BALI 100 KM (Book 1) ✔

Chapter 55

An eerie silence followed the terror that struck. Bandu had fallen limp.

Stunned, Mr. Rajput was caught unawares for a moment to the advantage of the struggling goon who managed to push away the weight. Once up and on his feet, he began to hunt for his gun. But at the sound of running footsteps, he abandoned his search and took to his heels.

Bandu was perspiring and was going cold through the whole body. He envisioned his mother and sister. Through his drooping eyes, he saw Mr. Rajput struggling on the ground at the same time, he could hear Miss Sakhi calling out to him, but it gradually got fainter and fainter until he heard nothing. 

" Bandu, Bandu..."(Who is screaming in my ears? I don't want to get up now. My head feels heavy, very heavy...,)

"Bandu, Bandu...get up...get up" The same voice rang again, now much closer and clear.

He forced open his heavy pupils to a brightness that strained his eyes; he dropped them once again. He did sense that he lay stretched upon a bed. He cringed at a familiar odor and tried to block it with his right hand, but a sharp pain left him screaming. By default, he lifted his left hand, but another hand restrained it down. When he resisted, he felt a prick, and his eyes shot open. This time he faced an unknown man in a white coat, and beside him stood a lady in a white dress with a white cap. They were smiling at him. He blinked in succession to clear his eyes, and then it registered to him that he was in the hospital.

"Bandu can you hear me," the doctor asked to which he nodded.

"Good, I am doctor Sharma. Do you know why you are here?" the doctor asked him calmly, to which Bandu nodded, indicating a no.

"There was a bullet in your right shoulder. I have operated and removed the bullet. You will feel pain there for some days. There will be some weakness, as you lost a lot of blood. Do you understand me?" he explained and looked at Bandu, expecting him to respond.

"Yes," Bandu murmured and gulped.

"Ok, take some rest now. You will be fine," the doctor advised and disappeared behind the blue curtain screen surrounding him on all three sides. The nurse, too, followed him, leaving Bandu alone. He slowly raised his left hand and looked down upon it to see an IV needle pricked on his hand. His bandaged right shoulder felt tight, and any attempt to move it made him wince in pain, so he avoided moving it.

The nurse reappeared again. Pressing the lever on the side, she tilted his bed slightly to an upright position.

"It is time for your medicines," She announced.

Then she administered him medicines through the IVF and some tables to take orally. The water soothed his dry throat, but his head felt heavy with drowsiness, making his eyes droop involuntarily on their own. The whole kidnapping incident came to haunt him.

He became worried about his family and wanted to inform them of his ordeal.

He asked the nurse and realized that it was now the second day since he left home. She was kind enough to inform him that his mother had visited him when he lay there unconscious. And with that piece of information, he drifted off to sleep.

He had a visitor that same evening. It was Comm. Seth.

"Well, Bandu, how do you feel?" he inquired with a smile.

"Apart from the pain on my shoulders, I am feeling fine," He replied.

"You are a lucky fellow indeed," he chuckled.

"Yes, sir, all thanks to god and Mr. Rajput, who once again saved my life," Bandu smiled.

"Yes, you should be. Everyone was earnestly praying for your speedy recovery, including me. Your family knows about your present state of consciousness, and you can expect them at any moment. It was a relief for them to know that you were out of danger now," he said and then sat down on the chair nearby.

"Without your cooperation, this mission would not have been successful, and so I want to thank you," he commented further.

"Did you arrest every one of them, sir?" Bandu asked, surprised.

"Yes, we nabbed them all, Bandu...including Balwant," Comm. Seth said, emphasizing Balwant's name as a last-moment addition.

"Ok, now take rest, explanations and declarations after you are strong enough to talk...those are doctor's orders...you know," He said, smiling, dashing all curiosity that Bandu harbored in his mind that he wanted to clear.

After he left, Bandu pondered about what Comm. Seth said about Balwant. He was also eagerly waiting to see his family, but the sedatives put him to sleep again. Sometime during the night, he remembered being woken up by the nurse for his medicines and meal.

He sometimes dreamt about being in the room with the kidnapper and being shot at, which disturbed his sleep. Sometimes he dreamt he was a 10-year-old boy again and playing around with his friends on the fields, laughing and fighting together when his mother called out to him for his meal. He could still hear her calling his name.

"Maan, Maan..."

It was so good to hear that voice again so nearby. A soft, warm caress woke Bandu up, and his eyes met the lovely face of his mother. He was dreaming about her. He gave a weak smile.