Authors: Mainak Dhar
'Sir, is he...'
The General caught his gaze as Mayukh saw a pin on the General's coat. An eagle perched on an anchor, holding a trident in its talons. He remembered seeing a similar pin on David.
'We don't know, son, but we will find him. We SEALs don't leave our own behind.'
***
EPILOGUE
'You may now kiss the bride.'
Mayukh leaned over and kissed Swati as Abhi looked on, clapping in glee, not fully understanding what was happening, but knowing that everyone around seemed to be happy.
It wasn't quite the marriage Swati had dreamt of. There was no family, no dancing relatives and friends. They were surrounded by hundreds of soldiers in combat fatigues and their marriage was solemnized in a small chapel at the US Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska.
They had flown there a month ago when Abhi's test results had come in, and it had been their home ever since. They had begun their life together, while the war still raged outside. The Biters could now operate tanks and heavy armour, and while the human forces had most of the air power, the brutal war continued.
TV was back on- if a handful of news channels and a few entertainment channels showing reruns of old shows counted, electricity was restored in several places, and they could have just hunkered down for a comfortable life at the base. But after all they had been through, they wanted to do more. So Swati began teaching kids at the small school they established at the base, where Abhi soon made lots of new friends.
Being one of the few to have gotten so close to the Biters and lived to tell the tale, Mayukh began to help in briefing new recruits and also passing on survival tips to human communities everywhere. There were hundreds of millions spread around the world, living in cities where the Biters came out at night, or hiding in isolated farmlands, too scared to come out. Mayukh used the radio on the base to pass on tips and talk to them, and his story gave them all hope and his knowledge helped them survive till human forces got to them.
But of all of them, the one who helped the most was Abhi. The doctors had already cloned vaccines from his blood samples, and these had been tested already, showing that any human injected with it was resistant to being converted on being bitten. Old drug factories were quickly reclaimed by Special Forces and the vaccine was being churned out in the millions, to be distributed to human survivors everywhere. If they could get the vaccine to every human out there, one thing was certain. No more Biters would be created.
It was perhaps only appropriate that the solution to the madness and destruction the world had inflicted upon itself lay in the blood of an innocent child.
They walked out of the chapel hand in hand, to applause from everyone present. Swati left with Abhi for school and Mayukh joined his duties in the radio room, when one of the operators called him over.
'Mayukh, there's someone on the radio who wants to talk to you.'
Mayukh put on the headset and was electrified at the voice he heard.
'Congratulations, kid. Sorry I couldn't be there in person.'
Mayukh sputtered out in astonishment.
'David! God, where are you? What happened to you?'
'Long story. I woke up in a farmer's hut, half dead and more than half frozen. Took them two weeks to get me coherent enough to tell them who I was. But my buddies didn't leave me. Of all the people I could have imagined meeting, once my story was out, I was picked up two SEALs who took me to the base in Ladakh. By then, you were in Alaska and I thought I'd get home before I checked on you.'
'Did you find Rose?'
There was a brief silence on the other end.
'Kid, I found her. I buried her behind our old home.'
'Oh God, I'm so sorry, David.'
He could hear David sigh at the other end.
'No, Mayukh. It's better than never knowing. I buried her and then rejoined my unit. Hey, I gotta go now. I promise to come and visit you guys.'
'Where are you going?'
'The only place a SEAL can be at a time like this?'
David paused for a second before finishing.
'I'll be out hunting in Zombiestan.'
***
BONUS CONTENT
FREE SAMPLE OF THE SCIENCE FICTION THRILLER VIMANA BY MAINAK DHAR
About Vimana
'Gods' fought a terrible war in our skies 15,000 years ago. They have returned to finish it.
Ancient texts refer to 'Gods' flying in craft called vimanas and waging war with what sound like nuclear weapons. These accounts are today classified as myth or legend.
What if they turned out to be real?
Vimana is an edge-of your seat sci-fi technothriller about a young college student who stumbles upon an ancient war between good and evil. He discovers his hidden destiny is to join the forces of light in bringing to a conclusion this war. A war which we thought was part of our myths and legends- but one which is all too real. A war that will be fought in our skies- and at stake will be the continued existence of the human race.
Star Wars meets Transformers in this exciting new thriller that will keep all science fiction fans satisfied.
Buy Now
Read on for the first chapter of this new thriller- free for all readers of Zombiestan.
"
The Pushpaka vimana that resembles the Sun and belongs to my brother was brought by the powerful Ravana; that aerial and excellent vimana going everywhere at will...that vimana resembling a bright cloud in the sky...and the King got in, and the excellent vimana rose up into the higher atmosphere.'
The earliest written account of a flying vehicle called a vimana. This is found in the Indian epic the
Ramayana
, which was written at least 5000 years before the Wright Brothers made what we widely believe to be the first manned flight on Earth in 1903.
PROLOGUE
Western India, 13000 BC
The old hunter cursed his son for what would have been at least the tenth time that day. He needed help to carry back the deer he had killed, and with the darkness soon to be upon them, he wanted to get back to the relative safety of their group well before the Sun retired for the night.
As he skinned the deer, he smiled as he remembered how he had brought it down with a single arrow. He may have been an old man, but his eyes were still sharp. It was a pity that his arms did not have the same strength they did forty summers ago, otherwise he would not have had to depend on his lazy son to help him carry the deer back.
He soon saw the boy cresting the top of the hill and coming towards him. He seemed to be excited.
'Father, do you know what I saw?'
'I know that you certainly didn't see any other animals to hunt. So, my observant son, what did you see?'
The boy sat down on his haunches next to his father, barely able to conceal his excitement.
'Father, today I saw three vimanas fly over the coast. You know what Kalindi has been saying, right? About the Gods fighting amongst themselves, about their war across the oceans?'
The man shook his head in disapproval at his son believing the words of that accursed wandering storyteller. He still remembered what it was to be young, and to be excited by such fantastic tales, but he also knew that he needed to focus on providing for his family, and not worry about what the Gods were doing.
'My son, the Gods have been around since before my forefathers were born. They have their own ways, their own lives, and we have ours. Now, help me gather the deer and carry it back. Or do you want to repeat what happened three moons ago?'
That brought a sudden flush of fear to the boy's face. He remembered only too well how another clan had attacked them and taken all their skins and meat. They had been lucky to escape alive. The boy was just twelve summers old, but he already knew that he lived in a world where life could be brutal, and short. He started to help his father pick up the deer when they heard loud crackling noises, like that of thunder. They both looked up to see that there was not a cloud in the sky and no signs that the Rain God was going to vent his fury on them. The father watched the sky for some time and then started to pick up his bow when they heard three more thunderous cracks.
This time, they saw what was causing the sound. High above them in the sky, where only the birds and Gods flew, they saw three vimanas streak by. Even at this distance, the father recognized the round shapes of the Vimanas that Kalindi claimed were flown by the Dark Ones. One of the vimanas separated from the others and dove towards the ground, seeming to the hunter's eyes like a bird of prey diving for the kill. He ran to the edge of the cliff, followed by his son.
They watched as a small object separated from the vimana, and sped towards the ground, with smoke and fire trailing it. The hunter had heard of the Gods firing their divine flaming bolts, but this was the first time he had witnessed the awesome power of the Gods. He watched the object fly towards the ground, almost beyond the horizon, and then there was a mighty roar that was louder than anything the hunter had ever heard. He felt his son's hand clutch his in fear, but he had no reassurance to offer. He watched in mute horror as a giant fireball covered the horizon. He stared at the light that seemed brighter than the Sun on the hottest day, and then looked away as the fireball seemed to expand. His son was screaming.
'Father, I am blind!'
The hunter felt strong gusts pummeling him and his son a few moments later and they were thrown to the ground. There seemed to be ash everywhere around them, and his skin was burning. When the hunter gathered up the courage to look up, he saw a gigantic pillar of smoke rising above the world.
The Gods had indeed gone to war, and it seemed they were going to set the world on fire.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mainak Dhar is a cubicle dweller by day and author by night. His first `published' work was a stapled collection of Maths solutions and poems (he figured nobody would pay for his poems alone) he sold to his classmates in Grade 7, and spent the proceeds on ice cream and comics. He was first published in a more conventional sense at the age of 18 and has since published eight books. Learn more about him and contact him at
www.mainakdhar.com
.