(Book 5) Hayden Mackay and The Pride of Haima-Endira

6.1 The Walking Scroll

Patrolling, for the next couple of weeks, tried our patience.

Not having enough Samagraha and the knights only increased the rigors of the law. In the attempt of rooting for the teamwork, we were burning ourselves out.

Fighting with the beasts. Dropping off the injured people in the infirmary. Running from here to there, and there to back here. Sunup to sundown. Coordinating and having long tiresome discussions with the knights. Bearing the wounds received during the mass shootouts. Heavy snowstorms. Voracious appetite and thirst. Getting sick every other night. Sleeping only for a couple of hours, and then waking up early to work extra hours.

We'd spend those few hours of sleep in the Sharad's palace, under Ashwant's and a couple of full-time medic's care. As a result, our plan to talk to Nazira postponed. Leaving her alone, with only a couple of knights guarding the apartment was a painful sore in our hearts. I'd been seeing her only in my mind since the day we had cremated Doctor. Leena would go to the apartment once every two days to give her a quick hug. And Pruthvi couldn't even spare a glance. He wouldn't even be bothered to ask about her welfare. There was just no time for anything else at all.

"She is asking for you," Leena said to Pruthvi. "Just see her once."

"I can't," he said,  hurriedly, "Gotta go. See you tonight."

"Doctor told us not to leave her alone," she said to me. "Hayden, she is alone."

"I'll talk to Ira. But you watch out for Jyran. Okay? Bye."

Despite the help we'd been receiving from our Constellia, the schedule and routine was simply a mess. Reports of the much adverse spots were delivered by Harakara. Upon reaching there on time, it would turn out to be false intimations. During which, the beasts would make the best use of this chance, cause extreme devastation in the places where there were no Samagraha or Knights present to guard. Complaints rolled in. Arguments erupted. And we couldn't thank King Aghasthya and Ashwanth enough for dealing with those adversities on our behalf.

It was an inescapable truth that there was still no permanent solution. However, the efforts were being made from every way possible to reduce the attacks. Ira Zutshi came up with the idea of using buzzer indicators- a magical device similar to a watch invented by Quinn Dumuro, that grasped the smell of blood and helped indicate the precise location of the attacks. Also, the roof-prism binoculars that doubled our night vision.

Large humane animal traps were brought in. Beasts were lured and successfully caught in bulk. But surprisingly, somehow they always found a way to escape. This idea wasn't working out as sketched, but instructions from the Panchayat were intact. For the sake of following the law, we kept slicing our veins and drained blood to lure the beasts into the cages.

Leena sobbed.

Pruthvi sulked.

And I...serene as a seal taking a nap.

That triggered an emotional and mental shock in both of them.

Singh was another solid problem. Despite doing a tremendous job at driving the beasts away, a huge and ferocious animal like himself was scaring the living hell out of the people. Instead of relying on him, Sharad's villagers wanted him elsewhere or rather withdrawn from the team. Thanks to King Aghasthya for believing that his presence was mandatory and essential for quick results. He gave away his word of assurance that Singh was human-friendly.

"Just the beasts. Not humans." I had to remind him every day.

Later next month, deliberate attempts were made to melt the heavy crust of snow. Singh and I were given additional instructions to be on duty round the clock and help Pruthvi and Leena as well. Large bonfires were set up. Artificial lakes were built. This tactic worked a bit. The massive influx of these beastly attacks reduced. They cannot resist playing with water, King Agasthya had said. Whatever the reason was, this continuous snowfall in the country, which actually was Shashi's mediocre attempt to keep himself from getting decomposed, worked in our favor. Halfway through the month of November, the attacks still occurred but were not as frequent. During this time, we managed to blend in with the changing conditions and circumstances. With the King's permission, we split shifts. Pruthvi, Leena and I patrolled during the day, Constellia took over the nights. After a month and a half of the most torturous phase of our life, we were finally granted a brief respite.