by Anmol Batra
The teenage kid who is not far away, looks at the rising flames and flying cylinders. Shocked, he pulls out a cell phone with a broken screen and dials a number.
“Ustaad ji, please return. It’s urgent,” he says in a timid voice.
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Chapter 37
The Pursuit
6th January 2013 | 4:00 PM Ferozepur Highway
Arjun drives quickly down the highway. He drives silently, wearing a poker face. Not sure about what is going in Arjun’s mind, Swati throws a question at him
“Why did you deflate the tires of this car instead of the cannon jeep?” Asks Swati.
“Lower pressure will increase the grip of the tires over wet, muddy terrain. It will be easier to drive then,” explains Arjun.
“Ok! You should have also punctured the tires of cannon jeep as well then,” says Swati.
“I want Zaffar to follow us,” answers Arjun, without taking his eyes off the road.
“What?!” Exclaims Swati irately.
“He is supposed to die today. And I will be playing a unique role in this event,” replies Arjun.
For the first time, Arjun predicted someone’s death with calm composed words, as if it was inevitable.
“Can’t we just rush to Lahore and take a flight back to India?” Asks Swati, hoping to avoid another confrontation with a drug peddler.
“His death is pre-written and I need to ensure that he meets his destiny,” replies Arjun.
“But why? Why do you need to do that?” Asks Ankita, after listening to their conversation.
“Because I am the Time Guard,” avows Arjun, looking sideways at Swati who is sitting next to him. Her eyes light up.
“Then let’s do it,” Swati replies with confidence.
“Time What? What do you mean?” Asks Ankita curiously, with her mouth wide open.
Arjun ignores Ankita’s question. “Both of you fasten your seatbelts,” orders Arjun.
Arjun drifts the car, changing its lane swiftly. A cannon shell falls just a few feet away from the SUV, putting a crater in the road and cracking the glass of their car.
A few hundred meters behind the vehicle, Zaffar drives the cannon-mounted jeep again. “Argh!” Exclaims Zaffar, and slams his hand against the steering wheel.
A few seconds later, he takes aim again and fires another rocket towards the SUV ahead of him. The SUV starts to drift the moment he presses the launch button as if the driver knows where the rocket is going to land. The SUV drifts to a safe distance and the rocket leaves another crater in the road.
Zaffar fires a few more cannon shots but misses the white SUV completely every time. Angry and frustrated, he has hardly ever missed a target and for the first time he had missed eight shots in a row.
Exasperated, he takes aim again, but hears police sirens from behind him. Zaffar holds his fire and looks in the rear view mirror. A Lahore police SUV with blinking red and blue lights rushes towards him. An armed man sits alongside the driver. Zaffar lowers the cannon to reduce its range.
He increases his speed, but the police SUV manages to accelerate even faster. Seconds later, the car starts running parallel to him. The armed guard fires a bullet over the jeep. Zaffar drifts further left. The bullet hits the car on its right door.
Zaffar raises his hands in surrender. The cop buys his act of submission. But then, he slams on the break abruptly and pulls the handbrake, bringing the car to a complete halt within meters. The police driver realises it a little late. He drags the speeding police car a little forward and drifts it along the left side of the road in front of Zaffar’s jeep.
Zaffar aligns the loaded cannon with the police van, swiftly takes aim and fires a shell towards it. The rocket hits the police vehicle in the rear and tunnels through its windshield, exploding in the middle of the car. The blast produces flames gushing out of all the windows of the police SUV. Blown-off glass shards fly in all directions and spread across the road. Even a few shards hit the cannon jeep’s windshield. The roof of the police vehicle rises high up in the sky and burnt body parts of the policemen inside scatter all over the road.
A kill shot on a police car adds to Zaffar’s confidence. He shifts gear and drives the jeep past the wrecked police SUV.
Zaffar observes Arjun. “Perhaps this Indian can see me in his rear view mirror.”
Arjun had drifted a little far away from him now. Zaffar aligns the cannon once again, seeing Arjun ahead of him in traffic, but this time he maintains more distance between the white SUV and the cannon jeep.
A flyover approaches. Arjun drives up the ramp. Zaffar stops the car, hoping that Arjun can’t see him in the rear view mirror on the inclined road. Next, he takes aim and fires from half a kilometre’s distance.
The moment the cannon shell fires, the white SUV in front of him drifts into a different lane. The cannon shell lands on top of the flyover. The blast tears apart the side railing and throws a bike off the side. It blows a hole in the flyover and shakes the white SUV, but the car escapes with negligible damage.
Disappointed, Zaffar slams his hand against the steering wheel. He avoids taking the damaged flyover, which is now extremely congested. The SUV disappears into the distance. Zaffar takes a minute to recall the number of shells he has fired. “Three cannon shells left,” he estimates.
Zaffar accelerates and takes the service lane. He drives quickly and approaches Arjun’s SUV, connecting with it from the rear.
Scared Ankita, clenches her fists but remains silent. Swati breathes heavily and turns her head to look through the rear windshield.
“Stay calm,” says Arjun.
Zaffar frequently bangs the car for the next fifteen minutes, ripping off both side mirrors of the SUV. Arjun neither reduces speed, nor does his face reflect any sign of anger or anxiety.
Arjun reads a sign on the highway; “Mustafa Abad Daftu Road,” and steers on to it, leaving the highway.
Perplexed, Zaffar smiles. “Fool!” He thinks.
Arjun drives towards Daftu Village. Zaffar follows, him looking for the right moment when he is stuck in slow-moving traffic. He maintains adequate distance to fire the cannon rocket.
Arjun reaches closer to Daftu. Traffic encircles the white SUV and corners it. Zaffar raises the cannon to take another shot.
A blast and the rocket leaves the cannon and enters mid-air. The white SUV drives down the side of the elevated highway, ducking into a puddle and knocking down a small tree. Then, it runs into a wheat field.
“Aghhhh!!” Shouts Zaffar again. He can’t believe that the Indian has managed to save himself from close to a dozen shots.
Arjun drives deep into the fields, leaving two parallel trails of decimated crops. Zaffar cautiously drives over the same path, chasing Arjun into the fields, perplexed and confused about what Arjun was doing.
Arjun hops the SUV over the road, alongside a dried-up canal. Zaffar chases him. Seeing a single lane with a canal on one side and a pit on the other, Zaffar confidently fires another cannon rocket.
Arjun drives the SUV into the pit and the rocket misses again.
Zaffar tries to avoid fretting about his failure now and follows him onto the inclined canal. Arjun activates 4-wheel drive the moment car reaches the base of canal, which is covered in mud. He drives slowly, at a consistent speed. Zaffar accelerates towards him.
In the middle of the canal, Zaffar’s jeep freezes. The tires refuse to move further in the canal mud. Arjun continues to drive and climbs up the inclined canal wall on the opposite side. He drives the SUV out of the canal and parks it in the field. Zaffar loads the last rocket into the cannon. He presses launch but as the white SUV had now moved out of view from the pit, he immediately cancels the launch.
“Where are you going?” Asks Swati, seeing Arjun release his seatbelt.
Arjun replies, “To tell him the truth about his life, and who is cheating him.”
“Is it necessary?” Asks Swati.
“It’s my responsibility. Afte
r knowing this, his soul will rest in peace after his death,” replies Arjun.
Zaffar slams the accelerator down but the jeep fails to move in either direction. Suddenly, he sees Arjun’s head, visible on the other side of canal. Arjun walks over to the road with an axe in his hand.
Zaffar fiddles through his pockets to look for his revolver. He immediately regrets giving it to Omar a few hours back. He steps out of the jeep, lowers his feet into the mud and pulls out a dart strapped to his left arm. He takes aim towards Arjun and shoots a dart. Arjun swings the axe in mid-air, striking the dart on its side and knocking it to the ground.
“You are being used, Zaffar!” Shouts Arjun, as he walks towards him.
Shocked, Zaffar takes aim again and flings another dart at him. Arjun easily bats it away.
“It’s not your memories talking to you, it’s a soul reaper,” reveals Arjun, looking straight into the eyes of Zaffar.
Shocked and stunned, Zaffar finds himself in complete dilemma. Deep inside, he is denying the fact that Arjun knows something important about him, but rage and anger on one side of his mind, and curiosity on the other, are tearing him apart.
“You lied to my uncle. Why should I trust you?” He shouts at Arjun, moving a few steps back and looking for a weapon in the jeep’s rear, around the mounted cannon. His eyes fix on a huge wrench meant for servicing. He grabs it in his hands and points it towards Arjun.
Arjun remains calms and beams at Zaffar. “I know you don’t have reason to trust me, but if you can dig at Charnel house in London for a sundial and kill dozens of people for an hourglass just because someone asked you to do this in your dreams, then you should listen to me,” explains Arjun.
The words of Arjun confuse him even further. On the one hand, he wants to hear the explanation but on the other, , he sees him as his enemy who killed his uncle, the only family member he had.
“Stop Talking!” Shouts Zaffar and attacks Arjun with the wrench.
Arjun grabs the wooden axe’s handle with both his hands and blocks Zaffar’s attack. Zaffar thrusts his wrench at Arjun, smashing its other end against its wooden handle.
“You have been tricked into all this,” explains Arjun. “The soul reaper wants to open the hourglass warren for himself, so that he can rule the world. Not you.”
“You are lying!” Shouts Zaffar and kicks Arjun in the chest.
Unbalanced, Arjun buckles a bit and his feet slip in the mud, but he manages to avoid a fall. He straightens his legs and stands upright, a few feet away from Zaffar.
“Think about it Zaffar, your memories may have come to know about the hidden treasure near the canal because it was old, but how come your memories from a previous life ever knew about the hidden money in Chaman dry fruit shop, when the shop opened after your birth,” probes Arjun.
“Just stop talking!” Shouts Zaffar. He grips the Arjun’s axe with the wrench teeth and pulls it out of Arjun’s hand. The axe flies up in the sky and falls far away from Arjun.
Zaffar takes a few steps back and smiles at his success. He pulls out another dart from his forearm and throws it towards Arjun.
Arjun grips the dart mid-air with his right hand, an inch before it could touch his chest. Zaffar grabs another dart and throws it towards Arjun. Arjun grabs it in mid-air with his left hand.
“Dumb,” thinks Zaffar and throws another dart towards Arjun with his full force. The dart flies through air and pierces Arjun’s shirt, right above his heart.
Zaffar smiles for a moment and then looks into Arjun’s eyes.
“You know this was your last dart,” Arjun says calmly. He pulls out the dart which had made a hole on the outside of his pocket. “Zaffar, my time hasn’t come yet,” continues Arjun, while he throws away the three darts in his hands. Next, he pulls out his car keys from the inside of his shirt pocket and shows them to Zaffar. There is a mark on one of the keys.
“Your time may not have come, but I’ll make sure your sister doesn’t live to see another day,” threatens Zaffar, rolling his eyes towards the white SUV.
He quickly hops over to the seat behind the cannon and tries to launch a rocket. Arjun remains steady and observes his actions calmly. Zaffar tries to work the rear controls instead of the front panel, but the shell refuses to ignite. Impatient Zaffar, swiftly opens the bolt with his wrench and digs his hand inside the rear of the cannon.
“You know, Mr Amitabh Banerjee,” narrates Arjun, steadily looking at the struggling Zaffar, “The immigration officer who caught you with drugs at the airport had a dream the night before you were caught. A dream where he had seen you carrying drugs. Hirath, the soul reaper, has been manipulating your life even before you landed in India.”
Zaffar looks at Arjun in shock, his eyes wide open. His mind pulls him deep into his memories. The past three years of his life run through his mind.
Arjun turns around and walks away from the jeep. He climbs the inclined wall of the canal.
A grinding noise comes from the background. Soon it increases in strength. Zaffar snaps out of Arjun’s spell. He tries to pull out his hand but it remains stuck. Then, water rushes into the canal with full force. The water knocks the jeep sideways. Zaffar lands beneath it with his hand still stuck in cannon. The jeep and Zaffar roll over each other as water flushes the two obstructions away far ahead in the canal.
Arjun escapes the flow of water by inches. He remains calm and confident that he will make it out of the water on time. He reaches the SUV again, puts the key back into the car ignition and starts it.
“Is he dead?” Asks Swati.
“He will be in another two minutes,” replies Arjun, and drives back towards Ferozepur Road.
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Chapter 38
The LAST ENVELOPE
7th January 2013 | 6:00 PM Green Park, New Delhi
Swati reaches her home. She quickly rushes to grab her handbag. The time on the envelope is 7th January 2013, 6:15 PM. She avoids waiting for another fifteen minutes and pulls out the sheet from the torn envelope.
She finds a sketch of Mehrauli Archaeological Park with visitors indulging in different activities, and a text on the bottom right of the sheet.
‘7th January 2057, 6:00 PM’
She quickly flips the drawing sheet to see if there is more to this envelope.
“You should have waited for another fifteen minutes. Anyway, you still deserve to know who he will be,” she reads on the rear page.
Swati quickly flips the sheet and looks through the drawing again. She can’t figure out what the drawing is all about. Confused, she looks through the drawing again. A cropped image of Qutab Minar, kids playing on grass and an elderly couple sitting on a bench. She closely observes the lines of the elderly couple’s faces and looks in the mirror.
Next, she looks at the man sitting beside the elderly women. “It’s him,” she beams with a feeling of eternal bliss.
8th January 2013 | 9:00 AM Mehrauli Archaeological Park, New Delhi
A bright sunny morning; the sunlight shines on the water droplets hanging from the leaves of grass. Next, a young guy in his 20s steps over it in sports shoes. He is conversing on the phone while meandering through the park. . “Yaar, I am not getting stuff from my supplier at all. I don’t know where he is. Everybody seems to be have switched off their phones.”
In his soul form, Arjun stands closer to him. He had quietly been listening to the boy’s conversation over phone.
“Don’t worry, the addicts will have a hard time for a while, but it is for their own greater good,” assures Diachi standing beside Arjun, looking at the boy on the phone.
“Soon there will be someone else selling these drugs again.” Says Arjun steadily.
“Which is why being Time Guard is a full-time job,” replies Howrang. “Also, drugs are not the only problem, so you have bigger troubles to take care of in future.”
The two souls glide further down the pavement.
“Arjun, how did you conclude that Amitabh was gu
ided by Hirath?” Asks Howrang curiously.
“When I saw Zaffar getting a passport delivered at home, I guessed that there were more people meeting Hirath in his dreams. I followed Zaffar for all his major life events and came across Mr Banerjee, who told his wife about his dream a day before Zaffar’s arrival in India. Mr Banerjee even knew his flight and seat number before he caught Zaffar red-handed,” narrates Arjun.
“I’m glad you proved me wrong on my judgement,” Howrang chuckles.
Arjun blushes on hearing his words and feels pride filling his body. “With Zaffar dead, what do you think we should do next?” Asks Arjun.
“There is another girl who Hirath seems to be guiding for this task,” replies Howrang.
“You are talking about Maya. Right?” Replies Arjun.
“Yes! Once the hourglass warren activates, Hirath will have incarnated himself into either Zaffar or Maya’s Body. With Zaffar dead, it’s Maya whose body he will likely invade,” replies Howrang.
“Hmm… quite possible, but have you tried looking into the future?” Inquires Arjun.
“The future is changing faster than I can traverse. There is another time tinker involved in all this,” explains Howrang
Arjun replies. “It seems like the path ahead is difficult.”
“Have faith in yourself Arjun, and everything will be alright. So where have you left your body?” Asks Howrang
Arjun recalls leaving his body on the toilet. Next, he flies up in the air. “See you later.”
8th January 2013 11:00 AM | Mayur Vihar, New Delhi
The light on the electric kettle switches off and Ankita brings it along with ceramic cups to the coffee table in the drawing room.
“Arjun, why is she doing that? It’s you who should be!” Taunts Swati, looking joyfully at Arjun.
“It’s fine Swati. I am still the elder sibling and I am in good health. In fact, I will go back to the hospital tomorrow,” replies Ankita.
“She was adamant about going back this morning,” says Arjun, and further mocks Ankita. “It’s a Monday, an auspicious day to restart!”