“Hey, are you getting bored?” asked Mr. Red.
“Yeah.” replied Mr. Green in a low tone.
Seeing this dullness in Green, Red thought of extending the conversation all by himself.
“This time of the night seems lonely, doesn’t it? I mean it sucks the energy out of you and although we are habitual to it but somehow we always have this missing feel, no?”
Mr. Green didn’t reply to what Red said.
Red repeated what he had just said when Green abruptly stopped him and said, “Yeah I heard you there so need not repeat things.”
Red felt offended and immediately asked, “Why do you seem so pissed off?”
“Well that’s none of your business. You mind your own please.”
Red frowned at Green and didn’t reply for a minute or two. Then he broke the weird silence. “You hate your job?” he asked with seemingly a caring voice.
“Why are you after me! Do you have no work!” frustration ruled over Green when these words flew out.
“I have, and I am doing it but…” said Red, trying to articulate his care when Green once again cut him off midway.
“Good. Do not disturb me then.”
Red thought for a moment or so and asked, “Do you think if we entertained ourselves during our working hours then, it would affect anybody?”
“I don’t know. Why do you ask this?” asked Green with a birth of a mild confusion and some interest in what Red was saying.
“Think for a second. We escape from our monotonous job right away and do something different, something which spices up our mood, your mood specifically. What say? I don’t think that anybody would be monitoring us at 2am!”
Green was struck by what Red said and he immediately ran his brain on his habit of daydreaming. He imagined himself out on the beach with calmness as his only companion; he thought of those people who respected him; he felt proud of himself for controlling so many; he imagined himself as the ruler who punishes with physical damage to those who disobey him- although he himself didn’t like inflicting damage of any kinds to anyone but as a part of the protocol his job demanded, he unfortunately had to. And he felt powerful there and then.
With an instantaneous rejuvenation he asked, “What’s the plan!”
Red felt a sense of joy for he was on track to heal Green from his inexplicable misery but a devilish idea knocked onto him at the moment. And well, he latched onto it with conviction.
“Let’s play ‘Be the God’! I played it last long time ago when I used to work alone here so I am kind off missing it.” said Red with fervor.
Green’s eyes lit up when he heard the name ‘Be the God’, for a minute ago he was basking in the glorious powers of his job in his daydreaming routine. But as he was about to shout in agreement he retorted back and said, “I don’t think the game works with me. You know why I am so low today? Because I feel powerless, and you have added salt to my wounds by reminding me of the game because the game is all about holding power.” He further added, “Although I know the game quite well but I have never played it. My former colleagues used to play it quite often while they were off-duty but somehow I disliked it for its heinous rules. I am peace loving you know.”
“Oh! Now I get what makes you so miserable tonight: the lack of power to control the people. Hmmm. The absence of population on such times has aggravated your agony and has made you like this, right? But trust me, this game will rekindle the power you miss right now.” Red was now gradually targeting Green’s mind on direct terms.
“I don’t know Red, I cannot commit against the will of my heart. I know the consequences of the game and, no I won’t indulge in it. Sorry.”
Red sensed his loss of track towards Green again, when his subconscious was immediately broken off by Green, as if he wanted to finish off what he had just said.
“Even in the day time the number of people whom I could control has gone down and the midnight is damn frustrating as always. The job which I loved the most has become a hateful one as it is rotting down in the present times. I don’t understand where have the people of this city vanished and without them I cannot feed my instincts of dominance and control. I feel useless without their presence.”
Red knew that he had to push Green to play the game, for deep down he had his personal gain in it.
“Okay. So Green, I challenge you in the game of ‘Be the God’ to defeat me in the most aggressive manners you can. If you disagree to play then I’ll assume that all the love for power you have been talking about is a lie, because those who loves power, those who love to rule, never let go off moments where they can showcase their prowess, and you unfortunately are letting it go off. This shows you are disloyal to your love.”
Green’s male ego was dented severely with immediate effect. He was taken aback by Red’s offer as choosing to participate in this game meant shedding off his principles which he had inculcated in himself since long time back. He delved into conflict. He took his time and fell prey to Red’s offer. He accepted the challenge after a few seconds of introspection.
Red had not challenged Green because he actually wanted to motivate him, rather he just wanted to double the thrill and violence this game had always blessed him with. He could easily have had played it in single-mode but by provoking Green he had thrown the aces at the right moment, for Green was going to lash onto him in the quest to prove him wrong and ultimately, happiness was going to be showered on Red in unfathomable measures.
The blinking tune in the silence of the night and the countdown of numbers on the foreheads of both Red and Green had been locked as ominous signs for the vehicles passing through their crossing.
They just waited for the perfect time.
*
The next day, the word had spread through the city that there had been a devastating accident on the Campus Sq. crossing, killing all the people in the three vehicles involved, which were now just a few disoriented pieces of iron. Reports suggested that this unfortunate incident took place due to the technical failures in the two traffic lights causing the affected vehicles to crash onto each other.
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2015
2015