The Foster child

Chapter -19.

After half an hour, Prithvi reached the place  in a helicopter. His phone buzzed. He fished his phone from his waterproof holster. It was a message from Dharani    

A myriad of feelings welled up in Prithvi when he read it. He didn't reply to the message but urged the pilot to be quick.

On his way up the mountain, he met quite a few rescue workers and tourists, but Dharani was not among them.       
The rain was beginning to ease off, which made it a little easier.When Prithvi located Agastya ,the water was already chest-high.     

The rescue workers had to use flotation devices to continue their operation. Agastya and his colleagues were stranded where the flow was sluggish. Therefore, two rescue workers were able to lead them to safety and wrap them in dry blankets.     

Prithvi scanned the crowd carefully, but Dharani was not among them.     
His heart started racing wildly and he couldn't help but blame Agastya for not having taken good care of her.     

Prithvi  got down from the helicopter and started to run. He moved forward cautiously, and to his surprise, he spotted two figures on a huge rock, blocked by a tree.     

Judging from their slim figures, he could tell they were two girls. They were hugging each other to keep warm.     
One of them was  leaning on the shoulder of the other girl. Prithvi couldn't see her face clearly and was not sure if that was Dharani  

Even though he had not seen her for a long time now, his heart told him she must be Dharani.     
Prithvi scanned his surroundings. It wouldn't be easy to get to her. The current of the flood had developed whitecaps, pushing a mass of deadly debris with it. If the current didn't catch him, the debris would surely crush him, carrying his battered body away.     

He called two rescue workers over, who were busy saving Agastya and his colleagues. In ten minutes, they were at his side. They also saw the two girls. One of them shook his head and asked him to wait a bit.   
Prithvi's eyes darkened and said through  gritted teeth

Prithvi :
"Wait a bit? Don't you see that they don't have much time? If we keep waiting, they'll die of exposure."     

Before the man could finish speaking, Prithvi took the rescue equipment away from him and told the other rescue worker to come with him.   
With a bullhorn, the  other man instructed the girl beside Dharani  to fasten the rescue rope to the big tree.     

Dharani seemed to have passed out. She lay huddled up on the rock and didn't respond to their requests.  
The girl took the rope hesitantly, but with some prompting, she tied the rope around the trunk. A little more instruction via the bullhorn, and she had the clamps and carabiners fastened. After the rope was secured, Prithvi and the rescue worker fastened their harnesses to the rope and made their way to the rock.

Excited, the girl pulled Dharani's arm and yelled, 

Girl:
"Hey, wake up! We're being rescued! We're safe now."     

Upon hearing that, Dharani struggled to open her eyes and saw a rope tied to the tree near the rock. Two people were in harnesses, suspended from the rope over the surging flood. They were carefully making their way to their position. The rain was still heavy, and her eyes were blurry. She couldn't see their faces, but she was sure the man in the front was Prithvi.     

She tried her best to sit up on the rock. Color drained from her, and her face was as pale as a sheet. Staring at the man, she flashed a happy smile and thought in her mind.

Dharani's inner voice:
'It's him! My superhero comes to my rescue.’
  
Suddenly, her eyes dulled and she almost blacked out. But luckily, she bit her tongue and shook her head to keep herself lucid. seeing her like that Prithvi could tell that something was not right with her as she was having trouble keeping her feet on the rock.