'Hooyah!'
Mayukh heard David's yell, and as much as his heart cried out for him to go to his friend's assistance, he knew what he needed to do. He grabbed Swati by the hand, and with Abhi tied firmly to his back, he began running up the road as fast as he could. His ears were ringing with the screaming of the Biters and when he looked back, he saw several fiery shapes flicker in the night before disappearing. He kept running, wanting to put as much distance as possible between them and the Biters. He could hear Swati gasping and panting, trying desperately to catch her breath, but he had her wrist in a vice like grab and literally dragged her along.
He then heard four shots ring out in quick succession.
And then silence.
As he ran, tears streamed down his cheeks and he could tell from Swati's sobs that she was also crying. David was gone. With that stab of grief came a realization. Now he was all that Swati and Abhi had.
For the next few minutes, the Biters seemed to be quiet, and all he heard were his own jagged breaths, Swati's panting, and the scraping of their shoes on the frosty road. Abhi was quiet and clinging to Mayukh's neck so hard that Mayukh could feel the boy's nails bite into his skin. He could only guess how terrified Abhi must have been. Mayukh had not the foggiest idea how far the Monastery must have been, but now was not the time to stop and check where they were. Doing that would have meant using some form of light, even if only the lighter in Mayukh's pocket, and he didn't want to risk that. All he was focused on was going as fast as he could along the road they were on.
He suddenly felt Swati's hand jerk free of his, and he tried to hold on, grabbing a fistful of her jacket sleeve. Swati screamed loudly once, and then perhaps aware of the dangers noise could bring, did not say a word more, though Mayukh could hear her gasping. She seemed to have fallen, and dragged him down till he was on his knees. His eyes were now more accustomed to the dark, and in the moonlight, he could see that Swati seemed to be hanging from the edge of a cliff.
Mayukh cursed himself-he had been so focused on a headlong flight and had taken for granted the straight road they had been on that he had not considered that they might be in for more of the treacherous terrain they had passed earlier. He grabbed her with both hands and inch by painful inch, pulled her up till he could grab a handhold. Swati hugged him, crying, and now that Mayukh was sitting on the ground, he realized just how little he had left in him to carry on. All he wanted to do was to lie down, Biters or no Biters.
Abhi was now crying, and Mayukh was just too tired to tell him to be quiet. Swati burrowed her head into his chest.
'Mayukh, I can't go any further. I can't even breathe properly. Just leave me.'
She never got to finish as Mayukh kissed her.
'No, not you. Not you as well. I've lost too many people. I will not lose you.'
Abhi spoke up, his voice barely audible to Mayukh even though the boy's head was inches from Mayukh's ear.
'Don't be sad. I won't cry. I promise I'll be a brave boy.'
Swati hugged her brother and closed her eyes, trying to will herself to carry on. Mayukh had never felt so helpless and weak as this. His body was about to give up on him, and he had nothing left to offer Swati by way of reassurance.
'Swati, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't do more.'
She was now hugging both Mayukh and Abhi and her voice seemed composed.
'All that matters to me now is that we're together. No matter what happens, we will face it together.'
Abhi was now smiling, happy that Mayukh and Swati were in better spirits. He was cold and scared, only too aware that the not nice people were somewhere around. He wanted to also reassure Mayukh, to make him feel happier, but his toddler vocabulary wouldn't let him say much, so he remembered the story Mayukh had often told him.
'I'll be brave like the boy in the story. I'll remember what his daddy told him.'
Mayukh heard Abhi's words just a split second before he heard the thumping and shuffling of several feet behind them. Any doubts about who they might be were dispelled when he began to hear their screams.
'Jiiiiiiiihaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad'.
'The boy give us'.
The sound of the footsteps seemed lesser than before, so either David had thinned their ranks, or only some of them had taken this road, the others choosing to take the fork in the road they had passed earlier. Or perhaps only some of them had heard Swati's screams. Mayukh knew that no matter how many of the Biters were there, it was now too late to run.
Abhi's words triggered the memory of what his own father had told him. Indeed, what had been his last words to Mayukh.
Be the man I always dreamed you would be.
A clarity came over Mayukh, and he somehow felt physically lighter, as if a burden had been lifted from him. He began to untie Abhi from his back.
'Mayukh, what are you doing?'
Mayukh ignored Swati's pleas and tied Abhi to Swati's chest, the boy facing her. Then he held Swati with both hands.
'Sweetheart, I know you are tired. I know it hurts, and I know he's heavy for you. But you must go on. You must make it.'
She was now crying.
'I can't leave you. I love you!'
Mayukh felt his own eyes well up.
'I love you too. More than I can tell you now. But that's why you need to go. That's why Hina and David did what they did for us. Whatever happens, Abhi must make it.'
He kissed Abhi on the forehead once, and then kissed Swati hard, lingering to feel her one last time. Then he dragged her to her feet and pushed her to get her started on her way. She was crying with every step, but Mayukh was glad that she began to run down the road.
He kept looking in her direction till the sound of her footsteps faded. Then Mayukh turned to face the Biters.
***
Mayukh was surprised to find that he felt no fear. If anything, his mind was more at peace than he ever remembered. As he heard the thumps and scrapes of the Biters approaching footsteps get louder and closer, he thought back to all he had been through. Seventeen years of indulgence and not taking anything seriously, of throwing tantrums over what now seemed to be trifles; and then in seven days, experiencing life more intensely than in all those preceding years combined. He had found love, learnt the meaning of responsibility, learnt what it was to sacrifice for others, learnt what true friendship meant, and above all else, learnt how good it felt to live for someone else for a change. The howls of the mob of Biters seemed ever closer, and he thought he heard a voice whisper in his head. He could have sworn it was David.
You've learnt to be a man, soldier.
Mayukh smiled and took out his iPhone from his pocket. It showed the battery to be 30 % charged, which was far more than he figured he'd need. He tapped on the Flashlight app. He had downloaded it for fun some months ago, and not used it once after the first day of fiddling with it. The app was on Strobe Mode, casting a brilliant blue and white glow around the phone. The Biters must have noticed the glow for they screamed louder than ever and he could hear the sound of running feet.
He knelt and skipped his phone along the road, thinking that even if it broke now, he had no use for it any more, just praying that it stayed screen up. The phone bounced off the road and came to a halt a dozen or so feet away, lighting up it's surrounding area like a small beacon. Mayukh could see the first of the Biters now, a gnarled, deformed face with a turban tied on top. The Biter seemed to be dressed in the torn remains of what seemed to be a Police uniform of some sort. Three more dressed like him were just behind him.