The world was alive in its usual rhythm, everyone caught in the hum of their everyday lives.
Footsteps crossing paths, voices echoing in streets, family 'enjoying' their meals, sonic trains running in their tunnel…WHEN.
BOOOOOOOOM
'THUNDER THUNDER'
A very loud sound, followed by lightning, froze everyone.
It was as if the whole world had been trapped in paralysis – silent, breathless, unmoving. Everything stops; a man jogging in the park freezes mid-step, a cat lazily licking her fur freezes, a mother and father arguing among themselves freeze, and a driver of all the moving trains freezes. As if God has pushed the pause button.
After what felt like an eternity, people blinked, staggered, trying to remember how to breathe again. Then it was like the chaos had taken control of the world.
Many old people died as they couldn't handle the shock, trains lost control, crashed mid-route, and accidents occurred all over the world.
And if this chaos was not enough, something abnormal happened.
People realised that some of their family members were missing. Calls echoed – names shouted in disbelief, fear rose like a tide as people searched desperately.
Some cried out, others ran, their voices cracking in panic. Between these people, a different type of chaos spread, a chaos born from absence.
It should be noted that when the whole world was in chaos, people were scared; there was not a single action taken by their leaders, by the government, as if they were busy with more important matters.
. . . . . . .
Somewhere in Antarctica.
Far away from people's panic, a secret base is located.
Beneath one of the main buildings, a secret chamber thrummed with low electric hums. At its center stood a round metallic table, surrounded by six empty chairs. Above the three seats, a blue hologram shimmered, forming human figures, their faces partly obscured.
Each seat is marked by a unique symbol, representing different continents on the table.
A lion for the Hindvarthya; An eastern dragon for the Huaxia Empire; A falcon for the Ameriork, and so on.
"So, it has started." A voice heard from the Hindvarthya seat.
Followed by the Ameriork, "Let's hope everything goes as planned."
"We can only put our trust in 'them'." And lastly, the Huaxia.
From the tone of three, the matter seems more complicated than it appears.
. . . . . . .
Near Gangotri Dham, Uttarakhand.
The 'Giant man' left Hira, a short distance from the nearest inn in the area. As he was walking away, a small wisp of energy broke free from his body and wrapped around the unconscious Hira, its purpose unknown.
Hira lay motionless on the cold ground, a few steps away from the old inn.
The name of the inn was written on the board hung on the entrance – the Prakriti Niwas. This is the same inn where both brothers had stayed to rest before going mountain climbing.
Inside an inn, silence ruled. The faint light of a dying lantern flickered across the dining room. On the dining table, two plates of fresh food were served, but across the table, an old couple was lying, maybe unconscious or dead.
To prove the unpredictability of the weather, it started snowing.
As time passed, the wind carried with it the first flakes of snow towards Hira, landed on his still body. Mingling with the dust that clung to his clothes.
Bit by bit, a thin layer of white began to cover him – snow and dust, blending together.
...
After a month, a group of men in unique uniforms and gadgets arrived at the inn. Their boots crunched over the frozen ground as they moved in silence.
Inside, they found the half-rotten corpses of the old couple, still lying near the dining table. Food, rotten and untouched for a month. One of them knelt near the bodies, checking for something.
"Sir, it seems that they didn't survive the first day of 'energy assimilation'."
He reported to his higher officer through a wireless connection, via an omnione bracelet.
"Okay, record it and move on."
"Sir, do we search the surroundings to find 'him'?"
"Since he did not get teleported, he might belong to the trash category.
Leave him and search another spot."
"YES SIR."
The men obeyed without question.
Outside the inn, just beyond their notice, Hira lay beneath a thin, frozen blanket of snow and dust, unmoving, yet still breathing, though faintly. His body seemed to be enveloped by some energy that was keeping him alive.
. . . . . . . . .
6 months later.
In six months, the area around the inn had converted into a forest. New vegetation can be seen growing, larger than normal size. Even inside an inn, the greenery spread everywhere.
Around the inn, thick snow can be seen melting in the presence of sunlight breaking through the clouds. Little distance away, a hand, a human hand, of a body buried in the snow can be seen. The body was still and motionless.
Suddenly, there was a slight movement in the hand, a little twitch of fingers, which can be missed if one doesn't have focus.
. . . . . .
'Why am I having difficulty in breathing?'
'Wait, why am I even breathing?'
'Didn't I get killed in the landslide?'
'What is this heaviness around me?'
'And this coldness, it feels like I am buried beneath the snow.'
I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't. My eyelids felt heavy and frozen shut. Even moving my body was difficult. Panic welled up inside me, but I forced myself to stay calm.
Gathering what little strength I had left, I tried to move.
CRACK
Crack sound came around me as I pushed myself up.
Finally, with one last desperate effort, I broke free from my bindings.
Moving my neck, I see that I am surrounded by snow, my lower body still buried under it. White stretched as far as I could see, glittering under the weak sunlight.
Trees and plants stood tall and silent. I can sense the presence of something different, something unique, around me, as if something is watching me.
My mind couldn't keep up with what my eyes were seeing. After waking up from what felt like an endless sleep, everything seemed unreal.
As I tried to recall, where am I? How did I get here? My eyes caught something, at some distance, not too far away, I can see a building. An old board with 'Prakriti Niwas', written on it, vines coiled around it, hanging at the side of the entrance.
Reading that name, 'Prakriti Niwas,' my brain triggered to answer every single question I have.
'So it was not a dream.'
A.N.- 'TAMAS' MEANS COSMIC DISORDER OR CHAOS.