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Chapter Title: Volunteers of the New World
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Scene 1 – The Call
Location: A dusty town square in northern India, one month after the Geneva Summit.
The sun scorched the cracked earth of the open town square. All around, the murmurs of anxious families blended with the whirr of drones overhead and the distant thump of military helicopters. A tall man stepped onto a makeshift stage—his boots thudded with quiet finality.
Captain Jacks. His presence silenced the crowd like thunder before a storm.
He scanned the faces. Children clutching mothers. Teenagers with eyes full of fire or fear. Elders sitting quietly, some with prayer beads in hand, others with rifles slung on backs they thought would never carry one again.
His coat, long and wind-worn, billowed as a gust swept through the square.
> Captain Jacks (loud and clear):
"The world is dying. And no, this isn't some government drama or viral stunt. It's real.
If you are between the ages of 13 and 18… and wish to protect your country—your people—step forward."
The crowd hushed.
The wind howled.
And then—
Footsteps.
Shrey.
Dust crunched beneath his sandals as he walked forward. Slowly. Deliberately.
A murmur rippled through the crowd. Then another set of footsteps… and another.
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Scene 2 – Shrey's House
Later that evening.
The sky bled gold as the sun dipped below the Aravalli hills. Inside a modest home filled with the scent of curry and warm cardamom, Shrey stood in the doorway of the kitchen.
His mother stirred dal on the stove, her back to him. His father read the evening paper at the table, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.
> Shrey (softly):
"I want to go."
His mother froze mid-stir.
> Mother (sharply):
"Go where?"
> Shrey:
"To train. Captain Jacks is choosing volunteers."
She turned, eyes wide, ladle trembling.
> Mother:
"No. Absolutely not. You're just a boy! This isn't a game—this is war!"
His father lowered the paper.
> Father (firmly):
"You're not going. I forbid it."
Shrey stepped forward. He felt the heat rising in his chest—not anger, but conviction.
> Shrey:
"Then I'll go without your permission."
Silence.
The clock ticked loudly in the corner.
His mother's voice broke into a sob. She dropped the ladle, covering her face with both hands. His father clenched his jaw, eyes staring blankly at the table.
After what felt like a lifetime—
> Father (quietly):
"You're going to go anyway… aren't you?"
Shrey nodded.
> Shrey:
"I have to. I need to."
> Mother (through tears):
"Then promise us one thing…"
She stepped forward, trembling hands cupping his cheeks.
> Mother:
"Come back alive."
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Scene 3 – Maya's Balcony
The stars blinked above the city skyline. From their third-floor apartment, Maya leaned on the balcony railing, her long hair swaying in the night breeze. Her father, a tired man with silvering temples, stood beside her, holding a cup of lukewarm chai.
> Maya (quietly):
"I volunteered."
He sipped slowly.
> Father:
"They've brainwashed you. They want to send our children to die because they couldn't save us themselves."
> Maya:
"It's not about them. It's about me. About not hiding anymore."
> Father:
"You don't have to do anything. You're my daughter. That's all that matters."
Maya turned to him, eyes fierce.
> Maya:
"And I want to matter to the world—not just inside this flat."
He stared at her for a long moment.
The silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken fears and memories of loss.
Finally, he placed the cup down.
> Father (softly):
"Permission granted… but if anything happens to you…"
He looked up at the stars.
> Father:
"I'll never forgive the world."
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Scene 4 – Arjun's Room
Arjun knelt on a dusty carpet in a small ancestral room. Bookshelves lined the walls. An old chessboard sat beside a rusted radio. And above all, two photographs stood—his parents.
His grandfather stood in the doorway, leaning on a cane. Silent.
> Arjun:
"They're calling for volunteers. I think… I think this is what I'm meant to do."
The old man walked in, slower than before. His knotted hands reached out and placed themselves on Arjun's shoulders.
> Grandfather:
"Your parents would've gone too. Brave fools, the both of them."
Arjun smiled faintly.
> Grandfather (firmly):
"So listen to me well—come back alive, or I'll follow you into the afterlife and drag you back myself."
They both laughed—softly, but with meaning.
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Scene 5 – Mayra's Doorstep
The street lamps buzzed above Mayra's house. She stood on the steps, her duffel bag at her feet. Her parents—young, strong, but clearly worried—held each of her hands.
> Mother:
"So it's decided."
> Mayra (nodding):
"It is."
Her father placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
> Father:
"You always were the brave one. Just like your grandma."
> Mother:
"And reckless. Just like your father."
They chuckled briefly, but the warmth faded quickly.
> Mother (serious now):
"Don't die."
Mayra didn't promise.
But her grip tightened.
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Scene 6 – Yash's Terrace
The cigarette glowed in the dark. His father leaned against the wall, smoke curling up like a ghost of everything unsaid.
Yash didn't look at him.
> Yash:
"They need fighters. I'm joining."
> Father:
"And if you die?"
> Yash:
"Then I die with purpose."
His father flicked the ash into the air. A long pause.
> Father:
"If you die, so be it."
Yash blinked. No reaction.
> Father (after a moment):
"Just make sure it's worth something."
And for the first time in years, their eyes met. Briefly. But something passed between them.
Something like respect.
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Final Montage
Narration (optional if visualized in anime/webtoon style):
> "That night, six stars chose their path. Not because they were the strongest. Not because they were fearless.
But because someone had to stand."
Montage:
Maya tying her hair as she looks out at dawn.
Shrey staring at his childhood room one last time.
Mayra writing a note and folding it into a butterfly.
Yash sharpening a broken blade under moonlight.
Arjun hugging his grandfather tightly.
The six of them walking toward a military truck in slow motion as their parents watch in silence the truck started moving and then slowly gone.