Phoenix
1343 Words
The debate was held in the most hostile part of the city, where The Chakra had minimal control. Over a thousand people from all parts of the city gathered on the vast ground in order to vote for their future. A stone stage was placed in the middle of the ground. All ten members of The Iron Hand were standing in their areas and looking at the vast crowd which was becoming impatient.
“We have all gathered here today, to take a vote. The path of our rebellion is to be decided today. The decisions that you all make will decide the future of our city. First, I would like to invite Nova, who is the oldest member of our rebellion and speaking on the behalf of the non-violent side.” Veda announced.
Nova slowly walked towards the middle of the stage. He was over sixty years old, and wisdom shined all over his face. His body was deceptively slow, but his words were surprisingly loud. He cleared his throat and took a long look at the crowd.
“This rebellion….it’s everything that The Chakra is not. We believe in peace and not brute force. If we take up arms, The Chakra will eventually fall, no doubt. But at what cost? We will have to cut our own brothers and sisters to achieve that goal. The people who work for the Chakra are our own. We need to follow the path of Ahimsa and eventually they will take our side. Only when we have all our brothers and sisters standing shoulder to shoulder with us, we will be able to put an end to the reign of injustice.
We will conduct rallies and peaceful protests all over the city and introduce people to the light. As more and more people take our side, The Chakra will break and lose the control it has over us.
I will not take the life of another human being, but I would gladly lay down my own in order to change his mindset! The real question is, will you?!” Nova said.
The crowd hailed and cheered as Nova walked off the stage. The people were clearly influenced by the old man who was willing to give up everything to bring peace in his beloved city.
Thomas already knew that the competition was tough, but he was prepared.
“And now, speaking for the armed rebellion, Thomas White.” Veda said, waving his hand at Thomas.
Standing in front of a crowd was much harder than killing loads of people. Thomas felt a shake in his legs, but he made sure he was in control. This speech was not only vital for the freedom of the city, but also for his mission.
He took a long breath and looked at the crowd, deducting which part of the society they came from and calculating his words accordingly.
“My name is Thomas White. I came from New York with my team for a mission and that mission was to give you people your freedom. Last week, my teammates were captured and dragged around the city, tied to a car. This was the reward for good work. People like my teammates, who are working for the betterment of society every f*****g day, face the same consequences.
It’s time to show The Chakra that we are not weak! Taking up arms for the right cause is NOT violence, it is JUSTICE. I respect Nova, but Ahimsa hasn’t made things better, it’s only made them worse. Why do you need leaders to fight for you? Do you have no strength? The Chakra has become this big only because we let it feed on our scared minds. I say no more!
As for your so called brothers and sisters, they chose their path. They CHOSE to let their people get killed while they kissed the feet of that maniac. If we have to kill them now, it’s not our fault, it’s theirs. Why do you suffer for the mistakes they made?
I come from an entirely different background, but I choose to have your back. Look around you; is this the place you want your kids to grow up? Where there's no guarantee that you'll return home to them. No! I say we fight, so our children don’t have to.
I have faith in you. But the real question is, do you have faith in yourself?!” Thomas yelled.
The crowd answered with a unanimous YES.
“I didn’t hear you. I said, DO YOU have faith in your-f*****g-self?!” Thomas yelled again.
The ground shook with the thunderous YES coming from the fuming crowd.
“From the ashes, we will rise!” Thomas yelled.
Thomas had successfully lit the fire that was deep within every citizen and that Ahimsa could never access.
Thomas was sweating when he got down from the stage. Nova looked at him and smiled sarcastically.
“You did exceptionally well for a young man.” Magnetar said.
“My body is young, but my mind is centuries old.” Thomas said and smiled, still slightly shaking.
“It’s time for the final decision. Remember, this will decide the fate of your city, so decide accordingly.” Veda said from the stage.
There was murmur all over the crowd, indicating a conflict between violence and non-violence. This shocked Nova, who had never had any competition before. He exchanged glances with Thomas, who was smoking a cigar and was equally worried.
“So, how many of you have faith in Nova’s plan?” Veda asked.
There were scattered cheers all over the crowd.
“And how many of you support Thomas White?” Veda asked.
The crowd hailed like they had seen god himself.
“So, keeping in mind the groundbreaking support, Thomas’ plan is good to go.” Veda said and the crowd welcomed the decision with loud cheers.
Nova almost fainted. He was sat down on a chair while Thomas made his way through the crowd to the car.
That night, Thomas was sitting on the roof of his new lodging, looking at the stars. It had been a long time since he had felt this way. He threw away the burnt out cigar and lit another.
“Nova has decided to go against the verdict.” A voice came from behind him.
“I guessed as much.” Thomas said, without turning around.
“This is his house. We have to find somewhere else to live.” Veda said, coming in front of Thomas.
“No, we don’t. Talk to him, he is disappointed but he still has faith in the rebellion. After all, he dedicated his life for the cause.” Thomas said.
“What do I say?” Veda asked.
“You're the leader, figure it out. I can give you some talking points. The man was betrayed by the very people that stood behind him, it will take some time for him to absorb that.
Make him feel important, show him that the rebellion will be lost without him. He is the knot that kept people together for so long. In the coming age of violence, you will need a man like him to stop you when you wander too far in the darkness.” Thomas said, looking at the stars and ignoring the monster standing in front of him.
“You really feel that way?” Veda asked, a little surprised by Thomas’ words.
“Nah, but we really need the house.” Thomas said, smiling.
“You sick son of a bitch.” Veda said and went away laughing.
“Hey there, loner.” Thomas said, walking into Amanda’s room.
Amanda was watching the television. The news channels were going crazy with news of riots all over the city.
“Riots broke out all over the city under the influence of an underground terrorist organization…” a reporter was saying.
“So Chakra owns the news too. Why am I not surprised?” Thomas said.
“Did we do the right thing?” Amanda asked, her voice shaking.
“Hey, come on. This was the only way, you know that.” Thomas said softly, hugging Amanda.
“Sometimes, to get rid of the rats in fields, we have to burn it down.” Thomas said after some time, eyeballing the reporter on the news.
- Writer
