Magnoliophyta

16. WE ARE HUNG

"That was.... mind blowing! How did you even know that the king was Cassandra Thar?" Amor asked in admiration.

" I just happened to observe the king and I noticed that he had a really high pitched and squeaky voice, like a woman. My suspicions were further aroused by the way the king walked. Lastly my suspicions were conformed when I found out that the king liked to watch women fighting and doing things rather than men. After that I just had to put together all the floating pieces in the puzzle!" I let it all out in the sheer excitement of the previously unfolded events.

My friends cheered and thumped my back in admiration and appreciation. I felt proud and important. After the excitement and sense of accomplishment died down a bit, we finally sat down on the soft golden sands and rested our overworked bodies and minds.

" So... What now?" I asked on behalf of everyone. " I guess we get back home" Jared shrugged. "No, I don't think we should get back right now. We might find something valuable and important here." lil said. We all agreed upon that decision and decided to spend one more day in Rajasthan. 

" Rise and shine sleepy head! we need to get moving!" I could vaguely notice Lil hovering above my head. The edges of her tee seemed to blur with the sky. " GET UP.... NOW!" Lil shouted and my eyes opened against my will, as though they were scared of Lil's frighteningly calm and bold voice. I slowly got up and washed my face with cool water. Amor and Jared were already up and running. 

Finally, with a lot of pushing and forcing I packed my backpack and was ready to move. We walked all the way back to the Jaisalmer, hoping to seek some kind of guidance. We reached the bustling bazaar where hawkers were shamelessly fighting with customers regarding the price of the products. There was an imminent sense of confusion that I felt , standing in the middle of the jostling crowd. People moved haphazardly with no definite goal in mind. women shouted, trying to sell vegetables. " Chai chai chai..." Local men shouted as they went and asked people if they wanted chai - tea- I decided to try it. 

The man came over and poured some tea into a cup. I took it from him and gave him his money, I could sense his eyes moving along with the money in my hand, following it with desire and greed. I noticed the poverty around me and felt a pang of guilt. My conscience was pricking me even though I wasn't the one who had caused such levels of economic deceleration amongst the people. I quickly diverted myself and focused on the hot tea.I had never tried tea before. I had always been a caffeine person, so when I drank the tea my stomach protested. I clenched my stomach in pain and dropped the tea. My friends immediately rushed to my aid. They took me towards the side, where there was a narrow parapet where I could sit and ease my stubborn stomach.

Lil bought some sucking candy, to drown the flavour of the tea in my mouth. I gratefully grabbed it and popped it into my mouth. The sweetness spread through out and erased the existence of tea. I let myself suck it up until it's size reduced and then I swiftly swallowed it down my throat. I was just drinking some water to clash with the sweetness of the candy when things just . . .  happened.

Masked silhouettes rushed in and grabbed us. We were surrounded and ambushed, utterly outnumbered. Men adorned in brightly coloured cloth, that covered their whole body, swarmed the place. Jared kicked and lunged at his captor, while Lil resorted to biting and scratching. Amor was trying the bang his head against his captors arm and I... 

I was jumping and yelling and kicking and biting and spitting. More men came and grabbed hold of me, after showing such wild behaviour for a while, my hands tired from hitting and my mouth drained from spitting, I reluctantly calmed down. Before I could do or say anything else, I went blind... or so I thought. Someone had covered my face with dark cloth and I stifled a scream, while successfully biting my lip. I could taste the rich sweetness of blood on my tongue as my lip got sore and swollen. I kicked and banged and screamed but I stayed there. I could tell the same thing had been done to my friends as they screamed and shrieked in defiance.

" GET THIS OFF ME, YOU BASTARDS!" I screamed in raw rage. Blood rushed to my cheeks and I suddenly felt hot from fear and excitement. Then something pricked me, I had been injected and soon I lost consciousness, drifting off into a deep but restless sleep.

Someone shook me from my shoulders and I felt heavy.

"JADE! Jade get up!" someone screamed. My eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the light around me which was basically none. I was surrounded in darkness and the shadows just seemed to consume everything.

Things cleared up a bit and I screamed. We were hanging upside down, a rope cut into the soft flesh in my ankles and blood rushed into my head. " Hey! listen" Lil hissed. I slowly turned my head and was treated with the sight of my friends hanging beside me, like chickens about to be slaughtered. I let out a breath I hadn't even realised I had been holding. " Oh! thank god guys, I thought I was alone here, waiting to be sacrificed." I cried in relief with a tinge of sarcasm and humor. 

" Good. You're awake. You were limp and for a sec we thought something serious had happened." Amor said. " Do you have any Idea where we are, Who are..." Then my eyes scanned the surroundings and my heart was in my mouth. " WHERE IS JARED?!" I said in low, husky and braced voice. My friends lowered their eyes. " We don't know" They simply answered, but I could make out the growing fear in their soft voices. My thoughts were interrupted by a hoarse, thick new voice.

" Hello guys, I hope you are having a fine time!" A man emerged from the shadows with a thin, cruel smile plastered on his face. As he came forward, looking at his face my eyes widened in surprise and mouth hinged open. The man looked shockingly familiar but I couldn't quite place him in my mind.

He waved his hand and another figure emerged from the shadows. This time a sigh of relief chugged out and my tense shoulders relaxed. "Oh! Jared you're alright." I smiled. 

The smile melted of my face as soon as I saw Jared's face. He was smiling just like the man, a cruel and thin smile. "What?" I let out in a string of broken letters. " Sorry Jade. Sorry guys. After all family is of utmost importance."

He continued "Meet my dad- Will- He captured us so that he could reach me. He asked me if I wanted to join him in his fiendish deeds. I agreed." Jared spoke as though this was utterly normal.

A wave of shock went through me and my gaze fell into line with Jared's. Our eyes locked and images flashed before my eyes. Sounds floated in my ears and I could see Jared sitting in front of his father on a couch, in a wide room with bare minimum furniture.

I was looking at a vision. A memory through Jared's eyes.