The Formation of Team 55 Read online

  The Descendants of the Source

  #DOTSBookSeries1

  The Curse of Brahma (Part I)

  The Formation of

  TEAM 55

  Neo Nidhi Baghel

  Facebook - @NeoNidhi95

  Instagram - @Neo_NidhiBaghel

  Twitter - @NeoNidhi

  Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 1

  Happy Birthday, Vanya

  Being a follower of any god might not be easy. But being a descendant of the Source, and to be guided by a god to recognize that Source, can be even more challenging and difficult.

  You might be wondering, what is the Source? Well, to begin with, the Source is the origin as well as the end of everything. It knows all. It pervades every bit of this existence and expresses itself through everything that exists. It has uncountable forms, yet it is formless. The Source is the sacred omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient energy that keeps you alive and keeps you aware of what is around you.

  Have you come to know too much? Maybe yes, or maybe not. It depends on how much your mind wishes to explore.

  Do you want to know what is the Source? Do you want to know who these descendants are and what do they have to do with any god at all? Do you want to know how the Source is the most basic, yet the most significant part of you, your mind, body, and spirit?

  If yes, then keep on reading. If not, then please shut this book immediately, never to open it ever again, because once you get to know what the Source is, you will never be able to ignore it.

  Shhh…. try to be quiet, just listen to the story and try to feel that you are in it, with the descendants. Vanya is asleep. Look there! Not there! There! Yes, right there! And, now she is up. Here comes the trouble.

  25th May 2010

  Her fingers twitched as those glassy brown eyes opened up slowly. She blinked several times staring at the ceiling. It looked different than usual. The air she was breathing felt clean and pure. She rubbed her eyes again and again and sat up straight before looking around the room. Her thick black hairs were slightly wet and tangled. She tied them up in a big messy bun looking around confusingly.

  Vanya finally realized that not just the air or the ceiling, but everything around her was different. It was a very small room. Although the bed on which she was sitting wasn’t as big as her usual bed, her short and slender body fit perfectly in it. Getting out of the blankets, she immediately got away from the bed.

  ‘Where the hell am I?’ she mumbled looking around the room. There was an open window next to the door that appeared to be the only way out at the moment. She dashed towards the door and pushed it open. Vanya had almost started to run when the view in front of her eyes made her body to crumble down on the ground.

  Was she dreaming? It was her eighteenth birthday today. The date today was 9th May 2010 and she had turned eighteen years old. It was going to be a special day. Her mother had promised Vanya to get a driving license soon. Was this some sort of prank being played by her mother and sister? Where were they? Most importantly, where was Vanya right now?

  ‘Mom?’ she called out to her mother looking around. Her voice was shaky and weak. Vanya was scared suddenly. There was no response from anyone at all.

  It was a forest out there. Right now, she was on a hilltop which gave her an unbelievably gorgeous view. She turned around to look at the door and it was still there. It was a small cottage inside which she had been sleeping. She ran to the other side of the hilltop only to see that from north to south and from east to west, it was all and only green. It was as if, she was surrounded by an ocean of trees that encircled the hilltop she was standing on. The wind kept whistling as it made her feel cold and alone. Where she used to live, there weren’t so many trees. She had been working hard back home to save the forests and every single tree.

  ‘Alright, this cannot be true. This is not supposed to be real.’ Vanya felt her heart race faster and her gut tightened. She felt sweat dripping off her forehead even though the weather was cold. The white layer of fog was disappearing as the sun rose slowly, partially hidden behind some clouds.

  ‘This is just a dream…. just a dream…’ her lips began to quiver and her body shivered with fear now. ‘Wake up… wake up!!!’ Vanya yelled at herself, pinching her both of her arms again and again. ‘You can’t let this happen, Vanya!’ she told herself.

  She looked around herself and the tiny room that looked like a cottage. Her eyes were scanning the hilltop. ‘Where did it go?’ she ran around looking at the green grass. ‘It’s not here, so this is not real. It is just a dream. Just wake up, you jerk!” she pinched herself angrily.

  She had definitely seen something last night on this hilltop. Was it a dream and this was the reality, or what she had seen last night was the reality and this was a dream? After a few minutes had passed by, she fell on the ground and felt her eyes become watery. Vanya was crying now.

  ‘Vartika?’ she called out her younger sister’s name loudly. When there was no response, she began to scream her name. She fell on the ground and started to weep.

  This can’t be happening. This surely had to be a dream. Vanya thought this over and over, hoping she would wake up. But, for some reason, she couldn’t understand why she wasn’t able to wake up. This felt so real. The cold wind was giving her goosebumps, the grassy ground, the sound of the birds chirping at a distance, the rays of the sun peeking from behind the clouds were touching her partially covered skin. The grass on the ground, on which she was crumbled felt soft against her legs.

  Vanya got up and managed to sit on the ground to have a look at her clothes. She was wearing the same clothes as last night. The same black shorts and the same blue cotton top. It felt like she had been wearing them for a while now. Almost crawling and standing up at the same time, she ran towards the cottage. Vanya stood at the door and began to scan the room. To the left side of the door, a window was filling the room with natural morning light. There was a study table right in front of that window, on which there were a couple of hand-stitched notebooks. She opened one of the notebooks, which was blank. She touched the sheets stitched into it and felt as if they were just dried leaves. An ink-pot was settled on one corner of the table, accompanied by a quill. A straight and tough-looking wooden chair stood in front of that study table.

  Vanya noticed that there was a small fireplace on the bottom of the wall which was diagonal to the study table. But there was no fire there. She looked to the other side of the door and saw a red couch next to which a few steps away was a door. She walked very slowly towards it and pushed the door open. It was a bathroom that had everything in it including all sorts of toiletries. She closed the door back and saw the foot of the bed, which wasn’t very far away from either the bathroom door or the red couch. On the wall which was opposite to the main door was a long shelf that stretched from one corner of the wall to another. She walked closer and sat on the bed gazing at the shelf. There were some clothes on it that appeared to be shorts and shirts. Next to which there were some hand-stitched notebooks, some quills and ink pots. On the other half of the shelf were some utensils. Below the shelf, there were some pairs of slippers, shoes, and boots.

  Vanya was definitely in somebody’s home, some creepy person’s home. She was freaking out from inside but had no idea what to do. As each moment passed by, Vanya was able to recall what had happened, which she wasn’t willing to.

  ‘I am dreaming!’ she said out loud and clear to herself. ‘This is just a dream and I just need to wake up now before it gets ugly again.’ she took
a long breath and exhaled properly. ‘On the count of three. one.. two.. three-’

  KNOCK KNOCK!!

  Her body became absolutely still as she heard the knock. Maybe staying like that will make the person on the door to think that nobody was inside. Vanya turned her head very slowly and looked at the door. It was already open. Of course, now that she was in some unknown dream, she remembered to shut the bathroom door but left the main door open.

  A man stood there, casually staring at Vanya. He didn’t seem to be alarmed, surprised or nervous to see her at all. She was the one who was feeling alarmed, surprised and nervous. The man wore a gray full sleeve shirt and a simple and plain black lower which highlighted the fact that he was in really good shape. His hairs were slightly spiked up and the eyes kept glittering with a shade of dark green. He seemed to be in his early twenties.

  Vanya sat there on the small bed extremely still, filled with unknown feelings and thoughts. Fear, sickness, worry, anger, and much more accompanied by several questions.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he walked inside without even asking for her permission. ‘Stop that, you are freaking me out.’ he pulled the chair in front of the study table, turned it in her direction and sat on it comfortably.

  There was a moment of silence. The man kept staring at her, without blinking even once. For that matter, even Vanya wasn’t blinking, but this was actually out of shock and fear.

  ‘Are you ready to talk now?’ the man asked Vanya in a very calm and soothing tone. His voice made her feel calm instantly. But her heart was still racing. She chose not to respond. Maybe this was a dream after all. Where else can she find such a hot man talking to her? After all, everything that was happening lately was a disaster for her. Maybe this was some sort of trick or magic.

  ‘Vanya?’ The man tilted his head as if he was trying to read her mind. ‘No, this is not a dream and thank you for the compliment.’ he smiled sheepishly. ‘But… I am not available… for now, at least.’

  Vanya glared at him. Was he there? Was this all real?

  ‘Yes, I am here!’ he said dismissively. ‘Yes, this is all real.’

  Vanya laughed out loud and shook her head unbelievably. ‘Oh! Best dream ever. You can read my mind.’ She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing and looked up at him. ‘Can you tell me what I am thinking right now?’

  ‘My name is William Opal and I am so sorry to disappoint you, but I am way older than you think because this isn’t a dream. We are not on a date.’ The man exhaled after saying so. ‘I am supposed to be becoming your Prime Descendant in a few days and I don’t think it would be appropriate for both of us to do anything of such sort.’

  ‘I’m sorry, my prime what?’ Vanya blabbered out loudly. ‘And, I don’t think we’re on a date. I was just checking if you can really read my mind or…” she covered her mouth with both her hands and shut her eyes thinking… just a dream.. just a dream… just a dream-

  ‘My goodness, this isn’t a dream, alright?’, as he said so, William stood up the very instant and flashed his palm at the fireplace. Suddenly there was a small, decent, violet-colored fire, right where there was nothing.

  Vanya got up from the bed and began to walk towards the fireplace. William shifted a little away from the chair, giving her some space. The fire felt warm and was releasing a very sweet floral scent.

  ‘What did you do? How the hell did you do it?’ Vanya kept staring at the purple fire with lost eyes. ‘What is happening?’

  William waved his hand and the fire died instantly. Vanya blinked and realized that without even knowing, she had reached very close to the fireplace. She gasped and turned around. She wanted to speak but felt like her voice wasn’t ready to speak up for her.

  ‘I do this all the time.’ William grabbed her arm and made her sit on the wooden chair. He moved back and sat on the red couch, ready to talk. ‘You are not here by accident. You are here because you were chosen by the Source to be one of its descendants.’

  ‘What?’ Vanya was so confused right now.

  ‘Look!’ explained William. ‘Vanya, just like you there are hundreds and thousands of people who show up here. Every year, several people show up at this Phrontistery. This is the place where you will become your true self. This is where you will learn the truth about existence. This is where your true journey will begin.’

  Vanya didn’t move at all. She didn’t know what to do. ‘Is this some sort of crazy magic place?’

  ‘No,’ he shook his head. ‘This place is called Bridging. And, Bridging is a place that connects the entire universe with a multidimensional junction. Right now, you are at the Phrontistery of Bridging which is a very significant part of this hidden world that connects Earth to the rest of the universe. You are not on Earth anymore so don’t try to run away.’

  Vanya gulped. ‘I just think that- you know -’ she coughed placing her hand over her heart, not knowing what to say. ‘You are crazy and that I need to go.’

  She got up, ready to leave the small room. She was even willing to jump off the cliff which was behind this room. Maybe, she might wake up after that. William responded immediately and rushed to the door. He stood there, blocking the path.

  ‘Vanya,’ he looked at her sympathetically. ‘there is something… I mean, a lot of things that you need to know. And,’ he seemed to be busy trying to find the right words. After a minute for uncomfortable silence, he said, ‘I want you to come with me right now.’

  ‘Really?’ She shook her head unbelievably. ‘Really? I am dreaming and a hot man is talking to me, asking me to come with him because he wants to tell me something about a world which does not exist?’ she slammed her hand on her forehead. ‘I can’t find a hot date even in my dreams? Oh, give me a break, please!’

  ‘Vanya!’ William looked serious now. ‘I am not joking and this isn’t a dream. You have finally reached the place where you were supposed to be since the beginning. Your team has been waiting for you. You need to see them now. You have to live here and learn to behave as a descendant does.’

  Vanya raised an eyebrow and let out a laugh. ‘Look, I know that this might not be a dream. But, I also know that this isn’t real. So, whatever you have done or whatever is going on, stop it right now or I will-’ she looked around the room to find something to throw at William. ‘scream.’ That was all she could say.

  William stood there quietly not knowing how to explain her anything at all. ‘I have a better idea.’ He bit his lip, crossing his muscular arms in front of his chest. ‘How about you get out of here, run down the hill asking for help?’

  Vanya didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t real at all. It was just a dream, right?

  She took a step towards the door which he had been blocking. William stepped aside, letting her out and shook his head looking disappointed. She walked past him and out of the tiny cottage. Upon reaching the edge of the hilltop, she realized that there was a path that led down the hill, built with uncountable rocks. This wasn’t going to be tough. She wished this was a concrete path, which it wasn’t. Some of these tiny rocks looked pointy and that scared her. She was barefoot and could injure the soles of her feet.

  ‘Go on.’ she heard William. Now, he was standing right behind her. ‘I will see you when you see me.’

  Vanya turned her head and gave him a look full of loathing. This unrealistically hot man was getting on her nerves now. She looked at the path, took a deep breath and began to walk down. It was easier than she expected. The only problem was, the small rocky grains in the path began to hurt the soles of her feet as she expected. All she had to do was run down fast enough so William won’t be able to catch up with her. It wasn’t a long run and the hill wasn’t too steep either. Vanya slowed down as she saw a raw horizontal path at the end of the rocky path that led down the hill.

  As soon as she reached down the hill, Vanya turned around to check on William, but he was nowhere to be seen. She looked around and found herself surrounded by nothing, but trees and t
he single raw path on which she was standing now. William wasn’t anywhere near her. She could hear the birds chirping better here. Now that Vanya was standing among these trees, she realized how big, tall and old they were.

  ‘William?’ she heard herself call his name. After all, he was the only person she knew in this unknown dream or place, whatever it was.

  There was no response from him. She felt as if he wasn’t there at all. Maybe he was just a part of the dream and now he was gone? Vanya kept wondering if she should go back up the hill. What if William was there? He had offered to help her as well.

  ‘Mom?’ Vanya called her mother. ‘Are you here?’ she kept looking around, making sure there wasn’t anything that she didn’t want to face right now. Maybe something like a cockroach or some sort of reptile? She hated reptiles and found them gross and creepy.

  How can this even be happening? The Source of what? Trouble? Vanya was someone whose anger was always under control. But today she was not in a mood to joke at all. It was her birthday and she wanted to just celebrate it with her mom and sister.

  After calling out her mother and William for almost ten minutes, she decided to walk on the path which was full of dirt and some dried leaves. Vanya was able to spot a lot of faded shoe prints there. She kept following those prints, hoping that she might find some help. Her feet were hurting and her stomach growled with hunger.

  Suddenly she reached an opening where she spotted a place that looked like an open cafeteria. There were a lot of young people sitting together and having breakfast. Vanya could smell the deliciousness of the food being served on the tables. The people sitting here seemed to be teenagers. Nobody looked older than William. They were either teenagers or in their early twenties.

  A girl heading towards the crowded tables came face to face with her when Vanya jumped up in her path. Although she had been told by her mother that a person should never talk to strangers in a dream, she chose to do it. She had spoken to William already, right?