The Formation of Team 55 Page 3

  ‘Errrr..’ Dawn attempted to speak up. ‘This is a Phrontistery. It is called the Phrontistery of Bridging.’

  ‘For the descendants?’ Vanya frowned at him.

  ‘William told you that?’ Dawn smiled.

  ‘At least, he tried to!’ she opened her messy bun and started tidying up her hair.

  ‘Look,’ He began, ‘Every year, exactly seventy people disappear on Earth from their old lives on their eighteenth birthday and arrive here. They are the descendants of the Source. Wait, let me finish!’ he motioned Vanya to remain quiet as he continued. ‘We all are the descendants of the Source. We all arrived here on our eighteenth birthday, just like you did. And, here, at this place, we learn to be ourselves so we can find our way back to our real ancestor.’

  ‘You’re a student then? You said that you arrived here during the month of September last year.’ Vanya questioned him.

  ‘About that!’ Dawn clapped his hands together. ‘The academic calendar begins on the first of July and runs till the thirtieth of April. During the months of May and June, the students are free to explore the entire land of Bridging. We also get the month of December off. it is called the semester break. The rule is, that if you have turned eighteen before thirtieth June, you are included in the batch. If you turn eighteen after that, you will arrive at Bridging on your birthday but then, you have to wait for the next academic session to begin. This rule applies to even the students who arrive on the first of July every year. They wait for an entire year to get enrolled at the Phrontistery.’

  Vanya's mouth was open. She kept staring at Dawn like a child, listening to a magical story. ‘Who is this Source? And, what is there at the museum?’

  Dawn rubbed his chin. ‘The Source, it is where we all came from. It is our prime ancestor, our only parent, and our everything. And, the museum! It is beautiful. You can find Bridging’s entire history, art, culture and everything else that has been, still is and will be important to us. Some of the sections are restricted for us, but as soon as we get enrolled, the museum will permit us to explore it completely.’

  ‘Dawn,’ Vanya ran her fingers through her hair and realized there were small twigs. ‘I think, I have been kidnapped and brought to a mental hospital. Have you ever wondered if you might be crazy?’

  Dawn kept staring at her as she pulled the twigs out of her hair. Here, Vanya was the one looking like a crazy person. Her clothes were dirty and torn because of all the running down the hill, her hairs were completely messed up and her feet were full of dirt.

  ‘When you met William, what did he do?’ Dawn questioned her casually.

  Vanya raised an eyebrow trying to remember. ‘He lit up the fireplace in the room where I woke up.’ She said, thinking about the way William looked. ‘And it was very hot.’

  ‘He was there to receive you.’ explained Dawn. ‘It is the rule that the Prime Descendant, who acts as the top authority of this institution, receives every new student who arrives here. And, judging by the way you look right now, I guess, you ran away from that hot man and ended up being tranquilized by one of ‘They used an animal tranquilizer. Can you believe that?’ Vanya rolled her eyes thinking about it. She felt offended.

  ‘None of the descendants are allowed to use their powers or abilities on any human.’ stated Dawn. ‘It is something that will start draining your powers until you lose all of it.’

  ‘But, you said that I am a descendant of the Source as well. Then why didn’t they use any magical powers on me?’ she wondered if this was the point in this dream where she might just wake up.

  ‘You are! We all are the descendants of the Source.’ Dawn said quickly. ‘But, your journey hasn’t even started yet. You are unaware of the truth that you are a descendant. Your strength to deal with the abilities of these evolved descendants isn’t good at the moment. The same goes for me and all others who will be enrolled this year. Prime Descendant, William, he will be the one to decide when the enrollment process begins.’

  ‘But, earlier you said he will become our Prime Descendant.’ Vanya tied up her hair after pulling out all the twigs. ‘How come he is already the Prime Descendant?’

  ‘Actually,’ sighed Dawn, ‘he has been holding on to that position for a long time now. We haven’t been enrolled as students yet so he is still to become our Prime Descendant. Right now, we are not under his authority. That is why we all are staying at the guest house, which is outside the campus. That is where we all arrived.’

  ‘Alright.” Vanya nodded listening to him.

  So, there were other places here as well. Not just the Phrontistery, but a guest house and a museum too. Now her mind began to drift wondering what else could be here.

  ‘When will the enrollment process begin?’, she asked Dawn, who looked pleased explaining her everything.

  ‘The process will begin within a few days, I guess. You were the last descendant we were waiting for to show up here. And, now that you are here, the session might start soon.’

  It was beginning to sink in now. Maybe Dawn was right. Maybe this wasn’t a prank or a dream. This couldn’t be. This felt so real.

  ‘I am sorry,’ she apologized, ‘I don’t know what to think about this or anything that is happening. It is just…”

  ‘I understand.’ Dawn smiled at her.

  ‘How big is Bridging?’ Vanya bit her lip. ‘I mean, if there are a museum and a guest house then what else should I expect from this place?’

  Dawn stretched his arms and stood up. ‘It is bigger than you can imagine.’

  ‘Ewwwwww’

  Vanya recognized the voice immediately. It was Justin’s.

  He had walked up to them very quietly so they wouldn’t know and was now listening to their conversation.

  ‘She just arrived, you lusty crap!’ he shook his head mockingly. ‘I am disappointed in you.’

  ‘Are you done with your trash talks?’ Dawn gave him a look. ‘We have to meet Ace. He’s at Cottage-one, Sector zero. He’s at William’s place.’

  Justin frowned. ‘I hate visiting William. Why is he even our Prime? He’s just twenty-five! And, his behavior has changed a lot since the past few days.’

  ‘Really? He’s just twenty-five?’ gasped Vanya. She noticed Dawn as he rolled his eyes at Justin.

  ‘Justin!’ Dawn eyed him. ‘William has achieved the truth of his life.’ He patted Justin on the shoulder. ‘He is one of the most trusted, most reliable descendants and was chosen by the Prime Descendant who retired before him.’

  Justin shrugged and ran back to Kathy, who, by now, had become an artist and was drawing something on the plaster girl’s plaster. Vanya felt like Dawn was trying to hide something from her. Was William not a good man? Why didn’t Justin like him?

  ‘Why don’t you have a shower and change your clothes? Then we can go and meet the rest of the team. Kathy will help you. She is really sweet if you win her heart.’ Dawn squinted his eyes trying to figure out what Kathy was drawing. The plaster girl was giggling furiously now.

  Vanya sighed softly. ‘Sure.’ She glanced at Kathy and Justin following Dawn’s gaze. Now they were just snatching the quill from each other, still laughing. She was trying to observe what the two were drawing and she figured it out. ‘Is that a-’

  ‘You sick people!’ Dawn stormed up to the bed on which the plaster girl, Kathy, and Justin were making nasty and dirty jokes, whispering to each other.

  Vanya couldn’t help but smile at them. She felt like Dawn was like an elder brother to the two of them and felt responsible for taking care of Kathy and Justin. Kathy was a free spirit who didn’t like to pretend to define her appearance as pretty or sweet. Also, she wasn’t someone who was going to give a damn about what people would think of her. Justin loved making people feel better, either by using sarcasm, making jokes or simply distracting them from a bad conversation with his silly and nasty talks.

  All this made Vanya wonder what this team was really about. Of course, she had no idea and was not
ready for any of this. But right now, all she could do was to go with the flow. If this was a dream, then she will wake up for sure. Maybe not today, but someday. If not, she must start exploring this place as much as possible and begin her journey as one of the descendants of the Source.

  Chapter 2

  Keep walking, Ace

  There will be times in your life when you feel helpless, alone, broken, lost, neglected and much more. Every time you feel this way, you will either blame someone else for your circumstances or simply dwell upon the idea that you are unlucky, and that all of what has happened, is happening and will happen, was meant to happen to you.

  You must understand that the first step for a descendant to begin the journey in order to reach the Source, is to accept everything that comes your way. You must acknowledge all that negativity. Only then you can let it go. A descendant knows that to be accepted by the Source, they must accept themselves first.

  No matter how you look, think or behave, you must understand that when or if you come to Bridging, you must let go of what you have been taught since your birth. If your mind is already full of truths that you have believed for all your life, how do you expect Bridging to teach you what you really are? Silence your mind, let go and follow Ace.

  Who is Ace?

  Ace was the obedient descendant. But when it came to keeping his teammates safe and protected, he was the ace of rule-breaking. He loved cracking systems that were proud to be perfect. According to him, there was nothing in this world that can be seen as absolutely perfect. What was perfect for him, might be totally absurd from your point of view.

  He had arrived at Bridging on 2nd March 2010 when he woke up in his own room at the guest house at Bridging, just like every other descendant did. Since then, he had been staying here, along with the rest of the descendants who hadn’t been enrolled yet.

  25th June 2010

  Right now, Ace was standing in front of the mirror in his room.

  He was a tall and muscular boy, who always stood with his back straight, which added to his benefit of standing out as the strong one. His black hairs were trimmed properly and eyes reflected a dark shade of brown. The black jacket he was wearing had a metal tag on its pocket that said, TEAM-55. Every team had been given jackets that mentioned their team number, but none of his teammates apart from Ace chose to wear those jackets. He wore a pair of dirty gray jeans and black leather boots that made him look pretty damn and husky.

  A few minutes ago, he had received a note from a descendant studying in the fourth semester, second year. The boy had told him that it was urgent. He kept reading the note again and again.

  Ace,

  I have called a meeting. You are supposed to be in it. If your teammates can show up, I will appreciate it even more. If not, I expect at least you to be at Cottage-1, Sector-0, Phrontistery of Bridging, earliest at your convenience.

  Your Friend,

  William Opal

  Why had William called a meeting? Ace was nervous because he had no idea what could have possibly gone wrong. Did Ace went ahead and broke some rules unintentionally? Well, he always tried to do it intentionally. He looked at himself, standing in front of the mirror and inhaled sharply. Nothing came across his mind.

  Then again, William might be the Prime Descendant at the Phrontistery. But, he was a very generous man and kind person, who had treated Ace like nothing less than a friend so far. Maybe he just wanted to have a drink and was trying to mess with him by sending an official note.

  ‘It feels better when I know what I am dealing with.’ he spoke to his reflection, who did the same.

  The room in which he was staying, was big and rich. There was a huge king-sized bed on one side, with a very soft and comfortable mattress, covered with white sheets. The maroon blankets on it were folded neatly. A wooden coffee table, a tall and ancient-looking cupboard and an antique chandelier hanging from the ceiling, made the room look beautiful. The marble floor was covered with a huge handmade carpet that stretched from one corner of the floor to another. The lights in this room were quite unique. They turned on and off according to the will of the guest staying in the room, just like the door, which would only open and close itself on the command of the same person.

  Ace had no idea how these facilities worked. All he had guessed so far was that the room had a mind of its own that only ran according to the will of the person staying there. He wasn’t wrong. As Ace walked towards the door, the lights began to dim and the door opened up slowly. As soon as he stepped out, the door locked itself shut behind him.

  Ace faced the door and stared at it for a moment. ‘Don’t let anyone else get in, except for Dawn.’

  The door glowed thrice in a shade of green as if it were saying yes.

  ‘Do you think we need someone to clean the room while I’m gone?’ he asked the door as he began to walk away. The door glowed thrice in a shade of red.

  ‘Just asking!’ Ace walked off into the corridor that led towards the main hall of the guest room. As soon as he left, the door transformed itself from a wooden one to a metal one. The number ‘705’ was engraved on the top. A retinal scanner appeared on the door along with a square screen that had a palm-shaped outline on it.

  Ace walked into the hall as several other new descendants passed by him. They appeared to be coming from the dining hall after breakfast. He was very punctual and loyal to his schedule. Waking up early in the morning, attending the physical fitness classes with his teammate Dawn, eating on time, visiting the Phrontistery almost every day to meet the seniors who used to tell him a lot about Bridging. But now he was bored of all this now.

  In these last four months, he had tried a lot to get the seniors to talk about the classes they were attending. But they wouldn’t say even a word about it. They were forbidden by the Phrontistery to leak any information regarding the academic sectors and the Phrontistery to the newly arrived descendants. at least, not until they were enrolled. Instead, they had told him about the clubs that were nearby where he could go to chill, have a drink and relax. The best part according to them, was that the descendants who haven't enrolled yet, get free drinks, food, travel permits and everything else until they are declared as enrolled novices at the Phrontistery.

  Most of the new descendants were carefree and were having the best time of their lives as if they were on a summer vacation. But Ace? Nope! While he was on Earth, he always dreamed of joining the army and serving his country. He believed in living the life of a man who would fight for others. Now that he was here at Bridging and it was almost four months since he had arrived, his belief system had accepted that Bridging was real. He had accepted the truth that he was not going to get to serve his country back home.

  He was tired of waiting at the guest house, doing nothing. And today, when he had finally received a note that was very unusual, he couldn’t wait to attend the meeting.

  There were a lot of guest houses in Bridging, but the one where the descendants were staying, was specifically reserved by the Phrontistery for them until they are allotted their personal cottages within the campus. The guest house in which all the descendants were staying was called Moon’s Nest. This guesthouse had seven floors. Ace’s room was on the top floor. Every floor had ten rooms on it and a huge common hall. An elevator on one end of the hall and a staircase next to it enabled the guests and the staff to move up and down the building.

  Now, Ace had to go down to the sixth floor and get Dawn. He hadn’t seen Dawn after the workout class in the morning. He hadn’t even shown up for breakfast. Ace was curious about what had gone wrong today.

  Instead of taking the elevator, he chose to walk down the stairs and went straight to the corridor that leads to Dawn’s room, ‘605’. The door was in its metal form which implied that Dawn wasn’t inside the room. Ace made a face at the door feeling annoyed.

  ‘Any idea where he is?’ Ace gave it a try. He knew that this door recognized him, just the way his room’s door recognized Dawn. The screen on
the door blinked as the outline of the palm print on it changed and what appeared on it was a video.

  Ace bent his head lower to have a look at the screen. It showed Dawn sitting next to a girl on a bed. There were several empty beds nearby. The two seemed to be talking. The girl was pulling out twigs from her hair.

  Was Dawn trying to impress her? Ace shook his head in disbelief. He knew Dawn better than anybody else here. Dawn had a silly secret that only Ace knew about.

  ‘Who the hell is that?’ Ace’s eyes widened. He saw Dawn smiling charmingly at the girl. ‘What is this dog doing?’ he hit the door with his fist.

  The door literally hit Ace with a spark that came out of the retinal scanner. He felt a wave of electric current running through his body and fell on the floor. He tried to, but couldn’t move his body. His lips were sealed and Ace couldn’t even scream. For half a minute he remained there, almost paralyzed. As the shock began to subside, he took a few deep breaths and sat up, glaring at the scanner.

  ‘Son of a geek!’ he knew this was Dawn’s idea to keep his door even more secure because nobody else had done anything like this to their doors. He stood up and gazed at the screen again. The two of them were still talking. The girl kept listening to Dawn contently.

  ‘Could it be?’ he mumbled still gazing at them. The screen was streaming live from a CCTV that was placed in the hospital of sector-0. How couldn’t Ace recognize this? But, who was she?

  He looked more carefully and spotted Kathy and Justin sitting with someone on another bed, laughing their guts out. ‘What are they doing there?’ he felt eager and puzzled.

  Then he remembered something.

  ‘As soon as your last teammate shows up, we will begin with the enrollment process.’ William’s voice boomed in his head.

  Could that be possible? Was this girl his last teammate? But then, why didn’t she showed up at the guest house like the rest of them and why was she at the hospital at sector-0?

  Something wasn’t right. Ace could feel it now. His heart began to pump up and he sprinted towards the hall. He pressed the down button on the elevator and waited eagerly.