VEDIC VOWS - BOOK 1 THE MOHINI

Chapter - 2 THE TRIP [PART 1]

 2012, May 23rd,  Chennai, India.

  The sound of pounding feet were loud in my ears, I badly wanted to look back at my pursuers but was scared to do so. I barley had a few minutes lead, and I knew if saw the whole gang chasing me I would lose hope and stop and give in into this already hopeless situation. My lungs heaved and my heart was running miles, I was purely on adrenalin and was already gasping for breath.

   Despair, that was what I felt and helplessness and slowly, I was also filling with something else at injustice surrounding me. It took a while for me to comprehend it as I ran as fast as I can in the open plain with no place to hide, and the full moon was no help because it lit the way, the sugar cane fields remained tantalizingly far; may be if I got to the fields I would get some respite and so I ran.    

And then I heard the screams of women, agonizing screams of pain and sounds of terror cries and coarse laughter of men and worse, cries of children. Horror filled me as I desperately ran. Thump, thump my feet made those sounds and my hands worked like pistons as I reached for sugarcane fields.

At last, I reached them; maybe I will have a brief respite till I reach the small inlet leading to the river, the sounds then began to increase; the screams, “oh my god, oh my god” “somebody help them, please; somebody help me, I sobbed” tears flowed freely and mingled with my sweat as they ran on my face; I tried to stop but found I could not. My feet kept up the steady rhythm along with my hands; rivulets of sweat ran along my body, my mind tried to shy away from what was coming. I tried to close my eyes but I found that not a single part of my body was under my control as I ran through the fields and the sugarcane fields suddenly were cut short. They were cut down to make a clearing and in them lay the women, some dead, many being gang raped, some were rutting with bodies of women who were already dead and the children, o’ god they were being raped too, right in front of statue of the war goddess kali; rage consumed me and pure unadulterated fury filled me as the men, warriors chasing me came slowly, for they knew they had me Cornered. I moved to the nearest man straddling a child no older than ten, and in anger I threw myself at him and rolled him away from the child; I had to bring at least one of them down, even though I would die, I would die fighting; a warrior’s death, delivering justice to at least one of them, shame on my soul for all eternity if I did not. I scratched his face kneed him in his groin as he ineffectually tried to shield himself in his state of  partial undress and dulled with alcohol; the child’s face was slack and she was bleeding, her eyes stared vacantly, her breaths raspy and then stilled; I was late. I screamed at the futility and dug my fingers deep in to his eyes  and bit in to his jugular and spat out his voice box, blood sprayed out, then  pain filled me as I saw the sword poking out of my abdomen as the men surrounded me, another sword drove in to my back and I dropped like a sack of stones unable to stand anymore blood coming out my mouth, I could feel the wetness spreading on my stomach but could not feel my legs at all; they did not even have the guts to fight face to face; the men laughed and mocked me as I tried to pull myself with my arms, my legs a dead weight, a wooden boot kicked me in my stomach; I  wrapped my head with my hands as the flurry of kicking started and withdrew in to the miasma of pain, as I took a hit to my head and felt the hands on my clothes ripping them apart, sheer rage was which brought me to reality and directed my mind away from the pain and the unclean hands of the animals above me; my shaking hand felt the broken head of a spear with last surge of energy, drove the spear in to the throat of the man closest to me and saw his look of surprise as he toppled over; recovering from the shock, the men surrounding me as one went for their weapons when the skies opened and sent out a volley of lightning. The lightning arcs raced on the ground crisping  the earth where they fell; it incinerated the five men standing around me, leaving only their ashes; even with my life ebbing I found the mound of ashes so funny, I mustered a laugh, but no sound came, just a parody of it; I could feel the crease of my lips opened and stretched wide in a soundless laugh. I felt myself getting hazy, I was at peace; it was a good fight; I can now die with honor. Everything was blurred “jai Ambae gowri narayani…” blood bubbled from my mouth as I faded, unable to finish my last salutation to the goddess, as I breathed my last lying  under the statue of the twenty feet goddess. It was dark, a sweet voice intoned “awaken, arise”, “Open your eyes O’ warrior and see; rise my mohini, your time has come” said the voice, there was light everywhere  I was suddenly filled with warmth and power coursed through my veins; I was fire, I rose to my feet and slowly my feet left the ground and my back split and I was encompassed with fire and an extra pair of arms joined my original pair, “burn” I said looking at the remaining warriors and they all began to burn; I could hear their screams now and their agony gave me exultation as they burned, I burned too, I felt no pain just the glorious feel of fire surrounding me, the aruvalᵻ gleamed in the goddess’s hand, as my eyes fell on it; the reflection seen in the aruval was not mine at all, I was someone else.