Zombiestan

***

David was crouched on the platform, ducking under the wall. Walter and three other men were with him, firing away occasionally with their shotguns, but more often that not, ducking like David. Mayukh knew that David had no ammunition left for his rifle, yet he saw him put his rifle to his shoulder and peer through the scope. As he came closer, he realized what was going on. David was using the night vision on his scope to guide Walter and the others in shooting at whoever was firing from the outside.

Mayukh climbed up the platform, but before he could say anything, David shoved him down.

'Keep your head down. They have automatic weapons!'

Mayukh wondered who could be attacking them with automatic weapons, but none of the men on the platform had any time or inclination to answer him. David kept popping his head up, scoping out a target and then Walter and his friends would blast away with their shotguns till the target was neutralized. There was heavy firing coming from outside the wall, but as far as Mayukh could make out, not a single bullet came even close to hitting the wall, let alone the men gathered on the platform. The attackers were either atrocious shots, or had no idea what they were doing.

The firing subsided after about ten minutes, and David yelled out to Walter.

'Stop wasting ammo! They're all wasted or have run away!'

The men stopped firing, and Mayukh saw something had fundamentally changed in the group dynamics. For all his earlier bluster, Walter looked shaken, and was taking orders from David.

'Captain, I'll go let the Swami know what happened.'

As the others walked off, Mayukh looked at David, who was still scanning the area beyond the gate.

'What happened to him? He was ready to salute you, I think. Also, who the hell was shooting at us?'

David put his gun aside and turned towards Mayukh.

'I don't know his story, but I'll bet he has some military experience. However, shooting zombies from a safe distance is one thing, being shot at with automatic weapons is another. I think big Mikhail there pissed his pants.'

Mayukh laughed but then realized that David was dead serious.

'As for who was shooting at us, it was the damn Biters.'

A chill went down Mayukh's spine. The Biters had shown signs of evolving, but so far the most he had seen them do was throw rocks. If Purohit's theory was correct, and they were remembering common memories from the origin of the infection in Afghanistan, was it possible that they had learnt how to use weapons? David clapped Mayukh on his shoulder.

'They can't aim to save their lives and were just spraying in the sky. But what if they remember or learn how to aim?'

Mayukh didn't even want to contemplate what would happen if that ever came to pass. Even though the rest of the night passed without incident, none of them slept a wink. They all moved into one villa, and David sat by the door, his pistol in his hand.

Sometime before Sunrise, Abhi woke up and was quite confused to see all the adults sitting around, looking so serious. He first turned to Swati.

'Are you happy?'

She couldn't help but laugh at his innocence and assured him that they were all happy. Then, a look of concern came over his face.

'Where is McQueen?'

Mayukh fished out the red car from under a bed, and passed it to Abhi, who immediately began playing with it, oblivious to the worries that were gnawing away at the others.

Mayukh stepped out at about eight in the morning, and saw some of the Ashram's residents walking about. All of them seemed to be moving quickly, as if in a hurry to finish whatever work they had and then get back to the perceived safety of their villas. He saw Sharma walking along the road, and called out to him.

'Mr. Sharma, what's the Swami doing? We'd like to have a word with him.'

Sharma just nodded and went on his way. Mayukh was beginning to wonder whether Sharma had passed on the message when ten minutes later, Swami Vinesh came to the villa. He looked haggard, and his usually sharp eyes were tinged with dark circles. When he was inside, he first addressed David.

'You are the military man here. If those Biters can indeed learn to fire guns, what are our chances?'

The Swami seemed to further crumple on David's reply.

'Swami, the short answer is zero. You have a handful of armed men, and honestly, though they haven't told me who they really are, they seem to have some experience in the military. But it was easy when the Biters were launching themselves into the electrified fence and standing about, waiting to be shot to pieces. If they can learn to shoot straight, then it's just a matter of time before your guards are dead and they come over. All it requires is for them to develop the sense to run a vehicle through the fence and break a part of it.'

The Swami mulled his answer before saying it out loud.

'Walter and his friends were soldiers in the Russian and Eastern Bloc armies, and later became arms dealers. They peddled Eastern European small arms to anybody who had the money. Walter became my devotee a year ago, and they were here both for the meditation and to meet some clients for their shotguns.'

David spat on the floor. For a professional soldier, there was nothing quite lower than a gun runner who sold weapons in the black market, which all too often ended up in the hands of terrorists.

The Swami got up to leave when Hina stopped him.

'We are thankful for the shelter you gave us, but we must be on our way. If we leave now, we may yet make it to Ladakh by nightfall. Do you know if there are any running vehicles in the neighbouring villages? I'm sure lots of tourists would have driven here.'

A bit to Mayukh's relief and surprise, the Swami agreed readily, saying he would get Sharma and his staff to rustle up a car that was in running condition and had enough fuel, adding that if they left within the hour, they could get to Ladakh by nightfall. When he left, Swati commented with a smile.

'Now, that was easier than I thought it would be. Maybe he just looks creepier than he is.'

With everyone's mood considerably lightened, they began to make preparations for their journey. They unloaded all their remaining supplies from Walter's van and had them piled up near the gate, ready to be loaded into whatever vehicle Sharma managed to find for them.

Swati was feeding Abhi some cookies, so that he would not be hungry when they set out on what would undoubtedly be a long drive, and Hina was taking stock of their remaining food supplies. Mayukh checked his watch-it had already been forty-five minutes and there was no sign of Sharma or any car.

'David, I'll just go over to the Swami's villa and check what's going on.'

David was too busy cleaning his gun to notice, so Mayukh just headed over to the Swami's villa. He knocked twice, and hearing no response, peeped in through an open window to see that it was empty. He then figured that his best bet was to go to the administrative office and see if he could find Sharma or the Swami there. As he approached the villa, he was surprised to see Sharma walking out of the villa, smoking a cigarette.

'Mr. Sharma, did you find the car the Swami asked you to get for us?'

Sharma fumbled with his cigarette, almost dropping it in surprise on being accosted by Mayukh. He then rushed away before Mayukh could ask him anything more. Suspecting that something was amiss, Mayukh was about to storm into the villa when he heard raised voices inside. He peered in through the open door and saw the Swami and Walter talking.

'Walter, you've seen the damn piece of paper as well! It's clear what they want. Let them have the boy and maybe they'll leave us alone.'

'Look, Vinesh, they are goddamned mindless zombies! We've killed dozens every night. Let them come again and we can hold them.'

'Oh yes, we have held them when they were walking in blind. But now they can shoot! Don't you get it? They can think. They can write. They can shoot. They can't do any of them as well as us, but they are learning. How long before they break in here and turn us into creatures like them. No, no, actually, they won't do that. You've heard from the radio broadcasts what they do to those who try and fight.'

Walter looked deflated and sat down.

'He's but a boy, Vinesh. Also, if we do hand him over, what guarantee is there that they'll leave us alone?'