Chương 60: Petty Feelings
Rahul laughed out loud as he looked at my confused expression. "You never even realized, did you. Well, not much of a shock there. You were always unexpectedly dense at different times." He said and messed up my hair which were getting longer with time since it had been almost one and a half month since I last cut them. I wondered if there was a barber in this town was sold his/her services for crystals.
I felt my eye twitch as he continued to mess up my hair and I barked at him to stop and he laughed even more at me.
"Well, anyway. Now that you know that you've a talent with weapons, don't let it get to your pretty little head." He said as he tried to reach my hair once more but a glare, promising death, stopped him from such notions and he took back his hands awkwardly and coughed a bit to cover up his awkwardness.
Then he became a bit serious and said. "As I was saying. Just because you're a bit more talented than me doesn't mean much in the long run. Do you know why?"
"Why?" I asked.
"Because as you are now. You can not compare to me. Heck! I'm pretty sure Jasvinder and Gaurav can hand you your ass if you fight against them. But that's not the main point."
"The main point is that there are hundreds, if not thousands of people in India alone who are strong enough to defeat me. And for every one of them, there's a dozen of so abnormals, mutant beasts or mutant trees than can chew me out just as easily."
"So don't get cocky because of your talent. But don't sell it short either. Not many people are as talented as you at fighting. Use it as much as you can and hone yourself to become better than you are now. Do you understand?" he finished the last sentence as he looked at me.
"I understand." I said and looked at him straight in the eyes.
After a long silence he finally nodded and went back to sit on his chair.
"So… You want me to go out and hunt on my own or…"
"No… no no. You are a prodigy at fighting but that doesn't mean that you can forget about the other aspects of life. Aspects that will help you greatly in this apocalyptic world."
"Those those aspects are."
"Camaraderie. First and foremost. No one can stand all alone all the time. No one is an island. We all need a comrade at one point or another." He said.
"And?"
"And Leadership. Knowing how to lead people during these desperate times will always come in handy for you."
"You said I will not. How will I learn leadership if I don't lead."
"By following." He said simply "Before you learn how to lead. You must learn how to follow."
"So you want me to join as a recruit." I said more than asked.
"Exactly." He replied with a smile.
"Jasvinder's?" I asked.
"No." He replied. "You'll join Gaurav's team as a new recruit. And not as my brother. But as yourself. Wear your mask all the time so that you don't get any special attention from other people and to make sure that you're treated equally."
"I understand." I said. "Anything else?"
"Yes." He said and took something out from under his desk and threw it at me.
I caught it and realized that it was a pouch. A pouch filled with crystals. I weighed it and realized that there were more than 50 crystals in there.
I looked at him and he just shrugged. "You deserve it. After all the trouble you went through to search for the old man."
I nodded back and stood up from the chair "I'm off to meet Neha then."
With that, I turned and left. But not without a smile as I weighed the pouch.
—————
As I got out of the building I heard the sound of bells from the Mess Hall which indicated that the breakfast was ready. The bells were not very loud and the surrounding area of the camp had been cleared thoroughly so there was no danger of it attracting any unwanted attention.
As I started walking in that direction I saw people coming of the houses they had been alloted to and smiled at their faces. It seems like most of them were still half asleep.
As I looked around at the people coming out of their temporary homes, I saw a familiar face and froze on my tracks.
'I want to join your team.' A voice rang in my ears. The memory of a girl who cried in front of me and wanted to be accepted. Who wanted to be safe. The girl who asked me if I remember her from childhood.
The girl who I felt something for.
It was not crush. Definitely not love. A bit of affection? Yes. A bit of emotion.
She knew me from childhood and despite how badly I bullied her, she still forgave me and accepted me for who I was.
The girl who was now in someone else's arms. Smiling. No. Laughing.
'Well… They certainly look happy.' I thought as I felt something hollow sink into the pit of my stomach.
'Ashok…' Lily started in a gentle tone but I cut her off.
'I don't feel so hungry anymore.' I said and turned around and walked to the other side of the town.
Eventually I ran into the sentries who were guarding the gate to this little camp who pointed a rifle at me and said.
"Stop right there." He shouted as he looked at me.
I gave him a glare and he flinched but didn't lower his weapon.
"Open the gate. I'm going out for a stroll." I said more in a tone which was far more calmer then how I feeling inside.
"Very well. State your purpose and show me the permission slip." He said without lowering his rifle. It was getting on my nerves.
"The what?" I asked.
"The permission slip. Given by the leader." He said in a calm tone as if explaining something basic to an idiot. I wonder if he was stationed here with the exact purpose of riling me up. Because if he was, then he was doing his job splendidly.
"Don't have one." I said softly.
"Then you can't go out. If you want to go out, then take permission from the leader. Or at least one of the captions. This is not a park where you can go in and out as you wish."
That did it.
The next second I was at face before he could even press the trigger and wrenched the rifle away from his hands and threw it to the ground.
Before he could even react, he found himself dangling a feet above the ground as I held him by his neck with one hand and watched him try to pry my fingers off his throat in a futile manner.
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