The Prey

It was a silent dark and a stormy night. The lamps had long been put out by the wind. It howled through the trees moaning about the bad weather. The trees rustled in agreement to the winds rants. The moon too was covered in clouds and it was pitch dark. It had rained incessantly through the night and the blackness after sundown only added to the gloom. An owl hooted in the far distance. The light of the church could have afforded some visibility, but that too was broken when a branch of a nearby tree snapped and smashed into it. The earth was strewn with leaves, gnarled branches of tress, grass; and snakes. They had crawled out of their flooded holes into the open. An untrained eye would not last for more than a minute in this quagmire.

It was a challenging task for even Jacob to see. Gifted with a keen vision, his mates had joked that he could have spotted an ant crawling on sand, a mile off. He and his mates had decided to set out on this risky mission tonight. The weather would have provided excellent cover, and an attack under the cover of darkness would not have raised too much concern, since, no one would have been about, to witness the gory sight. The wind moaned louder as if premeditating what was to happen.

"It’s fate; somebody has to die here, tonight; So that my family may live.” Jacob steeled his heart with the thought.

Pushing images of a hungry Dora, Kim and Ian looking up to him to provide, he tried to focus his attention to the task at hand. The rain had tapered off into a slight drizzle and the moon broke thorough the clouds as if a curtain had risen. The wind died down and waited with bated breath. The drama was soon to begin. Jacob drew in a long breath and tried to bring about focus. He knew that the hour of action had drawn close. Years of hunting in the wilderness had attuned his senses to his surroundings. He had developed, what some had called, a sixth sense.

“The game is afoot!” his keen senses were telling Jacob.

The moon afforded some light that filtered through the thick tree cover and lent a deathly grey pallor to the earth below. The flints of broken jagged glass glinted dully on the wet earth. One of the glints was blotted out for a second and reappeared again.

Jacobs keen eyes immediately picked up movement to the south. His heightened senses knew that it was his target.

He gave a low hoot to signal to his mates.

They were far off but they would have known the unmistakable hunting signal.

"You are mine tonight..." Thought Jacob as he swung away from his perch high up on the tree branch.

His target heard the rustling and darted in mortal fear.  In one graceful glide all was over.

The mouse never stood a chance!

Love

I stand,

the river flows by..
mystic and deep

The water seems clear, yet...
I cannot see its depths

the river flows by steadily
nurturing, nourishing, loving.

And, I dip my hands into it to feel its coolness
wash over me

the water plays around my fingers
forming little glassy eddies

i feel the love in it
as it caresses me,

I feel lost in its depths,
fathomless.

Awash in a sense of satisfaction
of giving as much as I receive...

Hanuman: Evil Rises

Morning wasn't too far away as Hanuman looked towards the horizon where a reddish glow was faintly visible through the blackness of the night.

Macchindra on one shoulder he walked on, the others had been taking turns to carry the man. He was heavy weighing in at almost 500 pounds.

But, right now, the man looked frail, almost childlike. He quivered with fear. The color of his skin that had turned white had begun to return to its natural color. He still seemed semi conscious and incomprehensible.

Tehmul kept running to keep up with Hanuman’s long strides.

“Hope Macchindra’s all right….” Tehmul began.

“He’s fine Tehmul, don’t worry…” Hanuman reassured him.

“Hakim Saab is sure to have a cure to this devilry” he thought to himself. He needed reassurance.

Soon they reached the clearing through the thicket where the Hakim lived. But as Hanuman approached the hut Macchindra’s twitching increased. He began to get increasingly agitated in his semi conscious state. Hanuman clamped his free hand on Macchindra to calm the big man down but to no avail. With one mighty push he and Hanuman fell to the ground.

Hanuman got up from the ground dusting himself and looked at Macchindra in astonishment. The man was struggling on the ground in a foetal position his features twisted in a bizarre expression of anger and agony.

It was as if Macchindra or something else in him did not want to go near the Hakim’s hut. The intensity of Macchindra’s twitching became increasingly violent as he began groaning in obvious pain. It was as if he was fighting an intense battle of wills within himself.

He let out a yell and spat blood. The others backed away from the terrifying spectacle.

“HELP ME!” hanuman roared as he grabbed Macchindra’s hand and tried to drag the huge struggling mass towards the hut. Tehmul came running to his side and grabbed the other hand and pulled with all his might.

The others broke through their trance at Hanuman’s words and ran towards the three struggling men.

They all grabbed Macchindra and pushed with their might but he wouldn’t budge an inch!

Suddenly, the doors of the hut flew open and an old man stepped out. His eyes blazed as he lifted one bony finger pointing towards Macchindra. The others felt the intensity of the old man’s aura as he stood on the parapet

“NETI!” he commanded in a stern voice steadily looking at Macchindra.

Immediately Macchindra let out a bloodcurdling scream and something smoky ejected out of his mouth and dissipated in the atmosphere. The limp body of Macchindra collapsed to the ground.

Hanuman, Tehmul and the others too collapsed, exhausted by their efforts.

“Any later and you would have lost him…” the old man looked at Hanuman and went back inside the hut

Hanuman let these words sink in as he ordered his men to bring water and revive Macchindra.

“Ask Shelar to bring the loot here. I think we will need to set up a temporary base here tehmul…”

“Wait! Come inside” the old man’s voice came from inside the hut.

Tehmul was about to set off. He looked at Hanuman. Hanuman motioned him to wait and himself entered the hut.

It wasn’t much to look at, there was a periphery to it where the Hakim grew exotic herbs and harvested their potential. He was a simple man with simple needs to the normal eye. But the hut remained protected at all times with various spells and incantations and the blessings of the divine mother. A strong sandalwood odor wafted through the environs near the hut even when there was not a single sandalwood tree in the jungle there.
The Hakim was spiritually, a very powerful man.

“You are shaken…” he said looking at Hanuman.

“How do you know?” Hanuman gazed at the old man levelly.

“You never forget to remove your footwear”

Hanuman let out a long breath. What the old man said was true. He was shaken. He had never encountered the kind of events that he was tested with this night. It probably was the longest night in his life.

Hanuman hunched his shoulders and went out only to come back in barefoot.

“Don’t look so down my Son…” the Hakim began.

“Hakim Saab! I have fought the bravest men, scaled the highest mountain and defeated the strongest willed beasts that roam kali’s blessed lands! But this black sorcery is beyond me!” Hanuman thundered.

The Hakim looked at him kindly. All the fire that issued from his eyes some time ago was replaced with a warm glow of kindness and love.

“My Son, you are truly blessed!” he said.

“Blessed?! BLESSED?!!” Hanuman couldn’t believe his ears! He was furious. Not with what the Hakim had said but more with his inability to protect his own men.

“Did you not see what happened to Macchindra outside?! How can you call that being blessed!” he boomed.

“Son, Ma herself has chosen you to fight the evils she has defeated time and again. Do you not see? If you love and believe in her with outmost faith and trust; that, she will protect you as she has till now…then continue to believe in her!”

“What do you mean Hakim Saab?” Hanuman was puzzled.

“If Ma has chosen you to fight evil, she will equip you accordingly my child…” The Hakim’s serene voice seemed to soothe Hanuman. He calmed down.

“Call Tehmul he will need this” the Hakim said handing Tehmul a vial of water.

“This water that I use to bathe the deity. This will protect him and your men.  There is strong black energy that I detected through the night. It has been here for a while now. Although the sun will dissipate most of it now.”

“Hakim Saab, I don’t understand what’s been happening, there is an unrest that even I detect through the thicket. The birds don’t call anymore, the bees are silent, the creatures – all of them have retreated to their hideouts.”

“your observation is correct…”

“What is it?!”

“All in good time my Son, all in good time. First I need to look at Macchindra and you need to get your men here. They need to be safe before sundown. And we need to have a look at that leg of yours. The gash looks quite deep.”

The old man called out to Tehmul to make haste as he sat down and applied a yellowish paste to the wound which he then wrapped up with an old cloth. It stung Hanuman but the memories of the hapless Macchindra stung even more. He stepped out into the warm sun and turned towards it.

“Help me Ma…” he prayed silently.

Hanuman III

His mind raced "Macchindra had to be some where close by!"

Hanuman dropped the armour he was wearing and raced to the spot leaving the search party behind him. Skidding to a stop near the spot where he had earlier heard rustling that night. all was quiet as before in the moonlight.

"Where is he..." he thought dispiritedly.

The night was still dark and it was many hours before sunrise. There was a slight mist that surrounded Hanuman, the moon still shone through the leafy vegetation and the leaves crumpled under his feet. His breath began to fog as Hanuman felt a cold draft emerge through the trees.

As he saw straight ahead, the leaves rustled slightly and he perceived a movement through the trees. Hanuman stood rooted to the spot.He had seen a lot in life, but this felt nothing like anything he had known before.

A dark form slowly rose through the leaves, sand, dead leaves and grit falling off it. It was somewhere just under the ground. It surged towards where Hanuman stood. 

He stood there staring transfixed...

...and then years of training and combat experience kicked in.Hanuman squatted down on one leg to maintain balance and agility.His hand had automatically unsheathed the goatskin holder where his trusty blade rested.

The form started gaining speed and made its way towards him - Hanuman knew it was an animal of some kind. But couldn't fathom what. He waited till the form was within touching distance and then leaped up in the air to avoid it.

The creature broke through the earth. An otherwordly screech rended the air as the creature landed on one end of the clearing and Hanuman at the other.

The moon shone full in the clearing and Hanuman saw what tried to attack him. Razor sharp fangs and beady eyes fixed on its prey, the creature dribbled. It evidently was not agile becuase of its strucutre. four padded feet and tough scaly skin as hide, the creature looked like a small rhino with fangs. An excellent close combat fighting machine.

Hanuman knew he had to find a weak spot. He had a sharp blade.

"between the eyes..." he thought.

He knew he had to be on top of the creature to drive the blade down onto the spot. He gave a sweeping glance across the clearing and spotted a rock jutting out nearby. the creature stood there snapping, gurgling and waiting. Its beady eyes fixed on Hanuman. 

Hanuman's hands closed on the knife handle as he sprinted powerfully.

The creature set off towards Hanuman with an ugly screech. He reached the rock and used his inertia to change direction and gain altitude...

The Knife went straight through the centre of teh creatures head, as it let out another screech and landed with a thud behind Hanuman. It wasnt dead yet.

Hanuman whirled around with his knife but it was gone. There was a hole in the ground where the creature had landed. evidently, it had retreated from where it had come.

"Hanuman!" Tehmul came running through the undergrowth. Hanuman whirled around but the adrenaline began to settle.

"Yes..." Hanuman said and winced. He looked down to see his calf bleeding from a gash where the creatures forecep like claws had connected.

"you're Hurt!" Tehmul exclaimed

"its nothing...look for Macchindra in the undergrowth there, he must be there, get the men. dont go alone!" he said pointing to the undergrowth where he had spotted the creature.

"It did not breathe like an animal..." thought Hanuman as the men combed through the undergrowth.

"HERE!" he heard a shout. Someone had found Macchindra.

Hanuman ran to the spot where Macchindra lay on the ground - motionless. He was skin had turned white and his pupils looked dilated.

"Is he..." Tehmul began,

"There's still life, take him to Hakim saab" Hanuman said...