9:11

“Wake up. Save your life,” a voice echoed clamorously.

He opened his eyes abruptly, sat up making grumbling noises; strand of saliva was driveling out of his mouth. He rubbed off his mouth with the cuff at right hand sleeve of his pyjama and looked up slowly where a grinding noise was coming from. Swirling grey clouds were hovering over him as waiting for him to wake up. Clash of the clouds thundered the hell out of him. He jumped out of his bed; his sleepy eyes were suddenly back into the watchfulness of surrounding. Soft, dampish green grass below his feet, were dying but he could still feel the softness of grass. He looked all over, flowers, blades of grass, trees, lovely ponds, moist on the grass, resplendence of nature, were slowly transmuted into shadow of darkness. He did not know where he was. He glanced in every direction to have a clue of the place but it was insignificant.

“Run.” again a voice echoed but this time it was more shrilling and terrifying. He turned back and thrilled to see his bed was vanished. He squinted at the only light falling briefly on his face blocking the face with hands from intenseness of light. The source was unknown to him but he was sure it was not a sun.

“Run for your life,” the voice repeated.
“Who are you and what is the danger?” he stunningly questioned the light.
“It’s no time to have questions and answers. Just go and after some time you will see for yourself what the jeopardy is.”

He realized what the Voice meant by jeopardy when he saw cloudburst of weapons spattered over from vortex of clouds. The grass below his feet turned yellow, and dried. The trees burnt to gray-ash, the pond vaporized, and the fishes in it died. Dry fields were now covered with weapons; weapons of all kind. Nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, biological weapons, missiles, guns, AK47s, bombs, rifles, pistols, knives, spears, swords swathed entire vicinity. Incineration of trees and detonation of bombs filled air with thick smoke, if it was air.

His eyes were reddening, blearing with tears. He accumulated his power and began sprinting insanely towards nowhere, unaware of the fields. Every step was giant leap forward. There were hurdles of weapons impeded his speed. There were no flowers, no trees, and no ponds but hillocks of bullets were formed.

“Watch out those weapons. Run as fast as you can.” the voice, still shrieking stridently.

The weapons rained cats and dogs over the fields and some over him. He was seriously injured but amazingly he did not lose his strength. Thickness of air asphyxiated his lungs, and stream of sweat dampened his body completely. Stumbling and still running, he exerted to inhale to save his life. His heart was thumping his chest. He did not see any living biological existence around him and up to the horizon. All he could see was weapons, smog all around which veiled the sun above. He could only smell concentrated air that choked his windpipe. He could taste only the salt of tears and sweat running over face to his mouth. He could hear only an echoing heavenly voice which distracted his mind to stop thinking and follow its command.

He stopped and looked all around, found the scene was terrifying. The shrilling voice was piercing his mind like drilling machine digging hole on road. Nobody was there to take care of him. His family, friends, beloved ones, his pet, children, animals, trees; everybody got lost; lost in fate of humankind.

He was tired of running. He sat down uncomfortably, throwing some small weapons assiduously, clearing the spot. The drool was oozing childishly from his mouth. His reddened eyes followed every hiss and fuss of light blowing air. The wounds in his body were extremely intolerable, but miraculously healing suddenly. Deafness of fields and darkness of clouds presaged the indelibility of upcoming peril.

“Come with me,” said the Man.
He turned around to see a man stood, well dressed, tidy, and unaffected as if he was unaware of the thunders. The Man offered his hand to get him up.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I am leader of most powerful country of this world,” the Man grinned.
“Can you please tell me what’s going on?” he asked again. In distance, voices of men were floating in waves, with firing of bullets soaring in air.
“We declared a war on your country. The leader of your state is tyrant and me & my military are here to free you people from his dictatorship. We are here to make your country Democratic.”

As he grabbed the hand of the Man, a bullet tore his back.
When his eyes were opened, he was full of false pain. And the time on his digital wrist watch was 9:11 PM.