Mayukh tried to protest, but he realized just how tired he was. As much as he tried to stop Swati from leaving, his eyes felt heavy and he dropped back onto the pillows placed behind him. Swati came close and kissed him on the cheeks once, whispering to him.
'Rest, my love. Now that you're back with me, I won't let you go anywhere. Just rest, and then we will talk.'
Abhi was giggling.
'She kissed him!'
Mayukh smiled and then winced in pain as some of the many stitches he now knew crisscrossed his face stretched. He watched Swati and Abhi leave the room with the General, and realized that no matter what else was to happen, it was worth it to see them safe, to not have to live every day wondering if it would be their last. There was so much he wanted to know. What had happened in the world outside? How many other safe zones like this one were there? And most of all, was there hope that they could rid the world of the Biters after all?
The door opened again and a young soldier came in, dressed in battle fatigues. From his sharp features, Mayukh guessed he was a Gurkha. The soldier handed pushed a table next to the bed and placed a bowl of steaming soup on it.
'Drink it. It tastes like shit but will give you strength.'
Mayukh looked at him, wondering how he was expected to drink it with a drip attached to his left hand and his right hand in a cast. The Gurkha produced a straw and put it in the bowl. He held the straw in place while Mayukh bent over and drank it.
The soup was hot, watery, tasted of frozen vegetables and preservatives, had way too much salt in it, and all things considered, was the most delicious meal Mayukh had eaten in the last ten days. He slurped it shamelessly and then fell back on his bed, tired from the exertion of even drinking. The Gurkha patted him on his left shoulder.
'By the way, did really head butt a Biter and kick another in the balls?'
Mayukh wondered how he knew, but his expression must have told the Gurkha what he needed to know, and he grinned.
'Get well. There are many soldiers here who want to hear your story, and buy you a drink.'
As soon as the Gurkha left, another soldier came in, though this time he was wearing a stethoscope around his neck and to Mayukh's surprise, was American. He smiled at Mayukh, looking at a clipboard in his hands.
'So, Mayukh, I'll give you some morphine for the pain and then we'll put you under some anesthesia. We still need to finish the stitches on the back of your head and I think today's when we try and reset your nose.'
Mayukh was about to ask more, but realized that with all the damage he had suffered, he didn't really want to know just how messed up he was. He sat back as the doctor put one injection in his left arm, and then another one on his hip. He grimaced a bit, but in a few seconds, he felt lightheaded.
'Just close your eyes and lie down.'
Mayukh did that and soon he was fast asleep.
***
It was a utilitarian room, stark metal grey with long benches and metal chairs in front of them. The food in front of them was the soup Mayukh had earlier and what looked like instant noodles. He had Swati sitting next to him, Abhi on her lap, and her fingers intertwined in his. Mayukh still hurt in a dozen places, and had been amazed he was alive when the full extent of his injuries was revealed to him. Three cracked ribs, a fractured hand, a broken nose, and nineteen stitches on his head and face. When he first looked at himself in the mirror, he had nearly jumped in fright at the heavily bandaged apparition that stared back. The American doctor had been laconic about it.
'Wounds heal, and chicks dig scars.'
The room was filled with soldiers in uniform, a mix of Indian and American faces, and Mayukh saw General Vij standing up in a corner, dressed in what seemed to be his full dress uniform, with medals and ribbons across his chest and stars on his shoulders. Next to him was a middle aged American soldier, dressed in a blue uniform with similar stars on his shoulders.
'Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to our briefing. Finish your soups and we will begin.'
Mayukh had thought that Swati was the only woman around, but as he looked around he saw at least a dozen American women in uniform, and a few Indians as well. That morning, he had been allowed visitors, and he had spent the whole day reveling in Swati's company. With Abhi awake, it was tough to do anything more than keep him entertained, but when he had taken a nap in the afternoon, Mayukh had finally gotten around to doing what he wanted to do ever since he had woken up.
He kissed Swati and told her that he loved her.
He had learnt a bit of what had happened here. American and Indian troops had been doing joint Mountain Warfare exercises when the first trouble broke out in Afghanistan. As things got worse, Vij and his American counterpart locked down the base and secured Ladakh airfield. Over the next few days, more soldiers flew in seeking safety, and now there were more than ten thousand troops in the base and the airfield, about two thousand of them Americans. Swati had bumped into an advance recon team and they had watched Mayukh hold off the Biters on their night vision optics before they were ordered to intervene and kill the Biters with their high powered sniper rifles.
General Vij now spoke up again.
'This will be our first briefing in three days. As you know, once our latest guests arrived, we have been rather busy.'
Almost every pair of eyes in the room turned towards Mayukh and Swati, and when Mayukh looked back at several of them, he saw only welcoming smiles on the faces of the soldiers. The Indian General continued.
'Over the last three nights we faced no less than sixteen waves of assaults by the Biters.'
One of the soldiers put up his hand.
'How did we do, Sir?'
Vij smiled.
'I don't have sharp teeth, decayed skin, do not wear a black turban and am not trying to bite you. So in summary, we survived.'
Many in the room chuckled, and Mayukh found himself liking the General's easygoing manner as he continued.
'We estimate more than three hundred Biters killed-with no losses on our side. They've never attacked us after the first day, and the fact that they did shows how desperate they were to get to our guests.'
He paused to drink from a glass before continuing.
'I know the last couple of weeks have been tough. We all left friends and families back home, and I know how difficult it has been for each and every one of you to stay here and do your duty as well as you have. But the tide is turning. Let me share some updates from the outside world.'
At that, everyone seemed to be paying attention, and Mayukh heard one of the soldiers near him whisper that they had no idea what was going on outside for several days.
'First, the Indian Prime Minister is alive and well, and is currently on board the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, where the Government of India is currently based.'
Many of the Indian soldiers present cheered.
'They have established radio contact with us, and with the other Indian Armed Forces units like us still holding out.'
There was a palpable buzz of anticipation in the room, as Mayukh guessed many of the soldiers must have wondered if there were others like them.
'The Government has declared a State of War, and while we have been holding out for so long, now we are ordered to take the fight to the enemy. As of tomorrow, we will start coordinating with other units in commencing offensive operations against the Biters.'
Several cheers began echoing through the room as the General continued.