The forest was bustling with life; the song of cicadas and croaking of bullfrogs only punctuated by the odd grunt or distant roar of some unknown ferocious beast.
Abrar had climbed a tree and wedged himself between two thick branches so he won’t fall off in his sleep. It wasn’t the most comfortable of places to sleep but having lived through the traumatic events earlier that day, luxury was the furthest thing on his mind at that moment.
One might ask what exactly had he suffered to put him in such dire straits?
Abrar Chattha was just a random guy of age 22, living in the third world country called Pakistan, studying to be a doctor albeit a bit unsuccessfully. He had managed to get into an average medical college but lack of attention and procrastination had set him back a year after he flunked his exams. If a single word described Abrar, it would be mediocre as he did not stand out in the slightest; a man like millions others.
It had started off as a bad day, Abrar was running late. Normally it won’t have been much of an issue as Abrar was a master of making excuses but this time he had been assigned to attend the senior doctor Kashif, nicknamed ‘The Butcher’ by the other trainee doctors. The Butcher was notorious for his sharp wits, grumpy personality and cutting retorts which had brought tears to the eyes of many a trainee doctor. Anyone unlucky enough to be assigned to the butcher could only pray the butcher had gotten some from his wife and was in a good mode, otherwise someone sure would be leaving sobbing their eyes out. Abrar was certainly not looking forwards to facing the wrath of the old dragon.
Abrar entered the MRI room where the old butcher and some of Abrar’s batch mates hovered over an elderly patient. Luckily the butcher seemed too preoccupied to notice the late arrival who sneakily slunk his way into the midst of his peers.
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The procedure was underway when sirens started to wail across the hospital. Everyone was caught off guard, was this a drill? The doubts in everyone’s minds intensified when a few gunshots echoed in the distance.
“Terrorists! We are doomed!” A girl burst out in panic and tears as the implications hit her with the subtlety of a truck. Her outburst triggered the spread of even more panic in hearts of the others.
“What nonsense!” The Butcher snapped, “There hasn’t been any major terrorist activity for years now. Not to mention this is a major hospital in the metropolis, the security team is more than equipped to handle any unwanted situations. Complete the procedure, we can’t leave the patient hanging like this.”
Under the baleful stares of the crouch old man, the doctors and technicians returned halfheartedly to their duties. However not long after, a dreadful explosion echoed causing the building to tremble. The lights flickered as the emergency backup power kicked in immediately. Not a minute later a second explosion rocked the building, this one horrifically close. The shockwave made everyone stumble and the MRI machine started to emit sparks and smoke before abruptly exploding with a loud bang showering them all with debris. However the scratches he received from the MRI was not what made Abrar nervous. Right before his disbelieving eyes, a small black spot started to spin and grow rapidly forming a vortex. The vortex possessing an immense suction power yanked everyone off their feet and into it. Abrar who unable to get a handhold on anything, was sucked into the nefarious looking vortex as well.
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> This is my first novel but I have been reading novels for a while. English is not my first language and I am not very used to writing novels so any help pointing out structural, grmmatical errors and the like would be really appreciated. Also any constructive critic regarding the progression of the novel woule be welcome. Ciao!