'And this time we will not have to fight the sons of bitches with our rifles and in some cases, our heads alone.'
He glanced at Mayukh and smiled broadly-and many of the soldiers cheered and clapped.
'Air strikes from the INS Viraat and at least four airbases which are still in our hands are beginning, and paradrops are taking place today to occupy and sanitize other airbases so we can bring more air power to bear. Now I pass on to General Edwards for his portion.'
The American General took up where Vij had left off.
'Some good news for the Americans here as well. The President is well and like the Indian Prime Minister, on an aircraft carrier. The same goes for the British, French and Russian leaders. The good news is that the bulk of our strategic arsenal-our naval assets, strategic missile forces, and long range aviation assets are all intact. Together, we are declaring war on these monsters and will reclaim our world. Our first coordinated move is to restore control over gas and electricity, so that we can both restore those essentials to humans stranded in enemy held territory and also restore communications.'
More cheers as he continued, with a more somber tone.
'As you have heard and have seen, the Biters are learning-either evolving or remembering memories. So we've faced Biters with guns and in their last waves, one or two actually fired RPGs at us. Well, the bad news is that in what was Pakistan, we now know some Biters tried to activate their nuclear assets.'
Mayukh could feel the tension in the room as Edwards continued.
'To avoid an escalation and given the real possibility of Biters launching nuclear weapons against human targets, in consultation with surviving world leaders, the US President ordered tactical nuclear strikes against all known nuclear weapons locations in Pakistan.'
He paused as that sank in, and Mayukh heard more than one gasp, as the severity of that decision sank in. He looked around and saw that most of the soldiers had not even touched the food placed in front of them. Swati was gripping his hand tight, and he could feel her head on his shoulder. Edwards continued.
'We will all meet later for detailed orders and deployments for upcoming combat operations, but thank you for all you have done.'
Vij now looked straight at Mayukh.
'Can I request our guests to come up and join me?'
***
As Mayukh, Swati and Abhi walked to the front, he felt really awkward, having thousands of eyes focused in on him. He passed the Gurkha who had served him food, and he smiled. The Gurkha saluted and started clapping. Soon the entire room erupted in thunderous applause as the three of them walked to join the Generals. Edwards shook their hands and patted Abhi on the head, while Vij gently nudged Mayukh to the front.
'First of all, I wanted all of you to see these remarkable young people. You have all heard their story in one form or the other, but what they have achieved is amazing. When we put out our radio broadcast, we were hoping to attract people from nearby areas-and we did get several thousand, who are now at the airfield. But they made it all the way from Delhi, with all the adventures you have heard about.'
He glanced at Mayukh.
'You don't know this, but while the Internet is still not up, the ham radio operators are as active as any chat forum, and for the last few days, all they have been chattering about is your adventure.'
Mayukh flushed a bit at all this unwanted attention. He certainly didn't want any attention, and nor did he feel particularly brave. He had done what he had done for those around him and without Hina or David to share the moment with them, it all seemed somewhat empty. Vij must have sensed on what was on his mind, and spoke again for all those assembled in the room.
'More than anything else, you have all heard tales of the boy who could not be bitten, as the ham operators called him. And every step of their journey was relayed and amplified by those willing the boy on to safety, hoping like all of us, that this boy could indeed hold out some hope.'
Abhi was now holding onto Mayukh's left leg, looking more than a little intimidated at all the attention. When Vij turned to him and smiled, he dug his face into Mayukh's leg.
'I must be honest, I had my doubts to begin with. Perhaps it was all an urban legend. Perhaps people were just trying to grasp at straws. But after having seen this little boy with my own eyes, it's obvious he was bitten but was not turned. We have sent samples over to an American base for testing, and we will have results soon.'
The next morning, Mayukh was sitting in the small room he was sharing with Swati and Abhi. She had her head nestled against his chest.
'What now?'
Those two words were simple enough for Swati to ask, but Mayukh didn't know how to answer it. Their ordeal may have been over, but it was obvious the world was still very much at war, and that war was only going to get uglier and more destructive as the human forces now organized themselves and retaliated against the Biters. There was no question of going back to any of the big cities, which had been the worst hit by the Biters epidemic, so he really didn't know what lay ahead for him and Swati. As he thought that, he corrected himself. No, he did know what lay ahead. He had been thinking in terms of where they may live, what they may do with their lives, but not about what they would do with each other. And if there was one thing he took away from the ordeal they had shared, that was all that really mattered.
'Sweetheart, we've known each other just about two weeks, and we're both not yet out of school. So this may sound crazy, but maybe in a world gone crazy, this is the only thing that make sense.'
Swati was now looking at him, and from the expression in her eyes, he got a feeling that somehow, she knew.
'Swati, will you marry me?'
She just smiled, with tears forming in her eyes and whispered.
'Yes'.
He brought her closer to him when Abhi spoke up.
'Once you finish kissing, can you talk about cars with me?'
Mayukh picked up the boy and the three of them hugged, laughing together.
There was a gentle knock on the door and when Mayukh opened it, he saw General Edwards there.
'Son, they finished the tests from Abhi's blood samples. The reports will be with us any minute. I thought you'd want to be there.'
They were about to file out the door when Mayukh asked him if they had any news about David. The previous evening, he had relayed the full story of their trip and of the role David had played in it.
'Thanks to your detailed debriefing, we've already sent out search parties for Captain Bremsak. We recovered more than eight burnt Biter corpses where he made his stand, and then the trail indicates he jumped off the cliff, taking at least a few more with him.'
'Sir, is he…'
The General caught his gaze as Mayukh saw a pin on the General's coat. An eagle perched on an anchor, holding a trident in its talons. He remembered seeing a similar pin on David.
'We don't know, son, but we will find him. We SEALs don't leave our own behind.'
EPILOGUE
'You may now kiss the bride.'
Mayukh leaned over and kissed Swati as Abhi looked on, clapping in glee, not fully understanding what was happening, but knowing that everyone around seemed to be happy.
It wasn't quite the marriage Swati had dreamt of. There was no family, no dancing relatives and friends. They were surrounded by hundreds of soldiers in combat fatigues and their marriage was solemnized in a small chapel at the US Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska.
They had flown there a month ago when Abhi's test results had come in, and it had been their home ever since. They had begun their life together, while the war still raged outside. The Biters could now operate tanks and heavy armour, and while the human forces had most of the air power, the brutal war continued.