Dead Diamonds

‘Thump’

Something hard hit Worubu at the back of his head. He shook his head, to recover from the shock and his eyes sought the perpetrators of the attack. From across the stream a group of boys looked at him with anticipation and fear. They all were hardly a summer over 15, almost Worubu’s own age.

Worubu rose up slowly, using the support of his AK-47. A homemade football, made up of old rags and plastic and tied up with pieces of rope, lay near his foot. His eyes went instantly towards the stump where his left leg used to be till the land mine explosion. Usually, he tried to ignore the pain which kept him up most nights and blank out the anguish of loosing his whole family in the blast but the constant itching in his missing leg didn’t give him that respite.

“STOPPPPP”, a voice filled the grey sky.

A figure dashed by Worubu’s side and ran towards the stream. At that moment, Worubu forgot everything. The pain, the sufferings, the grief, the sorrow, all took a back seat as a tidal wave of anger and hatred rose inside him. Later he would regret his actions but at that instant he had found the way to channel his anger & anguish to.

His face contracted into a vengeful half snarled expression. Without uttering a word he raised his gun, aimed and fired.

Each one of the bullet found its way into the target.

Worubu hopped across to the dead figure but a small child beat him to it. The child showed Worubu three uncut diamonds he had taken from the half clasped fist of the dead man.

“They would shine more if we wash off the blood from them”, said Worubu.

-----

Had this story in mind since a long time, got inspired by a lot of things. Dafur, Soccer World Cup, Africa, Blood Diamonds, Child Soldiers to name a few.

I love the title though. So many connections and I can feel dwelling deeply into each of them.

In Exchange of the Soul

Richard came out of the hole and saw the sun hanging above the remains of the world. The buildings stood as silent witnesses to the death and destruction, ready to scream obscenities at the human kind for the misfortune they had bought upon the planet. The lack of any wind whispered accusations in Richard’s ears. He inhaled deeply the dust rich air and instantly started coughing. Each day he did the same thing, as a ritual, with the hope that one day his lungs would be blessed to breathe in air, a little cleaner, a little calmer, a little purer. And each day his wish was rejected.

A little girl’s head popped up from the hole from which Richard had crawled up. As she saw the yellow light spread across the ruins of the once famous skyline, a gasp escaped her lips. Sunlight had been a rarity since the time the massive dust storms had enveloped the earth. In fact, little Suzie actually couldn’t recall the last time she had seen natural light. The undergrounds were all lighted by kerosene lamps which she hated because of the smell and the fumes that they filled the tunnels up with when ignited.

Richard looked at Suzie and smiled at the fascinated expression which only a child can display. He took her hand and led her towards the road which led them deeper into the heart of once proud city.

‘Come now sweetie,’ he said to her, ‘Let’s find something to eat before it gets dark.’

He took her hand and started to move across the heaps of rubble, laid across the wasteland like the silent victims of Pompeii. Suzie kept looking at the fallen buildings and the wilted trees in amazement. Everything her sight touched was a proof of the devastation, but she rarely had a chance to ever come out from the den and today also only the desperation to get some rations and provisions had forced them to come up.

Richard kept his eyes focused on the store which was looming into view from behind the mountain of debris, as they climbed it. He took Suzie in his arms to speed up their ascent. He reached the top of the heap and could finally make out the broken signage on the store welcoming its visitors.

‘W- A- L- L- M- A-’ Suzie started to read it aloud

‘Shhh baby,’ Richard purred.

There was a small field separating them and the canned food inside the store.He put Suzie down and took a deep breath. ‘Time of reckoning.’ his brain commented.

‘You see that pole dear?’ Richard asked Suzie, pointing at the remains of a streetlight standing on the far right of the field.

‘Yes.’ Suzie nodded.

‘When I reach there, you go running toward the middle of the field, alright? Make as much noise you want. Ok princess?’

Suzie nodded again.

-----

Richard carefully crawled towards the streetlight on all fours. He stood up and looked back at Suzie. She was still standing atop the hill of rubbish, her face already pink from the heat. A calm determined look was on her face as her eyes met Richard’s.

‘She knows.’ Richard’s mind chided him.

Richard felt a ball of lead falling deep into his stomach and his heart did a double flip in his ribcage, yet his brain didn’t let go of the command over his body. Richard felt an invisible force making him wave to Suzie, prodding her to move forward.

With a look mature beyond her young years, Suzie started to come down from the top of the rubble. Richard’s mind forced him to come out of the trance like state and move towards the depleted store.

Out of the blue, Suzie’s voice filled the amber sky. ‘Doggy.’

Richard stopped in his tracks and looked back. Suzy was standing at the foot of the rubble hill, looking back at him with a pleased expression, all the time pointing towards the gates of the store.

At the doors of the store stood a huge dog, almost the size of a little bear. It had been completely disowned by its fur except for some small, shiny patches of hair left here and there, as if to give testimony to what a fine animal it had been once. Half of its face had no skin or muscle, melted away from the massive heat of he sun’s radiation. Its white raw skull protruded from what was left of the face and a pool of saliva was forming at its feet while it looked at the strange figure in white pointing towards it.

Slowly the beast started to move towards Suzie, the first vibrations of a killer growl forming at the back of its throat. As the distance between them decreased, the speed and the fury of the beast increased.

Suzie sensed that something was wrong as the monstrous figure she had been marveling at a little while ago, came charging towards her. She looked back at her Uncle Richard for help, but he was already making his way towards the now empty door of the store.

Once Upon a Time

The logs crackled to life as the fire mustered enough strength to break the barrier of the ignition point of the wood. The black darkness of the night bowed down as the flames started to exert their supremacy and gave them a little space from its inky domain as a peace offering.

A smile of content came to Kumar’s face for his efforts as he wiped his brow with a handkerchief. Even in these times of anarchy and destruction he made a point to hang on to the last threads of civilization. Cooked food, Hygiene, No eating by hand were some of the few rules he had been enforcing to be followed.

‘Bye Bye Cold.’ clapped little Jimmy and threw in some twigs and pieces of plastic in the blaze. The bonfire instantly started to produce foul smelling black smoke, as the plastic started to curl from the heat.

‘That is enough Jim.’ Rita scolded him and forcefully made him sit in her lap.

Jimmy tried to wriggle free but a 5 year old was no match for the strength of the 13 year old girl.

‘Listen to her Jimmy.’ Kumar chuckled, ‘or you know both of us would get into trouble.’

A deep hue of red started to spread across Rita’s face. Sure, she had scolded Uncle Kumar from time to time, but it was for his own good, she always concluded. Sometimes he got a bit carried away in his enthusiasm, like the time he had jumped in the over flowing river because Jimmy wanted to fish for dinner.

‘Uncle Kumar, story.’ Jimmy chirped as he settled smugly into Rita’s lap.

‘Okay.’ Kumar said. ‘Now I know I have really spoilt you.’ he teased them.

Suddenly, the lights dancing in the sky caught Kumar’s eye. Just as they had appeared, they vanished but with them they swept off the moment of peace from Kumar’s mind.

‘Thank God the kids didn’t see them.’ the thought flashed in his mind.

‘Uncle Kumar. STORY.’ Jimmy shrieked.

‘All right, All right.’ Kumar tried to calm his quavering voice.

‘Once upon a time in a land not too far away, there lived a King. He was a great king. Compassionate, Brave, Just and Loved by all. But he had a vice. A very large problem. His anger.’

‘He had a raring temper and used to get angry at the most trivial of matters. Once he burnt all the apple orchards in his kingdom because one of the apples he ate hurt his gums. His name was Aramis.’ Jimmy gasped, apples were his favorite.

Kumar continued as if in a trance. ‘Aramis had a huge kingdom. It sprawled from the edge of the frozen Blue Mountains in the north to the bank of the Black Sea to the south, from the golden wheat farms in the east to the red desert in the west. His stories of might and strength were the first defensive walls against any outside invaders. Kings from all around were so scared of him that they had all married their daughters to him in order to maintain good relations. People from all around were in awe of him and respected him, except for at one place.’

‘On the other side of the black sea there was another kingdom. A beautiful land, of rivers and trees, of exotic animals and birds, of people who in spite being a little violent in nature had a little goodness in them. They didn’t have good boats which would allow them to cross the black sea, so had no idea that there was also someone across the sea.’

‘The crown prince of the Kingdom was Jadey. He was a little reckless and adventurous in nature, always climbing the Blue Mountains in the North or taming the Wild Rats of the red desert. One day he decided that he would go and see what is on the other side of the Black Sea. As was expected, Aramis forbid him to sail, but being as stubborn as his father, Jadey didn’t listen.’

‘That night Jadey set sail all alone. He traveled for 4 nights and still didn’t see signs of the land. On the fifth night there was a bad storm in the sea. Jadey tried and tried but just couldn’t control his boat. It kept on going in whatever direction the sea wanted it to go. Jadey just kept holding onto the main sail of the boat for his life. Finally the storm subsided and his boat touched land. He got down and marveled at the flora and fauna of the land. He kept on roaming on the land and saw strange creatures. He was just tasting some yellow colored fruit and looking at a cow in amazement when suddenly the natives saw him. The natives looked amazed at the appearance of Jadey. They hadn’t ever seen a person like them. They took him down and took him to their King.’

‘Meanwhile, Aramis on finding out that Jadey was missing got very worried. He knew that he must’ve gone to the Black sea. He ordered his whole navy to go out and look for him.’

‘Months went past and so did years but there was no clue of Jadey. Aramis kept on getting more and more worried. Finally one day, one of the scouts reported that they have found the remains of Jadey’s boat on some strange land across the sea.’

Kumar broke from his trance and saw that the kids had fallen asleep. He took a tattered quilt and covered them up with it. He slowly got up and moved towards the edge of the cliff. For miles and miles he could see the wreckage of his once majestic city. Fires which hadn’t stopped burning for the last 25 years still ravaged the whole world and mutated animals now roamed the streets once bustling with humanity. Kumar saw what remained of India Gate still standing, bathed by the light of the Spacecraft hovering above it.

‘If only the Americans knew the alien they had captured was the Prince of that Planet.’ Kumar thought sadly. ‘None of this would’ve had happened. We could’ve avoided all the death and destruction. There would’ve had been no need for them to invade us’. His eyes welled up as the images of the horrific past crashed down onto his soul. ‘If only that son-of-a-bitch would’ve stayed in his own forsaken world and not come to earth.’

He turned his back to the destroyed world and threw some twigs in the weakening fire.

The Knight in the Shining Armor

He lifted his head as an act of defiance. The face which loomed into his vision was nothing more then a blurred blot. He focused his red swollen eyes and struggled to engrave that face in his memory, just in case if the future gave him a chance for the payback of this predicament.

In the past hour, he had already swallowed half of his teeth and puked out most of his breakfast. By now, he also had a pretty good idea what Mohammed Ali’s punching bag must have felt like.

‘So,’ the garlic smelling voice filled the room. ‘Are you going to be a good boy and tell me what I wish to know or you still want to enjoy my hospitality a little longer??’

He could feel his heart thumping against his rib cage and the numbness of his shackled limbs. A cold chill ran through his spine as all of his common sense told him to quit and spill the beans but instead he forced his bloodied and bruised lips to form a smile and said as coherently as his swollen tongue and crushed gums allowed him to, ‘FUURRCCK YAAAHHHH.’

He could never figure out what hurt more, the punch that broke his nose or the kick that ruptured his spleen. In fact, he couldn’t even remember what followed what. But at that instant he was sure that he wasn’t going to get out of this room alive.

He wasn’t scared or sad. Death was part of the job description. He waited for the clichéd show reel of his life to start playing in front of his eyes but instead only the images of his parents flashed before his eyes, with the feelings of regret in tow.

He regretted not thanking them enough for bringing him up so well, specially his father for installing so much belief, confidence, courage and all the other values that molded him into the man he is today. He hoped his father wouldn’t be much distraught with his death. Being an ex-army man himself he would understand why his son had to die. Wasn't ‘Duty onto Death’ had been the motto of his force.

The backhand slap across his face brought him back from his musings. He re-tasted his own blood and coughed violently as he tried to breathe in some of the stale air.

Suddenly, someone kicked open the door. The blare of the sunlight caught them both, the torturer and the tortured, unprepared. For the next 3 minutes both of them were blinded by the light but they did notice a figure entering the room.

He clenched his eyes in pain but heard the two shots fired at close range. With the ray of hope in his heart he opened them again and saw his torturer lay dead near his feet with two neat holes in his chest.

He saw the figure of his savior move towards him and tried to mumble his thanks for saving his life.

The figure kneeled down. There was something very familiar about him, the smell, the way he moved, but his numb mind refused to make the obvious connection.

Just before he fell unconscious he heard his father’s soft voice in his ears.

‘No need son. After all, what else are fathers there for?’

-----

This one is for my Dad. Had written it for his b'day on the 21st but couldn't edit it properly till today. A bit late but well he would understand I hope. After all that's what fathers do best. Love Ya Paa

Targets

Jack's mind dictated him to drink the glass of water placed in front of him, but the fear in his heart countered this command and told him to sit still instead. Beads of precipitation formed on his forehead as he looked across the table.

A seductive smile spread across her face as she gazed at the frightened image sitting in front of her. She uncrossed her shapely legs and sighed. In another setting someone might have misunderstood that sound as a sign of pleasure, but Jack knew that there was nothing but contempt in store for him.

Her mini skirt and the skimpy halter top didn't left much for the imagination while her jet black hair enveloped her pale oval face, but it were the coal black eyes that captured all of Jack's attention. He could actually feel the air getting colder as the seconds ticked past and the chill entering through every pore of his body as she kept boring him with those eyes of hers.

'How have you been doing Jack?' she purred.

'Good.' Whatever confidence Jack had been trying to muster up evaporated in an instant.

'Let me get straight to the point Jack. How many clients do you have in a month?'

'23.' He mumbled.

'Only Regulars? or Including New clients?' she said in her best honey coated voice.

'Regulars.'

'And New clients? What about them?'

'On an average, I manage to hook 4 or 5 new clients in a month.' Jack could hear some sense of confidence being restored in his voice.

'And what is the conversion rate?'

'Mostly 3 of them become regulars.' Yes. The confidence was back. Nothing bad could happen to him. He was the star.

'And when was the last time you had a new client Mr. Jack?'

Jack felt as if he had just been punched in the stomach.

He fumbled with the words to form a coherent answer but she blew him off with the rest of her words.

'Each month we give every peddler $20,000 worth of cocaine to give out for free. To hook up more users, to give the rich brats something new to flaunt about and all of this only to give opportunities to our distribution agents to grow, to prosper, to become rich. This is our way of saying thank you Mr. Jack. OURS. FOR YOU'

The last words cut through the air and entered Jack's heart.

'And you Mr. Jack haven't brought a new client since the last 5 months. 5 FUCKING MONTHS. But still you avail that free coke from us.'

As her voice increased decibel by decibel with every word she spoke, Jack felt a dread seeping into his body.

'$100,000 down the drain. And your business from those 23 regular clients you are so gleefully mentioning hasn't been more then $53,000. Not monthly but collectively for 5 months.' she spat out at him.

'Recession hit all of them hard. They wanted more to cope with the frustrations and I didn't want them to loose them to cheaper substitutes that is why I kept the supply at a lesser rate,' Even to Jack this sounded lame. 'Also all those other peddlers. They keep stealing my clients. Despite the clear division of territories they...'

His eyes met hers and he stopped in mid sentence. There was a legend in the business that her eyes were the doorways of hell. One could actually see the bowels of the devil's lair through them. Jack could have swore that it was all true.

'You see Jack. It might happen once, twice or even three times if your luck is out to screw you hard but for 5 months?? It only tells me either everyone has turned to God for peace in your neighborhood or you are doing a shitty job.'

A silence engulfed the room.

'You would agree Jack you have just become bad for business. You are fired.' she said calmly.

Jack expected a sledgehammer to shatter his ribs, he expected the air out of his lungs to choke out. Strangely, none of that happened. Sure, he had fallen to a more lower level in the hierarchy of things but wasn't his mom always used to say he was a man of spirit?

'That is my Jackie boy,' he could picture her saying, 'always bounces back when his opponent's back has turned.'

'Pimping isn't a bad option,' he thought,' or I can always become a paddler for that fat Indian.'

His chains of thoughts were broken by a click.

He saw a Beretta sitting prettily in her manicured hands.

She threw her seductive smile back at him and said, 'Sadly for you no one leaves the business alive.'

The last thing his mind told him was,'I told you to drink that glass of water.'

Dead Man Talking

Disclosure: This is a piece of fiction. Most of the people would never notice the 'Pulp Fiction' tag, so just being safe. :D

-----

I die in the end.
There, the cat is out of the bag.

Most of you can now go on with whatever you try to pass on as life, without caring and without realizing how your own insignificant existence is nothing but a farce in the grand schemes of things.
The rest of the souls who decide to stay on and derive sadistic pleasure out of one screwed up deathbed confession, FUCK YOU, but then again being dead doesn't leave me with lot many options to make you stop from reading.

I don't care much for you but I wouldn't be the one to question your beliefs or your agenda. After all, till sometime ago I was naive enough to think of myself as a stylized copy of Max Payne and Matrix's Neo, stylish, smart, suave, except for the fact that I was on the other side of the law. And now I sit in the bowels of hell, alone. Talk about falling from grace.

I am a... DAMN !!!! it is still difficult to think of myself in the past tense and am sure I would keep repeating this mistake, was a Hitman.
A professional Hitman.

Just to make sure we are on the same page, you know the tacky images of unshaven, unruly henchmen popular culture throws in your face in the name of paid killers??? All false. All wrong.

The keyword that makes all the difference between me and those worms of the underbelly of crime is 'professional'.

With me everything had to be properly done and organized, whole systems in place for efficiency and effectiveness.
I had a proper PR-Marketing team in place whose only job was to build up my reputation among the world's ruthless without arousing the attention of the International Police.
Client servicing was my mantra for success, both after & before the kill.
An accounting firms handled all the payment issues and I had people working only for solving logistical issues and securing raw materials and equipment.
In fact, I had delegated all the less critical functions which gave me enough time to plan and execute.

It was a proper setup.

If it would've been in something legal, my small organisation would've given the best companies in the world a run for their money.

And that is the single most factor because of which I had a success rate of 92.7%.

And I only did 'hits'. No mass kills for me. A single man, a group of men at most but never collateral damage.

I was an Assassin, not a terrorist or a mercenary.

Despite everything working like a clockwork, I still died. Talk about irony.
In hindsight, it seems inevitable though. Somewhere in my heart, I always knew dieing from old age is one luxury I can't afford, still it is basic human nature that we all push back the dirt under the carpet and I did the same. Threw out all the thoughts of occupational hazards and embraced my own false sense of invincibility.

Coming back to the story, it was a dark August night when I set out to fulfill a contract, without realizing that fate had something else in mind for me.

It was a regular run of the mill kill with little complications or chances of failures, so I was quite confident it would go smoothly.

I won't reveal my client or my kill's name to preserve the Hitman-Client confidentially but for the sake of the story I would refer to my client as Mr. Y and the hit as Mr. X.

Mr. Y was the undisputed kingpin of the mafia while Mr. X was an upcoming gangster who for a long time had been challenging his authority. Their gangwar had ravaged the city for months and both sides had incurred a lot of damage. Frustrated with his henchman's failure to kill Mr. X, Mr. Y decided to outsource this function of his business to me.

I won't bother about how I planned for a month before actually going in the kill-zone and how I entered Mr. X's heavily guarded mansion and managed to reach the corridor leading to his bedroom without being discovered, because quite frankly the finesse of the whole thing would just be lost on you.

The plush carpet inhibited any noise of my footstep, not that it mattered as my rubber soled shoes minimized the sound of my movement anyways. Paintings and antiques adorned the walls and the red-black themed color combination of the whole house gave it a somewhat gory look. A dragon mask eyed me suspiciously as I moved towards the doors at the end of the corridors and the Jade Buddha sitting at the mantelpiece with tranquility written across his face, caught my attention. Blue moonlight coming in from the windows became the mean for my illumination and the reason of the 'dance of the shadows' on the wall as well.

I stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath. There was a door on both of my sides but I knew that the one in front separated me and Mr. X.

I took out my handgun, held the doorknob and listened intently. Adrenaline rushed to my head with the unknown looming at my face.

Questions like, Had I been detected? Are there people waiting for me inside? to doubts such as, It was SO easy coming in. I didn't plan well enough, decided to penetrate my mind.

Slowly, I opened the door and walked in.

Mr. X was sitting on the bed, without his shirt with a 10 year old kid sitting in his lap. Disgusting images filled my mind but I had seen worse, so my imagination didn't torment me much.

The classic expression of bewilderment followed by alarm and finally, fear flooded Mr. X's face, which would be understandable by those who had have ever had to face the wrong end of a .50 caliber handgun.

I stared into his eyes and shot for his heart.

In spite of the element of surprise, Mr. X got to his senses quickly. He grabbed the kid and moved him in between his pumping muscle and the path of my lead angel.

The bullet entered near the nape of the kid's neck and shattered his collarbone. He fell down on the floor with a yelp and instantly started making a pool of blood on the crimson carpet. Mr. X reached for his own gun from the bedside table but it was a futile action. I shot him twice, once in the spine and the second time in the back of his head.

Mr. X's gun fell near the kid's body, in the pool of blood. Poor bastard, I had thought at that time, living a whoring life and dieing just as unnecessary. Then I noticed the kid was actually trying to move. Now, compassion might not be my first virtue but I tend to think up of myself as a just and normal human. There was a kid, bleeding to death by my own bullet, at my feet. A bullet not intended for him but making him part of the collateral damage nevertheless. A kid who maybe had lived all his life in the despicable clutches of Mr. X. The least I could do was to put him in a more comfortable position.

I tried to move the kid on his back in order to pick him up and put him on the bed. The moment I turned him on his back, the kid shot me. He wasn't a kid. He was a midget, a dwarf. Suddenly, Mr. X didn't seem like a monster anymore. He was only gay, with slightly weird sexual preferences for a partner.

The midget had gotten hold of Mr. X's gun while I was dealing with my compassionate side. The bullet whizzed past my right ear and landed harmlessly in the wall behind me. The only damage that occurred was to my right ear and that also due to the sound.

My natural reaction would've been to shoot him twice in the head but because I was in shock, I shot him three times. By this time even the deafest of Mr. X's guards would've been alerted due to the havoc created by the midget, so time was the essence for me.

I turned around and saw a figure standing in the doorway. This time my natural instinct took hold of me and I calmly shot him only once.

There was a lot of commotion happening around the mansion and I decided to use it for my escape. I glanced at the two bodies lying near the bed and a sense of accomplishment came over my soul. As I passed through the door I saw that the person whom I had shot in the doorway was also a midget. At that moment I was thinking 'Nowhere in my dossier there is any information that Mr. X had such a deep rooted affection towards dwarfs, the only personal details I had uncovered was that, that he had a son who along with his wife had died in a car crash and...'.

And then I was filled with dread. Horror chilled my soul. I could see the typewritten words on the dossier in front of me.

'Mr. X had a son who died on the eve of Christmas along with his wife in a car crash. Mr. X was named the legal guardian of his grandson (now aged 12) who lives with Mr. X and whose bedroom is adjacent to Mr. X's bedroom.'

I stared at the pool of blood at my feet. My eyes finally adjusted to the dim light and I saw that at my feet lay the body of a 12 year old kid and not a dwarf.

I fell to my knees and peered into his lifeless grey eyes.

I knew at that instant life as I knew it had finished. The sense of peace and the feeling of contentment lost forever. I had lost my soul. These eyes would torment me every second of the day. Sleep, Sanity, Joy, Happiness all were gone forever. I had killed an innocent kid. All my pride in my training, in my principles, in my methods, in my calmness turned to ashes. I had killed a child, depriving him of the chance for his first kiss, his first beer or his first drive.

I got out of the grounds in a daze. Reached my safe house without realizing what was happening around me. And said a prayer. For his soul and mine.

I told you I died in the end. I just hadn't mentioned that only my body had survived.

Angels & Needles

The buzzing of the clock tore through the night's silence and with that I finally accepted failure. My lungs were aching for air and I was drenched in sweat. After more then 7 hours of tossing and turning on the bed I finally quit. When you are dead tired the elixir of sleep comes really slowly. Add to that my present condition and you have an extreme case of insomnia in your hands.

'Some nights would be difficult. Really painful.'

I sat up and tried to steady my spinning head. My mouth felt dry & rough as a sandpaper. I gulped down some shallow breaths and tried rising to my shaking knees. Another failure added to the story of my life. I tried to scream, to curse, to cry the least but my physical exhaustion forced my hands down yet again. The red digits of the clock at my bedside showed it was 3 A.M, but it could've been the middle of a sunny day or a drizzle in the early hours of the evening for all I cared. I just craved for one thing. The only thing that had the power to transform my dingy little apartment into the grounds of heaven.

'Take control my friend. It would tempt you in so many ways. TAKE CONTROL'

I got up from the bed and moved towards the window. As I opened it, the stench of the filth and the humidity of the city hit me like a wall of bricks. My blood-shot eyes had that dazed look in them as I tried to peer through the darkness. The cityline was adorned with bedazzling lights but all I could see was the looming darkness in front of me.

"You will see things you would like to see. Reality becomes a dream and hallucinations the truth."

Another shot of pain rammed down my throat. I fell to my knees as my insides caught fire. I could actually feel by heart getting ready to burst out of my ribcage and my entrails twisting into a new shape. I could feel my skin melting away and the my bones turning to dust. A grasshopper's chirp halfway across the world could reach my ears and I felt the rush of the warm blood rushing towards my head. Bile and vomit rose towards my throat with a blood-curling scream intermingled with the shit. And just as it had started it passed.

"You have the strength to say No."

For a long time I stayed on the floor, infact I lost all sense of time. Only the floor's coldness and my own shaking persona were my companions. I tried to focus on the watch but everything around me was just a blur. Finally I started the crawl toward my desk. Every move I made sent down waves of pain through my body, but I've learnt to live with pain.
It pains when your heart gets broken.
It pains when you see someone else getting everything you deserve.
It pains when you loose the goal you had set out to achieve.
It pains to see the disappointment in the eyes of your loved ones.
It pains each time you insert the needle in your veins.

"Addiction is easy, recovery is not. Some days would just be like straight out of hell. You should throw away all the drugs as your first step."

I somehow managed to plant myself in the seat. I opened the drawer and took out the bottle and a hypodermic needle. I filled it with the clear liquid and rolled up my sleeves. For a second I forgot everything as I saw the numerous puncture wounds on my forearm. Each one of those tiny holes told of a larger story behind them. I closed my eyes and inserted the needle in my vein.

"Call me anytime you want."

My eyes fell on my cell. If only she wasn't 'out of coverage area'. If only I was able to talk to her, nothing would've come this far. My eyes welled up with tears as I realized that due to my weakness, I was loosing the battle we had been fighting for two months.
I still hadn't inserted the plunger, yet.

"You are not alone. I'm not only your counselor, I'm your friend."

The 'ping' brought me back to my own personal hell. I searched for the source and saw my computer was still on. I had forgotten to sign myself out of Gtalk also. It was a message. From MH. 'Hi'.
She was one of my classmates from college. Smart. Beautiful. Elegant. Intelligent. Considerate. And we had hardly ever talked to each other.
We were just acquaintances during all those years. Our conversations were limited to the customary Hellos and Goodbyes. After so many years of disconnect from everyone, her perfunctory greeting seemed like a ghost of the past. The bright, happy, joyous past. The past that killed me each day, little by little. I almost made up my mind to switch off my computer when she again wrote.
'I'm so glad you are online. Will you please talk to me?? I was just going to kill myself.'

"Don't worry friend. Everyone is going through this life, looking for their angels. You will find yours too."

I stared at the screen. At my apartment. At the drug filled needle still sticking into my arm. At the words flashing across the monitor. At the broken pieces of my life.
I took a deep breath to calm my shaking hands and tried to ease out the pain sledgehammering my mind. I took out the needle from my arm and threw it out of the open window. Suddenly, I could make out the lights of the city and the faint glow of rising sun in the backdrop.

"Talking to someone helps. It gives you strength. The will to fight, to survive. Share your pain my friend."

'What happened MH?', I typed back.


-----

Skillet were right. Angels show up in the strangest of places.

Like mine did a week back, at 3 A.M in the night !!! and when I was least expecting it. This one is for ya. :P
AND no, I wasn't doing drugs AND NO she wasn't thinking of killing herself (Amen).. tats why the online's friend's initials are in the reverse.. :D you'll get it 'HM'.

It is also for one of my philosophies... actually Raj Kapoor's or rather Shailendra's to be exact... "Kisi ki muskurahaton pe ho nisar...Kisi ka dard mil sake to le udhaar..."

If you want to forget your own pain, be compassionate towards others problem, try to listen to them if not solve them. It works. Trust me. ;)
PEACE till the next.

Reliving Nightmares

Eduardo opened his eyes to see shadows playing on the ceiling. He woke up from his fitful sleep and tried to find the bottle of water. She hadn't put it by his bedside, again. he looked at her side of the bed, still empty. For how much time I'm supposed to apologize, he thought.

Eduardo was drenched in a cold sweat and shaken to the core of his soul. He was reliving the same nightmare again and again and again. He tried to stand up on his feet but his knees kept buckling. 'Inches away. Inches away from me' he thought. He tried to calm himself down but every time he got close to peace, the red figure came back in his mind, charging towards him. And then he shot.

No one had blamed him at first but then at that time no one had got the time to mull over things. But now everything had changed, everything was different. Someone had to be the scapegoat. No one remembered his past achievements, the applauds he had earned. The shadow of this failure had cast an eclipse on everything he had achieved.

He went to the window to see the lights of Lisbon beckoning him. It was a common phenomena around the world. The cities never sleep.

He went downstairs to get some water. He saw the lights coming from the living room. As usual she had forgotten to switch off the Television.

The highlights of the earlier game were playing across the screen. Puyol leaping across the German defense and putting the ball in the net.
The faces of the German players flashed across but it was the German goalkeeper whose dejected face imprinted in Eduardo's heart. Eduardo could relate to his state of mind. He picked his cell and typed, 'It is alright Neuer. Good game.' and sent it to him.

With a heavy heart Eduardo looked at his wall where his Portuguese jersey was framed.


-----

Goalkeepers are an unsung lot. Confined to their 18 yard boxes, under total pressure to save every shot fired at them and ALWAYS overlooked. David Villa, Ronaldinho, Muller, Klose, Messi, Tevez , Sneijder may have cult following but hardly anyone sings laurels in the praises of the Goalkeepers (except maybe when they can't hold onto the ball...remember Robert green of England??) Once in a lifetime maybe one can hear of names like Buffon, Oliver Kahn or maybe Van der Sar. The silver lining??? The best best goalkeeper in the world, Spain's Casillas, has the HOTTEST GF of all the WAGS. Beat that Beckham. :D

On an ending note the above post is inspired by the goal scored by Villa against Portugal in the WC-2010.

Love makes the World go... NUTS !!!

People talk about love as if it is something wonderful. In fact most of them (or us or you or maybe me too) don't stop at just that. We make it something wonderful, something so amazing that it is worth more then everything else in life put together.

Every book one reads and every song one hears is all about love, either it's agony or it's ecstasy. It's as if all the people in the world are in a conspiracy to persuade themselves and others to believe that there's a wonderful something just around the corner which they can get if they just try hard enough.

They hypnotize themselves into thinking of nothing else, striving for nothing else but just waiting for that emotion to take control of their lives and take them on a ride where only happiness and joy will engulf their souls.

AND during this they miss all the other splendid things of life.

Time for a Heartbreak :-/ OR Shotgun is a Man's Best Friend :D

"Is it time already?"

"Yes sir,it is. Time to break your heart sir."

"Oh well, we both knew this would happen sooner or later. Anyways, will you bring my shotgun up please?"

"I already have it here sir. Have cleaned it all, in and out and have also put in two extra rounds for contingencies, sir."

"You are the best butler ever. Even Jeeves can't match up to you."

"Thank You Sir."

------

Don't know whether am down or feeling like on 7th heaven. But this is for sure P.G Wodehouse is the best writer EVER. :D

The Coup- Part 13

QUIET HORIZONS

The trio tore through the veil of the clouds, giving new meanings to the phrase 'sky is the limit'.
Aris protectively held Archie and kept his eyes on the horizon, but his mind was just not with the rest of his body.

Aris missed Raul. Every moment when he was not moving, when the adrenaline wasn't pumping, whenever he relaxed, the memories came rushing back to haunt him. Tormenting his soul, taunting him at his failure to save him or take revenge either. He missed the sanity and peace of his earlier life. He missed the love, the friendship, the companionship. A tear formed in his eye.

Flying across him, Donovan was fighting the demons of his own. He had no purpose, no goals, nothing to look forward to. And what he had just learnt, made a joke of everything he had done in his past. His mind kept wandering back to the conversation they have had in the clearing.

'And that's how he died Donovan.' Aris had said,'That is how we have all been dieing. The man we have been protecting has been the one who had been selling us off.'

At first Donovan had denied it all and simply refused to believe him. He had almost attacked Aris again but then Aris offered him to see the proof for himself.

Aris had held the girl's head and hypnotized her.Soon, the images of the last moment of Raul had sprang out in front of them.
Donovan's heart sank to a new low while the fury within him attained new heights as he saw the slaying of the angel.
Aris stopped just as the girl lost her consciousness

'Archie was Raul's human. He was to be her guardian angel so when he died a part of him got into her to protect her, to be her inner voice, her conscience. This is no magic, if we continue you can see all of Raul's life.' Aris said,'I'm telling you the truth Donovan, but I also know no one will believe me over the righteousness of God. That is why I have decided to get revenge for our brothers and sisters.'

A flying Duck broke the series of thoughts in Donovan's mind and brought him back to the present.

'So we will end it where it all started. At the Garden of Eden.' thought Donovan while dodging another Duck.

Garden of Eden was the only thing which kept flashing across Archie's mind also. She remembered seeing someone dieing in her dreams. At first she had attributed it to the shock, after all so much bizarre happenings had taken place in the last 24 hours but when she came around and saw the two angels arguing about something she knew something was not right. And then their subsequent conversation simply cemented her opinion that she landed amidst something very horrible and dangerous.

'She is the only one who can end this. Shreyaan has told me. You know why God always preached against vengeance?? Because it is the only feeling that he can't overwhelm. The EXACT opposite of his teachings, of his religion.And the weapon that will destroy him.' Aris had said.

'There is this source in Eden, the perfect synergy between dark and light. The source of everyone's energy. If we can get to it, we can suck out God's life by using Archie. I know how to do it. I just need to get there.' Aris had said.

She recalled that the dark winged angel, the one who called himself Donovan had exploded quite violently after that. 'You are fucking mad in what you are planning to do, you know that?? and I must be mad in...' she had lost consciousness after that.

'Well, he is still with us. I guess Aris made him see his point.' she thought.

The thought of Aris suddenly made her realize how close she was to him at this moment. She could feel his arms holding her close to him. She could actually feel his heart pounding in his chest, or was it her own? Her feelings for him confused her. He is still in love with someone else, a guy.
HE IS GAY, her mind scolded back.
And I'm in love, she replied back.
A wrong kind of love darling, the mind refuted, it won't go anywhere.
Just as the best comeback came to Archie's mind, Donovan spoke.

'We are here. The Garden of Eden.'

Downloading Complete- 78%

Thanks to the leapfrogging progress we have made in 'genetic research', babies can be designed today. A couple can decide on whether their child should look more like the 'handsome father' or the 'gorgeous mother' (sense the sarcasm guys and gals. take a reality check. No you do not look like George Clooney and give Jessica Alba sleepless nights. Only your mother thinks you do. Today is Mother's day right??? LOVE YA MAA. You ROCK !!!). Manipulate some genes here, some alleles there, change a code here and attach another nucleobase there (I was a Bio topper at school, I KNOW WHAT AM TALKING ABOUT :D) and presto, you have the perfect baby.

And what if we go one step further? What if their are CDs to make your own babies. Imagine if a window like Bit-torrent opens up on your PC, just put in what you want, chuck out what you don't, have sex (I hope that is NEVER taken away by technology) take the personality zip file, embed and voila the perfect baby comes out.

Imagining it? Good. Now stop. Read further to know what I imagined. :D
maybe will start a mini-series on this too :D


********

"That is not how we used to do it" said Grandma Jo, short for Jyotika.

Jessica sighed and looked towards Karan for some support.
Karan looked up from his newspaper and faced the two women. He had the bewildered look on his face that most men do, when they have to mediate between their wife and mothers. God help me, he thought as the first of his words started pouring out of his mouth.

"Yes mom, I know that wasn't the way you used to do it but well times have changed. It is 2073 for god's sakes. It is the technological leap of..."

"Technology-Snuffology... The best way to make babies is by good old fashioned sex and not your modern hocus-pocus."

Jessica turned a color of scarlet, by the sudden attack of shyness or because of her simmering anger, we would never know. She knew Karan had already lost the battle, now it was up to her to make her mother-in-law see the obvious point.

"Mom" she said, "Remember how you always wanted Karan to be a little more fair?".

Jyotika nodded dumbly.

"This thing does just that. We are not making the baby but just designing it. See here this is the CD which have the programs for physical appearance eye color, hair color, skin tone etc etc. While this CD has all the behavioral traits which we we can have in our baby." Jessica said while dropping a multi colored CD box in Jyotika's lap. 'Over 10,000 personalities to choose from' screamed the banner on the box.

Jyotika's eyes bulged out in amazement as she read all that that could've been done with only two CDs and the head gear (sold with the pack).

"You mean to say," her eyes welled up," this baby can have Karan's father's eyes?"

A triumphant smile came across Jessica's face while a calmness descended over Karan's mind.
"Yes Mom." Jessica replied back. "Here look I'll show you what more we can do with it."

12 year old Rishi, the elder son of Jessica and Karan smiled sweetly back at his family, as he smacked the cat with his bat but like always no one noticed him.


-----


The silence of the night enveloped the whole household. The computer screen was the only thing which shed some light in the room. 'Downloading Behavior' kept flashing across the screen. In one of the corner of the screen a window showed 'Baby Personality- Complete 78%'.

With the same sweet smile plastered across his face Rishi hit the pause button and ejected the CD. He opened another case whose cover was adorned by the menacing face of Heath Ledger in war paint. 'JOKER DISSECTED- An analysis of Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight motion picture' was written across the case.

Rishi inserted the CD and clicked resume.


-----


After his death in January 2008, millions across the world, across twitter, across facebook wished for Heath Ledger to be alive again. In 2073 their wish came true, almost. Instead of Heath Ledger, his character of the terrifying, mesmerizing Joker came into the world in flesh and bones.

Jessica Sanghvi gave birth to a boy in the winter of 2073.

8 years later, in 2081 his older brother died of puncture wounds. The boy had killed for the first time. With a pencil.

The Coup- Part 12

DOMINO EFFECT

As Michael walked into the corridor, all the conversations between lustful centaurs and passionate fairies, between angry cupids and rude smiling goblins died. Standing a little over 6 foots, with wavy blond hair, coal black eyes and a body chiseled out of stone, Michael was the the Commander of God's army. The part of God's erstwhile quartet of power.
Gabriel,the messenger was considered to be the closest to God while Raphael,the healer God's most favorite but it was the cool, calculating, detached Michael who held God's most terrible secret.

Everyone knew that, that the fourth angel of the quartet, Lucifer had lead the Great revolt of Angels against God and subsequently was defeated and thrown into the underworld by Michael but the truth behind all the facade was known only to the three of them- him, God and Lucifer. Only he knew that it was all a smoke-screen for 'Project Divine' and Lucifer was still in God's service since then.

And now the secret was out because Lucifer had blabbed it to a dying angel in his adrenaline rush and by some incomprehensible logic all of this was known to the lover of his. And now it became Michael's responsibility to get it all sorted out.

Lost in his thoughts he suddenly found himself in front of God's office.


-----


'There is something in the cup.'

Aris' line of thought broke and he threw a lost look towards Archie. 'Huhh??'

'I said something is in the cup. Seems like a fly and it is getting biggereerrrr....aaaaggghhhh'

Despite the thoughts that had gripped Aris' mind, he came back to his senses as a figure leaped out from the cup and flew away. He could catch only a glimpse as the figure rushed past him.

'It's another attack' the thought raced through his mind. 'Archie hide somewhere. I'll take care of it' he said, taking flight.

The full moon bathed the whole landscape in its light. The lack of wind and the utmost silence sucked all the feelings of comfort from one's soul.
But Aris had left the feelings of security and reassurance a long way behind him. Anger fueled him right now and the realization of the fact that he was almost at a touching distance from his final move pumped in adrenaline through his system for good measure.

All sorts of attack and evade maneuvers raced through his brain as his eyes locked up at the figure flying ahead of him. Suddenly the dark winged figure stopped and turned back. Aris could make out the silhouette of an angel with the moon as the backdrop but the fact that this figure was someone from his own brethren didn't comfort him. He knew sooner or later, the best avenging angels would have been ordered to hunt him.

With a silent battle cry and a mighty push of his wings Aris increased his momentum to ram into the figure. At the last moment the figure changed his position to float horizontally with respect to Aris and grabbed one of Aris' hand. Before Aris could understand what this figure was upto, the figure caught the front of Aris shirt with his other free hand and gave a mighty push of his own wings.

From the ground Archie saw horrified as the two angels locked in a death grip accelerated towards the majestic forest like a free falling stone dropped from the Eiffel Tower. A row of tall mighty Redwood trees stood as sentinels at the edge of the forest, preventing the moonlight to expand the kingdom of light to the last of the grounds and casting long shadows throughout the forest.

With a loud crash the figures collided with the Redwood's and uprooted several of them as gravity did its work on all of them.

Archie started running towards the death still figures lying on the ground.


-----


'The remains of the carcass of the Sea Rhino was found at the edge of the Bermuda triangle and I suspect he has taken refuge in the underworld sir.' Michael said. 'I think it would be better if Lucifer is asked to look for him over there.'

'I don't understand Michael.' said God. 'Why was Donovan heading towards the gateway to hell? He didn't know he was being looked for in the first place?'

'I...I don't know sir.' came the curt reply of Michael. 'But Aris has also disappeared. There is no news of him anywhere.'

'Lucifer failed too Michael.' God's voice held bitter disappointment and sadness in it. 'Aris succeed in taking away Raul's human with him. you know utmost secrecy is required for finding them that is why we have to use simple minded creatures to find them but day by day it is getting difficult to do so. Rumors are flying about the heavens that a second Great revolt is in the making.'
God laughed,'Ironic isn't it? There wasn't ever a First revolt to start with and now we are facing an actual danger of having a Coup d'état at our hands.'

Michael looked at God and suddenly he didn't see the charismatic, all powerful being. He saw an old man, tired of spreading the message of love and peace and harmony through the ages. An old man who has lost all hope and zeal to work further for the cause.

'Don't worry sir. We know where they are ultimately headed for. I'll set up the ambush for them. If we are unable to find them before that, we will still find them there.' Michael said.


-----


Aris stirred as he felt a soft hand on his forehead. Suddenly everything came back to him and he opened his eyes. Archie's face loomed in and he saw a trickle of tears dropping from her eyes. His ribs were definitely broken and he could feel a throbbing pain in his right leg.

'Don't worry Archie. We Angels recover quickly given time. We have the blessing of Raphael the healer.' Aris said through gritted teeth as a pang of pain ran through his spine.

'That means he'll be alright soon?' Archie asked with concern and fear in her voice while pointing towards the figure sitting beside a tree.

He was in as bad as condition as Aris, if not worse. he had a nasty cut on his forehead and his face was matted with dust and dried blood. One of his eyes had clamped shut as the blood had coagulated on his face. His left hand was twisted at an unnatural angle and half of his left wing also had a bad tear which slitted the wing almost in two.

'Hello Aris.' the figure spat some blood on the ground. 'My name is Donovan.'


-----


Reaper was in a foul mood. He didn't know where Donovan is and had no idea what he ought to do. And now he had an unknown message lying in front of him.
'The opportunity you strive for will be presented to you in the Garden of Eden. Very soon.'

It could be a trap he thought but at the same time he didn't had anything to loose now. He had come so far to fulfill his desires that going back now was not an option anymore. He also could never live serving Lucifer anymore. 'I will go' he decided.

And with that the first of the domino pieces began to topple, the effect of whose was going to change the course of the three worlds.

The Coup- Part 11

OLD LOVE

Donovan woke up from the depths of darkness, to find a dolphin examining his face up close. Any other day, he would've sat right up and his initial reaction would've been to push the mammal away. However, at the present moment lifting even a finger seemed to him like carrying the world on his shoulders, just like Atlas.

He shook the cobwebs out of his mind and with the support of the dolphin slowly tried to sit up. His wounds had healed and the bruises were fading but every part of his body still ached. With every movement he could hear his bones crackling like logs in a fire. If he hadn't lived his whole life in heaven, he might have had easily mistaken this place to be it.

He was inside an underwater cave, every inch of whose surface was covered by moss giving the place a dark green colour. The place was decorated with small multicoloured pieces of corals and small starfishes. Donovan could see the marine life in full bloom outside and the light of the sun being filtered by the surface illuminating everything. Schools of fishes were busy making a rainbow underwater and for miles and miles the white sand could be seen as if carpeting the bottom of the sea. A blue stingray floated just above the white carpet while a family of sea horse nibbled at the corals. From far, the songs of whales reached Donovan and he was reminded of the music composed by a human spirit named Mozart, who currently was the official composer of the Hall of the Heavens.

'Life here is so peaceful' Donovan thought touching the bubble which enveloped his face, enabling him to breathe.

'A sea shell for your thoughts, and I wouldn't be playing with that if I were you, but then again I don't need to right? I can breathe underwater. Perks of being a mermaid' someone shot the words at rapid speed.

Donovan turned around and his jaw dropped.


-----


She was wearing the pearly white gown, the sword lying feets away but attached to her armband with a chain . Her greenish hair flowed around her shoulders and a rainbow parrotfish roamed around her. The silver scales on her tail gleamed because of the reflected light but it was the spark in her eyes which dwarfed everything else. Her eyes held the light of a thousand suns, of all the joy and happiness that was filled in her soul. She radiated warmth and love but at the same time confidence and boldness. She was a live wire- full of life, liveliness and spunk. As she moved towards the dolphin, to adorn on it's neck a necklace made up of pink and black pearls, one couldn't help but notice her graceful movements. A sweet, disarming but playful smile resided on her pleasant face all the times.

'So we meet again dark one.' her mischievous grin widened,'and you should be thankful for that, else right now you would've been in a worse state then the wreck of the Titanic.'

'Tishu??'

'Princess Tishu servant. Don't forget, I'm the daughter of Triton, granddaughter of Poseidon, the God of sea. Next queen of the Atlantic' her jazzy laugh filled the cavern.

'I'm sorry my lady. Thank You for saving my winged ass, and now without intending to cause you further trouble I'll be taking your leave.' Donovan snapped back.

The sudden tension increased the density of the water. The fish stopped moving and even the Atlantic current made a brake on it's movements. Tishu's smile faltered a little while anger swept over Donovan's exhausted features.

'God still didn't give you a sense of humor.' she said finally.

She smiled back at Donovan, a smile that had captured his heart a long time ago.

She moved into his arms and they kissed.


-----


'It's been too long Donovan.' she said gazing into his eyes 'Too long.'

Donovan looked back into her green eyes and saw his own reflection in them. 'Yes damn it. It's been ages.' he thought.

'And nothing has changed since then Tishu. There were no options then and things are even worse then before, for me at least.' Donovan said loosening his grip around her.'You are a mermaid, me an angel. You are royalty and me, well I'm not even an archangel anymore.'

'and still in love with me?' Tishu couldn't keep the optimism out of her voice.

'Yes.' Donovan kissing her forehead. 'It has always been you and always will.'

'That's good.' she said happily. 'But you have been a very bad boy. I know. What did you do?'

'I guess I attract trouble.' Donovan's voice was flat but the shadow of mischief in his eyes betrayed what he meant.

Tishu turned to a light hue of red and continued, 'And what deal have you made with Devil that God wants you dead?'

'What are you talking about Tishu?'. The edge came back in Donovan's voice.

'Do you really think I was just out for a stroll in this part of ocean silly?' she said playfully ruffling his hair. 'I heard Michael, Commander of God's army telling grandpa that God wants you dead and he ought to send someone to kill you.' she shuddered. 'I couldn't just let him do it, so I followed.'
She continued,'He was grandpa's own and I can't control magical creatures. When I got here I saw a Sah-Raaki taking you away from the Sea Rhino. Sah-Raaki is a creature of the dark, a subject of the Devil you know? The Sea Rhino caught up with him and killed him and I, well killing fishes and killing a warrior princess are two different matters, the bully found it the hard way.' she laughed.

She stopped as soon as she saw the somber expression on Donovan's face.

'It doesn't make any sense' Donovan finally broke the silence and told her everything from the start. The death of his human- Jack, his resignation, and the attack by the earth demon.

'Why would Lucifer try to kill me first and then send one of his minions to save me? And why would God wants me dead?' Donovan thought aloud.

'I can't answer this but I think I know who can. There were rumors floating around that one of the angels has turned rogue and has risen against God. At first I thought it was you, given your friendly nature,' Tishu said sarcastically ' so I found out more. Seems there is another one like you. His name is Aris. I think you should talk to him. Birds of a feather flock together, you know. The only question remains is to how to find him. Skies are not safe for you.'

Before Donovan could say anything Tishu opened one of the shells of her necklace and a portal popped out of it.

'This portal will take you to the nearest water body around him.'

Seeing the puzzled expression on Donovan's face she laughed and said,'By magic silly. Grandpa gave me a gift on my 18th, the other side of this portal opens anywhere I, want provided there is water there.'

'I don't know what to say, I can't thank you enough Tishu. First you save my life and now this...'

Tishu leaned forward and gave him a light kiss on his lips, disallowing him to complete his sentence.

'I love you too Donovan. I just hope that maybe someday we can be together.'

They held each other tightly. Donovan broke the embrace and disappeared into the portals.

'I'm sorry Donovan' sobbed Tishu, tears welling up her eyes.

'He believed you?' A bold and clear voice filled the cavern.

'Yes' whispered Tishu between her sobs.

'Good princess. Your beloved baby seals will be returned safely and their habitat will not be harmed' the same voice said.

Tishu turned back to face him, anger burning in her eyes but he had already turned his back to her. She could only see a black cloaked figure with a pair of big white wings projecting from his back.

'You'll make a good ruler princess. You are caring, compassionate and practical. Sending the only person you love to death to save a forest, to save the lives of the animals living in it. You care for your subjects.' he said while leaving.

'Go to hell' said Tishu throwing a shell towards him but which only met the empty space.

'I will princess, I will.' thought the cloaked figure while swimming towards the surface. 'After I've destroyed God and extended my rule to all the heaven, hell and earth, I'll take a vacation in hell.'

The Coup- Part 10

ANGELS' ANGEL

As the mangled remains of Sah-Raaki dropped to the ocean floor, to be consumed by the bottom feeders, the Sea Rhino started searching for Donovan again. Without much trouble it spotted his silhouette mixed with the black sand of the ocean.

But something was amiss.

A group of dolphins were trying to nudge him back to consciousness and had formed a protective circle around him. Donovan's head also was contained in a bubble and he seemed to have no trouble breathing. Like a bull in the Spanish arena, the Sea Rhino showed his fiery temper and tried to intimidate the group of dolphins by circling at the place where he was, but without a doubt he was taken aback by their audacity. With a loud grunt, which though couldn't be heard underwater but whose vibrations could be felt, he lunged towards them.

He was ready for the kill this time, to mix the remains of the bird with the sands of the sea. But again someone decided to lay ruin to his plans.

The Sea Rhino dropped dead in his tracks as something passed in front of him at rapid speed. Distracted he searched for the one who had the nerve to challenge him.

His eyes finally stopped at the figure who was just turning back to face him. Her white gown gave out a faint pearly glow and her silver scaled fish tail was expertly balanced on the glass surfboard she was riding. Her hair had a black-greenish tinge to them, cradling her pale oval face and complementing her ocean green eyes. But it was the sword in her hands which was a sign of the steely resolve and daring nature which resided inside her beautiful body.

Sea Rhino shook off the spell and took off towards her for a head on collision. Without missing a beat she just smiled and nodded as if accepting his challenge. She tilted her surfboard back to gain acceleration and zoomed towards him. The Sea Rhino dropped his head so that it's 7 foot long horn could do the maximum damage but as a trade off he lost sight of his opponent. For a head on fight the Sea Rhino was unparalleled and unmatched. Just one strike meant doom for the opponent, but it was essential that they both meet following a linear straight line course.

The smile on the gowned figure's face didn't even decreased an inch as she approached the massive, accelerating figure of the Sea Rhino. Seconds before the impact she jumped off her surfboard and moved towards the Sea Rhino's right side while her surfboard took the opposite direction and went for his left side.
As she inserted her gleaming sword in the body of the Sea Rhino, the blade of her surfboard entered the Sea Rhino's gills. She kept on swimming with the sword still inside the Sea Rhino's side and made a large cut in his body running across till his tail. The Sea Rhino bellowed in pain as the water around him started turning crimson. The figure again mounted her surfboard and clapped her hands. Instantly many sharks and a battery of barracudas made their way towards the bleeding carcass of the Sea Rhino.

'That will be a fast death for him' she thought and forgot all about him as she took her eyes off the feast she had just provided to her servants.

She swam down towards the battered and bruised figure of Donovan.


-----


'Drink this, it will make you feel better' Aris holding a sweet smelling green coloured broth.
Archie was still shaken by the attack and the sudden appearance of her supposedly 'guardian' angel.
They were sitting in a forest clearing, under the shadow of a mountain a blue flamed firing burning between them.

'Where are we?' she finally asked.

Aris looked around and smiled. 'Beautiful isn't it? You are only the second living person after Dante to visit this place, mind you there was a lot of furor when Dante went back to earth and wrote down The Divine Comedy describing hell, heaven and purgatory, so be careful about what you tell people back home.' he smiled widened.'You are on the better side of Purgatory. The door to hell lies behind that mountain and that my dear is a twisted place, the side we are on is relatively much better. It leads to the gateway of heaven.' he said while pointing into the forest

'Purgatory?? Dante??? Divine comedy??? What are you talking about? Dante as in the main character from the video game 'Devil may Cry'??'

It was time for Aris to be puzzled. 'Google it later.' he sighed and looked at the full moon bathing the whole landscape in it's white light.

Suddenly anger flashed across Archie's face. 'And what about that bat thing? You swooping in from no where?? Am I supposed to google it too??' she hissed.

Aris weighed his options before speaking. Should he tell her the truth and to what extent?? or just lie to get her on his side?? She and her kind were conditioned from birth to think of God as a holy, all powerful, compassionate, righteous being. 'Even we angels thought of him being just that' he thought bitterly. Making her believe would be almost an impossible task.

At last Aris made up his mind that the best course of action would be for him to tell her the truth, but he decided that he would withhold half of his own motive from her.

In order to gain her trust and cooperation Aris decided to tell her that he was out to destroy Lucifer and her help is essential for the same but he decided against telling her that he would be also using her to annihilate God.

'Tell me Archie,' he started 'Have you ever loved someone?'

The Coup- Part 9

NAILING THE PROTECTOR

Sah-Raaki swam through the strong Atlantic currents towards the floating figure of Donovan. He could make out the Sea Rhino making room to strike one final time and finishing it all up.

The Sea Rhino was actually only an enlarged Rhino head on the body of a Blue Whale, with the world renowed meanness and short temperament of the Rhino present in it.
It backed up a little, blew a school of bubbles from it's nose and charged towards the half dead figure. The calmness of the sea took a turn for the violent as if an underwater volcano had erupted. The disturbance due to the rush of such an gigantic body accelerating through, caused havoc in the underwater world. Fishes and other marine animals flew across the water and a layer of slime started to raise it's ugly head from the bottom, as the body passed it. Producing a cloud of foam behind it, the Sea Rhino zoned in for the kill.

Sah-Raaki was momentarily faster then the Sea Rhino and this fact became a life saver for Donovan. Just before the Sea Rhino could reach him, Sah-raaki grabbed Donovan and took him away from harms path. The Sea Rhino whipped around and his mean little eyes focused the fleeing figure of Sah-Raaki. With double the intensity he swam towards it to claim it's prize. Sah-Raaki could sense that Donovan's body had some signs of life left in it but couldn't mend to him until their pursuer had left them in peace. Fighting the Sea Rhino wasn't an option, with the strength of the Sea Rhino clearly tilting the scales in it's favor, swimming away was. But Donovan's body was causing a hindrance. His large black wings were ruining the 'streamline effect' further reducing the speed.

With a mighty push of his tail, Sah-Raaki ducked into a 19th century shipwrecked remains of a large ship, in the hope of loosing the Sea Rhino.

As he swam through the maze of tunnels and rooms, the whole world suddenly decided to go Topsy-turvey.


-----


Not to be outdone, the Sea Rhino had struck the broken ship right in the middle, breaking it's back and splitting the whole ship into two. Sah-raaki swam out through one of the opening cracks but just as he was getting out, the half rotten mast of the ship gave way and went straight for him.

Sah-Raaki had been through many fights, completed a lot of impossible tasks for it's master and eaten a lot of bigger and meaner opponents, it might have had even beaten the Sea Rhino right now.

But he died instead. And all because of a rusted nail.

As the mast struck Sah-Raaki's back, a protruding nail went through his dorsal fin and teared half way through it as Sah-Raaki swam forward. He dropped Donovan and stopped dead in mid water. He tried fanatically to move forward but failed with every effort, panic swept through him as the picture of the impending death loomed in front of Sah-Raaki. Like most marine creatures Sah-Raaki needed to keep moving so that it can actively pump the water through his mouth and over his gill slits.

Slowly his oxygen starved brain started to go numb and every part of his body spasmed in agony,as if he was on fire. Just before dieing he saw the hazy figure of the Sea Rhino coming towards him to take out it's frustations. Welcoming death, Sah-Raaki closed its eyes and thanked his master, the Angel of Death, for saving him from the pain of the mauling which was soon to be inflicted upon him.

The Coup- Part 8

WATER AND BLOOD

Donovan flew just inches above the surface of the sea. He could feel the cool breeze meeting him head on, the shimmering sun being reflected off the surface and the salty flavor of the sea in his mouth. Once in a while he would dip under the rising swells to cool down. Taking rest was not an option for him anymore, besides the place he was heading to was known for its high temperatures.

He saw a few Albatrosses flying overhead and dismissed them as his only companion for the journey.

Once again he missed the Grey vulture following him.


-----


The Reaper sat in his cave, contemplating what to do next. He saw Donovan flying over the Atlantic ocean coming towards the Bermuda Triangle, the only gateway to hell.
Sending the earth demon to attack him had been a stroke of genius, the plan was to make Donovan believe that Lucifer wanted to kill him and direct his already seething rage for a direct assault on the Fallen One. Reaper's main motive was to seize hell in the subsequent confusion. After being the harbinger of death for so long, being the Angel of Death, a new zeal to achieve greatness burnt the Reaper from the inside. The fire to prove himself and the greed for greater power fuelled his ambitions to no limits. And he knew Donovan was the only one capable enough of taking the Satan down.

But the conversation his vulture had overheard in Rebus' office had changed everything. The fact that someone else was also plotting against Donovan was his main concern. He couldn't afford to let Donovan loose his focus, but without the knowledge of who he was against, planning the next move was almost as difficult as finding his robes in the pitch dark cave.

He glanced towards the vision being sent by the vulture. Something caught his eye. Not more then 10 feet in front of Donovan, a shadow had started approaching the surface from beneath.


-----


Donovan sensed something wasn't right. The albatrosses in front of him had suddenly screeched their heads off and dispersed as quickly as possible towards the horizon. The swell had changed it's rhythmic motion and had started churning as if a vertigo was forming inside the sea. Donovan scanned the sea for any immediate signs of danger but for miles he saw nothing but the blue of the ocean staring bleakly back at his face.

SPLASSSSHHHHH !!!!!!

The horn of the Sea Rhino missed Donovan by inches, or else the it would have had certainly converted all of his ribs to bony pulp. Still Donovan struck to the side of the rhino and the impact resulted him attaining a height of more then 25 feet without the aids of his wings. All the breath was knocked out of his lungs and he could already taste the sourish blood mixing with the salty water in his mouth.

As Donovan tried to control his senses four water streams shot from the sea and tied his hands and legs, stopping his rapid ascent abruptly. This sudden stoppage made his head go dizzy and before he could think of anything else the four streams started pulling Donovan down to the murky depths of the sea. A fifth thicker stream shot out and struck him squarely in the back. As the two opposing forces of the two sets of stream ravaged his body, a scream filled with agony escaped Donovan's lips. He could feel his back and his sockets crumbling under the dual force of the streams and his capillaries ready to explode due to the resultant pressure.

He opened his eyes and saw the sun, before a rush of sea water entered his lungs to push out whatever life was left in him. The mighty orange ball of orange had a azure colour from within the water. The surface gleamed as the rays of the sunlight penetrated the water to some extent. Donovan stopped struggling as the last of his strength left him and prepared to die in a cold chamber made of water.


-----


The Reaper got furious as he saw Donovan disappearing down into the sea. He could see all his plans crumbling to rubble in front of him. A golden opportunity to get what should've been his, slipping away.

No. Not yet. Reaper faced the portal and a shark demon appeared on it. The creature had a face of a shark but with arms and legs protruding from his body. A brilliant shade of blue adorned his back.
'Go Sah-Raaki. Save my instrument.', he commanded the demon and directed it towards the mammoth figure of the Sea Rhino.

The Coup- Part 7

THE KEY TO IT ALL

The last rays of the sun kissed the skyscrapers before vanishing into the growing darkness. Soon the white light of the half moon would be casting shadows even in the darkest of streets. While the night life of the city started to awaken from it's slumber, a lonely figure observed the kaleidoscope of lights taking place across the city from her window.

Her jet black, shiny hair were tied in a pony, while two loose strands of them carelessly fell upon her dainty, gentle shoulders, kissing her neck from time to time. She was a tall girl, with a small scar on her right eyebrow. She was not your classic beauty but it was her confidence, her persona, the zeal she radiated and her never back down attitude in the face of difficulties that made her attractive. Her kohl rimmed eyes held a spark which one just couldn't ignore. A sweet innocent smile constantly played on her lips, cloaking the steely resolve she held within her and the sharp practical mind that decided a course of action in minutes. A girl of beauty, soul and substance.
She was the girl everyone had been talking about.
The person on whom the fate of the world depended upon.
Raul's human.

Archie.


-----


As soon as Aris flew from the garden of Eden he knew that time has also joined his list of adversaries. He flew as fast his wings could carry him. The moment Shreyaan would've told God of his intentions, the almighty would've passed the order of his death. Before his pawns could reach him, Aris needed to get to Archie.


-----


Archie smiled at the dog in the apartment across the road. She adored dogs. She remembered the overweight Labrador back home with her parents. Her parents. Brother. She missed all of them. If only her job hadn't brought her so far away from them, she would've surely spent every weekend with them.
'Well at least it gives me the chance to date', she thought,'which you don't' a voice inside her replied back. She started laughing at this point, looking lovingly at the pictures of her family and herself which adorned the walls. 'God, I miss them'.

A whooshing sound brought her back to her senses. A dark shadow was looming across the sky, coming towards her building.
'Too large for a bird, maybe a large bat?' she thought as she came closer to the window peering through the darkness to figure what it was. As it came towards her, she made out it was a bat. A large human sized bat.

SMAAASSHHHH !!!!!

The glass shattered into a thousand little pieces as the silent sound waves emitted by the bat struck it. It was a good thing the window was closed, else if the sound waves had struck directly, their sheer force would have burst every vein and capillary in Archie's body. But instead she only lost her balance and fell outside.

Her scream acted as a backdrop for the cacophony of the city behind her. Just as the reel of her life started rolling in front of her eyes, she found herself falling,upwards.She had closed her eyes due to the shock but she could feel two strong arms holding her and the whooshing sound much nearer this time.

'Wait here' she heard a voice as her feet found something solid beneath them. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself on the roof of her building. As the initial shock wore off she could make out a figure flying away from her and towards the bat.

Both of them collided with each other and she heard the breaking sounds of bones. The entangled figures hung in the air for some time still struggling and then suddenly dropped towards the earth.

Her mouth opened wide but no voice escaped her throat.

She slowly reached the ledge and peered down. A white winged figure hovered over the stirring body of the large bat. The wings of the bat were twisted backwards at an unnatural angel and blood oozed out of his mouth. She watched in horror as the winged figure reached out and broke the bat's neck in two.


-----


Arius glided back towards her. Her pale faced was flooded by the moonlight. Her eyes were filled with amazement, wonder, terror, and numerous questions.
'She can easily give all the fairies a run for their money' he thought.

'Hello Archie. My name is Aris and I'm your guardian angel.' He lied.

Archie looked back at him, swayed like a pendulum and fainted

The Coup- Part 6

REVELATIONS

Rebus glided nervously through the corridors, leaving a trail of foul smelling cigar smoke behind him which hung in the air. He wore a tunic today for the meeting. He kept one in his office for moments like these only. God had called for him urgently and something in his voice betrayed to Rebus that this wasn't going to be a happy conversation.

Nervously he tapped the door.

'Enter' a commanding voice boomed from within.

He was wearing his trademark white robes. He had shoulder length silver hair which enveloped his face while his neatly trimmed beard served as a nest for his pearly white teeth. The most striking feature of his was his deep blue eyes which missed nothing. They seemed like full of compassion and forgiveness from mirroring centuries of hardship of his creations but Rebus had seen those same very eyes change their colour to grey when he got angry.

He was the only man in front of which Rebus actually felt naked and inadequate.

The embers of last night fire still glimmered in the fireplace and threw a reddish glow around the room.

'Sit down Rebus, and stay calm'. One could fathom the reason why he was considered the supreme being just by listening to his deep powerful voice.

A sudden fire started in the fireplace which startled Rebus and before he could compose himself is eyes opened further wide in disbelief as Lucifer stepped out of it.


-----


'Welcome Lucifer.' said God.

In reply a bone chilling smile came to Satan's lips and he nodded. Rebus meanwhile was too stunned to react in any way. He forgot his smoking cigar, his nervousness, his nakedness and saw the exchange of pleasantries between the two arch enemies with bewilderment.

God turned to him and said,'Rebus you recently told me that Donovan has quit, is it not?'. Rebus nodded his head in affirmation.
'Hmmmm. What about an angel named Arius?'

For the first time a reaction originated from Rebus. 'Arius? Angel of Mercy? What about him?'

'Has he showed signs of turning rogue?'

'No my lord. He is hit by the loss of his love, the Archangel Raul during the Holy Strike' Rebus threw a disgusted look at Lucifer whose smile had broadened at its mention, 'but I guess it is because the wound is too new.'

'Alright Rebus. That would be all'


-----


The menacing persona of Lucifer vanished the moment Rebus left the room.
'What has been happening my lord?' he asked.

'A chain of events which we hadn't foreseen Lucifer.'

'The angel you killed had a lover. Somehow he knows everything that happened in the bowels of hell and that, that I've been sending the angels on holy strikes to get them killed. He is now bent on taking revenge. He talked to Shreyaan and you know how she helps everyone, only good thing is she tells the other party also what she has done, in this case me or else we would've been caught unawares.'

'But he is just an Angel my lord. What possible harm he can do?'

'Shreyaan told him about the supreme light source Lucifer. The source of everyones light. From where every entity in the world originates from and where the light that surrounds them go back to, after they are dead. He is going to project Raul's light on the source. Which will in turn suck in the light of the killer and the deceiver, in this case you and me, ultimately destroying both of us. She has told him the name of Raul's human. You know that when an Angel dies his light goes into his human instead of going to the source, with his memories also. I believe Aris's plan is to get her.'

'My lord even if he is able to get her, what good it would be? You know as well as I do that light would be fragmented inside her and he would need someone to amplify and project that light on the source. Aris has a selfish motive for taking this course thus he can't be the projector'

'That is where Donovan comes in, the Archangel of Vengeance. Due to Raul's death, a human died on earth. Donovan was to be his guardian angel but without him, he has no purpose left and no chance of moving on to the next level. Although indirectly, he is connected to the events and as you said he doesn't have any selfish motive in doing so. He percieves he has no purpose left and also doesn't care for anyone. The perfect candidate for being the 'projector'. I have no idea whether Aris has contacted him or not, or whether he would agree to be part of Aris' scheme but this one chance I can't take.'

'So the situation is grim my lord.' A steely resolve came on Lucifer's face. 'What are your orders then.'

'I will order Michael to take care of Donovan. He has already turned rogue and he is a short fuse so he won't be a problem. You just concentrate on Aris and Raul's human. Their coming together can be catastrophic for the universe.'
'The name of the Raul's human is Archie....'


-----


Outside the room, Rebus's jaw dropped as he heard the words being exchanged inside. He concluded that he needed to tell 'him' all of this as soon as possible.