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Everyone in the city received the same message

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In the small town of Gulmarg, a queer occurrence hoodwinked the whole city. In the late night, the electricity shockingly went out. Max Sharma, a young boy of age 10 wasn’t able to doze off without the fan. In a desperate attempt to sleep, he climbed out of his comfortable, cozy blanket and looked out of the window. Trying to count the lights in the spectacular, beautiful night sky, his sharp ears heard a whisper which sounded similar to a very, very sharp yet really silent growl. It said “lets give them shock of their lives”.

Alarmed by this strange owlery, Max immediately alerted his parents.  Of course, they were seemingly annoyed. His father told him to get back on the bed declaring that it was just Max’s wild imagination. Pondering about this, Max quickly dozed off.

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In the early morning, everyone in the city had a big surprise to see! Max saw a green chit, of course in human handwriting. It stated "Occupy something, we will, BEWARE!” Puzzled by this rude chit, he hid it under his pillow.  That, of course, was the talk of the town the same day, because everyone had the same chit!

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Unfortunately, something else became the talk of the school, something that made Max the center of attention! His parents had apparently surprised the parents of Max’s best friend, Sammy, by exclaiming that there was no such green chit that they had received. As we all know, rumors spread faster than anything and the result? the entire school was left gasping in astonishment.

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It was a peaceful night, but all the eerie stillness of the place was wiped away by sounds of gunshots and cackles, and the whole town was left startled.

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Nobody was awake and everybody was looking for a way to either bravely fight ora escape. Half the town had escaped and the other half was desperate.

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They still hadn’t figured this out- who are these attackers? That was the question burning in everyone’s mind. But Max, unusually took charge of his home. He told his parents to flee and he would take care of the home and himself!

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He went to meet his friend Sammy and what he saw left him speechless. A heavy man would have almost killed Sammy if Max hadn’t reacted quickly. Sammy had been brought to the ground. One more kick and it could be the end of Sammy. Yet, Max jumped from nowhere to choke the strong man.

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A sharp rock in one hand, a splinter of wood in another and a metal slab tucked in his pocket, Max fought more, determined to save his dear friend!

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Meanwhile, there were more attacks across Gulmarg! A small group of brave fighters still continued to battle. It was midnight and Max’s mother had escaped safely to Srinagar. But, his father stayed back and crawled to some place. Where? It is a mystery. All we know is that he walked westward.

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Things were not going well for Max. He was captured, bound and gagged. He managed to knock one man down but he was seriously overpowered. He was dragged through the snowy mountains, into the forest and he didn’t know but he was in POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir).

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When he entered the army base, everything clicked. One of the soldiers pulled him to a room.

“Pakistan need brave people like you, either join the Pakistan Army or die!” one man cruelly threatened.

“No, I shall never report to a country supporting terrorists”, Max replied.

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The man leaned forward and landed a sharp blow on Max’s chest. “Enough is enough” said Max and wildly threw a punch, while sliding to kick the man’s legs. The man banged into the door. Reacting quickly, Max picked up a fallen gun and shot straight through the window. The soldiers were alert, yet the bullet pierced one soldier’s head. Another bullet smashed into a person’s uniform, but this time, Max did not shoot it! It was his father!

The man who had threatened Max had gotten hold of his gun, but Max noticed! He threw his stone at him and knocked him down. Max, along with his father, destroyed Pakistan army’s base and made an underground passage that went towards India.

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While going through it, he heard a voice above him. It said” Jai Hind, Sir!”. Quickly, he understood that it was an Indian camp and he dug up.

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They were safely carried back to Srinagar in a chopper. Both of them were secure and they hadn’t sustained major injuries.  Many years later, Max became the major general of Indian army !

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