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He woke up with a start. His companion’s eyes were open and looking beyond him but he felt they were not really seeing or registering anything.
Sacchit stretched out his hands and put them on his companion eliciting a response that resembled a tired smile and it made his heart swell and ache.
He knew it was time to start moving again but to leave the place where they had found rest, however brief, was not so easy.
Through his moist eyes, Sacchit felt he was seeing some vision from the past. But how could it be? A sliver of memory strived to get his recognition, to be born again fully but kept getting lost in the fog of his brain and the mist of his eyes. Maybe it was an echo from a past life. Without knowing how or why, Sacchit knew it was not a hallucination.
Slowly the shadows of the evening engulfed them. He did not know how far they still would have to go before things went back to normal and life became as simple as he was used to. He has asked her this a few times but never got any answer but a silent appeal to keep going on.
It took some effort to return to the present and now. Sacchit took a bite out of the energy bar Bhrigu was offering him. It was time to move again and the effort it took to stand up, even with Bhrigu’s help, sapped quite a bit of the strength he had got through rest.
When they stood, the ground where his companion had laid was dark and wet. He knew she was in pain but, like always, she did not complain or show how much it hurt. He wished the guide was still with them. But they had lost him almost two days ago. While he wanted to go back for help, give up all the meaningless running that just managed to stay ahead of the terrifying pursuit, his companion's persuasion had won the day. It was much later that he found she was injured. She had been hiding it from him. He had immediately wanted to turn back again, and her insistence again made them move only onwards.
When they moved, the pace was dictated by how fast Sacchit could go. While the slowness of progress was worrisome, he started to see Bhrigu in a new light. His adaptation to their situation and how he quickly learned or applied his knowledge in a practical manner had improved by leaps and bounds in the last few days. The fact that all this happened while he was mostly out of commission and, therefore, without his instructions, made him full of admiration and pride.
They had reached a point after almost a day’s walk, comprising mostly of breaks taken so that Sacchit could cope, where they had to choose a direction. According to Bhrigu’s calculations, the probability of coming across another habitat was higher in the direction to their right. Not that the path to their left was wrong, there being literally no evidence one way or another, but it would mean more walking into the denser jungle, and if people were living there, it would be hard to find or reach them quickly in Sacchit’s condition.
So, Bhrigu chose right and Sacchit complied, bringing them to the outskirts of a village. It was breaking dawn and they could see people beginning to come out of their huts. Could it mean their ordeals were over and they could stay here in peace while Sacchit recovered? Bhrigu did not share his companion’s full-blown optimism which he deemed misplaced and was only the by-product of exhaustion and exposure. He had no intention of waiving off the protocols he had meticulously devised for their safety. No shortcuts, not even for Sacchit.
It was well that they did not throw caution to the wind and rush to the village requesting shelter and help. Sacchit did not see it but it could not be hidden from Bhrigu’s eyes. A stealth drone. It was hovering over the head of a man speaking animatedly with a few of the early-rising villagers. When he left, the drone stayed on guard at the edge of the village with a couple of villagers who looked like extra lookouts and possible muscles in case the fugitive needed to be overpowered.
“We could wait till they move away to another section, then secretly enter the village, find the elders, make our case, and…”
“No. They would not defy the Man-in-Charge. It could be a pre-existing alliance or fear of reprisal. Anyway, we must get away from here quickly and quietly,” Bhrigu said in a determined voice.
“But…”
The decisive look in Bhrigu’s eyes was enough for Sacchit to know when he was beaten. However, they did stay hidden behind the bushes for the better part of another hour because any movement might have caused the drone to come nearer and investigate. So, when it turned its attention to another section of the village border, its human cohorts already having moved away probably due to lack of action, Bhrigu and Sacchit made their move.
After the first few steps into their retreat, Sacchit found the tension of the near discovery and waiting in hiding too overwhelming. He suddenly broke into a run taking Bhrigu by surprise. He, however, started jogging behind too, making a mental note that without some refuge soon to allow full recovery, it could get worse for Sacchit.
The only thing they had in abundance was Sacchit’s medicine stuffed in the first aid box that Bhrigu had appropriated from the camp. The few power bars were already eaten and now the water packets were also depleted. They had been moving deeper into the direction of the jungle – the path Bhrigu had earlier decided not worthwhile to take. At least, the khaki clothes they were wearing from their time in the camp provided excellent camouflage. It might not fool the drones but any human search party could likely be avoided.
The Man-in-Charge seemed like a bulldog with a bone, in retrospect. Bhrigu knew they would be pursued, but, while analysing the aftermath of their running away, he had not considered how long the hunt for them would go on or how aggressively. The Man’s stubborn tenacity, the extent of his influence and power, and willingness to use these to get them back was something to factor in, Bhrigu understood now. They would have to create more distance between them and his tracking agents, and fast. And without any missteps.
Sacchit was painstakingly aware that it was he who made their progress slow. After less than ten minutes of running full-tilt, he had doubled over, forced to pause for another one of his countless breaks. His sedentary and leisurely life in the UK was coming back to bite him. He wanted desperately to limit all the stopping on his account but it was not always in his control.
The water was as blue as the sky. He tried to draw his companion’s attention to the ripples in the blue as the water formed little waves but she was not moving. Let her rest, he thought. Several schools of fish swimming in different directions could be seen from the edge of the river. It was an amazing view that could be remembered and enjoyed forever. He had heard stories of this place but seeing it for the first time was like an out-of-the-world experience. Maybe heaven is really a place like this!
“Ma, look. That fish is big…”
Maybe she was sleeping. Her eyes were closed. There was hardly any colour on her face. The ragged edge that used to be the left arm was inexpertly covered by a dressing from herbs and leaves. It looked ominously dark. But her continued lack of response was beginning to make him panic. He started shaking her.
“Wake up. Wake up…”
A distant voice stirred Sacchit to consciousness. Bhrigu was leaning over him. It took him some time to focus his eyes. Then he noticed - a middle-aged local man crouching across them. He started to stand up but his legs were cramping. Bhrigu reached out his hands steadying him. Sacchit could sense Bhrigu silently waiting to take his cue from him as to whether to treat this presence as friendly or hostile.
This man did not look threatening but who knew what his intentions were?
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Co-written with @Ani
