Revenge is divine

CHAPTER 27 : PAST

The car was moving swiftly through Karnataka. It's been already fifteen hours. He lost his track and the car was treading along the path in front through a dense forest.

The last place he could remember was Bangalore which they must have passed three hours ago. Balan looked at his hmt watch and saw it was past midnight. His eyes blinked for a moment. He felt the call of slumber but he couldn't stop. Halting inside a jungle was dangerous. Jungle always comes alive at night. Lone predators enjoy the darkness of the woods. He saw a wandering one-tusked elephant staring at the light of the car in a flash. Luckily it was too far away inside the forest. It won't be chasing them. Balan's legs hit the accelerator hard as he saw the straight road. Too much speed through the forest at night was risky. Balan knows that. One cannot say when would a mule or a monkey or some wild dogs or any feral creatures cross the path unexpectedly. But he wanted to get out of the jungle as fast as possible. It was giving him creeps.

The target was Mumbai. Still a long way to go. They were almost half way.

Balan looked at the three passengers sleeping at the back seat of the car and the man at the front seat. Balan felt the whole universe sleeping except him and the ferocious jungle he was treading through. He heard the hoots of owls and crickets chirping and some distant growls.

An unknown fear filled his heart. His mind told him something was going to happen. He needed to be alert. He pulled out a bottle of rum and uncorked it. A little drink would awake his senses. He pressed the bottle directly into his mouth. Its liquid ran through his throat like lava. It burnt his inner organs and he felt a new wave of energy streaming through his veins. He became more vigilant. He felt fearless.

They left the jungle path and went along a gorge. The road wasn't properly made, only a trail created by trucks traveling from North India to the southern parts.

Then suddenly a heavy flash of light filled his eyes. By the time he realized that it was from a National Permit oil tanker, it rammed into the car with full force. The tanker pushed the car with it for almost a hundred meters backwards. The front glass was shattered and the bumper shield was thrown out onto the road. Everyone was awake and was aware of the imminent danger they were in.

They are trying to kill us." The man in front seat screamed aloud.

The car and the tanker came to a halt when they hit a tree. Then the tanker went back almost fifty meters.

Balan knew it will come again and hit the car hard to ensure there were no survivors. He had to think fast and act faster. He heard the Left side door opening behind him. A small child started crying. A four months old baby!

Balan saw the man at the driver's seat of the tanker. A dark man with fearsome eyes. The oil tanker started moving towards them. He checked his door and made sure it was working and yet he waited. He was expecting everyone to get out. The man in front seat couldn't move as his legs were jammed. He knew he had no option but to stay in the car.

"Sir, try harder. You need to get out." Balan tried to help him. But he too failed.

"Balan, promise me you will keep my wife and kids safe, please." The man knew there was no other option but to stay behind. He wanted his wife and kids to be safe. He tried to look back but he couldn't.

"I can't let you stay in the car sir. You can't die." Balan didn't want to leave him.

"There is no time Balan. Promise me that you will keep them safe."

The woman gave her four month old child to the elder boy and pushed him away from the car.

"I promise you sir." Balan's eyes were filled with tears. He couldn't say anything more.