8:30 AM – Nahan, Himachal Pradesh
The bus rolled into Nahan just before dawn.
The town was just beginning to stir. As the vehicle shuddered to a stop, Dev rubbed his eyes, forcing himself awake.
He with his backpack, stepped off the bus. His eyes roamed around tall mountains, a beautiful sunrise, pine-covered slopes and slight mist. People were wearing winter clothes.
"Damn, it is cold here. I should have worn more clothes" he murmured
He tugged his hoodie tighter against the cold and slung his small backpack over his shoulder.
"Now, should I go left or right? But before that, I should have a cup of chai"
He went to nearby tea stall
"ek chai" he said.
Stall owner "ye lejiya sahab"(here it is, mister)
"Though i would have preferred coffee, but beggars cant be choosers" he murmured while sipping the coffee
"In which direction is the military training camp" he asked the stall owner
After receiving the directions from stall owner which he just asked to just recheck The google maps.
He started moving to his destination while his walk, his decision once again sank in.
His gaze wandered to the hills in the distance
"It's beautiful. There was no turning back—this is my path" He let out a slow breath.
A small smirk tugging at his lips.
The Para SF Checkpoint.
After walking for nearly twenty minutes.
He reached a reinforced iron gate with two armed guards stationed on either side and few of them on small entry gate. Their olive-green fatigues and stern expressions radiated authority.
"Stop! Where are you going?.... What are you here for" A guy with a stern expression with a cut on his face asked
Dev, with his usual blank facial expression, pulled out the official letter—the one the system had materialized for him. It bore the emblem of the Indian Special Forces and his name, marking him as a special force recruit.
The guy with the cut on his face relaxed his expression while checking the letter and replied
"A recruit order for special forces, Huh? Go inside to the left and register there. I wish you good luck with your training. Hope you join military if you survive the special training"
Dev being Dev, just gave a slight node and walked past him.
After Dev entered the gate
Guard 1: "He seems quite young and rude. May god give him strength to survive inside"
Guard 2: "Hahahahahh! I am just thinking what would his seniors do with him."
The guard with cut on his face: I pray he is assigned to easy going trainer he almost appears to be my son's age and maybe youngest in his batch.
would his wish truly gonna be fulfilled? that remained a mystery.
After entering Dev went to registration office ,
[DEV POV]
Its not like i never have entered a camp -- my aunt is a teacher in KV school which is inside air force camp but -- The air here felt different.
The guy outside with a cut on his face seemed like a thug though i liked his cut. It was pretty much like Zoro from One piece. should i also get one? Na Na wtf i am thinking? My handsome face would be spoiled.
I walked toward the attending soldier, who was already registering a guy.
And when i went there, I got to know this guy was also a recruit for special forces. Damn, that guy's got some build—not too much, but at least he has some defined muscles unlike me. He appeared to be around 21.
After the procedure of both of us was done, we were told to wait and someone will come to pick us up.
"Myself Vikram Rathore from Haryana "He introduced himself
"Dev, Delhi," I introduced with the longest reply i could manage, and by his look i knew he was going to continue even with my not interested look.
"What's with the introduction anyway i am 21...."he started talking
I really wanted to tell him to stop, but he was non stop yapping. He started talking about his family military history— how great his grandfather and father solider were.
A military jeep arrived
The officer "New recruits?"
Both of simultaneously nodded
"Hop inside." he replied
As we sat Vikram taking passenger seat while me back seat the officer started driving the car towards Special force quarter.
My eyes roamed memorizing every place though i had already checked the map in registering office when the fool was yapping.
The Training area consisted of a large obstacle course: Wooden walls, barbed wire crawls, rope climbs, and tire runs. Shooting ranges in the distance, with scattered targets riddled with bullet holes. Barracks made of simple concrete blocks, functional and spartan.
From the moving jeep, I could hear the instructors were merciless, yelling orders with ruthless efficiency, their voices cutting through the chilly morning air.
We both were taken Lieutenant General
"These are the new recruit sir," The officers saluted and told
"Your letters" He asked
We both passed our letters to him
"Both are assigned for Para SF training, and the kid even have a special letter saying if he is able to complete training, he would be recruited in regiment 1: The Hellhound most dangerous regiment of India as it name suggests the are unstoppable force carrying nothing else then defeating their enemy." He murmured and glanced at me.
"Officer, take them to there rooms and Vikram will be assigned to trainer Mahajan while....."
He paused and continued, "Dev would be taken to Rana"
The officer had a surprised reaction but regained his composure within a moment.
"Both of you come with me."
He took both of us to our dorms. Thank God we don't share the same dorm—otherwise, I'm sure I would've killed Vikram.
"You both are free to scout the Para SF camp or rest but, at sharp 5 you must be on your specific training ground where you will meet your trainers" Officer told us and went away.
Before Vikram could even speak, I rushed towards my dorm which, was on different floor.
I entered my dorm and saw two beds, one of which was already filled.
"I guess I already have a roommate"
I put my bag down and laid on my bed fatigue finally catching me. I'd been awake for 48 hours sleeping only 8 hours though my body was topnotch I was feeling mental fatigue.
Back in Delhi – 7:30 AM
After sending Arjun to school, both of his parents with worried expression, tried to call Dev again.
His mom burst into tears again.
Dev's father's hands trembled slightly as he held his phone to his ear. His knuckles were white from gripping it too tightly.
"Still switched off," he muttered, his voice low and tense.
"We shouldn't have been so hard on him! It's all your fault—taunting him every time!" his mother snapped, transforming her guilt into anger towards her husband {women's classic move}
His father, not minding her words was thinking what to do
"Calm down. He's already 18, and we both know he isn't a fool—even if he acts like one. It's not like he's dead. He'll come back once the world beats him down. Still, I'll inform the police, but it's highly unlikely they'll find him—there are too many cases like his"
After consoling mother for hours and finally....
5:00 PM
Dev after taking a break and scouting the area. Dev finally reached his assigned training ground where he saw a tall rowdy man with big moustache.