The Formation of Team 55

by Neo Nidhi Baghel

  ‘My name is Hunter.’ He looked at Brent and nodded at his wrist. ‘I am the one who is responsible to make sure that no unauthorized person enters the auditorium to ruin its sanctity.’

  Brent was frozen. Hunter glared at him and then pulled his right arm to get a look at the Jasper on his wrist. His eyes gleamed at the two gemstones.

  ‘Your team must have a Pearl, does it?’ he asked them quietly as his eyes remained fixed at the Jasper on Brent’s wrist.

  Justin and Brent exchanged a look. How did this man know about it?

  ‘Ye… yes.’ Justin’s forehead was sweating.

  ‘Is the Pearl alright?’ his voice was full of concern.

  Justin could sense his emotions. Was Hunter angry?

  ‘She’s under a saber’s watch.’ Brent blabbered like a kid. ‘He never leaves her alone.’

  Justin’s head almost made a snapping sound. His head turned so fast to look at Brent. Why did he say that? Why? He glanced at Hunter who let go of their hands and was drifting up and backing away from them.

  Justin was waiting for him to say something. He seemed to be lost in a war with himself. Justin attempted to read his emotions and felt like he wanted to tell them something, but also didn’t want to.

  ‘Can we trust you?’ Justin asked him.

  ‘Oh no, you shouldn’t.’ Hunter said it quickly. ‘You have just met me. But, we all are descendants of the Source. I have never broken anyone’s trust so far. Most of the descendants don’t.’

  ‘I have a feeling that you want to tell us something.’ Justin looked at the man’s wrist. ‘What are you?’

  Hunter slowly raised his wrist and showed it to them. An edge cutting diamond was settled there.

  Brent gasped. ‘On Earth, you could attract uncountable women.’ Brent shook his head unbelievably.

  That diamond was really shiny and big. Justin chuckled at Hunter.

  ‘You really are a descendant.’ He smiled at him.

  A small curve appeared on the corner of Hunter’s lips. He was smiling at them.

  ‘A true descendant’s identity is not in his or her gemstone.’ he told them. ‘It is in their guide. A descendant who has no guide is not a descendant.’ he clenched his jaw.

  ‘But, we don’t even have guides yet.’ Brent was getting comfortable with him now. ‘Are we not descendants?’

  ‘Oh, you will. Every novice gets one. The guide will choose you.’ Hunter nodded at them. Suddenly the diamond on his wrist disappeared. ‘You will learn to hide it too. It is in order to protect yourself.’

  ‘From who?’ frowned Justin.

  Hunter turned around to face the gate. Justin leaned sideways and saw that someone was approaching them.

  ‘I will meet you again when I can.’ Hunter looked at them leaning closer, still floating in the air. ‘Do not tell anyone about the gemstones your team has been granted with and keep them hidden as much as possible.’

  Justin pulled down his sleeves and hid the Quartz on his wrist.

  ‘Diamond?’

  A hoarse voice was getting closer to them. Justin saw a man’s figure appear from behind Hunter. He looked old and pale, but really tough. There was a long thin scar on one side of his face, that stretched from the temple of his forehead and ended under his chin. This man was partially bald and was wearing a robe that looked just like Hunter’s. Only Hunter’s robe was dark blue and this man’s robe was gray.

  ‘These new descendants were lost Mr. Bloodstone. I was just about to take them-’

  ‘The session is about to start and there is no representation for Team fifty-five yet.’ Mr. Bloodstone looked angry. ‘Are you two here to represent Team fifty-five?’

  Justin nodded and elbowed Brent to do the same.

  ‘Go on, then!’ He walked past them, patting Brent on his shoulder so hard that he was pushed towards Hunter and he caught him.

  As soon as he disappeared behind the turning point, Justin turned to Hunter. ‘Who is he?’

  ‘The head of the Warring Department.’ Hunter exhaled looking a bit relieved. ‘He’s just like that. Now, come on! You both are late.’

  He turned around and began to float towards the three feet tall gate.

  ‘Hunter?’ Justin ran after him. Brent was trotting ahead with Hunter already. ‘Who are we supposed to protect ourselves from?’

  Hunter stopped in midair and let Justin catch up. Justin got ahead of him and waited for him to say something.

  ‘The power which seeks control over the Source. Its followers believe that it can control the Source to takeover existence.’ Hunter kept looking around as he told them. ‘It is known as the Evil Eye.’

  Justin gulped. He and Brent exchanged a look. Just by hearing the name, he was getting goosebumps and the air around him was getting chilly.

  ‘Listen,’ Hunter lower himself, letting half of his body to sink within the ground. ‘We cannot talk about this here. But, Team fifty-five needs to know about him. You cannot find him in the museums. Maybe you will find something about him in the library. For now, go for the introductory session. I promise we will talk later about this. I will find a good time and place to see you, if possible.’

  Then he drifted back and disappeared into thin air, just like he was never there.

  ‘I don’t feel good.’ Brent was shivering. ‘I think that name impacts me more than any sort of fear does.’

  Justin didn’t say anything. He felt like the Evil Eye was watching him. He grabbed Brent’s arm and dragged him towards the three feet tall gate. They didn’t even need to push it open. They jumped across the gate and then walked inside the fenced area. There was a big ancient structure in front of them. Justin knew exactly what it was.

  ‘Is that a pyramid?’ Brent’s voice was shaky. ‘I didn’t sign up to die with some age-old mummies.’

  ‘As if I did?’ Justin was still dragging Brent with him. ‘Come on, let’s just die together.’

  They were late and had to get to the auditorium. There were no other buildings around. What the hell was this? He didn’t come this far to miss the introductory session. What Hunter had told them about the Evil Eye, was making his heart race even more. He wanted to distract his mind from that little story.

  There was a small entrance in the center of the front of the pyramid. It was right in front of them.

  ‘Don’t take me!’ Brent requested Justin. ‘I’ll just wait here for you.’

  ‘Alright!’ Justin was getting pissed now. He let go of Brent’s arm and walked right inside that tiny door.

  He wasn’t that short, but the top of the door was touching his hair. At first, he thought it was really dark inside. Then he slowly began to see the small lights that were partially lightening up the inside of the pyramid. Most of the area inside was dark, but the path that led from the door to the center of the hall was decorated with a row of tiny lamps on both sides. Surely it was there to let the new descendants know where they had to go.

  He stood there for a moment to get a better look at what was going on. The center of the pyramid had a small circular stage like construction. His feet began to move instinctively and took one step at a time. His eyes were wide open with a calm and peaceful feeling, trying to absorb the beautiful view in front of him. In front of that circular stage, was a huge chandelier on the ground, two people were lighting it up with candles. He could see a lot of lamps on that chandelier and as each one was being lit, the light inside the pyramid was getting more bright and vibrant. Things were more visible. Around eighteen to twenty people were sitting in the area where the chandelier was being lit up.

  ‘It is done!’

  Justin heard a girl’s voice. She was one of the two people lighting up the lamps on the chandelier. He stopped walking. The next thing he saw was an out of the world experience for him. The chandelier began to move up as if being pulled from above. As it kept going higher, he noticed that the beautiful auditorium began to light up even more. The chandelier stopped moving upwards and Justin co
uld see why. It had reached the apex of the pyramid, its highest point. Then he realized that there were pieces of mirrors on all four sides of the pyramid. Those pieces were refracting the light of the lamps in the chandelier.

  It looked so peaceful and natural. Why weren’t people on Earth doing this, he wondered? Then he noticed that the chain that was holding on to the chandelier, wasn’t mechanical. It was self-sustained and was handling the weight on the giant chandelier all by itself.

  ‘Team fifty-five?’

  Justin’s head that was tilting upwards, moved down slowly. He saw the same girl who was working on the chandelier, right in front of him. He gulped nervously with a nod.

  ‘You’re late.’ She stood there crossing her arms against her front. ‘I am going to excuse you only this time because this is an introductory session. You do it next time, you will be kicked out. Agreed?’

  ‘Thank you.’ breathed Justin.

  Was she really so beautiful, or was it just the pyramid’s glory that made her look so irresistible? Her muddy red hair was braided on one side and her shiny eyes had a tinge of purple even in the half-lit room. He kept staring at her without even blinking once. She waited for him to say something else but he was lost looking into her eyes.

  ‘I am Peridot.’ She smiled at him. ‘And, you are?’

  And, then he snapped out of the trance. She had just introduced herself by her gemstone.

  ‘Do not tell anyone about the gemstones your team has been granted with and keep them hidden as much as possible.’ Hunter’s voice kept echoing in his head.

  ‘Justin!’ He cleared his throat and looked behind her. The people sitting there were looking at him.

  ‘You’re alone?’ Peridot asked him. ‘I thought it was informed to all the teams that at least two of your members had to be present here?’

  ‘I am with him.’ Justin heard Brent’s voice from behind. ‘My name is Brent. I was just not feeling well, so I was sitting outside for a moment.’

  ‘Have a seat.’ She smiled at Justin very innocently and walked away.

  ‘What made you enter that door?’ Justin whispered to Brent. ‘I thought you weren’t coming.’

  ‘I remembered that they needed two people.’ He replied looking around. ‘And, I didn’t want to die alone if that Evil Eye thing showed up to take over the Source.’

  Justin gave him a look.

  ‘Alright! I was scared.’ He confessed.

  ‘Justin?’ Peridot called him. ‘We will be starting any moment now. Please join us.’

  He smiled at her and walked towards the crowd. There weren’t too many of them so it didn’t look scary. The small circular stage had lengthy stairs around its three sides, on which the newly enrolled novices had taken seats. Nobody had chosen to sit on the stairs that faced the circular stage. He wondered why that was. But, he went ahead and sat there. Brent tagged along.

  ‘I want you all to write down everything I say.’ said Peridot. She was distributing them notebooks and quills. ‘You can get the ink pots from one of those boxes in the corner, Rover.’

  Justin looked to his left. Rover was here? He had heard so much about Rover from Ace and Dawn. A tall and broad-shouldered guy stood up from the stairs on the left side and jogged up to the boxes that were kept in the corner. He picked up an entire crate and brought it there. He had blonde hair and green eyes.

  He was so pathetic according to Justin. Rover loved messing with Dawn and Ace. He distributed inkpots to everyone, including Justin and Brent. Then he went back to where he was sitting before and sat next to a red-headed girl. Why did every girl in Bridging be so damn perfect? This redhead appeared to be very bold and badass, just like Kathy appeared to him when he met for the first time.

  ‘I bet she is a warrior.’ Justin kept staring at her and she and Rover talked to each other in a very low voice. He wanted to hear what they were talking about.

  ‘Her name is Maria’ Brent muttered to him. ‘Now, she’s from Bridging, just like all of us. Her father was a very rich businessman and she was from-’

  ‘Shut up!’ Justin hit him on the head. ‘You’re going to get us kicked out of here.’ he eyed him. ‘How do you even know so much about her.’

  ‘I know about every girl who was at the guest house with us.’ Brent looked offended. ‘Don’t judge my knowledge about them. By the way, I think Ace has a thing for her.’

  Ace? How come he had never mentioned this girl before?

  ‘Do you know who she is?’ Justin nodded towards Peridot.

  Now, she was checking some papers and sitting on the small stage with her feet resting on the ground floor.

  ‘She wasn’t at the guest house.’ whispered Brent. ‘She’s too hot to be a new one. I think she might be a senior. Maybe she has been asked by a Divine to handle the session until they show up?’

  Justin remembered that Mr. Bloodstone had crossed them on the path. Maybe he had asked her to volunteer? Was Peridot a warrior just like him?

  ‘Miss Glory?’ One of the novices got up and walked up to Peridot. They began to talk in a low voice.

  Peridot! How could he not guess it sooner?

  ‘Miss Glory?’ Justin mumbled to himself. ‘That’s our academic head? Why does this happen to me every time?’

  That’s why everyone was sitting so quietly and listening to her. That was Glory Peridot, the academic head at the Phrontistery. The rest of the teams were already familiar with her because she had gotten all of them enrolled. Only Team 55 was enrolled by William Opal, the Prime Descendant.

  Even though she was so much older to Justin, Glory barely looked like a girl who had just entered the phase of adulthood. Her calm and polite nature made her even more beautiful and attractive.

  ‘I’m sorry, dude!’ Brent shook his head and patted him on the shoulder. ‘I’m sorry, this isn’t going to work at all. I mean, if she was a senior, it could have worked. If she was a Divine, I could have thought about giving it a try. But, she’s the academic head. If you even think about trying, you’ll be in trouble.’

  Justin wanted to punch Brent so badly. He didn’t know what to do anymore. It was better that she wasn’t a Divine and only the academic head. At least he wouldn’t get lost gazing at her during the major sessions.

  ‘How old is she?’ Justin asked Brent. ‘Can you guess?’

  ‘Physically?’ Brent raised an eyebrow. ‘Maybe twenty or twenty-one.’

  ‘Justin?’ Glory looked at him. ‘I was informed that Team fifty-five will be enrolled by the Prime Descendant. Was that done successfully?’

  Justin and Brent flinched at the unexpected attention they received from her. Brent looked up, pretending to enjoy the chandelier’s beauty.

  ‘Yes, Of course!’ Justin gave her a smile. ‘He enrolled us at one of our teammate’s cottage.’

  ‘At the hilltop, huh?’ Rover snickered staring at him. ‘Did your little teammate went crazy when she arrived?’

  Justin felt embarrassed. Everyone was looking at him and Brent. He knew what Rover had implied with what he said. She had been tranquilized by one of the seniors. This meant that others knew about Vanya being secluded by the rest. They knew that there was something wrong with her. But, they weren’t sure of what the situation was. He needed to tell the team to be more cautious and active.

  He felt a hot wave of anger coming from Brent. ‘That was insulting.’ Brent clenched his jaw. His tone was not funny at all. In fact, Justin could feel Brent’s anger as they were sitting next to each other. His emotional sensors were getting stronger every minute.

  Till now, Justin was trying not to hint Rover that he was in the same team as Dawn and Ace. Now, he wanted to rub that information in his face.

  ‘Yes!’ Justin’s voice was bold. ‘Our team leader is Ace. The one who punched your face when you messed up with him in the club, remember?’

  Now, Rover looked really embarrassed and angry. Maria gave Justin a look of loathing. He actually heard her knuckles make a cracking sound. He
controlled his emotions and tried not to laugh at the view.

  ‘Very well, then.’ Glory tried to clear the tension. ‘Let us begin with this batch’s introductory session at the Phrontistery of Bridging.’

  Justin tore his eyes away from Rover and Maria. He knew that even though they all were descendants, Team 55 had made an enemy. They would try to mess up whatever situation the team was facing.

  ‘To begin with,’ Glory picked up a sheet and looked at everyone, ‘you all should know, you are not kids at school anymore. This Phrontistery is not a school, but an institution that brings together all the descendants to make them who they were always supposed to be since the beginning. There are going to no classes held.’

  Some of the novices gasped hearing what she said.

  ‘Yes, you heard me right.’ she continued. ‘The Phrontistery can only guide you. You have to pick your own paths and know what you want to become. This guidance begins today and will continue for the next six years. Every year will be semester-based. In total, you will have to attend twelve semesters in six years.’

  She paused giving them an opportunity to ask any questions, then continued. ‘Every semester will have two sessions. In each session, you will be taught about your connection with the Source and how you can evolve using that bond. We will begin with the basics and as you all progress, the complexity level of knowledge will escalate. This will happen with each and every session.’

  A girl sitting on the stairs that were on Justin’s right raised her hand.

  ‘Yes?’ Glory nodded at her.

  ‘Miss Glory, we thought there were seven years in total.’ she looked really nervous asking that question.

  ‘Yes, there are seven years in total.’ Glory smiled at her to calm her down. ‘But, the seventh year is mostly fieldwork. It is the phase when the novices spend most of their time with their guides who pick them. After that, you pick a job or you just don’t. That completely depends on you. Most of the descendants chose to wander around the existence, exploring and helping those who are in need.’