Posted:
Banner by Aroo
The Mark of Innocence II - Dark Angels
The earliest memory I have is filled with nothing but pain, I remember being torn away from my family by these masked men, all I could hear were loud screams, gun shots and then a killing silence.
At the age of seven I was blind folded and thrown into the back of some kind of van, I knew I was not alone as I could hear muffled cries all around me. With my hands tied around my back I found it hard to manoeuvre, I tried to sit up and when I did I felt a body fall against me, it was shaking, weeping 'please help me' came her pain filled whisper. What could I say or do, I was in exactly the same situation 'it's ok, don't cry' I whispered back and let her lean against me.
We were being driven for what felt like hours, the muffled cries had died down, the silence was scary, much as I tried to hear out for anything there was nothing.
The van came to an abrupt stop and soon the doors opened. Men with loud aggressive voices pulled us out one by one, you could hear them hitting anyone who cried or yelled. 'What ever you do...don't make a sound' I whispered to her, I wasn't sure if she had heard but was hoping she had.
Being pushed and prodded we were all made to stand in a line, a man with a knife that walked behind us started cutting through the rope that tied our hands. Once he had finished we heard a voice 'remove your blinds'. As I untied the blindfold and pulled it down I along with every other child there were blinded by the sun that shone above us. I waited for my eyes to relax and once my vision came into focus I looked around, there must have been at least 12 of us.
The man that stood before us paced left to right a few feet away from us 'you have been brought here because your families were killed...killed by militants...and we saved you...from now on this is your home and this is your family. From today you will start a new life, you will do as you are told nothing more and nothing less...this fort is known as the land of Angels...you will be given education, military and combat training, you will be taught how to fight and survive...you will learn how to endure pain and then become immune to it...you either live or you die. You will address me as commando, I will split you into groups of 4, the people you will be grouped with are the people you will spend the rest of your lives with'
How ironic, he called this place the land of angels and from where I stood it was nothing short of a hell hole. I looked at the man that addressed us, his words were harsh, his voice was filled with anger but the was something about him that didn't make sense...behind the demon exterior he was human, a man who looked like he had suffered...a man who was desperate to find his own, and all this showed through the one thing that couldn't lie, his eyes.
Commando instructed a man to divide us, I was made to stand next to two girls and another boy, as soon as the rest of the children were grouped up we were led through a small dark corridor that opened up into a large room. A man who with no hair and an oversized stomach towered over us 'your names?' We all looked at him, the girls trying hard not to shake or cry 'are you deaf...your names' I took a baby step forward 'Asad, my name is Asad' the man nodded his head and then looked towards the other boy 'Zack' 'Ayesha' 'm..my name is Zoya' as I heard her voice I looked at her, it was her the girl that I had spoken to in the van.
'Tag AZ 01, 02, 03 and 04...who wants to go first' he asked shining his yellow teeth at us. All four of us were made to sit in front of him as he tattooed the back of our necks with a code and tag number. The pain was excruciating, Zoya and Ayesha tried to brave it but couldn't help the tears, the echoes of other kids screaming was unbearable.
After being subjected to so much we were thrown into another room where we were subjected to more torture, the boys had their heads shaved and the girls their hair cut short almost boy like. Once we had all gathered back were were taken to our rooms that comprised of two bunk beds two table with two chairs each and a bathroom. We were given clothes that looked like some kind of uniform, black trousers and grey tops 'wash, shower...clean those ugly faces of yours and come out side...you have forty minutes...and your time starts now'
Without wasting any time the four of us hurried to shower and change, everything was happening so fast that neither of us had any time to soak any of it in, we just moved around robotically, did as we were told out of fear.
That was 15 years ago, today at the age of 22 I stand in my high rise apartment that looks over Mumbai City, a place that I had only heard of was now my home.
Asad Ahmed Khan, tag AZ01 every time I look in the mirror I am taken back to the land of Angels where we trained as warriors, killing machines, assassins that were deployed to the world at the age of 13, young enough to look innocent and just about old enough to know what to do.
For commando and his fort I was a Dark Angel, for the world outside I was young successful business tycoon. One of the few left from our batch, some escaped, some died either at the hands of the enemy or by choice. Over 4 years ago every secret service was deployed by the Government to track down and destroy the land of Angels. Was Commando dead? No one really knew but he was presumed dead. The children and young people that were there were taken to safety, but if Commando was alive he would do everything in his power to track down every Dark Angel that was once under his wing and have them killed. The knowledge, the intelligence, the training and the secrets we had the world would kill for and commando was one of those. What we did now was survive, behind the masks we built around us, new names, new identities, new lifestyles is what protected us from bring caught.
My group, my family, I have no idea where they are, the last I heard Zack and Ayesha were somewhere in the Middle East, was it Bahrain? I can't really remember, and Zoya, only Allah knew where she would be right now. She was one of the few that escaped, I still remember her holding on to my hand begging me to go with her, the tears that brimmed in her eyes, the pain in her voice, the scream that she muffled as I was dragged back to the fort still torment me. As I let go of her hand I promised her that I would find her and that one day we would be together, I intend to fulfil that promise somehow. I know she is out there, and I will find her.
Zoya, she never ceased to amaze me, she started of as a weak little girl who constantly cried for her parents but that didn't last long. She was one that totally took me by surprise, actually not just me, she surprised everyone. Her ability to perform above and beyond academically and in training was remarkable, by the time she had escaped she had mastered three forms of martial arts, she was amongst the best shooters trained and her intelligence and eye for fine detail knew no bounds. Where other girls cried in combat training Zoya stood up and asked for her opponent to show her no mercy, she hit back as good as she got, it didn't matter how many times she bled she never gave in. The sharpest shooter, the meanest fighter but yet so innocent, yet so loving, there could only ever be one Zoya, my Zoya.
Who would have thought that a group of children caught in the middle of a war would end up like this. The families and lives that were chosen for us we adopted whole heartedly, there was no other way, the relationships and bonds we formed were, are unbreakable.
We may have been separated, but we are bound, our hearts beat as one as we, the Dark Angels wore The Mark of Innocence.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Health and Fitness
History
Hindi TV Shows
Bhabhi Ji Ghar Pe Hain?
