by Sabina Khan
“I’m looking for the waitress who served me about an hour ago,” I said.
“Is everything alright, madam? I hope the breakfast was to your satisfaction?” His brow was furrowed and I feared I might be getting the girl in trouble.
“Yes...everything was great,” I said quickly. “I just wanted to ask her something.”
“Let me go check. I’ll be right back.”
I thanked him and waited. True to his word he was back in a few minutes.
“I’m sorry, madam, but I was just told that she left due to an emergency. Is there something I can help you with?”
“No...thank you,” I said, an uneasy feeling blossoming. The manager left and I sat there trying to process what the note might mean. Who were they?
I decided it was time to go and find Shiv. I knocked on his door and when he opened it, it was clear that he had been fast asleep. His hair was disheveled and his eyes bleary as he stood lazily looking at me.
“What time is it? I thought we didn’t have to leave until after lunch,” he said.
“It’s just after six, don’t worry,” I assured him, wondering if I should mention the note to him. He peeled himself off the doorframe and waved me in. I followed, deciding that for now I was going to keep the note to myself until I’d had time to figure out what it meant. My thoughts threatened to go to a place of doubt and fear where I would begin to question the wisdom of embarking on a quest with someone who might pose a danger to me. But the side of me that did not want to deal with this right now won. I pushed aside any potential worries and focused on the present. He walked into the bathroom as I looked around his room, taking in the half-packed backpack and last night’s clothes strewn carelessly about.
“I saw my dad again,” I blurted out. He stopped midway through brushing his teeth, holding up his toothbrush and foaming at the mouth. I could see him from where I stood and had to suppress a laugh. Then I realized he was trying to ask me something.
“What did he say?” he was asking after he rinsed his mouth.
“I think they’re in danger,” I replied. “He also started to say something about my mom, but he couldn’t finish. It sounded bad, though.”
Shiv came out of the bathroom, still in his pyjamas and T-shirt. He walked up to me and took my hand. “Callie, we will find them and they will be fine.”
“What if we’re too late?” I asked. “I tried to ask my dad where they were but he couldn’t say anything. He looked so bad...he had scars on his face...I...” My voice trailed off as I pictured my father again as he had looked in my dream.
“Callie, we’re so close. You can’t give up now.” Shiv squeezed my hand gently and I drew comfort from him. He was right. This was not the time to lose hope.
I took in a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “You’re right...thanks, Shiv. It’s just...seeing my dad like that...I couldn’t think straight.” He pulled me in for a quick hug.
“I’m going to shower and get ready. Do you want breakfast?” he asked, releasing me and stepping back.
“I had some already. But you go ahead and I’ll get ready too.” I left him and went back to my room. I took a quick shower, changed, put my toiletries in my backpack and then I was ready to go. I didn’t really want to wait until after lunch to leave. I went back to Shiv’s room. He had ordered room service and was ready as well. We went down to the front desk, paid our bill and got a taxi to the pier, where we would have to locate our designated boat person and see if we could leave earlier. That turned out to be easier than I had anticipated. A couple of hundred rupees and we were on our way.
It was going to take over four hours to make our way to North Sentinel. Since it was illegal to travel to the island, there were no official modes of transportation that we could have taken. Uncle Suresh had used his Rakshakari contacts for special arrangements to get us there. The special arrangement turned out to be a medium-sized motorboat and a boatman who was happy to make some extra money as long as he didn’t have to go too close to the shore.
We had been warned before leaving Kolkata that there was a bit of swimming involved. I was glad my years of swimming lessons were going to pay off. When all this was over, I would be thanking my parents for the many things they had pushed me to do, including all those summers of swim camp. The water was not too choppy as we slowly moved away from the shores of Port Blair out into open sea. We had packed sandwiches from the hotel restaurant before leaving and shared these with the boatman a couple of hours into our trip. By now the sun was beating down mercilessly and I was glad for my floppy hat that protected my face from the blaze.
The boat ride was pretty uneventful, and a few hours later we were as close as the boatman was willing to take us. I could see the shore from our position and didn’t think that we would have to swim for too long. Our backpacks were going to be covered in a tarp-like material to keep the contents dry and we would just drag them along with us. It didn’t seem to be the best way, but I couldn’t think of anything better. At least we would have our supply of dried fruit and nuts, as well as water-purifying tablets.
When the boat came to a stop, I hesitated before jumping in. Shiv thanked the boatman and took the leap into the ocean. I swallowed the lump in my throat and followed. As I hit the cold water I gasped at the initial shock but quickly realized it wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. I began to follow Shiv with fluid strokes, the backpack slowing me down a little. I tried my best not to think of sharks or anything else that might be lurking in the water. The boatman had assured us that nothing dangerous came this close to the shore. The worst thing, he said, would be some curious fish nibbling at our toes.
I’d been swimming for a while and was beginning to tire, so I decided to tread water for a bit to get my bearings. The backpack certainly wasn’t making things any easier. I squinted against the glare of the sun on the water and saw that Shiv had almost reached the shore. As I watched he stood up, waist-deep, and began to walk onto the beach, his backpack dripping as he dragged it behind him. He flopped onto the sand, clearly winded. I took a deep breath and began to swim again. I was pretty close to the shore when I felt my backpack pulling away from me. Assuming it was just the current, I turned back to pull it closer when I noticed my pendant was floating in the water on the black string around my neck. It was glowing red. I was immediately overcome by a feeling of dread. Something was very wrong.
I looked around as I treaded water, but there was nothing that I could see. I began to swim again, this time faster, kicking harder. I was so close I could see Shiv rooting around in his backpack for something. I knew I could make it. Just then I felt something pull at my right leg and I was pulled under. I barely had time to suck in a huge breath before my head was under water and I was frantically kicking at whatever had grabbed my leg. I forced my eyelids open against the water. At first I couldn’t see much but then my vision cleared and a scream lodged in my throat. It was a crocodile, large and scaly, its jagged teeth glinting in the refracted rays from the sun. It had let go of my leg and was probably waiting to pounce once again.
I was frozen in sheer terror. I knew that I should try to kick my way up to the surface, but I could not move. Above me I could see movement. Shiv was swimming to me. I knew no more than a few seconds could have passed but it felt like a long time. And that’s when it happened. At first I thought it was just the water and the lack of oxygen that was playing tricks with my mind, but then it dawned on me that my worst fears were coming true. The crocodile was changing, right in front of my eyes. It appeared to grow but then its features changed as I looked on in horror, fear immobilizing me. It transformed into a creature that stood on two legs, its torso covered in scales. At first it just watched me with an ominous glint in its eyes. I could see Shiv getting closer. I turned toward him and my eyes widened in horror. There was another one. I could see that it was going to intercept Shiv. I was on my own.
I turned back to the one in front of me just as it lunged. I burst into action. S
urvival instinct kicked in and as I swung my left arm around to hit it with the backpack, I aimed my right hand at its eyes. I dug my fingers as deep as I could into them, touching something slimy that I did not want to identify. That bought a momentary reprieve as the creature backed off. It must have howled in pain because I saw bubbles erupting from its mouth. I remembered I had Aruna’s dagger and reached around to grab the backpack and as quickly as I could, removing the waterproof covering until the front pocket was exposed. I unzipped it and reached in for the dagger. My fingers had just closed around the hilt when I felt my head being yanked back painfully. Not letting go of the dagger, I kicked and flailed my legs as hard as I could until I was facing the creature. It held my hair firmly in its grip and my scalp began to lose sensation.
Somewhere in the periphery of my vision I thought I saw Shiv, his body strangely distorted by the water, as I tried to focus all my strength on maneuvering the dagger closer to the creature. At some point during our struggle we must have broken the surface, because I was able to suck in another long breath. As I was dragged down a second time, I felt renewed energy and swung my right arm as hard as I could, plunging the blade deep into the creature’s body with all the strength I could muster. Its eyes widened in surprise even as it loosened its grip on my hair, and then I was free. I frantically kicked my way up to the surface and gulped in lungsful of air as soon as I broke the surface. Then Shiv was there and he dragged me the rest of the way to the sand. I coughed and sputtered as he checked me over for injuries. But other than a massive headache from my hair being pulled, I felt fine. Shaken to the core, but fine nonetheless.
“Callie, are you alright?” Shiv fell back onto the sand once he was satisfied I was no longer in mortal danger.
I was still breathing heavily and my throat burned from swallowing the salty water. “I think so. What about you?” I hadn’t been able to see how he had killed his crocodile demon or if he was hurt in the process.
“I’m fine, but...” he said, looking down at the sand.
“But what…?”
A look of guilt settled on Shiv’s face. “I should never have gone ahead...I thought you were right behind me.”
“I was, but there were two of them. Were you planning to fight them both off?”
“I’m so sorry, Callie. I should have...” His voice trailed off.
“Shiv, look, you can’t be there every second to protect me. I have to defend myself too.” He was killing my buzz. “This was just the beginning. And I survived. So let them bring it on...I’m ready.”
He smiled, finally. It made me feel better. But mostly I felt great that I had kicked ass. Demon ass.
Chapter Sixteen
We salvaged what we could from my now completely soaked backpack. I ended up with a few bottles of water, a change of clothes and my dagger. Luckily, the map and most of the food supply had been in Shiv’s backpack. After drying off, we entered the cover of the jungle. Aware that we were walking into territory restricted to outsiders, we both kept a vigilant eye out for any angry inhabitants. Secretly I hoped that if I could convey to them that I was an envoy of Kali, so to speak, they would welcome me. Of course, I had no idea what awaited us. My incident with the crocodile demon had not attracted any unwanted attention, but I knew that could change at any moment. The map gave us some sense of which direction we were headed in. Since high-tech gadgets were completely useless here, Uncle Suresh had the foresight to include an old-fashioned compass in our supplies. It came in handy now. According to the map, the temple was located somewhere on the northern tip of the island. The dense forest provided a welcome reprieve from the sun’s intensity, and it was alive with birds and all kinds of tropical flowers. I could not identify a single one, but that did not stop me from being awed by the sounds and scents that filled the air. I had lived in cities all my life and the air here was so fresh, it was unlike anything I had inhaled before.
We walked along for a while before stopping for a rest. We had packed fruit and other dry foods, which we now rationed to last us as long as possible. After a little while we continued on our way.
“Should we stop here for the night, Callie?” Shiv asked as it began to get dark. “This seems like a good place.”
I looked around. We had arrived at a small clearing where a few fallen trees formed a sort of cover. Luckily for us, in this part of the world the temperature rarely went below eighty degrees Fahrenheit, so sleeping out in the open was not going to be dangerous as far as the weather was concerned. The chances of us avoiding being killed by wild animals were not so optimistic.
“That actually sounds good,” I said. “We should try to find some food. I think there were banana trees back there. I’ll go see if I can get us a few.” I turned and walked back the way we had come. Soon I reached a cluster of banana trees heavy with fruit. I poked around a bit, looking for a ripe bunch. It took a bit of muscle and the Swiss Army knife I had salvaged from my backpack to break off the right bunch but eventually I was holding six bright yellow bananas for our dinner. I walked back to the clearing and saw that Shiv had been busy too.
“How on earth did you get those?” I asked, looking at the pile of green coconuts on the ground beside him.
“It wasn’t easy, but I still remember how to climb up and get these,” Shiv replied, looking quite proud of himself. “When I was little, my dad would bring me to Kolkata to visit my grandmother. I’d watch the gardener climb up the trees and get the coconuts. I begged him to let me try it too, so whenever we visited I was allowed to get some. I haven’t done it for a few years, but I guess there are some things you don’t forget.”
“I guess not,” I replied, sitting down beside him on the log and handing him a couple of bananas. We ate them in silence, and then I helped Shiv cut the tops off the coconuts with his knife. The water was refreshingly cool and sweet.
The sun had set by then, so we had no choice but to settle in for the night. I decided to keep first watch, since I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. I had too much on my mind and there was a lot to process. The night brought with it a whole new arsenal of sounds. Some were soothing while others made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I started thinking about all the dangers lurking in the night but stopped before I gave in to hysteria. All the stories of man-eating tigers I’d heard as a child did nothing to ease the worry, but I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about that now. I watched Shiv sleep, his right arm stretched out over his head. He slept peacefully, his thick, dark lashes fanning out over his cheeks. I was glad he was able to get some rest. At least one of us would be well rested to take on whatever tomorrow would bring. Suddenly I felt a burning on the back of my neck. My fingers flew to where it was stinging the most. The skin there felt raw, and when I looked at my fingers they were smudged with blood. In a panic I shook Shiv awake. He sat up immediately, alert, ready to defend.
“Shiv, there’s something on my neck,” I said, picking up the flashlight.
He took a look and gasped.
“What is it?” I asked impatiently. I was sure it was some nasty tropical bug that had laid eggs under my skin and now they would hatch inside me...I could feel myself becoming hysterical.
“It’s a skull tattoo,” Shiv said calmly. I whirled around to glare at him.
“Really? You think that’s funny? Whatever it is...get it off me.”
“I’m serious...it’s a small skull tattoo.”
“How is that even possible?” I was convinced he was teasing me.
“I don’t know Callie, but I’m telling you what I see. It’s a tiny little skull.”
I was officially freaked out. This was way too weird. Even with all the strange things that had happened to me in the last few weeks, this still qualified as bizarre.
“Maybe it’s something to do with that demon you killed.”
“What do you mean?”
Shiv shrugged and put up his hands in mock defense. “Hey, I’m just as in the dark as you are. I’m just thro
wing out ideas here.”
I shook my head. The stinging had stopped, and only a slight throbbing remained. I decided there was nothing I could do about it now, here in the middle of the jungle.
“Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll keep watch until morning,” Shiv said.
Surprisingly, I fell asleep immediately. I didn’t know how long I slept but I was rudely awakened by a loud chattering. I sat up, disoriented, and determined that the sound was coming from directly above me. I looked around for Shiv. He was gone. In a panic I stood up, scanning my surroundings. Then I heard him. Or rather, I heard him swear loudly. Then he appeared from under some low-hanging branches.
“What’s going on?” I demanded.
“The monkeys...they took our stuff.” He picked up an empty coconut husk and threw it up against the nearest tree. In response, the forest echoed with the amused chattering of the little thieves. This was not good. All our supplies were in that backpack. Without it we could be going around in circles for days. Food-snatching monkeys were not an oddity in Kolkata, so I was not terrified of them. I was more annoyed than anything else because we really didn’t have time for this kind of game. We had to get our stuff back and it had to be now. Only I had no clue how to do that. I started waving my arms about and yelling at them. Nothing. A couple of them swung down on lower branches and just stared at me mockingly. Shiv picked up some more coconut husks and threw them into the trees. Of course the monkeys dodged them easily. Just then something fell from the sky. It hit my head on the way down, which prompted me to say something very unladylike. Shiv bent down to pick it up, but not before I saw his grin.
“What is it?” I gingerly touched my head. There was going to be an ugly bump soon.
Shiv looked up at me, still with the goofy grin. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“What is it, Shiv?” I snatched it from his hand and gasped. “No way. That’s not possible.” It was the compass. “Where did it fall from?” I looked up, which was a big mistake, because just then something soft and slimy hit me. “What the hell was that?” I spluttered, furiously wiping at my face.
