THE NEXT DAY; MINUTES BETWEEN 7 & 8 P.M
He added in his diary before dwelling into the journey of 7 & 8…
Finley is a complex personality. One can't know exactly when he'll turn violent; in one minute, he's fine, in the next, he's violent, and in the upcoming moments, he may refuse to even talk. We can't rely on him.
Not only Finley, but our one and only assistant, Theo, is untrustworthy too. We can't subject ourselves to him either. What if, during our time of fighting, he turns violent and attacks us? Theo is useless as well.
There are only four of us remaining. I keep asking myself, are we potent enough to fight? Yet, I haven't seen anyone among us with proper fighting skills.
But determination! The weaknesses of those Satans that I've identified may be enough to fight them.
But determination! Their slowness can be our advantage.
Their inability to go or walk through slim surfaces can also work in our favor.
"If nothing is impossible," is the right saying. So, taking Finley and Theo and turning their weaknesses into their strengths will help us fight them.
We have to overcome our weaknesses and turn them into strengths.
While writing, a thought hits him - a thought about their journey to Wannindu. When he was angry at Lily for throwing his laptop and then something happened that caused him to lose consciousness. When he regains consciousness, he's in the house, facing Theo. He gets up and starts walking to recall what happened that night. "Command, Oliviar, command," he whispers, trying to remember that fateful night. He walks hurriedly, unconsciously, digging deep into the memories of their arrival in Wannindu. Then suddenly, he looks at his wristwatch, noticing it has stopped working. He runs to go outside, but again, he faces Theo at the exit. He stops and looks at him anxiously.
"Fear not, for I am in my normal state, my son," Theo addresses him and then walks toward him, saying, "You are the exact description of your father."
"What?" Oliviar is surprised, not even knowing if he has a father. "Do you know my father? Even I don't know him. I don't even know where I've come from. As a native of this land, how do you know him?"
Theo smiles and invites him to sit beside him. "It all started with your father. You are here because you have a close link to the story. Not only you, but everyone dwelling here has a close link to the story."
The story and the ideas Theo is speaking of are overwhelming Oliviar. "What? What are you saying? I'm not getting you," Oliviar expresses his confusion.
"Do not worry, I will explain," Theo gets up, puts his hand on Oliviar's shoulder, and invites him to walk. They walk outside as it is between 7 & 8 PM, and it is now normal. They both go for a walk, heading away from the house where they are sheltering.
Earlier, when they entered the territory of Wannindu for the first time, Oliviar did not notice the horrific appearances he's now encountering on the roads and in the streets of Wannindu. The tube lights on the road appear as men hanging, with long hair spreading down from their heads. They are now off, indicating that the time of the monsters has passed.
Theo and Oliviar decide to go for a walk exploring the dark and eerie streets of Wannindu. They are walking in the streets of Wannindu, but they don't know where they are heading. It's dark, and they can't see the way, so they are walking blindly. With every step they take, they encounter something horrific or miserly. The cars on the road are shaped like dinosaurs but are useless for driving. Every few steps, they come across a dead body. The houses in the streets bear the shapes of monsters, resembling the bodies of those Satanic figures. Everything they encounter is horrific, or perhaps miserable. Every building portrays the same appearance: a man hanging, like the tube lights.
"The destruction says it all. Something most horrific must have happened to the streets of Wannindu," Oliviar, following Theo, comments.
"What do you think could have happened?" Theo asks.
Oliviar, perhaps avoiding Theo's question, tries to change the topic. "You were telling me about my father. Who was he? And what is my link to this story of Wannindu?"
"Ahh!" Theo sits down to collect the pieces of the past for narrating the story.
Oliviar, now more curious, approaches him to concentrate on every word. But it doesn't take long before Theo, after delving into his past, can't bear the burdens of the memories. He suddenly attacks Oliviar, strangling him. Oliviar, using his knowledge and previous analysis, manages to free himself from Theo's grip and turns to fight back. "I can manage to flee, but it's not an option." He glances at his stopped watch and decides to make Theo unconscious before 8 PM to take him back to the house.
Oliviar is wise enough to handle the situation, but since he arrived in Wannindu, he has lost his sense of self. He's now fighting Theo, exploiting Theo's weakness, which gives him an advantage. However, Theo is stronger and more experienced in combat. Mind is important, but when strength and power are involved, they often outweigh intellect.
Concerned about bringing Theo back, Oliviar realizes that Theo is vital to their mission to save humanity from the grip of the Evils. But time is running out, and his knowledge alone isn't enough to counter the evil forces. "I need to consider something else, I need to concentrate," Oliviar shouts, trying to find a solution.
As he's about to attack hastily, Oliviar hears voices mixed with the air. He stops to check his wristwatch, the only source to determine if the monsters have emerged. No matter how fast he is, he can't handle the entire crowd of monsters. He prefers to run, but the problem is that Theo is still not in his senses, and he could regain consciousness and join the monsters at any moment. He's stuck, unable to decide where to go, as the monsters surround them.
"But Theo will soon regain his senses," Oliviar whispers.
With no way to escape, Oliviar decides to fight. As another monster attacks, he turns to strike it, causing not only the monster to bleed but also the others in the queue. He leaves them and rushes to Theo, who is still not in his senses, continuously attacking. He's caught in a chaotic situation, facing his own partner as an opponent.
Oliviar counters Theo again, but another monster from behind attacks, and when it touches Oliviar, he himself turns unconscious. However, Oliviar senses something unusual, realizing that a monster is struggling to survive. The scene baffles him. "They can not touch me or otherwise they will die," he said, "I am a poison to them."
The crowd around them continues to grow, but Theo remains unconscious. Oliviar discovers a way to fight the monsters - by touching them and making them unconscious. Nearly half of the crowd is now conscious, and Oliviar decides to leave them behind to escape. However, he's concerned that Theo could regain consciousness at any moment. He stops and thinks, "He can regain his consciousness anytime."
Oliviar's hesitation to wait for Theo to regain consciousness is interrupted by a sharp, narrow voice. It's new to Oliviar, and it advises him not to wait for Theo. The voice is sharp and says, "Do not wait. He will remain violent for the rest of 23 hours. As long as he is outside with his queue behind him, it's not really him but the inner satanic spirit within him. Unless you are before him or his queue is behind him, he will remain the same violent Theo."
Oliviar, still concerned, asks, "Is it fine to leave him among these monsters?"
The voice responds, "Yes, it's fine. He is in his own state, a violent Theo whom we met a few years earlier. You could say he's the leader or one of the most powerful generals of the Satanic forces. If you want to save yourself or the rest of your companions, you need to take him inside the house or inform Finley to meet him."
Oliviar wonders, "Can't you convince him?"
"Save yourself," the voice cries out when a Theo from behind tries to grab Oliviar. "Run, Oliviar, run," the voice instructs.
Helpless, Oliviar runs toward the house. The lights are now on, but the way home is unclear, crowded by the monsters. He is still running and, at one horrific spot, he tries to hide himself, waiting for 7 PM to arrive. There, he experiences very unusual things. A hotel, a kind of Dhaba, is serving food. "How is this possible?" he wonders. Another thing is a picture of an aged woman whom he met in a dream, tormenting him, not letting him sleep or cry. But he refuses everything he encounters and continues toward home. There, Theo attacks him again from behind, grabbing him by the collar and ordering his queue to destroy him.
The queue attacks, and another unusual thing happens. Oliviar, who is a proven poison to those monsters is killing them. But to face Theo he lacks the potential to do the same as he is doing with the rest of the creature. His touching Oliviar is not affecting him. And Oliviar at this point is about to give up, but thanks to Ekchoti, who arrives dramatically with her own army, they attack Theo's gang to save Oliviar. When Theo sees Ekchoti, he cries out, "I told you not to come out unless I call."
Oliviar is left bewildered. "Wait, what?" he asks.
The voice explains, "He is still not in his senses. We should take him." Ekchoti instructs her army to take Theo back to the house. The advantage of being accompanied by Ekchoti is that she knows the safe places, and she guides Oliviar through them. After their arrival, Oliviar wishes to ask questions, but Ekchoti mysteriously fades away before he can address her.
********
"Why were those shocks when they touched me? Am I special? Theo is dangerous to accompany us."
Who is Ekchoti? What is her background? Why did she say, "my job is not done yet"? What job was she talking about?
Who is Theo? What is our link? What is my connection to Theo? Why could only Theo touch me and no one else?
Is Theo being manipulated, or is he the real villain of the story?
I noticed one thing today: I am a poison to them unless Theo touches me. There is a connection, at least to some extent, but there's a part of my link to the story that I'm not aware of.
Who was my father, and how did Theo know him?
The problem of killing them is now being solved by the problem of being in them. Oliviar have come up with another of their weakness, they can not touch Oliviar, the body of Oliviar is poison to them.
But Theo is the problem. Instead of Theo, if we ask Ekchoti to help, then it will be fine. But the problem is that Ekchoti does not appear in normal moments.
This problem is like the lights on the streets of Wannindu. When the monsters faded, the streets of Wannindu were cleared, but the lights were not working. When the lights start working to show our way home clearly, the paths were crowded by monsters and wouldn't let us go. We can not meet Ekchoti normally. "but wait a moment," a thought hit Oliviar, "Theo should be our way to Ekchoti." the strongest sight of Theo is that he accepts the way he is. He does regret for what he is but he is not blind to the fact of being, sometime, violent.
"Theo can help us meeting Ekchoti," Oliviar writes, "The benefit of Ekchoti of being with us that she has her own army, she has her own senses, she has her own strenth. And I do remember, in our first meeting with Ekchoti, Theo told her that he will call when we need her. Theo is our ultimate way to let us meet with Ekchoti."
The end of one problem is the beginning of another. Every time we come to a conclusion about one problem, we encounter another problem.
Our problems are as problematic as the faded mystery of Wannindu. One should say, "WANNINDU, The Land of Problems."
Ever since we arrived here, we have been facing problems. Not a single minute has passed without surprising us.