Chapter 55
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"Good morning Ashok." A sweet voice greets me as I slowly open my eyes and look at the face of Upma who was gently shaking me with a smile in her face. I groggily rubbed my eyes and mumbled back a good morning as I looked around and found Jasvinder sitting near the window where he kept on watch for potential enemies.
I has the first shift, Upma was the second one and Jasvinder had the last one. Jasvinder glances at me with his indifferent expression before he went back to looking outside in the distant horizon where the first hints of day break had started to show up.
I took a deep breath and the smell of noodles wafted to my senses and I let out a pleasant groan. I could get used to such having breakfast made for me everyday.
'Good morning Lily.' I muttered in my mind and got a enthusiastic greeting back in return. And with that, the last vestiges of sleepiness went away from within me.
I folded the sleeping gear (that's right, I have a sleeping gear) and kept it inside the spatial ring, which is starting to get cramped by now.
A 1 cubic meter space will only get you so far.
With all the food and water supplies along with the guns and ammunitions, it was high time the spatial ring got cramped.
It's time to buy a second spatial ring and upgrade this one.
I walked over to where Jasvinder and took a good look outside in the small town that we stumbled into last night. Strangely and to our immense relief, the town was already empty and destruction of nearly all of the houses made us realize that a huge fight had occurred in here.
Thankfully, a few houses were still in livable conditions, thus allowing us to find accommodations for the the night. Otherwise I would have to sleep on top of a mobile tower once again.
Not that I was against sleeping on top of it once again. Sleeping in such heights was still a novel experience for me and gave me a thrill that was hard to put into words.
Plus, no one can sneak into you from behind if you're sleeping in such a high place.
"Good morning Jasvinder." I mumbled as I looked everywhere with my 'Advanced Vision' skill and made sure that there was not disturbance in the area.
"Hmm…" Jasvinder grunted with a small nod and kept of looking outside. Anyone who didn't know him would think that he was being rude but living with him for the short amount of time made me realize that this was just his personality. A highly anti-social guy. That's who Jasvinder was.
The only time his stoic and indifferent mask would fall would be when he's near Upma. I glanced at Upma and wondered what she saw in him.
'Maybe they were childhood friends.' Lily offered.
'Probably.' I muttered. 'Or maybe they knew had been through hell with each other and have formed a strong bond through that. Surviving many life and death situations together tend to do that to people.'
'Not to mention the fact that they love each other deeply.' She said and I glanced at Upma and Jasvinder with a frown.
The fact that 12 and 11 years old kids were so deeply in love and acting like adults still felt quite weird to me. And even if I knew that it had nothing to do with me, it made me feel ashamed as an adult.
As if I was not able to do my duty of protecting their innocence or something. As if all the other adults somehow failed them and that both these children had been forced to grow out of their childhood ahead of their time.
'It's not your fault.' Upma said but I couldn't help remembering the faces of the few children I left behind in that fishing village some time ago and felt a pang of guilt in my heart.
True, I gave them some crystals and supplies and thought them how to fight and survive in this world, but, was that really enough? Did I really made the right decision back there.
'Don't think about your past decisions Ashok.' Lily said in her soothing and gentle voice. 'You would have to make a few difficult decisions if you want to survive in this world. It was not your fault.'
I felt my mood lift a bit with her words and decide that brooding about my past was indeed a rather unproductive use of time.
"Breakfast is ready." Upma's cheerful voice broke me out of my thoughts and I wondered how she was still able to remain such a good person even after growing up in such harsh conditions before.
I looked at Upma and gave her a smile and a nod and both me and Jasvinder went ahead to sit near on the mattress she had laid on the floor and went on to eat the delicious meal.
Breakfast was a rather strained affair.
Despite being in my presence for some time and fighting with me a few times, Upma and Jasvinder were still not all that frank with me and even though Upma tried to ask a few general questions and start a conversation, we just were not able to click.
Did I told you that I'm horrible at such conversations myself.
After the breakfast, I took out my walkie talkie and and talked with big bro and realized that he had moved on with a small number of men and women who chose to follow him.
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"Good morning Ashok." A sweet voice greets me as I slowly open my eyes and look at the face of Upma who was gently shaking me with a smile in her face. I groggily rubbed my eyes and mumbled back a good morning as I looked around and found Jasvinder sitting near the window where he kept on watch for potential enemies.
I has the first shift, Upma was the second one and Jasvinder had the last one. Jasvinder glances at me with his indifferent expression before he went back to looking outside in the distant horizon where the first hints of day break had started to show up.
I took a deep breath and the smell of noodles wafted to my senses and I let out a pleasant groan. I could get used to such having breakfast made for me everyday.
'Good morning Lily.' I muttered in my mind and got a enthusiastic greeting back in return. And with that, the last vestiges of sleepiness went away from within me.
I folded the sleeping gear (that's right, I have a sleeping gear) and kept it inside the spatial ring, which is starting to get cramped by now.
A 1 cubic meter space will only get you so far.
With all the food and water supplies along with the guns and ammunitions, it was high time the spatial ring got cramped.
It's time to buy a second spatial ring and upgrade this one.
I walked over to where Jasvinder and took a good look outside in the small town that we stumbled into last night. Strangely and to our immense relief, the town was already empty and destruction of nearly all of the houses made us realize that a huge fight had occurred in here.
Thankfully, a few houses were still in livable conditions, thus allowing us to find accommodations for the the night. Otherwise I would have to sleep on top of a mobile tower once again.
Not that I was against sleeping on top of it once again. Sleeping in such heights was still a novel experience for me and gave me a thrill that was hard to put into words.
Plus, no one can sneak into you from behind if you're sleeping in such a high place.
"Good morning Jasvinder." I mumbled as I looked everywhere with my 'Advanced Vision' skill and made sure that there was not disturbance in the area.
"Hmm…" Jasvinder grunted with a small nod and kept of looking outside. Anyone who didn't know him would think that he was being rude but living with him for the short amount of time made me realize that this was just his personality. A highly anti-social guy. That's who Jasvinder was.
The only time his stoic and indifferent mask would fall would be when he's near Upma. I glanced at Upma and wondered what she saw in him.
'Maybe they were childhood friends.' Lily offered.
'Probably.' I muttered. 'Or maybe they knew had been through hell with each other and have formed a strong bond through that. Surviving many life and death situations together tend to do that to people.'
'Not to mention the fact that they love each other deeply.' She said and I glanced at Upma and Jasvinder with a frown.
The fact that 12 and 11 years old kids were so deeply in love and acting like adults still felt quite weird to me. And even if I knew that it had nothing to do with me, it made me feel ashamed as an adult.
As if I was not able to do my duty of protecting their innocence or something. As if all the other adults somehow failed them and that both these children had been forced to grow out of their childhood ahead of their time.
'It's not your fault.' Upma said but I couldn't help remembering the faces of the few children I left behind in that fishing village some time ago and felt a pang of guilt in my heart.
True, I gave them some crystals and supplies and thought them how to fight and survive in this world, but, was that really enough? Did I really made the right decision back there.
'Don't think about your past decisions Ashok.' Lily said in her soothing and gentle voice. 'You would have to make a few difficult decisions if you want to survive in this world. It was not your fault.'
I felt my mood lift a bit with her words and decide that brooding about my past was indeed a rather unproductive use of time.
"Breakfast is ready." Upma's cheerful voice broke me out of my thoughts and I wondered how she was still able to remain such a good person even after growing up in such harsh conditions before.
I looked at Upma and gave her a smile and a nod and both me and Jasvinder went ahead to sit near on the mattress she had laid on the floor and went on to eat the delicious meal.
Breakfast was a rather strained affair.
Despite being in my presence for some time and fighting with me a few times, Upma and Jasvinder were still not all that frank with me and even though Upma tried to ask a few general questions and start a conversation, we just were not able to click.
Did I told you that I'm horrible at such conversations myself.
After the breakfast, I took out my walkie talkie and and talked with big bro and realized that he had moved on with a small number of men and women who chose to follow him.
"Good morning Ashok." A sweet voice greets me as I slowly open my eyes and look at the face of Upma who was gently shaking me with a smile in her face. I groggily rubbed my eyes and mumbled back a good morning as I looked around and found Jasvinder sitting near the window where he kept on watch for potential enemies.I has the first shift, Upma was the second one and Jasvinder had the last one. Jasvinder glances at me with his indifferent expression before he went back to looking outside in the distant horizon where the first hints of day break had started to show up.I took a deep breath and the smell of noodles wafted to my senses and I let out a pleasant groan. I could get used to such having breakfast made for me everyday.'Good morning Lily.' I muttered in my mind and got a enthusiastic greeting back in return. And with that, the last vestiges of sleepiness went away from within me.I folded the sleeping gear that's right, I have a sleeping gear and kept it inside the spatial ring, which is starting to get cramped by now.A 1 cubic meter space will only get you so far.With all the food and water supplies along with the guns and ammunitions, it was high time the spatial ring got cramped.It's time to buy a second spatial ring and upgrade this one.I walked over to where Jasvinder and took a good look outside in the small town that we stumbled into last night. Strangely and to our immense relief, the town was already empty and destruction of nearly all of the houses made us realize that a huge fight had occurred in here.Thankfully, a few houses were still in livable conditions, thus allowing us to find accommodations for the the night. Otherwise I would have to sleep on top of a mobile tower once again.Not that I was against sleeping on top of it once again. Sleeping in such heights was still a novel experience for me and gave me a thrill that was hard to put into words.Plus, no one can sneak into you from behind if you're sleeping in such a high place."Good morning Jasvinder." I mumbled as I looked everywhere with my 'Advanced Vision' skill and made sure that there was not disturbance in the area."Hmm" Jasvinder grunted with a small nod and kept of looking outside. Anyone who didn't know him would think that he was being rude but living with him for the short amount of time made me realize that this was just his personality. A highly anti-social guy. That's who Jasvinder was.The only time his stoic and indifferent mask would fall would be when he's near Upma. I glanced at Upma and wondered what she saw in him.'Maybe they were childhood friends.' Lily offered.'Probably.' I muttered. 'Or maybe they knew had been through hell with each other and have formed a strong bond through that. Surviving many life and death situations together tend to do that to people.''Not to mention the fact that they love each other deeply.' She said and I glanced at Upma and Jasvinder with a frown.The fact that 12 and 11 years old kids were so deeply in love and acting like adults still felt quite weird to me. And even if I knew that it had nothing to do with me, it made me feel ashamed as an adult.As if I was not able to do my duty of protecting their innocence or something. As if all the other adults somehow failed them and that both these children had been forced to grow out of their childhood ahead of their time.'It's not your fault.' Upma said but I couldn't help remembering the faces of the few children I left behind in that fishing village some time ago and felt a pang of guilt in my heart.True, I gave them some crystals and supplies and thought them how to fight and survive in this world, but, was that really enough? Did I really made the right decision back there.'Don't think about your past decisions Ashok.' Lily said in her soothing and gentle voice. 'You would have to make a few difficult decisions if you want to survive in this world. It was not your fault.'I felt my mood lift a bit with her words and decide that brooding about my past was indeed a rather unproductive use of time."Breakfast is ready." Upma's cheerful voice broke me out of my thoughts and I wondered how she was still able to remain such a good person even after growing up in such harsh conditions before.I looked at Upma and gave her a smile and a nod and both me and Jasvinder went ahead to sit near on the mattress she had laid on the floor and went on to eat the delicious meal.Breakfast was a rather strained affair.Despite being in my presence for some time and fighting with me a few times, Upma and Jasvinder were still not all that frank with me and even though Upma tried to ask a few general questions and start a conversation, we just were not able to click.Did I told you that I'm horrible at such conversations myself.After the breakfast, I took out my walkie talkie and and talked with big bro and realized that he had moved on with a small number of men and women who chose to follow him.
