Love Across Time

Chapter 34

The four pandavas limped back to the secret hideout, their bodies bleeding from various places.

Sweat and dust covered their faces, their hearts filled with resignation as they gazed at the bodies that littered their path, Karn walked beside them supporting his mother, as Yudhisthir helped Bhism walk.

Nakul tightened his hold on Adhirath, who too was nearly unconscious. Bheem was carrying one of two unconscious soldiers on each of his shoulder, while Sehdev helped another soldier walk up to the cave that was their hideout.

Silence sat heavily in the atmosphere, as agony resided in everyone's heart, fueling the fire of revenge that with every passing second was burning brighter.

Everyone was too lost in their mind, trying to come over the thoughts, suddenly everything had disappeared, their lives had changed drastically.

Families were happy days ago, Karn remembered spending days with his family, just hours ago he was laughing with his mother when she was teasing him about getting married, when suddenly everything had gone up in flames.

The anxiety and panicked looks of everyone, as those merciless 'things' were killing everyone. What was happening?

Confusion sat deeply in his heart, what were those things? He wondered, neither were they humans nor were they demons or any other creature they had come across.

They were made of metals, but how can metal walk, and kill?

How? Was this some new curse or boon? It didn't feel like it.

There was something amiss here that he had failed to understand.

Questions flooded his mind while he thought all about the happenings, who were they? Where did they come from? And why were they here? And what was their reason to attack Hastinapur?

And was Hastinapur the only place attacked?

The sound of crickets filled the air followed by the hooting of owls. Trees were thick, creating a dense forest, dry leaves crunching under their feet.

The moon light shone the path ahead of him as he walked deeper into the forest, these people that he met today were more like the the girl he met a few days ago.

A slight smile spread across his face, what a beauty she was but what pulled him towards her was the unique behavior that he had noticed hers to be. Never in his life he had met a woman who fought the way she had.

What was her name again?

Panchi.

The name surfaced in her mind like sweet memory, making warmth flutter in his chest.

For some reason he couldn't stop thinking about her, she was in a way ingrained in his memory, since the day he met her.

Her uniqueness, the way she talked sarcastically, yes it was cute. It was adorable, and who was he kidding he loved talking to her. But one question still ran in his mind, while going she said see you around dudh? (Dude) . Why would she call him dudh? Did she love milk so much?

Maybe she was hungry?

Karn smirked, shaking his head, he really needed to focus on something other than her, he didn't even know anything about her yet here she was on his mind.

It was funny actually how he was thinking about a girl and smiling, if someone would have told him a few weeks earlier that you will be smiling at the thoughts of a girl, he would have called that person crazy and laughed about.

Alas here was, smiling as he walked down the forest thinking about a girl he was sure he would never meet, while his heart drummed in his chest like a tabla.