Karan had seen the family compound of the Popov family countless times. He usually comes here every few months in order to get some donations for his clinic. The whole place was basically a military base, housing some seven hundred soldiers and their families. The whole compound was fortified and was akin to a small city in its own sense.
The SUV brought him to the center of the base, which houses the main family member of the Popov Family.
Upon exiting, a black rag was put on his face. And then he was cuffed and hauled over the shoulder like a sack of potatoes by one of the Metallics. When the rag was finally removed, Karan found himself on his knees in front of four people, having lunch.
In the middle was a man in his late forties, with a scar running down his left eye, and he had a head full of white hair. He was Grego Popov, the third in command of the Popov military. Beside him was Griselda Popov, who was a woman in her late forties, but had youthful skin, and a head full of black hair. She was the official wife of Grego.
And then there were twin sons of Grego, Johan and Jonny. Both brothers were these hulking figures standing tall at six and a half feet; they both had the ruthlessness of their father etched on their faces, with none of their mother's beauty.
"Who the fuck is this?" Grego said in fluent Russian.
"This is the fucker pa," Jonny said with a big grin, "The one who had been chatting with Tamika,"
Johan further added, "He is her boy toy."
The fuc.. Karan had never heard of something so absurd before. He had never dated, let alone sexted with someone from the opposite gender.
Acting as a coward, Karan immediately intervened, ".. I think.. Thi.. I think Mr. Popov…" He deliberately spoke broken Russian, even though he was fluent in it.
Before he could say his piece, the guard who was standing beside him smacked him on the back of his head, "Quiet maggot!"
"But I…" He got another smack, much harder than last time.
It is then that Griselda asked, "Who is this… man?"
One of the guards then brought up a tablet and replied, "Name is Doctor Karan Ahuja. No affiliation with any family, no protection either. He runs a clinic, which runs on charity. We also pay for his charity."
Grego took the tablet and started skimming through the data in it, "This dirt fucking wanker is who Tamika chose to be with?" the man asked the guard.
The guard shook his head, "The site is anonymous. They have been chatting for quite a while, but the chat suggests that they didnt know anything about each other."
That is simply not possible, Karan knew it. With his profession, he had to be extra careful of where his real name might end up, which is why there is an algorithm running throughout the city, courtesy of his dear friend, that lets him know when his account or his credentials are stolen.
If a dating site were using his IP or his ID, he would know instantly.
"Mr. Popov.." Karan said, "Let me.." The guard raised his hand again, which made Karan twitch. He immediately squealed a little louder, "Please let me speak."
The guard stopped, unsure of what to do. Taking this as his cue, Karan said, "Mr. Popov. Believe me when I say this… I have never…."
But his sentence was cut in between yet again, when they all started hearing loud noises of shouting. It was when the door of the room was swung open, and Tamika Popov herself walked in. She looked furious.
"You swines!" she yelled at the brothers, "Did you kidnap an innocent man to get back at me?"
It is Griselda who got angry, "Shut up, you brat! You are a Popov, before anything else. And as your mother, it is my duty to pay attention to the kind of trash that is trying to soil my daughter,"
This made Tamika groan with frustration. "I need you guys to get off my back for once."
"Do you want to take him as your man?" Making everyone silent. "Because I approve him," Grego said, shocking Tamika, Griselda, and the brothers alike.
"Pa?" Tamika and the brothers said, all at once.
"He is a pauper and a monk," Johan said. To which Jonny added, "He had never even lifted a gun before, let alone a knife. He is a fucking rat, that is who he is,"
Grego didnt hear a word that his boys said, "Take him away, Tamika. Let me know when you guys want to tie the knot." And that was the final decision.
Karan was about to say something when the guard smacked him and put the cloth back on his head. He was then picked up again and hauled outside…
***
When the rag was finally removed, Karan found himself sitting in what looked like a rather large living room. He had some food in front of him, along with drinks. The guard from earlier was still beside him.
"What…" he acted scared, "What is happening?"
The guard didnt say anything. Karan didnt touched the food, he just put his legs in a fetal position and warily started looking around. He acted this way for a few minutes before the door of the room swung open, and Tamika walked inside. With her arrival, the guard left, and Tamika came and sat down beside him.
"Doctor… It is good to meet you in real life," She said with a warm smile on her face.
"Real… life," Karan mumbled, when his widened with surprise, "The dream.. Dreamscape,"
Till now, he had a feeling that the Dreamscape was indeed real, but getting confirmation like this still startled him.
Tamika sat back and nodded with a charming smile, "When I met you there.. I thought I had seen you. The first thing when I woke up was to find you. It didnt take me long to remember that you are the charity doctor who comes to the compound every quarter. And here you are…"
Karan let go of his fetal position and instantly got on his knees, "Ma'am," he said pleadingly, "Believe me. I have no idea about any dating site. I.. Dont do… dating,"
Tamika smiled yet again. She leaned in and whispered, "I know. I fabricated the whole thing so that you could be brought here."
Thought so. He thought, But why, that is the million-credit question.
"Why…" he barely mumbled the word.
"Because I could," She leaned back. "Now, as you are introduced to my father, you are bound to the Popovs. Which means that you work for me now."
He let out a disbelieving squeal, "But.. Ma'am.. I am a doctor. Just a doctor."
Tamika then pointed toward the sofa on the other side, "Sit down first, doc. What I am about to tell you might short-circuit your brain further. You need your full brain capacity to understand it."
Karan slowly got up and followed her instructions. He deliberately looked submissive, which in turn made Tamika gain confidence. She then asked, "What do you know about dreamscape?"
"Nothing," he said quickly.
"Did you search the sub-community that I mentioned?" She asked.
Karan shook his head, "I had a clinic this morning… I was about… I didnt believe that it was true. I thought it was a dream. And of course….."
Before he could complete his sentence, she raised her hand, "Heard enough. The fact is, Dreamscape is real. I tested it out. Not only is it real, but it is a global phenomenon. The Dreascape sub-community is filled with people from almost all the districts. And they all had similar experiences. I think you would have understood by now,"
He nodded. She continued, "Which is why I went out of my way to get you to work for me, doctor. I did it because I need a man on the outside. Dreamscape is not a place for solo players. It is a place for the teams. I need you on mine."
That dosent make sense, Karan thought. She was Tamika Popov, with just the lift of a finger, she could potentially get a line of soldiers to die for her in the name of comradeship. But it was beyond him why she needed him.
"Ma'am.. I am a doctor. I cannot fight… I tried yesterday.. I was not able to kill even a single beast…"
"I know," she said. "I dont need you to be a fighter for me. I need you to be a librarian for. me,"
Woah. Karan thought, It seems I was not the only onewhot read the Aether book.
Last night in the Dreamscape, Karan read everything in the Chronicles of Aether before he logged out. And he came to realize that the Dreamscape is just the starting, akin to how rain and wind are just starting before a very big storm...