boy’s chest. He had found a friend. They became inseparable, filling each other’s emptiness with laughter and late-night talks.
But happiness was fragile.
One day, a police team arrived at the school. The moment the boy saw them, his body tensed. Before he could stop himself, he ran.
The student caught up to him and grabbed his shoulders. “Why are you running?”
The boy shook his head, tears streaming down his face. He wanted to tell the truth—about his past, about who he really was.
But something held him back.
It wasn’t fear.
It was the thought of losing the only friend he had left.
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* A Promise in the Dark *

The boy hesitated before speaking. His hands trembled. His voice was barely above a whisper.
“If I tell you everything… will you promise not to leave me? Will you swear never to tell anyone?”
The student tensed but nodded. “I promise.”
With that, the boy confessed everything. Every painful detail. Every secret.
The student listened in silence. When the boy was done, he placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re my friend,” he said. “I know you didn’t do anything… because if you had, you wouldn’t be having nightmares, running in fear, or breaking down like this.”
The boy looked at him in shock. “How do you know about my nightmares?”
The student smirked. “Because I’m a fool.”
For the first time in a long while, the boy laughed.
Then, the student grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the gathering of students. The boy hesitated, but the student didn’t let go.
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* The Police Are Watching *

During the police inspection, an officer narrowed his eyes at the boy.
The boy’s breath hitched. His body turned cold.
The student noticed everything. His grip on the boy’s arm tightened. But the officer didn’t say anything. He just watched.
After the inspection, the student pulled the boy aside. “We need to get you fake IDs.”
The boy frowned. “Why?”
“The police only inspect the school once a year,” the student said. “This is the first time they’ve come twice. And the way that officer looked at you… that’s not normal.”
The boy swallowed hard. “How are we supposed to get fake IDs?”
The student smirked. “I know a guy.”
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* The Price of Escape *

The student led the boy to a senior student who had connections.
“We need fake IDs,” the student said.
The senior gave them a location and a price—3,000 rupees.
The boy instinctively reached into his pocket. His fingers curled around a few coins. He pulled them out. Only ten rupees.
He looked up at the student. “How are we going to get that much?”
The student didn’t hesitate. “Come with me.”
They went to the student’s room. The boy watched as he took out a small piggy bank and smashed it open. Coins and notes scattered onto the floor.
The boy’s eyes widened. “Where did all this come from?”
The student smiled softly. “I was saving up to buy an artificial arm for someone who didn’t have one.”
The boy’s heart clenched. His throat burned. “I… I can’t take this.”
The student shook his head. “I saved it for a purpose, and now I’ve found a better one. We can’t make anyone perfect, but we can help them feel whole. That’s what matters.”
Tears welled up in the boy’s eyes. Without thinking, he pulled the student into a tight hug.
The student patted his back. “Alright, enough of that. We need to get ready.”
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* The Midnight Plan *

The boy wiped his tears. “So… when are we leaving?”
“Tonight,” the student said. “We’ll go after everyone is asleep and be back before dawn.”
The boy nodded, his chest heavy. He watched as the student left the room, his mind racing.
When night came, they met at the rendezvous point.
No words were spoken.
Only the cold night air.
And the beginning of a dangerous plan.
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* The Escape Plan *

The student and the boy secretly left the orphan school at night, heading toward a predetermined location. Upon arrival, a man instructed them to wait. As they stood there in silence, the student noticed the boy dozing off.
"I knew you wouldn’t sleep when I told you to," the student remarked, shaking his head.
He urged the boy to take a nap, and eventually, the boy gave in to exhaustion. After a while, the student shook him awake. The boy blinked sleepily, but his eyes widened in shock when he saw the fake IDs in the student's hands.
"Look, we have them. Let’s go. We don’t have much time," the student said in a hushed but urgent tone.
They returned to the orphan school under the cover of darkness, just as planned. The boy, lost in thought, handed the fake IDs to the student. Over the next few days, he realized that they needed money to escape. Desperate to contribute, he devised a plan—one he didn’t share with the student.
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* The Heist Gone Wrong *

Determined to secure funds, the boy plotted to steal laptops and electronic equipment from a nearby library. At night, he snuck out of the orphan school, skillfully forging a set of keys to gain access. He moved quickly, heart pounding, gathering the stolen items. But just as he was about to leave, security guards caught him.
Before he could react, they subdued him and dragged him to the police station. Locked in a cold, dark cell, the boy sat in silence, his plan shattered. Hours passed before, in the dead of night, the student appeared—wearing gloves and a strange suit.
The boy looked up in confusion, but before he could say anything, the student cut him off. "What happened?"
With a heavy heart, the boy explained everything. The student’s face darkened with anger but soon turned serious.
"The police are investigating again. They're looking for you," the student warned. "They might take you from here in a few days."
"Then what should we do?" the boy asked, desperation in his voice.
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* A Dangerous Strategy *

The student leaned closer and laid out a cryptic plan. "Imagine two teams are fighting, and a third team enters. If the first two teams attack the third, we can align with either, and no one will suspect us. If the third and second teams attack the first, we can strike unnoticed. If the third and first attack the second, we can still manipulate the outcome."
The boy frowned. "What does that mean?"
"The first team is intelligence, the second is sleeper cells, and the third is us."
"This could put your life in danger," the boy warned.
The student grabbed his hand. "It won’t. Just wait."
Before they could discuss further, a security guard called out, "Time's up!" The student gave the boy one last look before leaving.
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* Betrayal and Death *

Days later, everything unraveled. The boy’s fake IDs were leaked, and his fingerprints were found on the bodies of murdered victims. Panic set in—he believed intelligence had killed the student, stolen his IDs, and framed him, just as they had in the airport case.
Enraged, the boy created chaos in his cell, demanding to see the student.
Then, a man in a black coat entered. The boy froze—he recognized him instantly. It was the same teacher who had once taken him into the orphan school. The boy opened his mouth, trying to speak, but the man silently handed him a document. His breath caught as he read: the student had been involved in the airport attack.
"This is false!" the boy shouted.
The Teacher smirked. "Is it? Let me tell you how you were trapped."
"Who are ‘they’?" the boy asked cautiously.
The Teacher revealed his identity—he was from intelligence. The boy’s world crumbled.
The orphan school wasn’t just a shelter—it was a recruitment base. Intelligence took in children, trained them, and used them as pawns. The student had been working for intelligence all along. The teacher was not a kind person who helped him, but the teacher trapped him by getting him into the orphan school and made up his death.
In court, the judge sentenced the boy to death. Alone in his cold cell, the truth consumed him. It had all been a trap. Intelligence and sleeper cells weren’t enemies—they were one. The student had betrayed him.
Grief overwhelmed him. In his final act, the boy slit his wrists, ending his life in the cage.
Meanwhile, the student, once a pawn in intelligence’s game, found himself in danger. The boy’s growing influence had threatened the intelligence network. Their only way out was to destroy his reputation, turn him into a villain, and eliminate him.
The student had done everything to free himself from the airport attack accusation, but intelligence had no use for him anymore. They killed him, too.
And just like that, the cycle continued. The student had been running before—and nothing changed.


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Author’s bio: M-Faiz Sultan Qureshi is a Narrative Fiction Writer who explores dark themes, human complexity, and the struggles of society. He writes short stories that blend suspense, realism, and thought-provoking ideas. When not writing, he observes the world around him, turning everyday moments into narratives that challenge perception and spark reflection.