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“Wahan koi hai! Koi bhag raha hai!” followed by the sound of the gunshot.
Neel and Daksh started crying at the sudden loud bang. Asha had frozen in her steps. And the footsteps after us had turned louder, indicating whoever it was, was catching up with us.
“Viaan!” my mother called, making me halt and turn to look at her as she passed a crying Neel to me. The child was beyond recovery.
“Do as I have taught you! Lead them out of here!” mother shouted, my heart was beating with a fear I had not had before. It felt like I wouldn’t see her again if I left her now. Upon not seeing any movements from my side, she shouted again, “go!”
As if her words woke me out of my trance, I rushed forward, pulling Asha’s hand while carrying Neel with my other, I pulled her out of her frozen state and rushed towards the place I was so familiar with. While my mother ran towards the man who was still firing in the dark and started brawling with him over his rifle.
“Vikrant!” Asha shouted over her shoulder making the child run after us.
We had almost reached the end of the path. The shimmering headlights of Uncle’s car caught my attention. Asha had dragged Daksh with her free hand while Vikrant was right on our heels.
Uncle quickly jumped out of the car and picked the children up before depositing them into the backseat. Breathing raggedly, I looked around to see if my mother had made it, when I found her running towards us. What she couldn’t see was someone standing behind her, in the dark.
No… Don’t do it…
All of a sudden, another shot went off and my mother fell, right before my eyes.
No! Not again!
The headlights of the car illuminated the face I would never forget. Raghav, stood there holding the rifle with a lit cigar in his mouth.
No… No, no no no, please! This wasn’t happening again! Not now!
“Maa!” My scream sounded strange to my own ears as my heart stopped and I tried to run towards her but an arm out of nowhere grabbed me and put me in the vehicle.
My eyes watched as she struggled on the ground, telling something. Perhaps even shouting. But my ears had gone deaf, for all I could hear was silence while my eyes witnessed the scene that I could never forget.
I woke up sitting, drenched in my own sweat, gasping for air, like I had that night.
My eyes landed on Rynah who placed her hand on my shoulder and looked worried but all I could feel was numbness that had taken over my body.
My body worked on reflex, like it was automated. Pushing the blanket away, my hand grabbed the phone from the nightstand, dialing a number that was on a speed dial and placed it over my ear.
Memories of my mother, fresh in my mind as I walked up to the window and waited for the call to be answered.
The call was answered on the fourth ring and a low, husky, "hello," came through.
"Abhimanyu, Viaan here. I have news for you," I spoke, my voice was hoarse from my dry throat that begged for water. As if understanding the urgency of the hour, Abhi went completely silent, waiting for me to go on.
"Raghavgot his bail," I added, making him audibly suck in a breath. Who would know better than Abhi and Nihal what Raghav was capable of.
"And we are coming," I further informed him, pausing to wet my lips and look over my shoulder at my worried wife before adding, "to Cape Town."
There was a score to settle that had been left as it is for a while now. And I don’t intend to let him get away with it.
