Zombiestan

brought back memories of a normality that they had scarce little of in their lives anymore. Mayukh walked up to her and kissed her on the forehead.

'You look amazing, sweetheart.'

He could hear Abhi groan and he turned to see the boy sticking out his tongue.

'Yeeeeks…he kissed her!'

What had been a moment of shared intimacy soon became the cause of laughter for the whole group, and they left the store in good spirits. Next up was getting enough fuel for the ride. Delhi to Leh was a thousand kilometer drive, and even in perfect weather could take an experienced driver a full day of driving non-stop to get there, given the mountain passes and roads in Ladakh. David, who had fought and lived in the cold, mountainous terrain of Afghanistan knew what they needed.

'We need some metal cans for the fuel. At high altitude, plastic jerry cans will leak the odour of petrol and together with the thin air is a recipe for throwing up. Any idea where we could get some of those?'

Mayukh thumbed through the guide in his hand.

'Sadar Bazar.'

They drove in silence, watching what remained of a once bustling city. Here and there people were wandering around in small groups, mostly scavenging for food or warm clothes. A frail woman with a toddler in her arms walked in the front of the car, pleading for help.

Mayukh realized, not without a tinge of shame, that under normal circumstances, he ignored a dozen such beggars on the streets of Delhi every day. Somehow, with all that had happened, that did not seem right. He asked David to stop, and he saw that Swati was thinking much the same. She took a couple of packs of food and pressed them into the woman's hands. The woman thanked them, and then took a look inside the SUV. She looked at Mayukh with her vacant eyes, and leaned forward to whisper.

'Take care of the child. They are looking for him.'

Mayukh recoiled as if struck, and the woman scurried away. He didn't say anything to anyone, not wanting to spook Swati any further, but he clutched Abhi tightly to his chest. The stakes were now much more than just his personal survival.

At the best of times, Sadar Bazar was a chaotic warren of shops put together haphazardly as if a giant had taken them all, juggled them and then strewn them around at random. Now, with no lighting, and no signs of anyone around, the area looked positively creepy to Mayukh. Purohit and David had gone inside a shop, and were looking for metal cans that might be useful. Mayukh was near the SUV, standing guard with Purohit's remaining friend. He finally learnt the man's name, Lamba. While they waited, Mayukh asked him what his story was.

'I was a Brigadier in the Army before I retired. I served under Purohit Sir for some years, but my health did not keep up with my plans.'

The man was wheezing slightly, and Mayukh wondered how hard it must have been for him to lose two of his friends in the fight the previous night. Suddenly, he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, and he had the uncanny feeling that he was being watched. He turned around to see an abandoned car repair shop that had all its windows and doors latched, save a small gap near the floor. He looked closely, and he swore he saw eyes peering out. Thinking it might be a frightened survivor, he came closer, his gun at the ready. He knelt down, and looked through the hole, and while whoever was inside had retreated into the darkness, he thought he could hear breathing. He came even closer, and then the familiar stench hit him. He fell back, scrambling his way to the vehicle, where Purohit and David asked him what had happened. When he told them, David simply took out his pistol.

'Only one way to find out.'

He fired a single shot through the hole, and they all heard not one, but several of the unearthly shrieks that had come to haunt their nights. Everyone hurried inside the vehicle and they drove off. Hina spoke to nobody in particular.

'They hide during the day.'

It was now almost noon and they all knew they would have to stop somewhere before Sunset. They briefly debated whether they should wait another night, but Swati insisted they push on.

'If they are really after Abhi, I want to get as far away as possible.'

They took stock of their food, fuel and warm clothes and were about to set off on the long drive when Purohit tapped David on the shoulder.

'Soldier, drop us where we were.'

Everyone started protesting all at once but Purohit raised a hand to silence them.

'Look, you have a more important mission that tagging along a couple of old men. Get that boy to someone who can figure out why he's immune and use it to help all of us.'

Mayukh told him that his not coming along would make them much weaker. Purohit smiled.

'Young man, on the contrary, we would be a liability. Lamba's got asthma and I have a busted leg from an old war wound. We would just slow you down especially in the hills. No, my friends, this is where the Bartender makes his last stand. Go on now, Lamba and I need to get ready before Sunset. You see, we old fogeys will do some hunting tonight.'

David whispered.

'He's right.'

Mayukh saw that despite his words, the American soldier looked almost choked with emotion. As they dropped the two old men, David got out and saluted both of them, standing at attention.

'Captain David Bremsak requesting orders to proceed on mission, Sir.'

Purohit saluted back, smiling broadly, his eyes glinting with a hint of tears.

'Happy hunting, Captain.'

***

David drove for the first one hour or so, and then Mayukh relieved him at the wheels. Swati was in the front seat next to him, with Abhi on her lap, and the boy kept up an incessant chatter that had everyone distracted, something they were all thankful for. Otherwise, they would have perhaps dwelt more on the desolate landscape they passed. The National Highway they were on was normally a death trap at night with its heavy trucks driven by over-worked and often drunk drivers. Now those same roads were eerily empty. A few trucks lay by the roadside, abandoned by their drivers the night the chaos had enveloped the world, but there were no more moving vehicles or people in sight. Abhi was looking out the window and giving a running commentary on what he saw.

'I saw a big red truck.'

'There's a giant blue truck which is broken.'

Mayukh smiled along at Abhi's exuberance, trying to suppress the anxiety he felt inside. He caught himself looking at Swati now and then, and though her eyes were creased with fatigue and stress, she smiled back. He wondered about the convoluted ways in which fate worked. He had lost everything he took to be his own, only to find someone like her in the midst of all this chaos. The feelings he had for her, and the trust Abhi had placed in him both made feel incredibly protective, and also woefully under-qualified for the task of protecting them. He took a glance back at David whose face was an inscrutable mask as he stared out the window.

David was consumed with the logistics of the task they faced. As much as he would have liked to believe otherwise, he knew their chances were slim. He was down to two clips for his M4, and while he had a lot of ammunition for his handgun, that was of little use at long range. Mayukh was down to ten rounds, and while he had proven himself to have guts, he was no trained soldier. Add to the motley crew an old woman, a young girl and a toddler, and he figured their chances of making it through a hostile landscape teeming with psychotic zombies didn't look that good. That, of course didn't mean that he wouldn't do his damn best to get himself, and everyone else out alive. He had Rose to get back to, and if what they all figured about the kid was indeed true, then perhaps there was something worth fighting for after all.

Mayukh thought that Hina was handling the stress the best of them all, fussing over all of them, handing out regular installments of cookies and snacks, and telling them they needed to keep their energy and spirits up. Hina would never have admitted it to any of them, but her enthusiasm came from an unlikely source. She had been used to years of living in solitude with nothing and nobody to care for but herself. She had secretly longed to fuss over her grandchildren, to once again pester her children to eat well, to say good night to someone else but herself before she went to sleep. Now, she realized, for better or worse, she had people to take care of. She so wanted to believe that getting Abhi to safety would indeed lift the darkness that had enveloped the world. That would at least mean that all the loss and suffering had somehow had some meaning. Also, the romantic in her so wanted to make