Boondocks: An Asian Evil Apocalyptic Thriller

Chapter One-1

CHAPTER ONE

The Present

The white Mahindra Scorpio Jeep ran along the deserted road. Rahul kept his foot glued to the accelerator as he followed the route to Jaisalmer under the clear blue sky and the burning sun. His and Elisa’s cell phones had lost signal, so Elisa, his girlfriend, was directing him using the paper map. It had been three hours, and Rahul had been driving without a pause. So far, they had only had a sandwich they bought in a restaurant near Nathdwara that morning. Their stomachs lurched now, craving food.

“I’m hungry as hell,” said Elisa.

“There must be a restaurant or something coming up soon,” said Rahul, and just then, his eyes fell upon a building on the right side of the road that looked like a restaurant. It was about fifteen feet away from the road in the desert. He accelerated, and the engine roared. Slowly, they came to a halt near the building.

Rahul lowered the window and read, “Manu Da Dhaba.”

“Mənu Də Dhabə!” Elisa said, pronouncing the words correctly, tilting her head, and squinting at the name on the vinyl awning.

“Would you like to go here?” he asked, unsure whether she liked spicy food. He had heard from his parents that Dhaba food was delicious, even better than five-star restaurants and hotels in the cities. But his and Elisa’s relationship was only eight months old, and he had never heard her mention Indian food before. In the United States, they spent their time in Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, and American restaurants like Red Lobster.

Elisa gently pushed him back into the seat so she could get a closer look and asked, “What does this mean?”

“Manu Da Dhaba,” he answered. “An eating house.”

Elisa licked her lips. “I’m hungry as hell. I’m going in.” She unbuckled herself and jumped out of the Jeep, running toward the eating house, her brown Michael Kors Nouveau Hamilton purse hanging on her shoulder.

“Hey! Wait for me,” he shouted, hanging his head out of the window.

“I’m sorry. I can’t,” she shouted, laughing, as she entered the dhaba; Rahul grinned as he pushed his head back and murmured, “All right, girl. Let’s see what you order!”

He saw a board indicating that the parking lot was behind the building, so he drove around and parked. He fixed his hair, looking in the rearview mirror. When he was satisfied with his appearance, he stepped out and entered the dhaba through the back door.

“So—” He stopped as he found Elisa sitting on a chair at a round table, gaping at their map. He was alarmed to see that it was covered in water. The map was their only solution to reach Jaisalmer and explore more Rajasthan cities, but it was now drowned. A metal water jug, now empty, lay next to it.

“What did you do?” he asked in a blend of shock and panic, still staring at the map.

Elisa startled and looked up at him. Worried, she stood up from the chair, shifting her distressed gaze from him to the map and back. “I’m sorry. I was marking a few more places we need to visit. But I accidentally nudged the jug and spilled water all over it. I’m so, so, so sorry.” Her eyes were almost wet with tears.

He swiftly grabbed her in his arms and tried to calm her down, patting her head. “No worries, my dear. I’m sorry for the way I reacted. We’ll find another map. I’ll ask someone here.”

“I hope you’re not upset with me,” she said.

“Not at all. It’s human nature to make errors,” he said. “I could have done this as well. It’s just a mistake. Don’t worry. I love you.” He smiled.

“You’re so sweet,” she said, tightening the hug for a fraction of a second. “I’m glad to have you in my life. I love you, too.” Her worried face glimmered with a smile.

Rahul kissed her on the head.

Still in their hug, Rahul looked around and saw a young couple, only a few years older than them, exiting from the back door.

“I’ll be back in a moment,” he said, making to walk after the couple, but at that moment a young server wearing a white shirt—not tucked into his khaki pants—arrived to serve the food Elisa had already ordered. On seeing the spilled water, he pointed to the next table and said, “Excuse me, could you please move over here? I’ll clean this up.”

At his words, Rahul stopped. He must have a map. “Thank you,” said Elisa in a soft voice, giving a quick appreciative smile.

They moved to the next table and waited for him to serve the food.

“What’s your name?” asked Rahul as he placed the bowl of sabji and a plate of two garlic butter naans down.

“Bhim,” he answered, now setting up the dishes for them.

“From Mahabharat, an ancient Indian epic?” joked Rahul, smiling. The waiter chuckled as he served them garlic butter naan.

Rahul cleared his throat in hesitation. He looked at Elisa and then the waiter. “Could you please do me a favor?” he asked after a moment.

“It’ll be my pleasure.”

“Could you please arrange a map for us?”

Elisa’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Bhim was holding a serving spoon halfway over the bowl, the orange-colored paneer sabji within ready to be poured onto their plates, and he glanced at the wet map on the previous table. It had become so wet that it would fall to pieces if he tried to pick it up. “I could try.”

He served the sabji and then left the table, leaving the bowl there for them to serve themselves more if they wished.

“You knew what to order?” asked Rahul, wanting to change the subject to divert Elisa’s attention from what she had done to the map.

“My boyfriend is an Indian guy, so I know a little about Indian food.”

Rahul smiled; his plan was working. He could feel it in her excited voice.

“Oh, really?” he said. “But I don’t remember hearing anything about Indian food from you.”

“That’s because you never talked about it, even though I love talking about your culture,” said Elisa. “You turned yourself into a complete American. You always want boiled vegetables, eggs, buffalo wings, chocolate chip cookies, cheeseburgers, and so on. It was completely fine for me that we didn’t eat Indian food together, because I was waiting for the right moment to surprise you.”

“Wow!” said Rahul and gulped down a bite. “When did you learn all this?” He hummed. “I must say you do surprise me. I find it amusing, fabulous, fantastic.”

Elisa let out a quick laugh.

“I’m glad to hear that,” she said. “I learned to cook some dishes from YouTube,” she added, tearing the naan with her fingers and dipping it into the sabji, “the revolutionary platform of entertainment and education.”

“Sounds great!”

Bhim returned and interrupted them. “I’m sorry, sir.” Rahul and Elisa looked up at him expectantly. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t find a map.”

“You have no map?” asked Rahul in shock. He believed employees of any dhaba would usually keep maps, just like any restaurant or hotel would, especially if it was at a deserted place like this.

“I asked my boss, the proprietor, and he tried to find one but could retrieve none.”

“Are you sure?” asked Elisa before Rahul could say something, using a smooth flirty voice, a broad smile on her face.

“I’m sure, ma’am,” said Bhim, his tone slightly changed. It was as if Elisa’s voice melted his heart somewhat and made him feel shy.

“Please find one for me,” insisted Elisa, her voice now completely sensual, her smile so damn cute, and her gaze completely alluring as she played with her hair.

All the while, Rahul remained silent. He knew what she was trying to do. She was attempting to lure the waiter to do her bidding.

Bhim’s lips quivered, and he looked down at the floor, not able to manage to look at Elisa anymore, perhaps finding it hard to release his words. Anyone could have fallen for her. Even as her boyfriend, Rahul had to stop himself from kissing her at that moment.

“I-I’m so-sorry, ma’am,” he stuttered in hesitancy. “We really don’t have any map.”

Elisa looked at Rahul, chewing her lip.

He sensed her disappointment. “Let me try,” he told her, speaking by moving his lips in a way that didn’t let out any words. It was a common trick he used with Elisa when playing games with their friends, or in any situation where they didn’t want another to hear their words.

Rahul shifted his look to Bhim.

“Even if you have one map that you can’t give us to take, please let me look at it,” Rahul asked, suspecting that Bhim might be lying. Perhaps they needed it for themselves. “I’ll take a picture of it on my cell phone and return it to you guys.”

“I’m extremely sorry, sir.” Bhim looked at Rahul with his face dropped, finding himself helpless. “We have no map.”

He walked away before they could continue.

Rahul couldn't eat any more as he had satisfied his stomach, and Elisa seemed to have finished too, leaving some food on her plate. Perhaps she was also full, or perhaps she was just distressed. They just stared at each other with worry. Neither had an idea how they’d reach Jaisalmer.

For a moment, Rahul thought about going back to Nathdwara the way they came, but he didn’t remember the way. I could have asked that couple. Then, I would at least have a map’s picture in my phone.

“s**t!”

“I’m sorry,” Elisa said.

“It’s not you,” said Rahul. He didn’t want to make her upset or cry. “I was just thinking that I should have gone after that couple.”

“We can check if they’re still outside.”

“They left over forty-five minutes ago. I don’t think they’d be outside still.”

“Let’s test our luck!”

Rahul left the dhaba, and Elisa rushed out after him after leaving some rupees on the table, believing it also included some tip for Bhim.

Both stood at the back door and scanned the parking lot, but the couple had already left in their car, the evidence being the stripes on the sand going away toward the asphalt.

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