There can be no bravery without courage and no courage without fear.

The bus rattled as it made it's along the slope of the hill, where on it's left side one could see the majestic Himalayas, a white and simmering mountain range. In one of the bus's seats, sat Ajay Ghale. In his hands, he carried an urn which carried his late mother's ashes. 'Guruvesh', Ajay recalled the contents of the letter, 'Where is that place? I wonder if it was mother's birthplace. That seems likely. To be returned to the place where you were born...' Ajay looked out the window of the bus. He felt the cold wind swirling across his face and the tranquility nature. "Beautiful", Ajay whispered.

After four months since his mother's passing, Ajay was finally in Kyrat. He had to just pass a final checkpoint station and he would be in his birthplace. It had not been easy to say the least. Kyrat was not really a tourist spot. A war was going on in the country. From searching around the internet, Ajay could only get a single article about the information about Kyrat. A blog by a journalist named Divya Kandala.

From that site, Ajay could make some facts clear. Kyrat was amidst an ongoing civil war between the king and the native terrorists, who called themselves 'The Golden Path'. They were said to murder the people who supported the king and forcefully make the citizens join the ranks of their army. Ajay tried to email Divya in order to get more information but strangely, no reply was ever returned. Then, Ajay tried to make preparations for the journey. He checked the flights and decided to take a plane from America to Patna in India and then take a bus to Kyrat. Due to the uprising, all airways flying directly to Kyrat were cut off. The bus ride would take four nights to reach across the border.

So Ajay was now finally going to fulfill his mother's last wish. Ajay looked up from his seat and saw the approaching checkpoint. Four soldiers, who wore red uniforms, guarded the place with sleek-looking assault rifles. A soldier motioned for the driver to stop the bus.

"Oy, young man, passport."

Ajay looked to his side, meeting the expecting eyes of a fellow traveler. He was a nice person whom Ajay met in Patna and helped Ajay to get his ride. Ajay checked one of the pockets of his jacket and flipped it out. Ajay handed it to him and he put a local currency note into it. "We have to bribe them...?", Ajay asked him as he took it back. "Extra incentive or they might stop you for no reason. Just to mess with you." Ajay still was not quite sure about this. He handed another traveler's passport to another while the sitting monkey tried to grab it. "Relax, if anything happens, let me do the talking.", Darpan replied.

As the bus stopped, one person got out of the bus and presented the soldiers with the travel documents. "Boss, we came from Patna.", he replied. "Patna, eh?", one of the soldiers glared at him. He took out his radio and said, "We got the bus. Awaiting further orders." "I am coming there. Just stop the bus, will you?", the radio cackled back. "Understood.", the soldier said and shut the radio off.

"Boss please, we have come a long way and are very tired. And we have the documents to prove we came from-" Suddenly, the soldier swatted the documents to the ground. "Just shut up. Shut your trap completely.", the soldier replied. Ajay's apprehension was fully triggered now. He looked out of his seat to see the other soldiers checking under the bus.

"Anything?"

"No, nothing yet."

Ajay's nervousness was reaching new heights. Soldiers had surrounded their vehicle, some important authority figure was coming and he did not how he will be able to get into Kyrat now. Ajay looked to Darpan who looked like a statue, eyeing the soldiers' movements.

"Hey, hey Darpan.", Ajay called.

"(Shh..)", Darpan scrunched his eyes.

"(What is happening?)", Ajay whispered.

"(They are checking the bus for illegal drugs and especially Golden Path rebels.)"

"(Good, cause we don't have any right?)"

...

"(Darpan! Hey Darpan, answer-)"

"I found something here!" The soldier's cry made a shiver ran up Ajay's spine. And then everything happened too quickly. A woman and a man got up from a few seats behind him in some blue and yellow uniform. They had guns in their hands. They got out from the back from the bus and when the soldiers saw them, all hell broke loose. The opposing groups began firing at each other but four against two without any cover was no contest. Suddenly, the man who was outside the bus whipped out a pistol and shot one in the back of the head. Blood splattered everywhere while he shot another one in the arm. The soldier who got shot in the arm screamed while his comrades mercilessly gunned down the man.

Ajay was totally shocked at the events. His heart beat so cold. Blood and death. Again. Again, he was somehow right where he did not wanted to be. The wounded soldier looked right up one of the bus's window, right into Ajay's eyes. Ajay saw the fury in those eyes before he commanded, "SHOOT ALL OF THEM DEAD!"

"Oh go-!", Ajay could only say before his reflexes kicked in and he stumbled to the bus's floor. The firing started and the windows started to shatter and the sparks started to fly. The sound was so deafening. Ajay tightly shut his eyes while he tried to flatten himself to the ground as much as he could. But suddenly, someone grabbed his hand and started pulling. He opened his eyes a little and saw Darpan taking him to the back exit. "Com'on, we are dead if we stay inside!"

Ajay did not needed to be told twice. He started crawling through the barrage of bullets, his senses in overdrive. He could feel how cold the floor of the bus felt as his hands and knees touched it. He could smell the gunpowder, the heat and most horribly, the blood. But he could hear nothing, just a dull tone in his ears. His hands found the handle of the backdoor. His fingers tensed as he turned and threw it open and got out of the now dismantled bus. But now, the soldiers gathered around him pointing their AK- 47s at him while he raised his hands above him.

"L... d...w... n... he... or!" Ajay could not hear what the soldiers were saying.

Suddenly, a gruff hand pushed his upper body to the dirt completely. "Ah!" Ajay grunted as his face hit the hard place. "Are you deaf?! I said 'Lay down on the *** floor!'", the man yelled in his ear. Ajay could hear more properly now and he heard a helicopter approaching them. He could not see Darpan from his position but he saw a chopper descending to the ground a few feet away from him. Ajay squinted his eyes as dust got blown up due to the helicopter.

Slowly as the helicopter whirred to a stop, a man wearing a black jacket under what seemed like a pink suit with back gloves and a weird hairstyle, disembarked from the chopper. He scanned the surroundings and looked quite displeased. He rubbed his face with his hand and sighed. "One simple job... one simple order...", he started as he walked towards the wounder soldier who was clutching his arm. "I said one thing. Stop the bus, you know not shoot the bus. You see, I am very particular with my words. Stop. Shoot. Stop... Shoot... Do these words... sound... same, hm?" The soldier shifted his feet but did not meet the weird man's eyes. Still he answered softly, "B-But sir, it got out of control." The man approached closer and asked, "I am sorry. What did you say?"

"I-it got out of control."

"Oh, I hate it so much when-" in an instant, right before Ajay's eyes, the man took out a golden knife and stabbed the soldier in his throat. The soldier gurgled as he fell to the ground while the man kept stabbing him, "things (stab) get (stab) out (stab) of (stab) control! (stab)" Ajay felt nauseated and even the remaining soldiers did not seem okay at the bloody display. The man, having his anger cooled down a bit, gave a small huff and complained about the splashed blood on his shoes. His eyes then fell on Ajay and instantly lit up. "Well, at least there is a silver lining." He turned to the now dead body of the soldier "You did not at least completely *** it up." Ajay watched as the madman made him to get up and analysed Ajay's features. "Those eyes... they take me back", the man said with a reminiscent look over his blood splattered face. "Oh how rude of me, allow me to introduce myself, I am Pagan Min. And you must be Ajay Ghale."

"How do you know my- wait you, you are the king!", Ajay recalled Divya's blog about the king of Kyrat. 'This sociopath is the king?!', Ajay mouth hung open. "Oh you do know a little about me. This is excellent. Excellent indeed. Oh, we have to talk some more.", Pagan responded delightedly. "But first let us talk a selfie, ok. Hmm... now where is.. oh, could you hold this for a second?", Pagan presented Ajay with the golden knife which actually was a pen. Ajay, too confused, tried to hold the blooded pen with his index finger and thumb. Pagan took out his phone and positioned it above their heads. "Now, say cheese." Ajay could see his own terrified face in the camera as Pagan clicked it. "Awesome. Now..." Pagan took back the pen and made his way towards Darpan who was lying face down on the floor.

'Oh no, not him too.', Ajay's breath hitched but he could not move for the soldiers eyes were trained on him completely. "And who is huh? Your A++?", Pagan crouched before him. Darpan stayed silent. "Ha, the strong silent type. I like it." He glanced at a soldier, "You know what to do." the soldier nodded and put a bag over Darpan's head, tied his hands behind him and led him away. Ajay never felt so helpless as he watched Darpan getting taken away, surely to be executed. Pagan turned to him, "Don't worry, Ajay. Your visit may not have had a good start but, we can always have a great time here. Soon, this will all be behind us and we will off to our grand adventure. You see, cause you and I are gonna-"

Bzzt... Bzzt...

Pagan frowned and took out his cellphone, "Always when I am speaking. Yes, what is it?" Pagan tapped his foot impatiently. "What, again!", he yelled. "How many?... Oh ***. Fine then!" He disconnected the call and looked towards Ajay with a solemn smile. "I am terribly sorry, Ajay my dear boy, but our conversation needs to be cut short. I have some important business to attend to so, I will have to go. But don't worry, I will send another helicopter for you and you shall be be escorted to my palace safe and sound. I hope you will be alright without me there, won't you?" 'Away from you. Always.' Ajay thought as he replied,

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Ah, thank you. You have been most understanding. After I get back, we are going to have some real fun. But for now keep this radio. I will check up on you regularly so you don't feel left out, ok?", Pagan said. Ajay nodded his head as he put the radio in his backpack. With one last hug which Ajay could not help but completely straighten himself, Pagan made his way back into the helicopter muttering. "And I was really looking forward to some Crab Rangoon at Paul's..." After he sat down, he waved at Ajay to which Ajay awkwardly put his hand up. The chopper started ascending and soon it went towards the direction of the Himalayas.

As everything calmed down, Ajay looked at the bus and immediately regretted it. The whole bus was riddled with bullet holes and the soldiers were carrying out the dead bodies and throwing them down a nearby cliff. Men, women, all were being treated like animals. 'God, where the heck am I? What the heck is happening? Are the army the real bad guys? Or were all the passengers terrorists?', Ajay thought sadly but he knew. Those passengers were not with the rebels. In four days and night, he had heard them sing with each other, laugh with each other and eat with each other like a family. And now, all were gone just because two of them were terrorists.

Few minutes later, another helicopter came by. Ajay climbed silently inside. He wore his back pack on his chest to let his back rest a bit. Ajay sat with one soldier at his side with two before him and the pilot in the cockpit. As the chopper gained altitude, Ajay pressed his hands in his armpits due to the increasing cold. They made their way toward the north. Soon, they came across a road path. As Ajay kept thinking how to escape, the soldier sitting to his side called out to his friend. "Hey Askar, look down at those fools." The man named Askar focused his gazed downwards and replied, "Oh ho, this will be fun." Ajay raised his eyebrows and looked down. A group of three people, two woman and a man, were walking carrying straw baskets on their back filled with tea leaves. As Ajay looked, Askar fired his rifle at the unsuspecting people below. The bullets did not hit them but they had the desired effect.

"Aaaaahhh! Run, run!" "Oh lord, save me please, oh god" "Please don't! Please don't!" They started running towards the woods, frightened for their lives, leaving the baskets behind. "Hey! Stop that! Why are you torturing them?", Ajay was angry. These soldiers were sadistic. How could they do this to the people that they had sworn to protect. The soldiers ignored him and Askar just kept shooting when-

"Aiyahhhh!", the male down below cried out and fell to the floor holding his left leg where a bullet struck. One of the females quickly picked him up in her arms and went into the woods. Seeing this, Askar howled in laughter, "You see ha, how he went down and haha, started crying like a little girl! Oh, so funny." He high-fived one of the soldiers while the other smirked. As they were laughing, a tormented and wailing voice came from below. "You *** cowards! You think you can do anything to us and get away with it. God is there and he shall punish everyone of you for hurting my brother! You *** *** ***."

Insert Song: The Bombay Royale - You Me Bullets love

Askar growled at the insults and pulled out a grenade. "So that *** thinks she can run her trap at us. Let see what she has to say about this. Ajay had enough. He was not going to let another innocent person die before him. He lunged for Askar's hand which was holding the grenade. Ajay punched him in the face and snatched the grenade. He ducked as another soldier tried to punch him. One of them tried to reach for a handgun but, Ajay kicked it out of the helicopter. He was suddenly grappled from behind, choking the air out of him.

"What the *** is happening back there?", the pilot yelled from the cockpit. While Askar was reeling from the punch, the other two soldiers came upon him with combat knives in their hands. Ajay quickly jumped and kicked both of them in the chest which made the man behind him hit his head on the wall. Ajay followed it up with five back punches to his head and with a yell, hauled his entire body above him and slammed him in front of him, knocking him out cold. Ajay barely looked to his left to find Askar, his mouth bloody, pointing a gun straight between his eyes. Remembering his training related to close combat, Ajay quickly curved the gun hand from his face with his left hand at which point the shot fired. He felt the bullet pass him and ricochet off the metal. Still using his left hand, Ajay grabbed Askar's arm and pulled his face right into his (Ajay's)right elbow. A crack sounded, a scream and another shot was fired. "Ah-!" Ajay looked at the sound and found the pilot hit by the bullet. He was dead. "Holy-" The helicopter started to jerk around. Ajay found himself nearly out in the air if he had not caught the edge of the seat. One of the remaining two guys was not so fortunate and fell down to his doom screaming. "You son of a-", the last conscious soldier glared with hatred at Ajay. He tried to lunge at Ajay again but Ajay kicked him right out of the chopper. *Splash*

'What, water?' Ajay thought as he looked down. He was indeed above a giant lake. 'If I jump at this height, the surface will break my bones... Wait, a parachute! I need a parachute' With his last remaining courage, inside the hurling helicopter, Ajay searched the emergency compartment where lay a single parachute. Ajay thanked the gods above him and quickly wore it. Taking a deep breath, he jumped out of the helicopter. Only after getting enough distance from the chopper, he opened the parachute. The parachute opened with a swoosh and his descent speed decreased drastically. 'I am alive, oh god I am alive!', Ajay breathed as he slowly touched upon the surface of the water. Immediately, Ajay motioned to get out of the parachute, not wanting to get tangled in its threads. With a little effort, he got out and proceeded to swim towards the shore.

Totally drenched, Ajay lay on the shore taking deep breaths while the birds chirped above the trees and the mountains loomed in a shade of crimson. Ajay checked his watch. It was 4:33 PM. It was going to be night soon. Ajay looked into his back and saw that his mother's ashes were safe inside the urn. He breathed in relief and took off his drenched clothes. He kept on his shoes and his water-proof blue jacket but took off his inner jumper and changed underwear. He put some new underwear on and changed his socks. Then he put on his favorite brown combat leather gloves. He put the wet clothes in the bag along with the grenade which he was actually clutching the entire scuffle in the helicopter. 'Reflex', Ajay mushed. He looked around and found himself surrounded by a dense forest. Checking his bag's compass, he decided to head south.

Ajay remembered something. The soldiers... were dead. Did he kill them? 'No I did not kill them. That Askar shot the pilot, another one fell by himself and another... I, I kicked him... out...' Ajay was trapped. he was responsible for taking a life even if of an evil person. 'Forgive me, mother. I don't... I, I am sorry.' Ajay started walking through the forest. "I need help." Howling was heard in the distance, "And fast." Ajay started running.

So, here's the first chapter for my story. Quick question, do you guys want mythical elements to this story?