The Weeping Stars

Anger

Isha felt a sudden hatred for the arms that held her. Why is he here now? 

The memories came flooding back to her. Rudra kissing her, hitting her. His hands everywhere. All men were the same. 

Her lack of response did not go unnoticed. Indra peered down to look into her eyes, but Isha avoided his eyes. She felt exposed, both in body and mind. Was this not a violation.

'Don't touch me'. 

Her voice came out soft and cold. Indra's hands tightened in response. He was not sure of what has got into her, but he decided to tread carefully. 

Raghu cleared his throat loudly. Indra broke out of his thoughts.

'Karta, we need to move now'

Indra nodded. He had already made up his mind to take Isha out the way they had come in. But it's going to be very risky.

'Isha we need to move now'

Isha pushed him away and stood up. Her dress was completely torn, hanging in shreds around her. Raghu averted his eyes, while Indra peeled off his t-shirt and pulled it over her head. 

Isha did not object. It was a relief to have something on her, even if it smelled of sweat and filth. She ignored the smell that was entirely his. Still, it gave her some sense of security.

Indra proceeded to put the mask on her. Isha did not protest. She was too groggy to do much protesting anyway, but the hatred burned deep.

Indra turned away after giving her a sharp look. Raghu went first. Indra grabbed  Isha firmly, despite her protests, and jumped into the water.

At first Isha tried to locate some source of light. But, if possibility, it seemed more dark under the water. The tube let her breathe, but the darkness suffocated her. The faint light of Rahu's Torch guided them. Indra was a powerful swimmer. He seemed to have very little trouble in dragging Isha along, even though he had only one arm to steer.

In moments that lasted only a few minutes, they were in the clearing. They could hear some faint sound of struggle coming from the room. 

Indra sprang up and dashed in. Raghu settle Isha near the door and went in. The sound coming from the room chilled Isha. She gathered her courage to peek in. Rudra was still putting up a fight, but Indra was too lithe and swift for him. For each missed swing, Rudra was awarded well aimed pinches and kicks. In a few swings he was out. The rest of his companions were down already. Their faces were unrecognisable. Raghu and Biju wasted no time to tie them up. 

Indra swiftly dragged Isha in and slammed the door shut. Under his instruction. The door was James with jars and other furniture. 

'What do we do with them?' Javid asked.

Indra looked at Javid thoughtfully. He had no intention of killing them. But his priority was to get out of here. Who knows,he might be able to use Rudra as a leverage later. 

'What ever we do, we need to do quickly. Once the tide comes, these chambers will be flooded.' Raghu observed quietly.

Following his gaze, Indra noticed that the roof of the chamber bore water marks. The dials I'd his watch showed that they had less than 20 mins to reach higher grounds. The door they had come in might not provide any protection against the water surge. 

'Leaving the men here would definitely kill them. We need to take them with us.'

The men looked at each other. Carrying three men would be very difficult. 

Indra sensed their unease. 

'Not al the way up. We will leave them somewhere in between. They can follow us out if they can, or we will send a rescue team later. Just search them for any weapons and leave those here'

A quick search reavealed enough arsenal to start a war. Then the men started dragging them out the narrow tunnel one by one. 

Indra turned to Isha. She was not moving, not making any sound. Like a stone statue, he extended his arm, but she refused. She followed the men out, leaving a very hurt Indra behind.

The hurt quickly turned into anger. Did he risk his life to get such a treatment, she wouldn't even look at him.

He followed last and slammed the door shut.