by Mainak Dhar
'Hina, you should have been in the Army! That's a perfect place-slightly off the main road; just one main entrance and that too through a staircase, and I'm sure they have a back exit in case we need it.'
Hina didn't bother correcting him, happy that they seemed to have a refuge, and also because she thought being near books would in some way bring back her life the way it had been.
David decided that leaving all their supplies in the vehicle was too risky, so they carried all the cans and bags inside. Mayukh did his part in silence, but when they were inside, he retreated to a corner and sat down. Hina stood in front of the Bestseller rack, looking at her novel, currently placed in fifth place. She took a copy and felt the soft edges, ruffled the paper, and it was almost easy to believe that the world had not been transformed into a place roamed by bloodthirsty maniacs infected by some unknown disease; that people still had the time and luxury to spend hours reading stories like the one she had written-of an English traveler finding adventure and love in Mughal India. David walked up behind her, and looked at the novel she had in her hand, with its cover of a topless man and a voluptuous woman in a torn saree.
'I was never much of a reader, but I could never figure out how anyone could read trashy romances like that. Some dirty old man must be sitting somewhere churning out stories like that.'
Hina almost choked at the words, and David wondered what he had said to set her off like that. She looked at him, a broad smile on her face.
'Captain, the trashy novel I hold in my hand was written by a very dirty old woman. Me.'
He looked at Hina, sure that she was pulling his leg. When she didn't flinch, he exclaimed.
'No frigging way!'
When she told him her secret, he doubled over laughing, and she joined in, the two of them laughing so hard they thought their stomachs would burst. David spent the next few minutes barricading the rear exit and satisfying himself that the front entrance could be secured. The store's main door could not be the primary point of defence since it was set some feet away from the head of the stairs. So he decided to leave the main door open, which would likely serve to make anyone feel that nobody was inside. Instead, he set up a firing position just outside and to the left of the main door-a podium stacked with books, with enough space in between for him to fire through. He also placed his single Claymore anti-personnel mine just outside the main door, facing outwards, but did not activate it. That would be the last resort in case they were faced with a last ditch defence situation. When he came back in, he found Hina curled up with a book in her hand. So far, he had been very impressed with how well she had coped with the situation, given her age and what she had been through. But then he spotted Mayukh sitting glumly in a corner. He remembered the scene back in the SUV when Mayukh had failed to cover them, and trying hard to control his anger, walked over to the boy, sitting down next to him.
'How are you doing?'
No response.
David took a deep breath, trying to control himself. He had no kids, and in the company of hard men in the SEALs, the way to deal with a young rookie who was losing it involved several push ups, runs with a heavy pack, and throwing them out if they could not make it. None of those were options before David, so he tried to see if he could get through to the boy next to him.
'Look, kid, I know you've been through a lot, but now we need to pull together if we have to survive.'
Mayukh looked towards him and simply said.
'I'm not a kid. Stop calling me that. My name is Mayukh.'
David wanted to reach out and slap him, but he controlled himself.
'Okay, Mayukh. You do realize we aren't in a normal situation, don't you? What you did in the car could have got us all killed. Do your realize that? We've all been through crap-but now, we have to stick together and you need to help out.'
Mayukh hid his head in his hands, and when he raised his head, David saw that his eyes with beginning to well up with tears.
'David, do you know the last thing my father told me? He said he hoped I could be the man he had always dreamt I would be.'
David watched in silence and Mayukh continued, finally opening up, finally coming to grips with what he had gone through.
'Forget being a man, I couldn't even protect my mother. She's gone because of me. I've always been useless. What the hell am I good for anyways? You're the big, bad soldier who knows what to do. I'm just a screwed up kid. Maybe I should just take my gun and kill myself.'
It finally dawned on David just what demons the boy was dealing with, and he held him gently by the shoulder.
'Mayukh, I don't have a son, so I can't begin to understand everything you're going through. But my Dad passed when I was about your age, and I've been holding a gun and going into harm's way since I was not much older than you. I've led young men like you into battle, and I've been young and scared enough to wet my pants when I first saw combat.'
Mayukh was now listening.
'Look, I'm no braver than you are. But what I've learnt is that being a man boils down to one simple thing-watching out for the guy next to you. That's what kept me and my boys going even when the shit the fan. And now, whether we like it or not, this is our unit. We need to look out for each other, even if we hardly know or even like each other, but just because we have nothing or nobody else. I can fight, but I don't know the city or the language that well, so I need you as much as you need me. Think about that.'
David walked over to another corner, leaving Mayukh alone to consider what he had just heard.
It was now five in the evening, and Hina and David conferred and decided that they would not risk any light at night, and would have an early dinner. Dinner was a can of baked beans and some potato chips, washed down with apple juice, and when they finished, David turned to Hina.
'You guys rest inside. I'll be outside watching the road.'
He knelt behind the podium, with his rifle ready, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
It was Mayukh.
'David, why don't you rest for a change? I'll watch for a while.'
David looked over Mayukh's shoulder to see a slight grin on Hina's face.
'Sure. Look, right now we can still see with the naked eye. Once it gets dark enough that we need to use the night vision scope, I'll replace you. Cool?'
Mayukh nodded, and with his handgun beside him, took up position.
David passed Hina as he went inside the bookstore.
'The kid's tougher than I thought.'
Hina smiled in reply.
'David, none of us is tough till we are tested. I think he'll be okay. Get some rest now.'
As David went inside, she heard him chuckling.
'What's so funny?'
David turned, trying not to laugh.
'I can't get over the fact that you write that stuff. Man, I flicked through a few pages. He ripped open her saree and enveloped her in the pleasures of Kama. Yikes, you are a dirty old woman!'
Hina laughed as the soldier curled up in a corner and in less than five minutes was sound asleep. Hina herself read for a while, and then when the light got too dim, she also decided to rest. She had no idea what the hours or days ahead held for her, but at least for the first time in two days, she felt relatively secure.
David had been dreaming of Rosa and of talking to his own son, telling him to be a man. David knew Rosa wanted kids, and he had always been noncommittal, and in his dream, he remembered swearing that if he got back to her, they would have an army of kids.
That was when he was awakened by the sounds of screaming outside.
FIVE
His instincts and training on autopilot, David picked up his M4, switched off the safety and went outside in a crouch. He saw Hina near the doorway, looking out in the fading light. He asked for her to get down, and then he reached Mayukh, who was sitting behind the podium.
'What's going on?'
He heard the scream again, and then he looked for its source, to see three figures strugglin
g on the road some twenty meters away, just outside the perimeter fence of the complex where the bookstore was. David looked up and saw that the Sun had still not fully set.
'It can't be them. At least it shouldn't be yet.'
He looked through his scope to see what was going on, and it soon became obvious what was happening. Two men were trying to grab a young girl, who was doing her best to fight them off. Mayukh asked to see as well, and when David put the rifle down, Mayukh looked at him, as if seeking direction. David was torn as to what to do.
'Mayukh, people are probably going crazy all over the world. They are looting, raping and murdering at will while daylight lasts, since they figure there's no more law to punish them, and not much of a future to look forward to. We can't stop them all.'
He looked again and saw that the girl was putting up a hell of a fight, but it would be just a matter of time before she was overpowered. Before he could think anything else, he saw a blur out of the corner of his eyes. It was Mayukh running towards the road.
'Mayukh, stop!'
David raised his rifle, but with Mayukh directly between him and the men, he did not have a clean shot. With the Barrett, he could have risked taking out the men without harming the girl, but all he with him was his M4, and he could not guarantee a clean shot at such range, with the girl and the men so closely mixed up together. He groaned and then ran after Mayukh.
The two men had been so intent on overpowering the girl that they did not see Mayukh run at them. Before they had a chance to react, Mayukh had raised the handgun and fired one shot in the air. Everyone seemed to freeze for a minute as the unnatural quiet of the city further amplified the gunshot.
'Get away from her!'
Mayukh had his gun pointed at the men, and while he had never shot a person before, and certainly didn't want to do so now, he hoped that the threat would be enough to deter the two men. As he walked closer, he observed several details. The girl was no older than him, and was dressed in a school uniform, which was now torn at the right shoulder. She seemed to have blood covering most of the right side of her face. Hiding behind her was a toddler, a boy no more than two or three years old, clutching a toy car. The two men were now facing him, and both were swaying unsteadily. As one of them spat in his direction, Mayukh realized that both were blind drunk. One of them slurred in Hindi as he walked toward Mayukh.
'The demons will be out again in a few minutes. Let's have some fun with her while we can. Join us if you want.'
Mayukh's hands were shaking, but he tried to keep his voice steady.
'Look, I don't want to hurt you. Just leave her alone and go.'
The larger of the two men took a step towards him, flipping out a switchblade.
'Kid, you've never killed anyone, and I have killed many men, some in prison. Get lost before I kill you and then rape her.'
David was crouched behind the perimeter wall, and while he couldn't clearly hear what was being said, the actions of the men were clear enough. He had his rifle raised to his shoulder, his finger on the trigger. All it would take would be a little bit of pressure and the man closest to Mayukh would die. As he watched, the man advanced on Mayukh, raising his knife as if to bring it down. He tensed, ready to fire, when he heard a gunshot. The man collapsed to the ground, holding his leg and screaming in pain. David saw the smoking gun in Mayukh's hand as he walked over to the man and kicked the knife away.
'I don't want to kill you, but if I shoot you in the other leg as well, you won't even be able to run or hide when they come out.'
The man kept howling, holding his bloody left leg as Mayukh turned to his friend, who had now dropped all his bravado and had his hands up.
'Take your friend and get out of here.'
Mayukh kept his gun raised as the man took his bleeding friend and the two of them struggled to cross the road. When they were on the other side, he motioned to the girl to follow him. When she hesitated, he just pointed to the Sun.
'We don't have time for formal invitations. Come on.'
He walked back towards the bookstore, followed by the girl and the toddler holding her hand. When Mayukh passed David, he saw the soldier standing there with a bemused smile on his face.
'I never figured you'd go Rambo on us.'
David was surprised when Mayukh turned to look at him. The weak, traumatized child was gone. His eyes were steady and confident, almost challenging David to mock him.
'You said we need to watch out for each other. That's what I intend to do.'
David followed him back inside, gripped with a feeling he had experienced many times before. A feeling of mixed emotions when he saw another sensitive, caring young man turn into someone who could take a life.
By the time they entered the bookstore, the Sun had set, and David took position outside, watching for trouble through the greenish hues of his night vision optics. Hina immediately went about tending to the girl's wounds, and was relieved to find that it was but a small cut.
Mayukh was sitting in a corner, still shaking a bit from the adrenaline rush of what had just happened, when the little boy walked up to him. Mayukh got his first good look at the boy, curly hair framing his chubby face and his eager, bright eyes. He was wearing a crumpled Mickey Mouse t-shirt and khaki shorts.
'Are you Batman?'
Mayukh didn't know how to respond to such a question so he just said he wasn't Batman. The boy smiled, showing prominent dimples.
'Good. I don't like Batman. I think you're Pete.'
Mayukh didn't know what the boy was talking about but smiled back, and was shocked when the boy sat down next to him and leaned against him, placing his head on Mayukh's shoulder. Mayukh had never been around kids, and he had no idea of what to do or say, so he asked the boy if he wanted something to eat. The boy's eyes lit up.
'Ice cream.'
Mayukh had no idea what to say, so he said he had no ice cream. To his horror, the boy's lip quivered, and he seemed to be on the verge of tears. He was grateful when the girl came up and sat down next to them, speaking to the boy in a soft, cooing voice.
'Abhi, we don't have ice cream now. We'll have some tomorrow. Ok?'
The boy seemed to be fine with that and then took out a small red toy car from his pocket and got busy playing with it. The girl turned to face Mayukh.
'Thanks for helping us.'
Mayukh just nodded and the girl continued.
'Abhi is my kid brother. He'll turn three in a month, and when he calls anyone Pete it's the ultimate compliment.'
Mayukh had no idea what she was talking about, so she smiled.
'I gather you don't have a kid brother or sister. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, the big guy Pete? Abhi loves him because he's the biggest and strongest of them all. As for my promise of ice cream, anything in the future for him is tomorrow and anything that has happened in the past happened yesterday.'
Abhi smiled a cherubic smile at Mayukh, as if sharing a big secret.
'I will have Ice Cream tomorrow.'
Mayukh held out his hand towards the girl.
'I'm sorry. I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Mayukh.'
'Hi Mayukh. I'm Swati.'
Then her smile was replaced by a sudden look of vulnerability and she seemed to shake before she regained her composure.
'Who would have thought…'
She never completed her sentence before she stifled a sob. Mayukh tentatively held out a hand to hold her shoulder, as she continued.
'Our parents were taken the first night. We hid in the closet and since then I've been trying to keep Abhi safe. Thanks for helping out, but I would have died before those goons got their way with me.'
Mayukh took a closer look at her face in the fading light that was still coming in from the open front door. Her black hair was tied behind her head in a ponytail, and if they had been in the same school, Mayukh could imagine she would have been the object of every boy's affection, with her sharp features and slim body. But her eyes were glowing, e
ven defiant and for a moment, Mayukh felt ashamed of the weakness he had shown over the last day. Unarmed and alone, this girl had maintained her courage and composure, while he had broken down. He shrunk back against the wall, suddenly very ashamed of himself. Swati caught him staring at her and saw his expression. Somehow she seemed to be reading his mind.
'Mayukh, whatever happened before we met, we wouldn't be alive if you hadn't helped us. So if Abhi thinks you're Pete, he's right. You're his hero.'
As she got up to walk towards Hina, she turned towards Mayukh and added softly.
'And mine.'
***
They had a dinner of some cookies and canned fruit in near total darkness. Abhi had decided that Mayukh was his idol and wouldn't leave his side, even insisting that he feed him at night. He kept up an incessant chatter about Disney characters, cars he liked, the fact that he loved chocolate chip cookies and so on. Mayukh was clueless about most of what Abhi seemed to be blabbering on about, but it didn't seem to matter.
'See McQueen, he goes so fast!', Abhi exclaimed as he raced his toy car over Mayukh's leg.
Hina looked at Mayukh, smiling.
'You seem to have got your own little fan there.'
Mayukh could only grin back. He had never been around kids much, but now seeing the curly haired bundle of energy next to him, he felt fiercely protective, and he began to realize just what might have made his mother sacrifice herself to save him. He reached over, tousling Abhi's hair.
'Don't you need to sleep now?'
Abhi looked up at him with big, innocent eyes.
'Give me a fresh diaper and milk.'
Totally out of his depth now, Mayukh looked towards Swati for help. She came over, grinning from ear to ear.
'He normally doesn't take to strangers this easily. You must have made quite an impression. Come on, Abhi, no fresh diaper today. Let's go to sleep now.'
Abhi burst into tears, bawling at the top of his voice. Swati tried to hush him and looked at Mayukh and Hina apologetically.
