Zombiestan

by Mainak Dhar

  He then heard four shots ring out in quick succession.

  And then silence.

  As he ran, tears streamed down his cheeks and he could tell from Swati's sobs that she was also crying. David was gone. With that stab of grief came a realization. Now he was all that Swati and Abhi had.

  For the next few minutes, the Biters seemed to be quiet, and all he heard were his own jagged breaths, Swati's panting, and the scraping of their shoes on the frosty road. Abhi was quiet and clinging to Mayukh's neck so hard that Mayukh could feel the boy's nails bite into his skin. He could only guess how terrified Abhi must have been. Mayukh had not the foggiest idea how far the Monastery must have been, but now was not the time to stop and check where they were. Doing that would have meant using some form of light, even if only the lighter in Mayukh's pocket, and he didn't want to risk that. All he was focused on was going as fast as he could along the road they were on.

  He suddenly felt Swati's hand jerk free of his, and he tried to hold on, grabbing a fistful of her jacket sleeve. Swati screamed loudly once, and then perhaps aware of the dangers noise could bring, did not say a word more, though Mayukh could hear her gasping. She seemed to have fallen, and dragged him down till he was on his knees. His eyes were now more accustomed to the dark, and in the moonlight, he could see that Swati seemed to be hanging from the edge of a cliff.

  Mayukh cursed himself-he had been so focused on a headlong flight and had taken for granted the straight road they had been on that he had not considered that they might be in for more of the treacherous terrain they had passed earlier. He grabbed her with both hands and inch by painful inch, pulled her up till he could grab a handhold. Swati hugged him, crying, and now that Mayukh was sitting on the ground, he realized just how little he had left in him to carry on. All he wanted to do was to lie down, Biters or no Biters.

  Abhi was now crying, and Mayukh was just too tired to tell him to be quiet. Swati burrowed her head into his chest.

  'Mayukh, I can't go any further. I can't even breathe properly. Just leave me.'

  She never got to finish as Mayukh kissed her.

  'No, not you. Not you as well. I've lost too many people. I will not lose you.'

  Abhi spoke up, his voice barely audible to Mayukh even though the boy's head was inches from Mayukh's ear.

  'Don't be sad. I won't cry. I promise I'll be a brave boy.'

  Swati hugged her brother and closed her eyes, trying to will herself to carry on. Mayukh had never felt so helpless and weak as this. His body was about to give up on him, and he had nothing left to offer Swati by way of reassurance.

  'Swati, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't do more.'

  She was now hugging both Mayukh and Abhi and her voice seemed composed.

  'All that matters to me now is that we're together. No matter what happens, we will face it together.'

  Abhi was now smiling, happy that Mayukh and Swati were in better spirits. He was cold and scared, only too aware that the not nice people were somewhere around. He wanted to also reassure Mayukh, to make him feel happier, but his toddler vocabulary wouldn't let him say much, so he remembered the story Mayukh had often told him.

  'I'll be brave like the boy in the story. I'll remember what his daddy told him.'

  Mayukh heard Abhi's words just a split second before he heard the thumping and shuffling of several feet behind them. Any doubts about who they might be were dispelled when he began to hear their screams.

  'Jiiiiiiiihaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad'.

  'The boy give us'.

  The sound of the footsteps seemed lesser than before, so either David had thinned their ranks, or only some of them had taken this road, the others choosing to take the fork in the road they had passed earlier. Or perhaps only some of them had heard Swati's screams. Mayukh knew that no matter how many of the Biters were there, it was now too late to run.

  Abhi's words triggered the memory of what his own father had told him. Indeed, what had been his last words to Mayukh.

  Be the man I always dreamed you would be.

  A clarity came over Mayukh, and he somehow felt physically lighter, as if a burden had been lifted from him. He began to untie Abhi from his back.

  'Mayukh, what are you doing?'

  Mayukh ignored Swati's pleas and tied Abhi to Swati's chest, the boy facing her. Then he held Swati with both hands.

  'Sweetheart, I know you are tired. I know it hurts, and I know he's heavy for you. But you must go on. You must make it.'

  She was now crying.

  'I can't leave you. I love you!'

  Mayukh felt his own eyes well up.

  'I love you too. More than I can tell you now. But that's why you need to go. That's why Hina and David did what they did for us. Whatever happens, Abhi must make it.'

  He kissed Abhi on the forehead once, and then kissed Swati hard, lingering to feel her one last time. Then he dragged her to her feet and pushed her to get her started on her way. She was crying with every step, but Mayukh was glad that she began to run down the road.

  He kept looking in her direction till the sound of her footsteps faded. Then Mayukh turned to face the Biters.

  ***

  Mayukh was surprised to find that he felt no fear. If anything, his mind was more at peace than he ever remembered. As he heard the thumps and scrapes of the Biters approaching footsteps get louder and closer, he thought back to all he had been through. Seventeen years of indulgence and not taking anything seriously, of throwing tantrums over what now seemed to be trifles; and then in seven days, experiencing life more intensely than in all those preceding years combined. He had found love, learnt the meaning of responsibility, learnt what it was to sacrifice for others, learnt what true friendship meant, and above all else, learnt how good it felt to live for someone else for a change. The howls of the mob of Biters seemed ever closer, and he thought he heard a voice whisper in his head. He could have sworn it was David.

  You've learnt to be a man, soldier.

  Mayukh smiled and took out his iPhone from his pocket. It showed the battery to be 30 % charged, which was far more than he figured he'd need. He tapped on the Flashlight app. He had downloaded it for fun some months ago, and not used it once after the first day of fiddling with it. The app was on Strobe Mode, casting a brilliant blue and white glow around the phone. The Biters must have noticed the glow for they screamed louder than ever and he could hear the sound of running feet.

  He knelt and skipped his phone along the road, thinking that even if it broke now, he had no use for it any more, just praying that it stayed screen up. The phone bounced off the road and came to a halt a dozen or so feet away, lighting up it's surrounding area like a small beacon. Mayukh could see the first of the Biters now, a gnarled, deformed face with a turban tied on top. The Biter seemed to be dressed in the torn remains of what seemed to be a Police uniform of some sort. Three more dressed like him were just behind him.

  Mayukh took the bottle filled with fuel that he had tied to his belt, and lit the bit of cloth extending out it's top with his lighter. He fumbled once or twice, and realized that in the cold, the fuse was not catching fire as he had hoped. The First Biter was now less than six feet away when Mayukh put the lighter to the neck of the plastic bottle itself. He felt a flash of searing heat for a second before he flung the bottle at the Biter.

  The flaming bottle hit the Biter in the chest and he screamed as he fell. One of those behind him tripped over him and was also engulfed in the flames. By the light of the fire, Mayukh now saw what he was up against. There were about two dozen Biters rushing towards him. The good news was that meant David had either distracted or killed a huge number of the original pursuing force. The bad news was that at such close quarters, even a dozen Biters were a dozen too many.

  Mayukh unslung a shotgun and pumped it, chambering a round and firing, seeing one Biter, a ghoul who looked like he had been a chef, still dressed in his white uniform, get cut in two. He swiveled towards the next one, and realized this
Biter was no more than a boy, perhaps no more than seven or eight years old, and wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt. Or rather, he had been a boy, Mayukh corrected himself as he pulled the trigger. He fired three more times, not aiming at anyone in particular, but sure that at such close range, he couldn't miss. Then the first of the Biters reached him-one who had been an elderly woman, with wisps of grey hair still sticking out from under her turban, her face a yellowy, bloody mess that was barely visible in the light that the pyres of the two burning Biters still threw up.

  Mayukh reversed his shotgun and slammed the butt into her head, and as she rocked back, he turned it around and fired, all but obliterating her. He fired twice more before his shotgun ran out of shells. A strong hand gripped his right arm and another ripped the shotgun from his hands. He kicked out, and felt his foot connect with something, but then another hand reached out and grabbed his foot in a vice like grip.

  Mayukh went down on one knee, and as a Biter jumped on his chest. Mayukh was thrown back, the wind totally knocked out of him. Flat on his back, he could only see the outline of the Biter's head, but he could smell it's fetid odour, a foul, reeking stench that made him gag almost involuntarily. The Biter was now closing in on Mayukh, it's open mouth seeking his neck. Mayukh fished in his pocket with his free left hand and took out the lighter, bringing it up between him and the Biter before flicking it on. He caught a glimpse of a yellowed, deformed face with a beard before the Biter shrieked and fell off him, fire enveloping his beard.

  Mayukh tried to get back to his feet but a blow to his head sent him down again. He could feel blood flowing down the side of his head, and wondered if a Biter had hit him with a rock. He tried to reach for the second shotgun slung at his left shoulder but a kick racked his body with pain, as he heard his ribs crack.

  He felt arms grab his hands, and then his feet, till he could no longer move. The Biters were now screaming again, excited at the kill, and Mayukh thought that perhaps it was just as good that he had pissed them off as much as he had. He knew that they tore apart those who fought them, but that was a fate far better than being bitten and transformed into one of them.

  He saw a Biter move in for the kill, it's sharp teeth bared, ready to tear Mayukh's throat out before the others cut him to ribbons. Mayukh rocked his head forward, catching the Biter completely by surprise by smashing his head into it's face. Mayukh felt a rush of pain, and then a free flow of blood down his nose. He was sure he had broken his nose, but he was not done fighting yet. It wasn't about saving his own life-he had already reconciled to being a dead man. It was the simple fact that every minute he delayed the Biters was an extra minute that Swati and Abhi had to get to safety.

  As the Biter above him growled in fury and brought his mouth down to bite again, Mayukh smashed his head into the Biter once again. Mayukh didn't know if the Biters felt pain or not, but the Biter was at least knocked off balance enough to be thrown off Mayukh. As for Mayukh, if he had not broken his nose the first time, this time around he was sure he had succeeded.

  Infuriated by this unexpected resistance, another Biter picked up a rock and hit Mayukh with it. Mayukh saw the blow coming and held up his right hand in front of his face, taking the full strength of the blow on his elbow. He screamed in agony, sure that some bones had broken where the rock had connected. When his right hand dropped uselessly to his side, the Biter brought up the rock for another blow. In the melee, the grip on his right leg had loosened and Mayukh kicked out at where he judged the Biter's groin to be. He connected with something soft, but the Biter didn't seem to notice.

  Armed with the useless bit of trivia that Biters were not fazed by a kick to their balls, Mayukh felt the rock connect with his head. As his head flopped back on the cold road, a deep sigh came from Mayukh's lips. He had done the very best he could have. Now he had no more fight left in him.

  Bruised, bloodied and battered, Mayukh looked up at the stars in the sky, hoping that the end would not be too painful, and hoping that he had bought Swati and Abhi enough time.

  As he saw the Biter's silhouettes loom over him, he thought he saw shooting stars crisscrossing the sky, and then the sound of firecrackers bursting. Whatever it was, he had neither the curiosity nor the energy to find out; perhaps it was some Biter with a gun.

  He felt cold, clammy hands close around his neck, and he closed his eyes. His last thought was that perhaps it was good that he was going to be unconscious when the Biters tore into him.

  THIRTEEN

  'You look like The Mummy!'

  Mayukh would have smiled had it not hurt so much to move his face. He would have loved to hug Abhi and Swati back when they clutched him, but his right hand was in a cast. He would have loved to hold Swati much longer, but his ribs hurt when she rested against him. In short, he could do very little to show them just how deliriously happy he was to see them again, so he did the one thing his body still allowed him to do.

  He cried.

  Two medics walked in and changed the IV drips that were attached to him, and then a man in an Indian Army uniform walked in. He looked to be at least fifty from the grey in his hair, but his posture was still ramrod straight and Mayukh saw that he seemed supremely fit. He seemed as if he was about to extend a hand to shake Mayukh's, and then a bit sheepishly, took his hand back.

  'You, sir, have had quite an adventure.'

  To Mayukh that seemed like the understatement of the century.

  The man introduced himself as Major General Vij and sat down next to Mayukh.

  'How long have I been here?'

  He could see Swati smile as the General answered.

  'You've been out for almost three days.'

  Three days!

  Mayukh turned to Swati and Abhi as if seeking answers as to what had happened. Trying to find out how he had been rescued when he was sure he was going to die at the hands of the Biters. Trying, above all, to find out if getting Abhi all the way to Ladakh had actually helped in any way whatsoever.

  Swati was still holding onto his left hand as if afraid to let go, and Abhi was now sitting on his lap as he sat propped up on the bed. Swati's eyes looked dead tired and bloodshot, and she seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep.

  Before she could say anything, the General interrupted.

  'Young man, she has been sitting by your side almost every minute of those three days, so she could do with some rest. You yourself still need some patching up and the doctors have said they may need to put you under general anesthesia again. So just lie down, try and get some soup inside you-you haven't had any nutrition other than what was pumped in through the IV drips. Once she's rested and the doctor's finished with you, we will talk. We all have a lot of catching up to do.'

  Mayukh tried to protest, but he realized just how tired he was. As much as he tried to stop Swati from leaving, his eyes felt heavy and he dropped back onto the pillows placed behind him. Swati came close and kissed him on the cheeks once, whispering to him.

  'Rest, my love. Now that you're back with me, I won't let you go anywhere. Just rest, and then we will talk.'

  Abhi was giggling.

  'She kissed him!'

  Mayukh smiled and then winced in pain as some of the many stitches he now knew crisscrossed his face stretched. He watched Swati and Abhi leave the room with the General, and realized that no matter what else was to happen, it was worth it to see them safe, to not have to live every day wondering if it would be their last. There was so much he wanted to know. What had happened in the world outside? How many other safe zones like this one were there? And most of all, was there hope that they could rid the world of the Biters after all?

  The door opened again and a young soldier came in, dressed in battle fatigues. From his sharp features, Mayukh guessed he was a Gurkha. The soldier handed pushed a table next to the bed and placed a bowl of steaming soup on it.

  'Drink it. It tastes like shit but will give you strength.'

  Mayukh looked at him, wondering how he was expe
cted to drink it with a drip attached to his left hand and his right hand in a cast. The Gurkha produced a straw and put it in the bowl. He held the straw in place while Mayukh bent over and drank it.

  The soup was hot, watery, tasted of frozen vegetables and preservatives, had way too much salt in it, and all things considered, was the most delicious meal Mayukh had eaten in the last ten days. He slurped it shamelessly and then fell back on his bed, tired from the exertion of even drinking. The Gurkha patted him on his left shoulder.

  'By the way, did really head butt a Biter and kick another in the balls?'

  Mayukh wondered how he knew, but his expression must have told the Gurkha what he needed to know, and he grinned.

  'Get well. There are many soldiers here who want to hear your story, and buy you a drink.'

  As soon as the Gurkha left, another soldier came in, though this time he was wearing a stethoscope around his neck and to Mayukh's surprise, was American. He smiled at Mayukh, looking at a clipboard in his hands.

  'So, Mayukh, I'll give you some morphine for the pain and then we'll put you under some anesthesia. We still need to finish the stitches on the back of your head and I think today's when we try and reset your nose.'

  Mayukh was about to ask more, but realized that with all the damage he had suffered, he didn't really want to know just how messed up he was. He sat back as the doctor put one injection in his left arm, and then another one on his hip. He grimaced a bit, but in a few seconds, he felt lightheaded.

  'Just close your eyes and lie down.'