The Revelation

Chapter 1

ASHLEY

A lone figure sat crouched on the rooftop. He merged with the night. Draped in black clothes, shadowed by the darkness; he was kneeling on the rooftop with his head bowed as if in prayer. But his eyes were attentive. Two cars came to a stop below him and around a dozen people clambered out. They walked into an abandoned building which stood opposite to the man on the rooftop. Two of the men remained on guard outside with AK 47’s in their hands. Suddenly the knees of the two guards buckled and they sank to the ground. Had these men looked upwards to the opposite building they would have seen a gleam of silver caught by the moonlight and a swift movement by a dark figure. The man on the rooftop stood up. His face was covered by a cape. He ran towards the edge and jumped. Midair he spread out his hands and a part of the dark material he was wearing spread outwards; stiffening as a low current passed through it. The man glided to the ground and stood up. He was the Batman.

   “Jane….Jane hey…are you even listening to me?”

    “Huh…yeah,” I said; shaken awake from my daydream.

        I looked around. It was my friend Maria who had spoken to me. I was sitting in the classroom daydreaming through another dull boring lecture in college.

    “Hey the class got over fifteen minutes ago. Were you even in the class?” Maria asked.

    “I –uh,” I started, my drowsy mind searching for two coherent words to string together.

     “Hey you do this every time and still never get caught. You’ve got to teach me how you do that,” Maria said cutting her in.

     “Ha ha…very funny, Maria. It’s a natural talent, really. I’ll be right back with you guys, okay?” I said, getting up.

     All my friends started chatting among themselves. I felt a tinge of annoyance at them…did they always have to gossip and chat around. Get a life, seriously, I thought as I got up and made my way out of the classroom. I entered the restroom. Thankfully, the place was empty. I made my way to the very end, choosing the last tap in the row which was partially obscured from view so that even if somebody were to enter they wouldn’t notice me immediately. I really needed some alone time.

    I turned on the tap and splashed cold water on my face. My skin tingled when the cold water made contact with my face.

Splash.

    I had been dreaming about the Batman again. That movie constantly kept on playing like a rerun in my head. I knew the reason why…that was probably one of the few things I knew about myself these days…my mind wanted to relate that movie to my life.

Splash.

    But I knew I was deluded. The core difference between my life and that movie was that at the very least Bruce Wayne knew what he was doing, whereas I had no idea where I was headed. I knew that I had had a promising start when I had begun….believing that I was actually making a difference. But now….

Splash.

    After a while my subconscious mind had started nagging me…that maybe I was making things worse…that I was supporting the wrong cause. I had my doubts…doubts I couldn’t get rid of and every mission I completed only made it more intense. But I had no choice…I couldn’t just quit…I couldn’t just hand over my resignation letter to them. My job was literally-till death do us part. Moreover I didn’t want to…I had to make things right before I opt out. I owed at least that to my targets.

Splash.

      This wasn’t a crossroad. A crossroad is supposed to make a person stronger. A crossroad involves making choices between situations which leads to different ends. If only it were that easy for me. Of course it wasn’t. I felt like I was climbing a sheer cliff…and a very dangerous one at that. I could keep climbing till I reached the top but I felt that I wouldn’t like what I found there. Moreover I wouldn’t have a way back and would be too far gone by then. But that was where I was currently headed…forward… on my way to the top. But if my suspicions were correct, then death would be more honorable. I could just let go of the footholds now; letting go would give me a shortcut to a swift death and I could escape facing all that I had done till date. But that isn’t who I am. That option is for the weak…not me.

Splash.

    But the way back; that was the most dangerous. I would risk everything going back…I would probably be ripped of everything in my life I held dear if I chose that path….but strangely that was where I wanted to go. I felt that if I were to survive the ordeal; though the chances of that were slim…I would actually have accomplished something.

Splash... Splash... Splash…

   I stopped suddenly; gasping for breath. I pinned my jet black hair on either side of my face with my palms as I took in deep breaths. I looked up and saw my bronze shaded skin sparkling in the mirror with the drops of water that clung on to my face as the drops reflected the bright light shining overhead. I have got to make up my mind soon enough. I can’t go on deliberating endlessly over it. It’s do or die, I whispered to myself.

   I wiped my face and made my way back to the class. On my way, I fished out my galaxy smartphone from my jean. I stopped mid step and involuntarily took a step back, colliding with one of my classmates also on the way out of the restroom behind me.

    “I’m…I’m sorry,” I muttered to her, moving aside to let her pass and moved to the corner, squeezing my phone as if to choke it.

    I stared blankly at my phone for another minute. There were 5 missed calls from a number I could not ignore…though I was kind of tempted to. But my protocol was clear…in such situations get back to them immediately through the secure line I was given. This effectively meant that my day at college was over, and I had to get back home to call them back.

                                                                                                                                                                                  

Hey guys, this is the first story I've ever written. So there might be a lot of errors- both grammatically and narration wise.

Please let me know your comments on it along with suggestions for improvement.