Neel Dervin and the Dark Angel (5 page)

There was a snapping sound, and the rod broke neatly into two. Neel was left holding an
end in each hand, looking stunned at what he had just done.

Doctor Fahim and Divya stared in fascination at the two pieces of the rod, and the two
young hands that held them. Even after all their research and preparation, it was strangely
surreal to see the serum actually at work in a human.

“Despite the unexpected turn of events, I believe congratulations arein order, Divya.”
Doctor Fahim smiled, extending his hand.

 

Divya shook his hand, her laugh a little unsteady. “It‟s amazing, sir.” she said.

The two turned. Neel was still looking stunned. Doctor Fahim took the two halves of
the hand out of his hands and placed them on the side table. “The question that arises, Neel, is
what now?”

“What do you mean?” Neel said.

“
We rarely get to choose the paths fate lays down before us.” Doctor Fahim said
gravely. “But it is up to us to decide how we travel those paths. You are a part of a military
experiment now. You can run faster, jump higher, punch harder than anyone else on earth.
But just as you had problems with speed after you woke up, you will have other problems.
You need to be trained in order to control your new abilities. We can help you.”

Neel stared at the old man wordlessly.“And then what?” heasked. “What happens
after you teach me how to control it?”

Doctor Fahim leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and joining the tips of
his fingers together as he looked at Neel intently.“The original purpose of this experiment
was to create an army of soldiers who would be superior in every way to their ordinary
counterparts.” he said. “But this sudden change of events has obliged us to modify our
approach. It has now been decided to test your abilities first in a closely watched
environment, and see whether your capabilities could be valuable to the government. At the
very least, it has been decided that your situation can still be used to study the effects of the
serum on the human body.”

Neel kept quiet, not sure of what to say. The one thing he did know was that he did not
like being talked of as some sort of a commodity, or a human guinea pig. Doctor Fahim
noticed his expression.
“What it means,” he said gently, “Is that we are offering you the chance to become the

first Alpha Soldier.”

 

Neel stared at him. “And if I refuse?”

Doctor Fahim sighed, leaning back
. “Then we will think about taking another approach
to the matter.” he said. “But in any event, you will be kept under close watch from now on.”
The gentle eyes that stared into the young boys were filled with sympathy.“No matter what
your decision is, I am afraid your life will never be the same again.”

Again, Neel was struck dumb.

 

Doctor Fahim rose to his feet.

“I
understand that it is a lot of information to receive in a few minutes, especially after
having passed through such a harrowing experience.” he said. “But you needed to know the
truth. We will leave you to consider our proposal. Think about what I have said. We will be
in contact with you soon.” The doctor turned to the door. Divya took the two broken metal
pieces from the table. “Good luck.” She said with a small smile as she walked towards the
door as well.

“Oh, and
one more thing, Neel.” Doctor Fahim said, pausing at the doorway. His eyes
were very grave.“I‟m afraid a certain amount of deception was necessary to explain your
rapid recovery to your mother. We told her you crashed into Divya‟s sumo and suffered
minor cuts and bruises, and a dislocated shoulder. It saved her from a lot of worry which she
would undoubtedly have suffered from if she had known about the nature of the actual
accident. Remember the story.” Doctor Fahim stared at Neel and added gently. “And I advise
you not to tell her about your new abilities until we have had a chance to discuss them again.
Take care, Neel.”

The two left, leaving Neel alone in the room, with only his chaotic thoughts for
company.

Neel sank back onto his pillow, the feeling of unreality intensifying in his mind. He
thought about what Doctor Fahim had told him, and what he had just done. The images in his
brain flowed at a blinding speed. His mind had started to accelerate again.

The door opened, and Nurse Aarti entered. She closed the door behind her and came to
stand at his side of the bed. She said something, the words again coming out frustratingly
slow and indistinct.

Neel stared hard at the nurse‟s face, frantically trying to get his brain speed under
control again. After what seemed like several minutes to him, speed returned to normal again.

 

“I‟m sorry.” Neel croaked. “What did you say?”

 

“I asked you how you were feeling.” Nurse Aarti said, watching him with concern. “Do
you feel any sort of a discomfort? Any pain in your body? Lightheadedness? Nausea?”

“No” Neel
said. It was true. Despite his mind being in a whirl, he was aware that
physically he felt better than he had ever done before. There was no pain from any wounds,
nor any aches in his body.

“Well, you should let me know if you feel
anything wrong even slightly, all right?” the
nurse said. Neel nodded. She continued. “If you feel up to it, your mother is waiting
downstairs. I told her she can see you as soon as we were sure you were capable of seeing
visitors. I‟ll send her up now, shall I?”

“Yes, thanks.” Neel said
. The nurse stood up and went to the door, closing it softly
behind her. Neel stared into space, concentrating on keeping his straying thoughts from
disrupting his brain speed again.

The door opened, and Neel‟s mother entered the room. A mixture of anxiety and relief
showed on her face as she hurried to his side.

 

“Neel” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. She bent and kissed his forehead
fervently. “Thank god you‟re awake. I was so worried.”

 

“I‟m fine, mom.” Neel said with a reassuring smile. “Totally fine.” His mother began to
look him over anxiously, checking his body for injuries.

 

“Really, mom, I‟m fine.” Neel assured her again. He remembered the story Doctor
Fahim had said they had told his mother. “I just twisted my shoulder a little.”

“
Oh, you be quiet.” his mother whispered, her voice still tight with worry. “What do you
know? They‟re trying to make it out to be a smaller injury than it is. But why would they
have to bring you here in an ambulance if it wasn‟t serious? They had to operate on you!”

“They‟re just being careful.” Neel offered. His mother ignored
him, and continued to
check his body. She leaned over the bed to examine his arm. The light from the lamp shone
on her eyes, and he saw that they were bright with tears.

“Mom.” Neel said in a low voice, placing a tentative hand on her shoulder. He tried to
think of something soothing to say, but nothing came.

His mother stared down at him. Suddenly she folded her arms around him in a tight
hug. He could feel hershoulders shaking. “My baby!” she whispered, stroking his hair softly.
“Oh, my poor little Neelu. I was so afraidI was going to lose you.” She kissed his forehead
and hugged him again.

Neel lay frozen on the bed, staring at the door in front of him. He did not hug her back.
To his mind had come the image of the rod breaking in his hands. And with it had come the
terrifying thought that if he wasn‟t careful he might break her too. He kept his hands at side,
desperately trying to think of something reassuring to say.

“I‟m sorry, mom.” h
e said, and his voice was suddenlyunsteady as well. “But I‟m all
right now. I really am.” He could not keep the tears from welling up in his own eyes. He
could never have imagined that he would ever hear her sound so scared. The full horror of his
accident hit him at the moment as he gazed up at his mother crying over him.

“Yes, you are.”
she said, wiping away his tears and kissing his forehead again. “You
had a nasty accident, but now you aregoing to get better. I‟m sorry, Neel.I don‟t want to
upset you anymore.I‟ve just been so worried that I started crying. But really, the doctors tell
me you are going to recover completely. It was just a dislocated shoulder, after all.”

Neel stared at her, and felt a sudden urge to tell her everything. About the serum,
Doctor Fahim, about his recovery, and what had been happening to him ever since waking
up. But then he remembered what Doctor Fahim had told him about keeping quiet about the
serum just yet, and he imagined his mother‟s reaction if she found out just how serious the
accident had really been. He kept quiet.

His mother had leaned back and was drying her eyes in her handkerchief. When she
looked at him again, her worried expression had been replaced by a glare. “How could you be
so careless, Neel? How many times have I told you to be careful on the road? Don‟t you
know the people around here drive like maniacs? Thank god that girl‟s car was stopped! Do
you have any idea what would have happened if you‟d hit a moving car?”

“I‟m really sorry,mom.” Neel repeatedmeekly. “I was in a hurry. I guess I lost control.
It won‟t happen again.”

“That‟s right, first
you almost lose your arm and worry me half to death, and then say it
won‟t happen again.” His mother sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. His mother had a
small frame, and usually gave the impression of being thinner than she really was. Ever since
Neel‟s childhood there had always been a slightly ragged edge to her, yet today she seemed
even more worn out than usual. When she looked down at him again, she looked calmer.
“The only good that can come of this is if you learn from your mistake, and never let it
happen again.” Neel nodded vigorously, and she bent down and smoothed his pillow,
drawing his sheets more snugly overhim. “Now you just concentrate on getting better.
You‟re coming home tomorrow. Get some rest.”

She made sure he was completely comfortable. As she bent down to smoothen the hair
back over his forehead he saw that her eyes were very red, and dark circles had formed under
her eyesas though she hadn‟t slept in a while. He felt a sharp stab of guilt at lying to her.
Again he felt the urge to tell her, and again he restrained himself. His emotions were so
mixed right now that it was difficult to even think about the accident, and he knew it would
take him a long time to sort out his own feelings on the subject. Explanations would have to
wait.

“I‟m so grateful to that girl Divya.”
his mother said quietly. “You know, she came with
you in the ambulance, and found out your name and school from the copies in your bag. Then
she got my number from them and called me. Goodness knows what would have happened if
she had just driven off after you crashed into her car, like so many of those drivers would
have done.”

“Yes, that was nice of her.” Neel said
. He stared at the door in front and continued
slowly.“She didn‟t have to help me but she still did what she could. The world needs more
people like that.”

His mother smiled. “Don‟t worry about that now. Get some more rest.” She gave him a
final hug before kissing his forehead. “Sleep well, baby.” she said softly as she rose to leave.

Sleep, however, was impossible.
Alone with his thoughts, Neel‟s mind could no longer
maintain control, and his brain sped up again. There were far too many things to think about.
The project… his near death experience… Doctor Fahim and Divya Nayak…

And especially the doctor‟s proposal.

 

“The power you possess is greater than anything any human has ever experienced. You
need to be trained in order to control it. We can help you.”

 

By the time Neel fell asleep, he had come to a decision.

 

* * *

The next morning, Neel awoke feeling completely refreshed. The first thing he noticed
was his eyesight had gotten fuzzy again. It took him ten minutes to regain control over his
mind. He could view objects much more easily now, although it was definitely a bizarre
experience. He was sitting in bed thinking about everything that had happened yesterday
when the nurse who had attended to him the day before came in bearing a breakfast tray.

“Feeling all right?” she asked, setting the tray in front of him.

“Yeah, totally.” Neel said, sitting up in his bed. He polished off the
sterile food quickly,
the sound of his own chewing and swallowing impossibly loud in his head. He had only eaten
once yesterday and felt famished. “How long am I supposed to stay here?”

“Well, you seem to have recovered completely from your accident
as well as the
surgery.” nurse Arti said with a wondering shake of her head. “Patients are usually required
to stay a few more days, but someone seems to have cleared your way, and you can leave
anytime you want. Your mother still wants you to stay one more day just to make sure.”

Neel nodded as he ate the last morselof food on the plate. It hadn‟t been exactly a feast,
but he felt full now, and was able to think about the future a little more calmly.

 

“Do you need help going tothe toilet?” the nurse asked matter of factly as she rose
with the tray.“Or would you prefera bedpan?”

 

“What?” Neel said in alarm. “No, no. Er… Thanks, but I can handle all that on my
own.”

“Okay then, I‟ll let you be.” the nurse said, preparing to leave. “The gentleman and the
girl who were here yesterday are waiting downstairs. They said to ask if you felt well enough
totalk to them. Do you want to see them?”

“Oh.” Neel said slowly. It was happening sooner than hehad expected. “Well, okay,
yeah. Could you tell them they can come here in about half anhour, please?”

 

“Very well.” the nurse said. She left carrying the tray, leaving Neel alone with his
thoughts again.

 

Exactly half an hour later, there was a knock on the door.

 

“Come in.” Neel said, feeling a strange queasiness in his stomach that had nothing to do
with his injury or the food.

 

The door opened and Doctor Fahim entered, followed by Divya, who closed the door
behind her. The two came to stand at the side of his bed.