Shadowblade Volume 1: Blight Beginnings

Chapter 1: Selection Process

Luminous Fields Neighborhood, Radwan Residence........
(Saafir Radwan)
This sleep is just great. No one bugging me, not even minding my alarm going on my 6th snooze......Until....... "Hey, Bhai(brother)!!!! Please get up now, you don't wanna be late for the big job interview you've been boasting about. I had to stop my political science project for a while to drag your lazy but out of bed." Erum exclaimed for no reason. "Alright, alright, take a chill pill. I filled out the application yesterday, so I'll be getting those results through my email around 11:45 am anyway. Go back down and tell everyone I'll be down in a sec.", I said. I took care of my morning stuff quickly and made it there in 10 minutes. The smell of nashta(breakfast) was always great as I saw Grandma Radwan and Uncle Radwan outdoing themselves once again. Mrs. Radwan ran over and gave me a huge hug to start off my day. "I'm so proud of you mera(my) beta(kid) and inshallah(very soon) you'll soon get your opportunity to continue your biomedical career!!", Mrs. Radwan said happily. I was gasping for air a bit and then told her to release her grip. Mr. Radwan came up to me and hugged me as well. "Yes beta, continue this hard work and never forget my advice. I'll still tell you to work on comprehension and stay curious for a long time. Mr. Radwan teased. "Hello, my friend!!! I'm very happy for you too so let's eat now." Uncle Radwan said excitedly. I saw Erum again but she wasn't working on her assignment. Her phone rang and left for a bit. I guess I won't worry about it since I love surprises. When she returned, we resumed our breakfast. The eggs and potatoes were just great as always with everyone just so happy.

I made coffee as usual for Mrs. Radwan, Mr. Radwan, and Grandma Radwan, Uncle Radwan and we turned on the TV for the most significant headline ever. Muhammad Akel is the brightest philanthropist ever to have helped out this city for a good 3 years. He finished high school at 13 and, by my age, began running a successful company. The typical rate of graduation is 18, so Erum is almost there and will start focusing on her political science degree. Our attention drew to the screen now, wondering what he'll talk about. "Good afternoon, Alpha city!!!." How's everyone doing???" This is the basic intro he starts with every time, but at this point, I didn't mind it much. "As you all know, I've released job applications online as a new wave of jobs surges across the markets for those young ladies and gentlemen out there. In approximately 5 minutes, most of the applicants I chose will get a red alert to show that they've been accepted to work for me in whichever sector that's been offered. So good luck to all, but for those who weren't selected, just know you're still smart and amazing, so y'all should still keep on job hunting," Muhammad said expressly. This was it. In these 5 minutes lies the fate of my future, pondering whether or not my application would even be considered. Seconds lingered, and the anticipation of waiting made my palms sweat. My whole family and I stared at my tablet, wondering when the big noise would happen. After all this wait time.......... I ended up with a red alert!!!!!! This was the most significant moment I've had from all that time tutoring calculus for the past two years.

As our mini celebrations continued, Erum unlocked the door, and suddenly, my friends came in to congratulate me. Some of them got their application revised and will start working in Mind Industries just like I will. Mabruk and Arman own the biggest sports chains from football, basketball, cricket, and many others controlling marketing and drafting. "Good job, bro, for coming this far," they said casually. Of course, Reshma was there pursuing architecture, with Erum still taking some classes with her and Ileana going into computer tech just like her mother. "We're very proud of you today!!" they exclaimed loudly. There was also Tabana going into investigative journalism for medicine and Nasir doing mechanical engineering soon. "Keep up the great work and always move forward," they said importantly. Last, Haniya hugged me a bit since she's studying medicine full-time. Tabana also did the same for reassurance, but I still didn't mind as much. "I'm very happy for you and hope we can all work together." Haniya said confidently. Today was great to see everyone with radiant vibes and my fantastic family. "The email says there will be a huge surprise at 3:30 pm with our new jobs. Seems interesting." I said. "Ok, so," I explained, to let everyone know, "We need to get here early to meet with him. We all have many questions we want to ask him, so let's head out now." I said. "Saafir is right, we're burning daylight here, and y'all gotta go," Nasir said rushingly. Tabana, Haniya, and I all got a fantastic opportunity to start something new here. The rest of my friends and family gave us a sign of good luck then Erum and my parents came to squeeze the life out of me one more time. Uncle Radwan came as well and hugged me too. "Please stay safe and come home soon." Mrs. Radwan said like it was the last I was going to see her. "Don't worry, I'll always call you the moment I'm there. Allah hafiz (goodbye), everyone." I said. Everyone replied, so the three of us took off. "I hope he's a cool guy like he is on TV," Haniya said with determination. "Well, we'll all know when this so-called surprise happens," Tabana said casually. Their cars were parked out, and I took mine too. It's time for a change of destiny.

In the lobby area of Mind Industries......
(Yama Akel)
I saw my brother conversing with all the employees he's worked with for so long. It was so disgusting to see that, and now Yazmeen and have an endgame that'll shake the world. As we contacted our business partners, we came across "The Syndicate," a secret organization no one knows much about operating under restricted orders not detectable by law enforcement. I dialed their number from the email on my phone to call for propositions. "Hello," I said first, waiting for a callback. "Hey, who's this calling and why??? The mysterious caller replied. "I'm Yama Akel. We spoke a couple of weeks ago, and we're wondering if you can do a favor for us. See, my sister and I grow tired of our brother's fame and fortune he's had, so we want to exact our revenge against him. And who might you be???" I asked with intent. "You can call me Gold Trinity since it's the highest rank for The Syndicate. My associate is Silver Trinity, and she'd love to do this too. Please name your price and the flavor you want,". Gold Trinity requested. "We want to kill our family. We'll give a million dollars from our wealth wired to an offshore account within 5 minutes. That's our offer. Are you willing to take it?" I said. Gold Trinity paused for a moment and gave us his response. "Your offer is accepted," he said clearly, "Just know that once this task is done, it's clear cut. Do we have an understanding?" Silver Trinity asked. "Yes, of course. This is what we truly desire. And there's one more thing we want. Destroy my brother's company leaving no survivors. Some will escape, but just those my brother knows closest to." Yazmeen said with ferocity. We both knew what was going to happen next. We had to put in 1 million dollars more, but it seemed worth it—phase 1 set. Now we'll proceed to Phase 2...... a moment none will ever forget.