(Book 6) Hayden Mackay and The Third-Eye of the Pancharatna

20. Lost and Found

A lowly screech went echoing in the cave and died down in the distance.

"Dead?" Shourya frowned, crouching down beside a man who happened to be the twin - his neck ruptured and his face dipped in the pool of blood. The gruesome scene explained furthermore battle that could have happened here.

Shourya and I then burst into the pathway, a single route that twisted downwards and later bifurcated. All amidst the slight glow from my fire, I barely saw a woman in a black saree easing nervously at the corner. My eyes met hers and I detected a knowing look in them. "She's gone! That way." I thought I heard her say against the subtle thundering footfalls coming from a distance as if a large number of persons were rushing down the steps. Shourya waved a hand at her and continued running.

He slowed down on reaching the division of the pathway. His face was slightly scrunched, seemingly affecting his senses. The pain in my arm made me freeze for a second like a cringing mouse. At that moment, I picked up a jolt of dark magic. A faint screech echoed, effective enough to strain my ears, and I was stung by the similar sensation of someone watching me. But before I could compose my mind, Shourya looked up and beckoned me onwards. I disregarded the feeling for now and together we made a sharp right turn.

A skinny tunnel it was, cramped with chilling silence and darkness. The glow from my flamed-up arms was the only helpful light. Our breaths were shaky and weak with the bumpy patches along the way, our steady motion regularly interrupted by the ups and downs of the ragged ground. Then, the walls on both sides of the tunnel began to fill up with doors. That's right, they were just plain doors. Small, wooden, and buckled under pressure. Taking a bit of an effort, Shourya jiggled the crooked knobs of each door in a typical mechanism. I entered the rooms one after the other with full anticipation and exited only with disappointment on finding them pitch-black and empty.

More and more doors appeared, and they continued into the darkness. We worked as a team, quickly checking them all with a synchronized method.

A movement...

"Wait!" I said, pulling Shourya back by his arm. A strange sight had attracted my attention. The door of the room by my side, a solid wooden frame had a gap wide enough to peek through. The secret room beyond was lightened with the soft yellow glow like that from the candles. I picked up on a flurry of movements and flickering shadows - the room was filled with people, I assumed. Finally! There was a rustle of sound, so very slight that I could have only imagined it. I walked closer becoming overly attentive and looked up at Shourya. "You missed this one. Please open it."

Shourya took a quick look, his breath coming in short puffs and the tawny skin on his forehead covered with beads of sweat. He swallowed. "I smell his scent. Shashi must be inside."

I could not outright dismiss the possibility. "Then, we'll have to fight."

"He'll kill me, Hayden," he said, his voice softened with fear.

"Open the door, please."

"He won't spare my life over and over again. It's a matter of being sensible. Would you let me go if you were in his place?"

"Whatever punishment he ought to give you, that certainly won't be," I said. "I'll protect you with my life. Have faith in me as much as you have in Nazira. Open the door. Now."

His countenance assumed an aspect of deepest unease. He stepped towards the door frowning at the knob and I readied myself to face a wrathful Shashi once again. His devoted goons may strike an attack, and I meant to take the plunge. My arm was healing and the pain was still there, but I was suddenly stronger. My stone burned as I began concentrating, my mind closely aligned with Singh's.

The door squeaked open. As if on a whim, flames spiraling around my hands burned brighter than before. My wound throbbed and I choked down the gasp of pain. A high-pitched scream of panic erupted from somewhere inside the room, followed by a slew of random curses. Not much to my anticipation there was only an old couple inside the dorm-sized room, huddled together in the corner. There was no sense of cruelty on their faces and they looked like...people. Normal. They stood scared and bewildered against the wall as if caught red-handed.

Somber air suddenly hit too hard. I then realized that I was standing inside a furnished cave room inhibited by a few beds with tattered bedsheets fortified with quilts. Heavily lit lanterns resting upon side tables alongside a collection of medicinal herbs. It seemed like a small conventional jail infirmary.

"What...what's going on here?" I asked, sensing the rawness of the atmosphere, and turned around to check on Shourya, who had a look of profound puzzlement on his face.

From the bed placed at the corner a tired hand raised, manifesting with great earnestness, and the fingers beckoned at me to come forward. The person in it was trying to sit up but seemed too exhausted to finish the task. Being watchful, I let my fire off and proceeded. Shourya quietly cursed under his breath and ran a frustrated hand through his dark hair. Nazira wasn't here, so I assumed he just wanted to go. The eyes of the couple followed my move. I checked upon those lying still in the bed. Fully grown people, but wrapped entirely with white sheets as though dead and ready to be buried.

I walked further up, mind yet fixed on my stone. I gently held the hand that had been asking for me and with my wounded arm I removed the sheet.

My stomach heaved.

The person's body was emaciated by malnutrition and suffering. Limbs were only bones wrapped in a thin sheet of pale skin. Spirit seemed to be broken by misery, and the face was too pasty and ghostly. My heart nearly cracked watching the decaying frame of the well-known person. The person was once my good friend, who now became a juxtaposition of both lost and found.

"Hayden," Ruchin Daniels said, voice croaking. "Please take us away from here. Please."

-x-