Time Guard: The Awakening (21st Century)

by Anmol Batra

  In the open yard, an array of empty beer bottles are occupying one corner. A short distance from the bottle grid, a bottle is lying on its side, with some liquid inside, shining in the sunlight.

  Frustrated Arjun, kicks the toppled beer bottle into the haystack resting in the opposite corner of the yard. The rolling sound ends with a strike as if the bottle had smashed into something made of wood.

  Surprised, Arjun steps closer to the haystack and smiles. “I knew something was wrong with this stack,” Arjun thinks.

  He quickly pulls the haystack off the ground, scattering it in into tiny lumps of damp grass across the yard. Down underneath, he discovers two broken planks with nails fitted in the corners of each of them.

  Arjun picks up one of the moist planks and inspects it. The floor partially covered with hay gathers his attention.

  “The entire floor has cemented edges in brick tiles; why does this patch have no cemented grooves?” Arjun observes as he kicks the remaining grass with his foot, away from the floor.

  The mosaic of thin bricks covers a small patch in the open yard but has no cement or mud lining to hold the floor tiles down. Curious, Arjun pulls out the trowel from his bag and rips out the bricks from the floor. The removed bricks reveal a sand base underneath the floor.

  Arjun further dips the trowel into the mud floor and digs out sand. After digging into the floor to a depth of a foot, his trowel hits another wooden plank at the base. He swiftly clears the dust covering the plank and reveals a wooden base buried under the ground. Arjun digs around its edges and pulls out a carton of approximately equal size to a microwave oven.

  With axe and trowel, he manages to prise up the edge of the plank and, not to his surprise, the carton is loaded with small packets.

  “I can’t burn these many drugs in this yard. The smoke will grab the neighbours’ attention,” Arjun thinks.

  Arjun closes the carton and picks it up. The moment before he exits, another thought strikes him. “Howrang asked me to burn down this entire place,” Arjun thinks. “But his purpose was to get rid of the drugs.”

  Confused, Arjun stands in the yard and thinks for a while. Finally, he decides to take the carton somewhere else, where he could burn the drugs.

  Arjun carries the carton in his hands and walks to the main road. He hails a cab to the outskirts of Gurgaon. On his way, the suspicious cab driver indirectly questions him about the contents of the carton, but Arjun lies to the cab driver, telling him that the container holds advertisement merchandise. In an attempt to further convince him, he ends up telling him about his profession – an insurance agent with LIC.

  Worried, Arjun changes cabs in between and reaches the far end of the city. Looking out of the car window, he finds a construction wasteland on the Gurgaon-Jhajjar Highway. He abruptly asks the cab driver to stop the car and gets out.

  Arjun carries the carton to the middle of the wasteland. He puts the carton down on a pile of broken tiles, showers the entire carton with diesel and lights it.

  An hour passes by. Arjun waits till everything has turned into white ash. The smell of burning drugs attracts a drunk man closer to him, but Arjun ushers him away.

  ◆◆◆

  Chapter 33

  Caught in the Eye

  4th January 2013 6:00 PM Swati’s Residence

  An aroma of soup grabs Swati’s attention as she rings the doorbell.

  “Good evening Boss!” Arjun greets Swati with a smile.

  Though surprised, Swati replies with her own smile and enters the premises.

  “I have made soup for both of us. Would you like some?” Asks Arjun while holding a spatula in one hand.

  It takes a few seconds for Swati to digest Arjun’s changed behaviour, but she feels glad to see him happy. After a little while though, she asks Arjun. “So, you are already aware? Got an SMS?”

  Arjun questions her. “Aware of... what?” Not sure of what Swati was asking him.

  Swati briskly walks inside while Arjun stands at the door. She slams her handbag on the dining table and pulls out three passports from it.

  “We finally have the visas to Pakistan,” replies Swati with a smile, offering the passports to Arjun.

  “How come they have arrived early?” Asks Arjun, turning the pages of the passport.

  “Luck! Or at least I believe so,” says Swati, while she unwraps her dupatta from her neck and pulls off her thick overcoat.

  “The visa is valid starting from midnight. I have also booked tickets for the three of us. The earliest flight I could get was tomorrow morning at 9.00 AM,” Swati continues.

  “So, what has put you in such a good mood today? Did you hit three consecutive bulls-eyes or something else?” Asks Swati as she walks over to kitchen, breathing in the aroma of soup.

  “No! I mean… nothing new,” Arjun twitches and replies with a little stammer.

  Drowned in happiness, Swati ignores Arjun’s Body Language. The soup grabs her attention. She uncovers the hot pot and dips a table spoon into it. She twirls the spoon in the thick soup and lifts out a serving. “This needs black pepper and coriander in it,” murmurs Swati.

  “I’ll start packing for tomorrow then,” says Arjun and moves towards the bedroom.

  “The lighter doesn’t seem to work. Can you get me a matchbox from my bedroom; it’s underneath Laxmi Mata’s idol?” Shouts Swati from the kitchen.

  Arjun turns around on hearing Swati’s words. A feeling of uneasiness grips his mind. He looks at the bag lying on the sofa. “Should I tell Swati?” He wonders.

  He creeps into the drawing room and gently opens his bag.

  “Arjun?” Asks Swati from the back.

  Arjun shudders and tightly holds the matchbox in one hand.

  “Have you been smoking lately?” Asks Swati, looking at the matchbox in Arjun’s hands.

  Arjun again felt the urge to disclose everything about Diachi and his requested assignment, but inside he was not sure of how to convince Swati about his trustworthiness. And after a second thought, he loses courage again.

  “No no no! Not really... I recalled having put it in my bag a while back,” lies Arjun, as he hands over the matchbox to Swati.

  4th January 2013 10:30 PM Swati’s Residence

  Arjun starts packing his luggage for Pakistan. Swati sits beside him on a chair, folding his clothes. Arjun nostalgically gazes at Swati’s soft hands working on his woollens. Seeing her gently fold his clothes, Arjun recalls Ankita doing the same whenever he needed to travel.

  A phone ringing grabs Swati and Arjun’s attention. Sitting on the chair, Swati could see the screen of Arjun’s phone displaying a long number starting with +92.

  Shocked, Swati has her eyes wide open as she holds the phone in her hand.

  “Who is it?” Asks Arjun unaware of the number.

  Swati worriedly replies, staring at the mobile phone screen. “It’s from Pakistan.”

  “Put it on loudspeaker,” Swati continues as she hands over the phone to Arjun.

  Arjun picks up the phone.

  “Hello Arjun!” Says the caller.

  “Who is this?” Asks Arjun coldly.

  “My name is Zaffar, and I took your sister away from you,” says the caller in a steady voice.

  Shocked, Arjun wonders if he had ever come across anyone with the name Zaffar before. Swati remains silent.

  “What do you want?” Asks Arjun.

  “You took away some of our belongings. I want you to return them for your sister’s freedom,” offers Zaffar.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about,” refutes Arjun with a worried expression on his face.

  “I am talking about the carton you took away from our storehouse this morning,” says Zaffar.

  “I must say you did well with your investigation. I always believed that the cops would never make it to the storehouse. And then one day I see an insurance agent stepping onto my premises and taking away all our stuff, worth millions” Zaffar continues.

 
; “I don’t have that carton with me anymore. I destroyed it,” says Arjun.

  “You are lying,” replies Zaffar. “Don’t tell me you destroyed it all. I know you would have sold them or surrendered them to the cops. Steal them again. I don’t care where you get them from but if you don’t, I will burn your sister to death.”

  “Where is she now?” Asks Arjun

  “You have forty-eight hours to bring that carton back,” replies Zaffar

  A beeping sound and the phone disconnects. Arjun gasps and remains silent for a minute. Swati waits for Arjun to say something.

  “Arjun, what is this all about?” Asks Swati in a calm voice, her curiosity striking her harder than ever.

  Arjun remains silent.

  “What did you destroy?” Swati presses him. Now she was certain that Arjun was hiding something from her.

  “I met another one like me. He lost his physical-self years back and now he wanders across the world as a soul,” replies Arjun with a worried look.

  Arjun spends half an hour explaining things in detail and Swati listens peacefully. Howrang, Hirath, the first and second apprentice and his newly discovered abilities, he describes every event and character truthfully, but deep inside Swati remains disappointed that Arjun had been keeping secrets from her. Worse still, he got distracted from his objective because he was training to be a superhero.

  “You are on your own,” replies Swati after listening to Arjun. She puts aside his clothes and walks out.

  4th January 2013 11:00 PM Swati’s Residence

  Arjun packs his bag and takes a moment to look at Swati’s belongings. He had always wanted Swati to stay back but never wanted her to lose faith in him. Arjun takes time to gather his thoughts and then walks over to Swati’s room.

  “I wanted to tell you everything but was just looking for the right moment,” mutters Arjun.

  “I trusted you,” sighs Swati in a distressed voice.

  “I never intended to hide anything from you, but… ” consoles Arjun.

  “Tell me, what reason do you have to trust him?” Asks Swati. “What If he is using you for his own personal benefit?”

  “He gave me this ability,” replies Arjun.

  “Do you remember when he gave this ability to you?”

  Arjun thinks for a moment and then replies “… No. I don’t. But I have faith in him. I have seen a light in his eyes. The reason I trusted you is the same reason I trust him. Or rather, I believe in you both. A belief stronger than the future that I can see.”

  “But this doesn’t exempt me from breaking your trust. Tell me the time and location of your parents’ death and I’ll look for them tonight itself. Regarding the fifth envelope, you are free to open it right now if you wish,” continues Arjun, with a pain in his eyes.

  Confused and distressed, Swati recalls the moment of distrust with her boyfriend. How things had turned ugly between the two! But this present scenario was different. Arjun had never shown any inclination towards her. Yet Swati was now deeply in love. For her, the act of hiding facts seems like a threat, taking her towards an unpleasant future.

  With these thoughts tearing apart her mind, she decides to take a leap of faith. After all, Howrang had taught Arjun more things in the past few days which would help him find and rescue Ankita. Arjun was stronger than before and better trained for combat and she couldn’t deny it.

  Swati replies in a steady voice, “The two of us are still bound by an unwritten agreement and I will still honour it.”

  “I’m so glad you said that!” Exclaims Arjun.

  “Wait! Were you already aware of my decision before stepping in here?” Asks Swati suspiciously.

  “No I wasn’t,” replies Arjun “That would have made things a lot easier.”

  “ARJUNNN..” Shouts Swati. Next, she picks up a pillow and throws it at him.

  “I’ll go and pack for myself,” replies Arjun, dodging the flying pillow.

  ◆◆◆

  Chapter 34

  A journey to Pakistan

  5th January 2013 11:00 AM | Delhi - Lahore PIA Flight

  “We have begun our descent towards Allama Iqbal International Airport. All passengers are requested to return to their seats and fasten their seatbelts. Thank you for flying with PIA.” The announcement comes from a cranky speaker in the aircraft and the seatbelt signal above Arjun’s seat lights up.

  Swati leans over Arjun and ties his seatbelt. Arjun’s mouth is half open and his chin is digging into his chest. From the parallel corridor, an airhostess dressed in green watches quietly as Swati leans over him. Suspicious about Arjun’s condition, she quickly moves closer to the duo. She hunches to look into Arjun’s eyes. Next, she questions. “Are you alright?”

  “Oh! He is fine; just a bit sleepy,” interrupts Swati, folding the magazine in her hand.

  Arjun’s lifeless condition bothers the air-hostess even more. Her suspicions increase. She offers, “Shall I get him some coffee or tea?”

  “No no no! That won’t be required,” replies Swati with a fake smile, and quickly looks back at the magazine.

  “I hope he is aware of the fact that alcohol consumption is prohibited on this flight,” warns the air hostess.

  “I assure you he is not under the influence of alcohol,” replies Swati.

  The air hostess leaves but remains doubtful about Arjun and Swati. She moves away from her seat and stands in a corner, observing Arjun’s head from the back. She calmly waits, hoping to see some movement.

  Another ten minutes pass and the suspicious air hostess loses patience. She marches back to their seats.

  “Madam, I insist you wake him up,” urges the air hostess authoritatively.

  Swati remains calm and composed. She pleads humbly, “Actually, he came late from the office last night and couldn’t sleep even a bit. We have a long day today. I hope you understand it’s extremely necessary for him to sleep.”

  With every word of Swati’s, the air hostess’ suspicion mounts. “Even if he didn’t sleep for the entire night, he must be fully awake for making an exit and be ready for immigration. We have had bad experiences with alcoholics.”

  “He is not DRUNK” Swati refutes her judgement.

  The air hostess taps and jerks Arjun’s hand and says loudly, “Excuse me, Sir!”

  Arjun stirs and wakes up. “Phew! It’s hard to catch a flight in mid-air,” he mutters while blinking furiously.

  The air hostess is startled, but remains suspicious about Arjun after hearing his strange words, which make no sense to her. “Just to remind you that passengers are not allowed to consume alcohol on PIA flights,” she says sternly.

  “Oh really! How about the pilot?” Prompts Arjun with know-it-all confidence.

  Shocked by his witty reply, the air hostess walks off without another word. As she moves a few feet away, she is further shocked to hear Swati whisper, “I told you to be back forty-five minutes before landing.”

  5th January 2013 1:00 PM | Lahore Continental Hotel, Pakistan.

  A light shines on the photo of Badshah-è-Masjid which is mounted on a brick wall in the Hotel’s restaurant. A light green couch with dark green buttons is placed along the brick wall, on which Arjun sits, facing Swati.

  “It seems like we will need to deal with an armed security guard as well,” warns Arjun, while moving his pencil across the drawing of the layout.

  “Before we head for Kasur, we need to rent a car and buy some knives,” says Swati.

  “I agree,” replies Arjun.

  “Have you seen us rescuing Ankita?” Asks Swati.

  “Yes I have, and things will go smoothly. The night guard leaves at 8:00 AM . His replacement comes a little later. I take down Jamal here…” replies Arjun, circling an area of the drawing, “...when he brings in breakfast for Ankita.”

  “Is there anything I need to do?” Asks Swati.

  “You need to drive into a bike with the number plate LEQ-09-1166 at around 7:50 AM, near the Kasur railway cros
sing. This is the guards bike.” instructs Arjun as he turns the drawing to face Swati.

  “Won’t he argue with me?” Asks Swati, looking back at Arjun.

  “Don’t worry! He will be more than satisfied with ten thousand Pakistani rupees,” assures Arjun. “Meanwhile I’ll take care of Jamal the moment he brings breakfast for Ankita.”

  “What about Zaffar?” Asks Swati in a worried tone.

  “Things run smoothly,” replies Arjun, while he arranges scattered drawings. “Zaffar won’t intercept us before we leave.”

  Swati rests against the back of her seat. She takes a deep breath while Arjun puts all the drawings back in a folder.

  “I know you have seen the future, but somehow I still have a bad feeling that it won’t be as smooth as it seems,” says Swati, afraid.

  “I would have never been able to convince you to help me if the future wasn’t dependable. Today things are no different. Don’t worry. We’ll be done with Ankita’s rescue in no time,” reassures Arjun as he gets up from the couch.

  “I have faith in your abilities,” replies Swati. “I’ll arrange for a rented car, knives and an axe. Until then, you look around for more clues.”

  The two leave the restaurant. Arjun walks upstairs to his room and Swati leaves for Firdous market near the hotel.

  6th January 2013 7:30 AM | Kasur Railway Station, Pakistan

  A horse cart loaded with cement sacks parks alongside a two-storey, worn-out building painted in white. Black stains running parallel to the height of the walls from the roof edge, further add to the untidy look of the old building. The building’s porch is covered with a pillared roof, which is open from all sides. Arjun reads the text painted in black above the entrance - “Kasur Junction”, followed by some text in Urdu.

  Arjun carefully observes the movement of the railway staff. From the outside, he can hear the train reaching the platform. Passengers, mostly men wearing long Kurta and carrying luggage, rush into the railway station.

  Arjun hands over a ticket to the ticket Checker standing near the entrance. The man strikes off the ticket with a pen and returns it to Arjun.