"It is natural for animals to breed excessively so that they can feel safer in numbers." I heard an officer in the Police describe the people of lower-earth once.
Lower Earth was a hell-hole looked down upon by the elites of humanity that lived in Akshaya - the most prominent sky city of all. It was largely considered by everyone that most of the refugees after the Purge lived on the lower-Earth and hence it was a place filled with fanatics and other criminals.
From life expectancy to crime rates, everything was simply worst on the planet than ever in human history, but Bharat wasn't afraid of any uprising as star energy was all it required to sustain life on the sky-cities, and it was abundantly available in the Milky Way.
Even though the government spied regularly on the lower-Earth, its control was still lacking, and that allowed the Maiyatt team to safely remain in hiding in the forest of 'Gugamal' for the better part of two years after our arrival on the mountain base.
And these two years were the happiest moments of my life.
---------
**(Yr. 2135 - Mountain Base | Two Years Later)
While I was training for the Hunters Examination, other Maiyatt team members regularly went out in search of news and daily supplies.
Recently, Bharat had been losing a lot to the Union and even the Hunters under its control were becoming more demanding as of late due to the explosion of Ability holders called [Users].
"Power begets misfortune" - Dad told me one day, and it accurately described Bharat's situation in the Year 2135.
Although the two years had been peaceful for the most part, the delicate balance between the two superpowers on Earth was shaking violently and was on its last leg. A war could break out any moment and there was no clear distinction of who would win.
Although it seemed equal on the surface, there was a huge mismatch in the total combat ability of both sides. While the Union had more [Users] due to its thousands of years of legacy and its methods of practising 'Yog'; Bharat had an unparalleled military might.
Even though the Bharat looked like the bigger power, Users were a variable that couldn't be fathomed logically as a war asset. Each User was different and could be used to deploy countless military strategies that were even unheard of in modern warfare.
Even Bharat was aware of its shortcomings and had started conducting Hunter Examination to find suitable candidates for Prana cultivation.
In the year 2135, the race to gather more Users to their sides had begun. Although Union was winning right now, Bharat wasn't much far off either.
That is why the Year came to be known as the "Renaissance of Prana".
--------------------
**(Dinner Table, Mountain Base)
"I can't believe, Karn is already 15.7 years old tonight! HAHAHA!", Mark laughed at his own joke.
His voice was the loudest in the team. If not for his military upbringing, I would have thought that he was a barbarian.
This all started one week back when Kala came back from the reconnaissance mission on the next day of my 15th birthday and wished me saying, "Happy 15th Birthday Karn".
To which I had sarcastically replied saying, "It's 15 + 1'th birthday now."
Mark who had heard my conversation with Kala had been constantly making fun of me by saying "Happy 15 + x Birthday" to me ever since.
"Will you stop it already, it's not even funny anymore.", I replied with a pouting face.
At the age of 15, despite my seemingly weak physique and constitution, I had grown exceptionally tall.
I was already 5'10 that year and even my parents wondered whether I had been taking steroids secretly.
Despite the difficult training and being the only child in the group, I had never shown a sad face to the team, and they had shown me their gratefulness by giving me small gifts they found while scavenging.
It was only the training and their love that had supported me while I was dealing with the depression of not being able to cultivate Prana.
To overcome my shortcomings of not becoming a [User], I learnt various different arts from all the Maiyatt team members.
Mark taught me about marksmanship and various different guns and firearms. Although the world was slowly changing into a supernatural world due to [Users], firearms still had an upper hand for now.
Kala was the other female member of the Maiyatt team and was an expert in the art of Assassination and Spy missions. Although she spoke the least, her training was the hardest to deal with. She was the reason I think I grew unsure about my own sexuality.
>>
'Karn! Don't be a sissy and wear this dress!'
'WHAT DRESS!! YOU CRAZY OLD WOMAN!!! THAT'S A SKIRT'
>>
Some embarrassing imaginary appeared in my mind as I remembered the ego and personality training from a week ago.
The last and my most favourite member of the Maiyatt team: KT, taught me survival skills. He was the Bear Grylls of our team. I still remember that I puked for half an hour straight after he forced me to eat bugs the first time.
Except for his underhanded techniques to teach 'law of the jungle', he was just like a neighbourhood grandpa who always gave out candies, except, of course, all the candies were rotten and smelled like behind of a monkey. Don't ask me why I know how does that smell!
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**(next day)
"Good luck, I hope you make me proud today!"
Kala always smiled gently and with a faint upside arc. Although it was rare, it wasn't as rare as my mother's smile. I had wished that my mother would also smile as Kala did from time to time.
"This won't be easy Kiddo! The difficulty is especially 10 times harder. *wink*"
KT winked as he described the first test for the day.
It was a mock Hunter's exam specially designed for me after piecing together different rumours and stories about Bharat's Hunter Exam.
I knew well that I was not going to become a Hunter in this life, and was aware that the life of a fugitive was my one and only reality. However, when I looked at the Maiyatt team trying to cheer me up, I didn't feel any sadness.
I was content.
It was my new family and the new reality that I had come to terms with in the past two years.
Mark had decided to propose to Kala, and we were all waiting patiently for the day.
KT was already a parental figure to everyone in the team due to his age, and I had my two parents with me.
It was a family that I didn't wish for, but a family that I needed and was grateful for.
----
I looked at KT who was smiling faintly while watching Kala and Mark who were exchanging shy glances between them.
He noticed that I had caught him snooping at Mark and Kala, so he quickly turned his face away in embarrassment.
He raised his arm to clear his throat...
(*cou...*)
(*BOOOOM*)
The cough, the laughter, and the noise, everything was overshadowed by the large blast that occurred near the base where we had been living.
"Captain, the explosion came from the base.", exclaimed Kala, she was the most attuned and fast when it came to reading the environment.
"Gather up everyone! This is code Rudra!"
Everyone tensed up hearing my dad's order, their expressions full of angst.
Amongst everyone, I was the slowest to take action.
I had learned all the military codes and signals from Mark, and the code "RUDRA" meant 'The last stand'.
Before I could gather my thoughts, I saw that everyone had gathered together in a perfect defensive formation except KT and me.
"Dad, KT is not here!", I shouted as I tried to run towards the group.
But by the time anyone heard my voice, something crept up from behind me in a flash.
I was already far off from the group and the menacing aura that froze my legs in-place didn't help either.
~hello child!~
I heard an eerie whisper from behind me as the shadow over me grew larger and larger.
(*whoosh*...)
As if it were my motor reflexes firing at lightning speed, I jumped sideways immediately sensing the danger behind me.
(*...wheeze..thump*)
A blade that appeared out of nowhere pierced the air where I was standing and was lodged a couple of inches deep into the ground. I thought I had avoided the attack, but what I saw next made me freeze in complete panic.
"KT!"
"SIR!!"
Everyone in the team screamed out in unison except me.
As if the time had stopped, my heart stopped beating, I could feel my breath losing its transparency in the moment of absolute shock and terror.
(*...splash...splurt*)
A splash of crimson poured out and drenched the dried patches of mud on the ground immediately turning it dark.
"DADA... NOOOO!!!!!!"