Cloaked Intentions

Prologue

Universe has its way if signalling when things are not right; when something decidedly dangerous is afoot. Sometimes the warning is subtle but sometimes it is glaringly obvious. 

That night should have put those smart enough to read the signals, on alert. 

Something sinister was in the air!

The first rain of the season, that night, brought neither the light joyful shower nor the earthy smell of soaked soil. Instead, it brought torrential rainfall - one that guaranteed a disaster!

The road was deserted; rightfully so. 

It was narrow, surrounded by dense trees and some deep valleys that were plagued by frequent landslides. It was lit only by the headlights from the intermittent vehicles passing by. 

Visibility was extremely poor at best; almost nonexistent.

A man sat in the passenger seat of a car travelling along the road. He was apprehensive; beyond apprehensive he was petrified. 

They should not have been there 

The driving conditions would have been difficult for even an experienced professional like him, it would have been nearly impossible to maneuver for his young mistress.

"Didi ji," he called out to her, tentatively and fearfully, "The weather is really bad, maybe I should drive now." 

She was years younger than him. He had no reason to call her Didi (elder sister), except for the status that being the daughter of his employer brought her.

"Relax Ramu! Nothing will happen," she told him

She was trying to focus on the road ahead; gauge what lay ahead through the fast moving wipers that were cleaning the glass shield 

"If we switch now, we will be soaked to the bone," she reasoned.

He looked at her apprehensively before turning back to the road. He was not at all feeling confident of the situation. His hands itching to go towards the steering wheel, not just because taking his mistress home safely was his responsibility, but also because he wanted to get out of this in one piece.

He tried to intervene again. "Didi ji, maybe you should drive a bit slowly. This is a treacherous road and we cannot see much ahead."

"Ramu, you are disturbing me. I know how to drive. I am not that bad a driver. I will drop you home safely. Don't worry so much," she said looking at him.

His eyes widened. "Didi ji. Watch the road!"

"I am," she said, turning back towards the road.

As she did, something or someone walked out from the woods on to the road. 

The light from the headlights fell on the person.

She gasped. Her eyes widened.  She clutched the steering wheel and floored the brakes completely. 

Ramu pulled the hand-brake even as he screamed, "Didi ji!"

The car was going at decent speed. Despite the good brakes and the good grip from the new tyres, the car skid a bit.

There was a loud thud. 

The person landed on the hood of the car before being thrown on the road, further away from the car. 

The car screeched to a halt inches from the person.

Time stood still. 

They sat frozen in their seats.

Ramu held on to the dashboard staring on the road ahead. After a minute the experienced driver in Ramu woke up. He looked at his mistress. 

She sit frozen. Her hands still gripping the steering wheel in a death grip. The rest of her body was shaking. She looked at the road, unseeingly, before a sob emerged from her mouth.

"Didi ji?" Ramu called, trying to rouse her. 

But she was in no state to respond. Her eyes were glued on the person in front of the car; lite only by the headlights.

As if moving almost on auto pilot, she removed her seat belt. She nearly fell out of the car as she opened door. 

Ramu stepped out as well, to not just help his mistress but to focus on the person.

She stumbled towards the person who was lying face down. 

Her legs giving way when she reached closer.

It was a man. 

She turned him around. 

He was a young man. He seemed to have a gash on his head that was bleeding. There was some blood on his arms. 

She tried to pull him closer on her lap. She tried to wake him up; shaking him since she was in no state to speak. 

He groaned–in pain–because of the movement.

He was alive!

She stilled her hands trying not to hurt him more.

"Didi ji! We should go! It will become police case! You could come in trouble!" Ramu pleaded, "If Sahebji finds out about this..." 

She glared at him.

"Help me!" she finally managed to utter, "We need to get him to a doctor, now. Get him in the car."

Ramu reluctantly gave in. 

Together they put him on the back seat. 

Ramu drove the rest of the way back home.

She sat behind holding on to the injured man. She called her father and asked him to get the doctor. 

They would be home in another half an hour.

There was no time to spare–if they wanted to save the man.

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