Chapter 5
Raina fall on her knees. A frantic female voice chanting Maha Mritunjaya Mantra boomed in her ears. She tightly closed her ears with her hands. Tears escaped from her eyes. Again a feeling of emptiness swallowed up. But suddenly she felt a hand covered her mouth, before understanding anything, she felt herself dragged. Her mobile fall down from her hand. She struggled to get out of the hold. She noticed five men surrounded her. All their faces are covered with clothes. She kicked the man who is standing in front of her . At the same time, she felt a pain on her neck. A needle pricked there & darkness engulfed her.
A chill ran through the spins of Rishabh of not finding Raina in the temple. He looked here & there. He dialed Raina’s number from his Mobile, but found it unreachable. A Yagya was going on in front of the idol of Durga Maa, the priests were chanting the hymns & placing offerings on holy fire. Smoke covered the whole temple. Many people sat closing their eyes. Droplets of sweats covered Rishabh’s forehead. He rushed outside the temple & got collided with someone. He saw Phooli there.
Rishabh ( Frantically)- Where is Raina?
Phooli looked confused.
Rishabh( fiercely)- That girl who was with me. Your eyes were constantly on us. Right?? Now, tell me where is she? & if anything bad happens with her, I will not leave anyone here.
Phooli- I saw her climbing down the stairs of temple.
Rishabh- She was going outside!! Why the hell didn’t you stop her?? You know naa, it is dangerous to go outside.
Phooli- I thought you were outside. That’s why, she is also leaving.
Rishabh frustratedly ran his fingers in his hairs.
Phooli- Search her in “Asur Sthal”.
Rishabh( surprised)- where??
Phooli- Don’t waste your time. Go there. I am giving you direction.( Rishabh noticed fear in her eyes, though he remained silent.)
Phooli told him the direction & silently left from the temple.
A man placed unconscious Raina on a stone altar. He took out a small knife & cut her palm. Blood gushed out from the wound. He soaked a cloth with her blood & placed it in the entrance.
Rishabh was walking inside the jungle as per the direction given by Phooli. The wrist watch he is wearing which has GPS & advanced navigation system, helping him to sense the direction in the jungle. On the way, he found Raina’s mobile & sandels. He carefully looked at the place. He can clearly see the marks of struggle. Suddenly a Syringe caught his attention. He took the syringe & mobile with him & now he started running. He can see a cave in front of him. Without wasting a second, he ran towards the cave. He took out his Service Revolver. His eyes fall on the blood soaked cloth. He can feel his palms are sweating & his legs are shaking. He took a deep breath & walked inside cautiously. There was so much silence that he can hear his own heart-beat. He was startled to see a fierce looking monster idol made up of stone & located Raina in front of the idol. He rushed towards her & felt relieved to check her pulse. He tried to wake her up & noticed the cut on her palm. He bites his lips to control his anger. He used the fireman lift technique , placed unconscious Raina on his shoulder & started running. Outside, he heard some footsteps & a man’s voice, “Stop Him, he is running away with the sacrifice for the Rakshas”. Rishabh fired a bullet in air from his Service Revolver & left the place in hurry. He has to save Raina at any cost. No one can stop him now.
Aparajita angrily roared of not finding anybody on Asursthal. She smelled the blood there. She got angry & stomped her foot fiecerly. The ground shook.
Suddenly, Rishabh got unbalanced & fall. Somehow, he managed to save Raina who is on his shoulder but hurt his knees. Shocked Rishabh looked here & there. “What is it?? Earthquake??” He again got up & started taking steps.
Doctors are checking unconscious Raina in hospital & Rishabh pacing outside the cabin. He is biting his nails & the constable Ramesh looking at him. The doctor came out & told that because of some heavy sedatives drugs, she is not coming in sense. She will be fine till morning. A nurse bandaged the wounds of Rishabh. After that, he got up & instructed Ramesh to post a constable outside the cabin for Raina’s protection. He came out from the hospital & sat in his car & ordered Ramesh to drive to his Office.
Ramesh is strangely looking at Rishabh who is sitting in his cabin & lost in some deep thought. He took out the syringe & blood soaked clothes & carefully started examine.
Rishabh- Ramesh, send these to Forensic & tell them to examine the clues urgently. I want report soon.
He put the things in Evidence bag & gave to Ramesh, who saluted Rishabh & left the cabin.
After Ramesh left, Rishabh checked the news update in his laptop. Naa, there was no news on Earthquake. But, what was that?? The ground shook. Rishabh sighed & slapped his forehead. “I am hallucinating things. Definitely, I got toppled on some stone & fall down. I was in hurry. That’s why I failed to notice the stone.” He tried to convince himself but a part of him remained unsatisfied with the logic.
Finally UPDATED. Sorry for the late. I am busy for the preparation of some important exams. But don’t worry. Will Update on my spare times. No Proof reading. Please ignore the mistakes. Waiting for reviews.