Zombiestan

'My friend, it's almost three in the afternoon. Even if I drive as fast as I dare to with all the abandoned trucks and cars on the highway up ahead, we will barely get there by Sunset. Come with me, and I can tell you everything you want on the way. But you have to trust me at least that much.'

David looked at Mayukh, and he took the American soldier aside.

'We don't have much of a choice do we? We're stranded here, we're almost out of ammunition and in about three hours, if those Biters are indeed looking for us, then we have almost zero chances of getting through the night.'

David looked at Hina and Swati, as if seeking their agreement. They both nodded and Hina added with a whisper.

'I don't like when I am forced to do something because there's no other option available, but in this case, we have to go with him.'

Abhi was now running around Walter asking him how fast his train was, and laughing uncontrollably. Each of them looked at the little boy, and were reminded of what the stakes really were. Whatever their misgivings about joining this stranger, they knew only too well that Abhi had to be protected, and if there was even a remote possibility that the Biters were indeed trying to target him, then they could not take any chances.

David finally held out his hand and introduced himself. Walter shook it with a broad grin and then asked them to get their stuff and join him in his van.

A few minutes later, they set off with Walter at the wheel. Swati squeezed Mayukh's hand and looking at her anxious face, he knew she was thinking the same thing they all were.

Had they made the right decision in joining this stranger?

***

The first thing David noticed when he sat down in the front passenger seat was the shotgun placed lying on the floor. That wasn't much of a surprise-anyone expecting to be driving alone in these times would reasonably be expected to have some means of defending himself. The second thing he noticed did take him by surprise. Walter had a small radio transmitter set placed on the floor and it seemed to be connected by wires to the battery for power. When he turned on the ignition, it flared to life.

'Bald Eagle, where are you? You don't have much more time.'

Abhi screamed from the back seat.

'Yes, uncle is bald, bald, bald.'

Mayukh and Swati were trying not to laugh, and red with embarrassment, Hina was trying to ask Abhi to be quiet but the boy continued his chant, if at a slightly lower volume.

Walter tut-tutted and picked up the attached microphone to respond over the radio.

'Guruji, I am on my way. I have picked up some friends. Over.'

David waited for a few more minutes before bringing up the subject.

'You guys seem very organized.'

Walter responded without taking his eyes off the road.

'We have to be. There are three hundred people at the Ashram now, and we need to have some sort of organization to both take care of their needs and also find and help others like you.'

'Three hundred! How did so many…'

Hina had left her question unfinished but Walter responded, looking at her in the mirror.

'Take me for example. An Austrian businessman on holiday in Manali. Then all Hell breaks loose. Where could I go? The cops had died, run away or become Biters. I stumbled upon the Ashram where Guruji was, and together with some others, under his guidance we started off. As word spread, more and more people sought us out.'

'You mentioned Guruji again. Who is he?'

'He's the one holding it all together. I gather he was well known in India. His name is Swami Vinesh.'

Despite himself, Mayukh sniggered and he turned to see that Swati was rolling her eyes. Hina, with more years of experience and maturity behind her managed to just nod in response. David, unaware of what they were reacting to, turned and asked Mayukh who Swami Vinesh was.

'He's a Godman, or so he claims. Started teaching Yoga, and then started becoming a Guru to politicians and movie stars. Has his own TV channel, a private jet, and nominated himself for the Nobel Peace Prize.'

'Are you pulling my leg?'

Hina piped in.

'I think Mayukh is being quite diplomatic. He was caught in a sex scandal last year when he was taped asking a devotee for sexual favours since that would get her Nirvana. Nice to know we're going to be his guests.'

David, now not so sure they had made the right choice after all, looked towards Walter, who shrugged his shoulders.

'Look, I know nothing about his past or if what they say about him is true or not. All I know is that he is selflessly helping hundreds of people survive this Hell. That makes him a good guy in my books.'

The drove the rest of the way in silence, each of them wondering what lay ahead. After about an hour more, with the Sunlight beginning to fade, they saw a group of huts ahead. As they passed the roughly built huts, David's experienced eyes picked up what the others had missed.

'Ambush points with gunmen inside.'

If Walter heard it, he did not say anything but kept driving till they reached a complex ringed by a wooden fence that was at least a dozen feet high and a massive wooden gate that was closed. As they came closer, they saw that the fence was ringed with torches that were in the process of being lit, and by the time they reached the gate, the complex was lit up like a giant birthday cake packed with candles. Or at least that's what it appeared like to Abhi, who gaped at the building and asked Mayukh.

'Can we blow those candles out and eat the cake?'

At any other time, they would have laughed, but now they were all too tensed up to joke. The complex they were approaching appeared to look more like a medieval castle than an Ashram where the well heeled came to practice Yoga and seek salvation in the faux spirituality of a jet-setting Swami. As they came closer, the gate swung open and they entered the complex.

Mayukh's first impression was that it resembled a holiday resort more than a spiritual Ashram, with villas lining the street that cut through the complex and with trees bursting with apples and flowers. He could see a handful of people around, but what immediately got his attention was the group of armed men who approached the van as it stopped. There were three men, all Caucasian and each carrying a shotgun with a pistol tucked into his belt. Seeing them approach, David's hand went to his handgun, but Walter spoke in a reassuring voice.

'Relax. They are friends. They help look after security here, that's all.'

As they got down from the van, they huddled as a group and Walter exchanged some words with the three men. One of them, an overweight man with an immense gut, approached them, speaking in a heavy Slavic accent.

'Ve vill need to take your gunz.'

It took David a second to process what the man meant, but when he understood he smiled, sizing up his opponent. The man was tall, more than six feet, and had muscular arms and a thick neck, but the muscle he must have built during his youth had dissipated into the fat that lined his waist. He carried his shotgun like an amateur, with his hand gripping it in the middle like a baseball bat. David knew that if he wanted to, he could fell him with his gun or knife before the man ever got his gun into firing position. With his senses honed by countless hours of training and combat, all that assessment took a split second. But also a split second later, he forced himself to calm down. There were other armed men around, and even if he might have been tempted to take his chances if he were alone, there was no scope for heroics with the others depending on him, especially Abhi. But there was no way he was going to give up their only means of defending themselves.

So he turned to Walter, who seemed to be watching expectantly, as if waiting to see how David would react.

'Walter, please tell your friends that I take my orders only from my superiors in the US Military, and till someone in my chain of command tells me to stand down, I am on active combat duty.'

The fat man in front of him did not seem to be very pleased but Walter stuck out his hand, showing a thumbs up sign.

'Of course, Captain. My friends have not dealt with any soldiers yet. They mean no disrespect, but they are just trying to ensure everyone here remains secure.'