Mayukh told the story about how Abhi had been bitten but not infected. Purohit put his gun aside and sat down.
'I'm sorry. After all that's happened, I didn't want to risk one of us turning into a Biter. But this is unbelievable. The boy would be first person ever to have been bitten but not infected.'
All the old men were looking at Abhi now, and afraid of the sudden attention he was getting, he ran to Mayukh and buried himself behind him. Purohit reached out and tousled his hair.
'Abhi, do you want another chocolate?'
Abhi's face lit up, all the anxiety gone, and he wolfed down the chocolate bar that Purohit handed to him.
As Mayukh and David were about to leave for the bookstore, Mayukh quietly handed his gun to Swati.
'Keep it in case you have to use it.'
She hugged him close, whispering in his ear that he better get back soon. The trip to the bookstore was uneventful and David and Mayukh were thrilled to find that their food and supplies were largely untouched, including Abhi's diapers and formula. They loaded them into the SUV and as they drove back, they began to see more signs of people. A young couple peering out from a window; two young men armed with cricket bats roaming the streets; a family foraging for food in the remains of a restaurant. The initial terror had given way to thoughts of survival and people were now coming out in the daytime to look for food and supplies. And also to prey on others.
Mayukh saw three men on bikes ride up to the young couple. A gun blazed and the man fell inside, and the three men started to pull the woman out. Mayukh felt for the gun at his belt and remembered he had given it to Swati. He turned and saw an evil glint in David's eye, a look that would have frightened any man.
'Those bastards! After all that's happened, one would think we'd learn to help each other.'
As the woman tried in vain to hold off her would-be rapists, David stopped the SUV and put his rifle to his shoulder, selecting single shot mode. One assailant fell to the ground moaning in pain as a bullet slammed into his thigh. Another twirled around and fell against the window, as a bullet caught him in the shoulder. The third, seeing his friends fall to an unseen attacker, ran to his bike. He never made it, a single bullet catching him in the knee.
David drove on in silence till they reached Purohit's headquarters. It was now four in the evening, and they had to begin to plan for the night that lay ahead, but Mayukh was shocked to see a crowd of at least twenty people gathered on the roadside. As they parked, one of them whispered to Mayukh.
'Have you also come to see the miracle boy?'
Wondering what was going on, Mayukh and David ran up the stairs, to find Purohit and his friends sitting at the stairwell, fully armed. One of the old men had a bloody lip.
'What happened to you?', David asked.
'I hit him', Purohit answered quietly, still watching the crowd outside, and then explained further.
'The fool met a group of survivors and told them about how Abhi had survived being bitten. The word's spread like wildfire-people believe it's a miracle. Some believe that if Abhi touches them, they'll be immune as well.'
'Oh shit, old man! Why the hell did you do that?'
The man whom Mayukh had heard referred to only as Margarita averted his eyes.
'Everyone has given up hope. They're just waiting to die. Don't you get it? Abhi gives them, gives all of us some hope. But maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.'
Purohit leaned out the window and shouted.
'People, there's no miracle boy here. It's almost Sunset anyways. Get the hell back to wherever you're hiding before the Biters come. Good luck.'
At the mention of the Biters, the crowd melted away, but Mayukh knew that they would have to find another hideout soon. Purohit and his friends helped carry the supplies in, and they settled down to an early dinner just as the Sun began to set. When they were finished, Purohit tried his luck with his radio again. At first there was only the familiar static, but then suddenly they all heard a voice.
'All is not lost. Survivors are regrouping across the world. If you're anywhere in northern India come to Ladakh if you can. We are army soldiers and are based at the Thirse Monastery. You will be safe here.'
After a few seconds, the announcement was repeated once, and then there was nothing but static. They all looked at each other, stunned at the announcement they had just heard.
Then the Biters began screaming outside.
SEVEN
'They're up early tonight', said Purohit as he quickly snuffed out all the lamps, and took up vigil near the window. David was right beside him, his eye glued to his scope. It was just after Sunset, and he had no real need of the night vision scope to see what was happening outside. There were more than two dozen Biters gathered at the mouth of the alley leading to the apartment, just standing there and screaming incoherently. Abhi had begun sobbing at the noise and Hina took him into the other room, trying in vain to distract him.
'Why are they just standing there? Could they have come back to attack us?'
There was no ready answer to Swati's question and David shrugged, lowering his rifle for a moment.
'No idea whatsoever, but let's not assume they even know we're here. They don't seem to have demonstrated much more intelligence or strategy than a pack of rabid animals. Maybe they'll just scream and leave us alone.'
Mayukh wasn't so sure, and guessed that David was trying to reassure Swati more than anything else. The Biters had shown some level of coordination and thinking during the battle at the bookstore, and if it was true that they were beginning to learn and evolve, there was no telling what would come next.
The three men with Purohit were huddled in the stairwell, a bottle in each hand, waiting for the order to launch their deadly cocktails. David looked at the Biters through his scope, seeing the outlines of the deformed faces and the tell tale turbans on their heads.
'Wonder what's with the damned turbans?'
Purohit sniggered.
'Damned Taliban Jihadis in Afghanistan started it all. Or at least that's what the news said. Maybe it's something that's still in their memory and transmitted along with the infection.'
David took in the information in silence, thinking back to his own tour of duty in Afghanistan and the carnage at his base.
A thought came to Mayukh.
'If that memory stayed with them and was somehow transmitted to all of them, what other memories could they have? Maybe they aren't learning any new skills, they're just remembering things they knew.'
Just then, the group of Biters began moving along the alley as one, their feet making a dull thumping sound on the pavement. They had stopped screaming, and they stopped when they were just ten meters away. Mayukh held his breath as he kept on hoping that perhaps they didn't have a particular target in mind, maybe they would just pass.
That was when one of the Biters stepped forward, raised his right hand and pointed straight at the window where Mayukh, David and Purohit were huddled. He uttered an ululating scream.
'Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaffffffrrrrrrr'
David felled him with a single bullet between the eyes, as the other Biters rushed towards the apartment. Purohit lit one bottle and flung it, the bottle boucing off the far wall, and creating a sheet of flame that enveloped two of the Biters who went down, screeching in agony, and were reduced to ashes in seconds. The man known as Margarita lit one of his bottles and advanced down the stairs, cocking his arm back to throw it towards the Biters who were now about to enter the stairwell.
That was when something totally unexpected happened. Three of the Biters took out rocks they had been hiding behind them and flung them at the men in the stairwell. They were clumsy throws, with aim and force no
