Earth—a vivid sphere, a sanctuary of species where every life was cherished by the planet. But then, a species called humans evolved into intelligent beings, harnessing its resources to such an extent that the planet began to wither, bringing suffering to all forms of life.
The year is 2050. Earth is no longer the same; it's not as vivid as it once was. A world once celebrated for its unique beauty and flourishing environment has lost much of its charm and nature. Yet, the most fascinating aspect remains—its creatures.
Bhubaneswar, a highly developed city, is populated by people with striking golden eyes and an average height of six feet. In contrast, a small group of people can be seen living in an underdeveloped village nestled deep within the jungle, outside the city. Their eyes reflect the earthy hue of the soil, and their clothes, covered in dust, appear worn and unclean.
There seemed to be a 17-year-old child sleeping peacefully on top of a tree , dreaming of something, when suddenly he was awakened by a noise. What he saw shocked him: a group of men forcefully rounding up teenagers, aged 16 to 18, and loading them into a truck headed for the city area where he himself resided. The parents of these children stood silent, but their tearful eyes betrayed their pain and the heartbreaking realization that this might be the last time they would see their children.
My parents are gone. They say I was the reason they were killed by the Golden Eyes. Why? Just because of these cursed eyes of mine—the gray eyes. Why are they cursed? I don't know. They say only a devil has eyes like this, and that anyone who interacts with me starts a countdown to their death.
Right now, there are ten children, including me. According to the villagers, they're all going to die soon just because they're with me.
Suddenly, the truck in front of us exploded.A group of terrorists emerged from nowhere,ambushing use in the middle of the jungle.The smugglers who had captured us didn't stand a chance —they were wiped out almost instantly.Then,the terrorists turned their attention to us.They forced us back inside the truck and set it ablaze, leaving us to burn alive.
We never stood a chance against them— fifteen of them against ten children. While I was burning, something unexpected happened. I heard the agonized cries of the children as they burned to their deaths. But when the fire reached me, I felt nothing. No pain, no sensation at all. By the time the flames completely consumed my body, I realized —
"I was dreaming."
I woke up drenched in sweat, an unsettling feeling gripping me—one I couldn't put into words. It was as if I had just experienced my own death.
"What was that? Was it really just a dream? But... it felt far too real to be called a mere dream."
I muttered to myself, desperately touching my body—as if it had been burning just moments ago.I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.
"That was a really terrible nightmare,"I thought to myself.
I should be sleeping comfortably at home. I don't ever want to have a nightmare like that again.
I climbed down from the tree branch and made my way to the empty home beneath it. Lying on the bed, I held on to the hope of having a good dream this time.
I felt exhausted, as if I had worked all day. All I wanted was a good night's sleep, but all I got was a terrible dream,
"AGAIN."
This time, I woke up to the same sound—the sharp, distinct sound of light guns. The smugglers wielded them with ease. I was alone, paralyzed with fear. My heart raced as I watched them forcefully drag teenagers away. They noticed me watching, and one of them started walking toward me.
I was so terrified I couldn't even take a step to protect myself. Frozen in fear, I couldn't move as he grabbed me and took me to their leader. "Gote Dhusar aakhi mili gala," he said in the language of the Golden Eyes, meaning, we've got the Gray-Eyed one. Despite this, the leader wasn't one of them—he was a human.
With a twisted smile, he replied in the same tongue, "Ebe bahut tanka miliba black market re," which meant, we'll get a fortune for this one in the black market. Without hesitation, they captured me at gunpoint and dragged me away.
Inside the truck, I saw the same teenagers from my dream. My body trembled with fear, making it impossible to think clearly. The truck roared to life, and as we moved, we passed the same villagers I had seen in my nightmare.
And then it happened. The truck came to a sudden stop. The terrorists were attacking again. This time, it was clear that they were Golden-Eyed ones, armed and relentless, unleashing another barrage of fire upon us.
I was terrified,but the eerie similarities between my dream and reality hit me hard.I didn't want to burn alive—I wanted to survive.While the smugglers and terrorists were busy fighting,I saw an opportunity to escape.
With my hands tied and desperation driving me,I slipped out of the truck and dashed into the jungle on its left side.I wasn't thinking —I couldn't think.All I could focus on was getting away.Seeing me make a run for it,other teenagers began to follow.
But freedom was short-lived.Just as we made it about 50 meters into the jungle,the terrorists caught up to us and opened fire.What could we do ?Bound and helpless,we ran,our hands tied behind our backs, slowing us down.
The light bullets from their guns tore through the air, hitting us one by one.Wherever the bullets struck,that part of the body vanished , turning into nothing but light.
Now, I was alone, hiding behind a tree. My
heart pounded as I watched the terrorists
checking the bodies of the teenagers. They
weren't my friends, but their gruesome
deaths terrified me. Some parts of their
bodies had vanished into light, while others
remained intact, twisted and lifeless.
One of the terrorists, wielding an automatic
light rifle (ALR), barked an order after
inspecting the corpses. "The information
said there's a Gray-Eyed one. Search every
area--he can't escape from here!"He said in their language.
He was right. Escape felt impossible
Behind me, the terrorists were methodically closing in, searching every inch of the area. In front of me was a river infested with crocodiles--mutated ones. I was trapped between death and death, my heart pounding as fear gripped me.
"What can I do now? I can't just sit here waiting for them to find me, nor can I risk jumping into the river."
Then, I noticed two of them staring at something in the water. One of them said,
"Is that a log... or a crocodile?"
Then the other one fired at the shape in the
water. It turned out to be a crocodile. The
others looked over and asked what
happened. They were told it was just a
crocodile in the river.
But I wasn't focused on whether it was a
crocodile or a wooden log. My mind raced
with the idea that if I kicked both of them
into the water, the crocodiles would take
care of them. Without thinking, I rushed
forward and kicked them both into the
river. One of their guns slipped from their
grip and dropped onto the ground. I quickly
grabbed it, and, remembering how I had
freed my hands earlier by rubbing them
against a sharp tree branch, I now held the
weapon in my hands. But the question
lingered--
"could I actually use it?"
The screams from the fallen terrorists drew
the attention of the others. They rushed
towards me, but I managed to hide again.
All they could see was light emitting from
the water, glowing from the light guns. The
one holding an automatic light rifle (ALR),
clearly their leader, ordered them to search
the area.
They were closing in on me. 1 had climbed a
tree to hide, giving me a vantage point to
see at least five more of them. To distract
them, I threw a rock into the water. They
gathered near the edge, but none of them
dared approach the water's edge. Instead,
they began to search the area. That was my
opening.
As they coincidentally formed a straight line, I aimed carefully. To my surprise, the gun was steady, even as I pulled the trigger. One by one, I took them down. I managed to kill all five of them. Now, only five remained--no
doubt angrier and more cautious.
They quickly spotted me. The leader, the
one holding the ALR, was the first to open
fire. He shouted in their language,
"Kill him! He's too dangerous to be captured!"
I darted across the trees, hoping to flee. But
then, a bullet struck my leg. The strangest
thing happened-it didn't hurt. I felt..
nothing. I stumbled, losing my grip and
slipping from the trees plunging into the
water.
As I fell, I wondered-
"Why didn't it felt anything?Was this another
dream? Or did the light bullets really have
no effect?"
I sank beneath the surface, drowning while
the mutated crocodiles with humanoid
hands and fish-like tails began circling,
their jaws snapping at me. And yet, I felt
nothing "again". But the overwhelming fear of death threatened to consume me
completely.
And then, everything went black.I was lost in thought,but then I saw a light.As I tried to reach it,I opened my eyes once more.
And I realised again.
"It was a dream again"
"A very bad dream"
***Info***
ALR: AN AUTOMATIC RIFLE USING LIGHT BULLETS.
LIGHT BULLETS: AN BULLET MADE UP OF LIGHT
HUMACROCS: THE CROCODILES HAVING HUMANOID HANDS AND FISH LIKE TAILS