"This town should be Karava town. I think" I said as I picked up a half burnt billboard and tried to read the words while squinting my eyes. When squinting hard enough didn't work, I used the valuable (and limited) water from my spatial ring and tried to clean the board with it.
When that didn't work either, I finally lost my patience and throw the billboard aside which somehow went past Jasvinder's face by a few inches.
"Watch it." He growled angrily in my direction and I apologized half heartedly. I wondered if this was my sub-consciousness trying to beat that insolent boy in some way.
But no matter what, I knew that Jasvinder would not hold a grudge against me. At least not for such a petty reason. Because he was a reasonable cunt.
So reasonable in fact that if you give him the choice between killing me and killing hundred other people, he would be at my throat before I could shout 'Wait.'
The only time he lost his reason was when he was dealing with Upma. Because he loved her. Not that he ever showed it. Not with words or expressions at least.
I wonder how it feels to have such a stuck up boy friend. Upma seemed to be doing fine so far.
I looked at Upma who was standing atop a pile of rubble and looking around at the town. Or what used to be a town once before.
Now, all my eyes could see was burnt and charred broken buildings everywhere.
'It's almost as if some dragon descended from the heavens and burnt this whole town to cinders.' Lily said in my mind.
'Going by everything I have seen in the last month, I would not be very surprised if that were the case.' I replied with a deadpanned expression. Seems like Jasvinder is rubbing off on me. Gods no.
"You found anything?" I asked as I saw Jasvinder going through the rubble. He gave me a deadpanned look (the one that makes you question the reason for your very existence on this earth) and went to take out a sign board from under the rubble.
I felt a bit glad when the sign turned out to be burnt badly and he could not find any clues from it either. Even if it meant I had to work hard now.
His disgruntled expression filled my heart with joy.
I smiled and went on searching for some kind of sign or board that would tell us which town it was. Karava or Rithala.
If it was Karava then we would have to go 5km south from here to reach Tilakpur where Rahul had camped with his followers. But if it was Rithala then would need to 7km south-west instead.
After half an hour more of cursing about the absence of GPS, we finally found a sign which indicated that it was Rithala instead.
7km shout-west then.
—————
"You sure this is the right place." Jasvinder asked in his disdainful (read usual) voice and I asked the same question to myself as I looked at the various men patrolling around the town in front of us with full body armor and rifles.
"That's what he said." I said in my mind as I felt a bit worry creep into my heart for once.
I wondered who these people were.
The way they handled themselves with confidence and the way they carried their rifles made me realize that they could be none other then the army.
The only thing that entered my mind when I thought of army was the 'Commander' who had made camp some 7km away from our home town.
'Did he chase after Rahul because I (indirectly) killed so many men under his command. If that's the case then…'
'Stop. Stop thinking right now.' Lily put a stop to my thoughts before they could get to the dark part of my mind.
I took a deep breath as I looked at the men patrolling on top of the buildings.
The solders I defeated did not knew about crystals and only wore the usual army uniform. These guys on the other hand are clearly wearing some kind of armor that's been bought from the black watch.
'Why don't you just contact him and ask if those are his men or not.' She said and I took out the walkie talkie from within the spatial ring.
After talking with Rahul, Ashok was shocked to realized that these highly trained people were indeed under Rahul's command.
The motley group of 30 which Ashok had left behind had now grown up and increased to the number of 150. Among these 150 people, more than 90 were people who could stand on their own against a 1st tier abnormal and the rest were being trained everyday.
To say that I was impressed by such a feat would the understatement of the century. I was downright dumbfounded.
I knew that Rahul was a good leader. But damn. This was on another level altogether.
After it was made clear that these people were indeed under Rahul's command, Jasvinder and Upma nodded in ascent and we went out of the place together.
After being halted in the gate for a while, the sentry got the message which confirmed our identities and we were allowed to enter the town.
Jasvinder and Upma were also looking at the sentries and guards with a bit of awe. I guessed that they had not expected to enter such a well fortified camp.
I was a bit sad that no one came out to meet us but then I learned that Neha had gone out on a foraging mission (which included crystals and cores) while Rahul was busy teaching the new recruits and telling them the rules and regulations of the camp.
After he was finished with the recruits, he turned around to look at me and smiled a genuine smile before he came forward and hugged me tightly.
After our short reunion, he talked with Jasvinder and Upma and all of them instantly formed a kind of understanding with each other. Maybe it was because all three of them were 2nd timers.