Hunt for Survival

I don't know who is he

Shaurya

We reached the place and we didn’t really see anyone.

“Was that also an illusion?” I asked and was ready with my knife.

“Don’t be impulsive.” He reacted very quickly. I couldn’t really understand what was making him so impatient. It was like that person whom we had heard was in need was related to him.

“Please help.” We heard another voice but that was similar to the last one.

“The voice is coming from there only.” He started to run away and I followed him and I couldn’t understand anything and this was the first time that I had been seeing him so much worried about someone.

“Prashant, why are you like this?” I asked. He suddenly came to a halt and I reached him and he was all frozen and he passed me a small smile.

“What does that mean?”

“You must not know what I have seen.” I looked at him and he was looking at me and I knew that he wanted me to continue. “You were like that. She is someone who holds your life and if she is in danger, then your life won’t move further.” I said and he took a few steps back and looked away before looking at me again.

“Are you trying to pull my leg?” He asked and I shook my head.

“You were so much easier to read at that time that anyone than me could have told you what you were feeling. Your expressions were such expressions which I failed so many times.”

“It is nothing like that, I just hoped that maybe she was a human and maybe we could take her along with us.” I didn’t know what to say because he had molded his answer well, but he didn’t express his words over his expression. I don’t want to push him, but he is giving me a different vibe now. I have to find this out. I just hope that whatever my mind is really thinking shouldn’t be reality.

I shook my head and smiled. I am trying to investigate my own friend who has been with me for so long and we have even gone through death. Then how can I be suspicious of him? I think that I was overreacting over this.

“Alright. We should go further and save her.” He nodded and I ran away and this time when I saw him he was trying to hide his expression as much as he could and we had even shared some glances when we reached the place, but I guess we had lost our way because after that last time we had heard her voice, we didn’t hear any more voice over there. I looked back and he was also looking here and there and he didn’t even spare me a glance. I don’t know if the reason which he had stated is the real one or not or the person whose voice we had heard is related to him. Can it even be possible?

“Please help me.” We again heard the same voice and this time I thought that we were near to that voice and I looked around but found no traces and I calmed myself down. I tried to confirm that the person beside me was my friend only and I was so distracted by that, that I didn’t get any time to hear any voices.

I heard someone struggling. They were really dim, but the struggling was around a rope. I think she was the one who was struggling and I also heard someone walking and that, too, was a very silent one, but because of the dry leaves which were on the ground, I could hear them and then I realized where the voice was coming from. I ran in that direction and saw a golden figure in front of me and then I realized whose figure it was. It was a lion and I looked up and saw that there was a girl in the net. I thought that she was tied to a rope, but there the story is different.

“We should….” Before I could have said anything, the girl was on her feet and the tiger was dead and my words which I were to speak turned into, “What was that?” I looked at Prashant the one who was beside me but steps ahead. “Your power is so higher high now that I couldn’t catch your movement.”

“Was it? I thought that it was slow.” So he was the one who had done it and he didn’t even deny it. But his power was generally about his strength and his speed was also unbeatable. I looked at the girl and she was about to fall down. I quickly went towards her and held her. I looked at Prashant who was composing something inside him.

“We have to find a place where we can stay tonight. The sun is about to set and we should get somewhere where she could also rest well. I guess she is already exhausted.” I said and he nodded in my way.

“I can carry her.” He volunteered.

“Don’t worry, I can handle this. We should hurry up.” I took the girl on my back and then we moved forward, but until we could go, I couldn’t see any shelter. “There is no shelter, we should build one.”

“Build one?” I nodded.

“Yeah, do you know how to build one?” He shook his head. “I only guessed that, I also don’t know how to build one and that is really natural, as I think none of us really have to have something like this before in our lives. But we have to build a shelter as she is also getting hot. She is going to have a fever soon and you are best at medicine. You will be able to treat her well.” I put the girl down. “Till you take care of her, I will go and search for something in which we can put shelter.” I said and ran away from there and, looked here and there, but it was way too difficult for me to find something in that dense forest and that two when the light is going away.

But then I didn't give up and found some bamboo. Is this my luck? I took them away and found some vines as well. I hope that, like last time, they won’t betray me. I tested them and they were quite stronger than the previous ones. I think that it will last longer than the previous one and this time it doesn’t really have to pull someone up, so I think that it would be convenient to use them and I also picked some dry twig as it was getting cold. I couldn’t really understand the temperature over here. I returned and saw that he was checking her pulse.

“She is doing fine now, she won’t get any fever.” He said and then looked at me.

“That is nice. I have got the things in which we can take shelter.” I said, and put everything in front of him.

“Let me help you.” He said, and we both started to build it. As none of us knew knowledge about this, we didn’t really know where we were wrong, but in the end, I guess we had made a good enough one, which was enough for the three of us. We had covered it with the big leaves which were present in the forest.

“I guess it is good enough for us. No?” I asked him and looked at him and he nodded.

“It is really okay.” He said, then he put the girl in the shelter and then I put on the twig and was looking at something through which we could generate the fire. Till this day, we have used the ancient technique and that was rubbing the stones against each other, but before I could find anything, I felt something warm and then I looked ahead and saw that the fire was already set.

“How were you able to get one?”

“Like we always used to, but this time I tried a different method.”

“What way?”

“Maybe next time.” We were both near the fire but there was a deep silence which had fallen between us. Whenever this used to happen in the past. I never really felt so awkward as I am feeling right now. In the past, they never bothered me, but now they are bothering me. His sealed lips are as if they have so many things to say, but he is not saying anything.

“Prashant.” I called out to him but he didn’t look at me but replied in hmm. “Is there anything which is bothering you? You are looking so much different today, as if the whole world has come to an end.”

“I am not bothered by anything. I just want to be alone or want to remain quiet for some time.”

“Should I leave then?”

“No, no need. Where would you go?”

“Maybe I would go around for a while and then come back.”

“No need, you stay over here only. By the way, don’t you want to sleep?” I looked at the sky and smiled.

“I am not at all feeling like sleeping. Lately, all I have been thinking is that I have to go back to my mother and my friend. I bet that they are also waiting for me. I don’t know how many days have passed, but I can’t even move faster because it might give me a break. I don’t want that. I am ready for delay but I can’t make the full stop,” I said.

“Why are you looking up and smiling?”

“I feel as if today the sky is prettier than before and today I have got new hope.”

“You want to finish up the king, don’t you think that he also has a family who must need him?” I looked at him weirdly.

“Why are you asking that?”

“I have just hit on this question and I am kind of curious to know.”

“No doubt that he has a little sister and I don’t know who else must be with him and who is going to be with him, but I guess death doesn’t really see if that person has a family or not, if that person is happy or sad, if that person is rich or poor. It is just death which sees everyone equally and I think that maybe he has also lived enough. If he was able to get rid of his greed, then maybe he would be able to be a great king, as I have heard about him.”

“There is no greed when you want power.” He spat and I looked at him.

“If that power could have been used for good use, then maybe it is not really greed and what is wrong with you, Prashant? Why are you behaving like that? Are you sick or have lost your brain somewhere?” I asked him and he was shocked for a moment before he closed his eyes and then again opened them, but this time he looked at the fire.

“I am sorry.”

“What is wrong with you? I am wondering why that illusion has made an impact on you, that you are behaving like that?”

“It is nothing.”

“Then you had better be aware of what you are saying. You know that the king’s death is the most awaited thing which he is also waiting for. He is aware that his death is arriving and maybe greed is not all the reason for his death. You had better make sense after what you are asking. In reality, I am think that you are not the Prashant whom I know. You are just someone else and I don’t know who he is.” I said and stood up from there and went out of there. I rested near a tree and thought about my conversation with him. He was really behaving like someone else.