WHO ARE YOU?

Second thoughts.

Afreed with his three brothers Mohmmad Ali Hussain, Mubarak Ali Hussain, Aadil Ali Hussain, given a task to convince them to cooperate. There was not any significant similarity between the brothers, they were four different people with four completely different personalities and different traits but they all served as Soldiers for their country, four of them… actually five of them. The eldest brother, Aarif Ali Hussain, died serving his country in the war time.

To convince his brothers to cooperate for the experiment was not challenging for Afreed but he had an instinct, that whether they should become the experiment subjects or not, either way they aren't coming out of this situation alive.

"So what you are saying is that we become test subjects, and if we cooperate with them, they let us go alive? I don't see a problem, let's do it."

Said Aadil.

"No you fool, why should we serve them? Let's refuse it."

Said Mohammad.

"But if we do that, they kill us, that too the hard way."

Said Mubarak.

"Wait, before all this, where is Aarif?"

Asked Aadil looking at Afreed.

"Yeah, why isn't he here?"

As soon as he heard Aarif's name, Afreed's heart started beating faster, it was getting difficult for him to breathe, he had a panic attack and sat on the chair next to him, keeping his hand on his chest.

A voice echoed in his ears

"Grenade!!!!!!!! AFREED GET BACKKK!!!!

……

…….

…….

…….

Look after our mother…..and those stupid brothers, you are the only one who has mind amongst them….. farewell brother."

"Hey hey heyy?!!! What's wrong, you are panting!"

Said Mubarak freaked out checking on Afreed.

Meanwhile Afreed had tears in his eyes he looked at his brothers and said it while crying

"He's dead, he died protecting me….. I am sorry …. I couldn't save him. He pushed me away from the grenade and he himself got……"

Afreed started crying and couldn't speak.

The three of them were in shock.

Mubarak patted on Afreed's back while he was crying himself and said.

"Stay strong!"

"Any last words that he had? "

Asked Mohamad

" Look after our mother…..and those stupid brothers, you are the only one who has mind amongst them….. farewell brother."

Said Afreed.

Mohammad banged on the table in the room and said.

"That scum, so what he's the eldest, he has no right to take us three for fools!!!"

A few drops of tears dropped on that table, while he said that.

Aadil who was silent, but the despair he had in his eyes was reflecting evidently said that

"He said you are the only one with the mind amongst us, you are the one to look after us Afreed, I don't think so any of us right now can choose, you are the one who shall decide for us. I am sure Aarif would have let you make the final decision too. "

"That's right, Afreed we will do as you say."

Said Mubarak, keeping his hand on Afreed's shoulder.

"Don't let Aarif's last wish go for a waste, choose wisely"

Said Mohammad.

"Putting all the load on me? That's not fair, big brother, but I have gotta do this.

Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un."

"Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un." (Islamic way of saying rest in peace.)

Three of them repeated after Afreed, wishing their eldest brother a farewell.

" At this moment, I am not sure ……. If we become their subjects they are gonna drug us to carry out their experiment. I don't know what drug it is, but I think they themselves aren't sure if that drug would work successfully, which is why they are gonna test it on us, it's risky, but if we refuse, they are gonna kill us anyway. It's a do or die situation or it's just death. We can't practically escape this. I ask you to prepare yourselves."

Said Afreed.

"Prepare ourselves for what?"

"For the worst."

(In the commanding officer's office.)

"It's stupid of you to give them such a choice, Miss Paula."

Said the commanding officer.

"I have more knowledge of this experiment and it's requirements than you do Mr. Ronald. I know what I am doing."

"But all this is taking a lot of time!!!! I need that drug this year. Not after all this is over!!!!"

Ronald banged his office table and stood up from his chair looking into Paul's eyes.

Paula looked back into his eyes and said.

"Why are you being so impatient, Mr Ronald? Have some faith in me, would you?"

She emphasised on the word 'impatient' and said it with a smile as if she was seducing him.

Ronald, looked the other way and chuckled, he walked towards Paul's side of the table and leaned on the table near Paula's chair and said.

"Well, it seems you are a talented woman in all aspects, I would have never been able to bear you if it was not for those blue eyes of yours, Miss Paula."

Paula got a little nervous, she was the one who started it, but Ronald's reaction gave her a surprise.

"How is Mrs Ronald? Umm Is she well?"

Asked Paula, attempting to change the topic.

" Well, who is she? To be honest, when I look into your blue eyes, I forget about her."

Said Mr. Ronald leaning closer towards Paula, and looking into her eyes.

Paula looked the other way, got up from the chair and said it awkwardly

"I will keep you updated on the experiment Mr Ronald, have a good day."

She left the office through the door.

Ronald smirked and said

" I will be waiting for you….."

Sigmund, Paula's assistant, waiting for her outside the office approached her and said

"Mam!"

"Sigmund, not now."

Said Paula annoyed.

"Mam, it's important, please."

Paula sighed

"In my cabin, now "

They walked towards the cabin and entered it.

"What is it Sigmund, be quick."

Sigmund, the guy with a mustache, quite clumsy and a person who stays in his own world. He wore his rectangle plastic spectacles and opened his messy diary and said

" Mam!! Yesterday night I was up the whole night."

"Congratulations on losing your virginity!"

Said Paula in a sarcastic way.

"Mam, please! I am serious. I think the drug commanding officer is asking us to make, and the purpose behind it is quite unreasonable. If my calculations are correct, the chemicals which we are adding in this drug can function in the human body for a few days , leaving long term side effects. But if we do this for a month. I think something inhuman……"

"Shut it Sigmund, we have worked together on this."

Said Paula.

"Mam, when first we were asked for this, you are the one who refused it."

Said Sigmund, reminding it to Paula.

"Yes but, I had a change in mind, I thought deep enough..-----

"But I thought even deeper !!!! Why aren't you getting this !!!! This drug helps a human body to function for days and months without sleeping, because our country is short on manpower. And the purpose of Mr Ronald is that he can drug the soldiers so that they can fight out there in wars for day and night. They can perform stealth midnight attacks on other countries. Even if we are successful in this our soldiers would do good for a year or maybe 3 years, but after that, they will start rotting."

Sigmund took a pen in his hand and started pointing out the markings in his diary to Paula.

"You see this?? This is our drug, and this is a steroid…. They serve different purposes but they work exactly the same way. A steroid might help you to increase your performance at first but then it just rots your body when used more…. That's exactly what our drug will do… I am -----"

"JUST SHUT ITTTT!! Don't make me second doubt myself Sigmund. I am sure of myself. And even if I am not, we can't refuse to do this now. Got it ? Do you think that dickhead will let us live in peace if we refuse? Get over this Sigmund, or leave my team, I am giving you a choice, if you want to continue serving me like years you have, be there at the place by 8am tomorrow, or else send me your resignation letter, I will sign it for you. Now go get some sleep and decide."

Paula stood up and left the cabin.

Sigmund was lost, he removed his specs. He got furious and threw his diary out of the table.

Paula started walking towards the room where Afreed and his brothers were.

She opened the door and saw them standing in front of her.

"That's enough time, and by the looks of yours it seems you all have decided. So what is it?"

Afreed looked into Paula's eyes and said it boldly

"We will do it "

Paula smiled.

"Very well, officers get them a doctor, aid them, feed them, and make sure they sleep well tonight, it will be the last time they will get it today for the next month. Goodnight boys!"