31
“We got her.” Arun yelled.
Shah took a sharp turn and accelerated towards the estate. Mridula tried everything to free herself from their grasp but everything went in vain.
“Go through that old highway. Nowadays no one comes there. We can save sometime and besides no one will see us.” Mohan’s eyes were fixed on the road.
“He is right.” Arun supported.
They didn’t have much time to waste thinking. Shah turned to the left and entered the highway. They saw the warning but gave an ignoring stare.
It was getting dark sooner than they expected.
The car accidently jumped a big pothole and for a moment they all lost their control. Shah pushed the brakes hard. Mridula was free from the grasp. She didn’t need a second invitation. Before Arun could realize what was happening she opened the door and ran into the shrubs.
“Catch her.” Alex screamed. “Don’t let her go.”
They all jumped out of the car and started running. The thick canopy of the woods scarcely let any light to fall on the ground.
She knew she couldn’t outrun them but she used the darkness to hide herself from them. She ran deep into the woods until she reached an open ground.
They divided themselves and started searching her individually until Mohan saw a silhouette at the entry point of the ground. He silently moved towards her, she stood there panting and unknowing what to do or where to hide. He reached so close to her, she heard a movement behind her back and decided to run again when he hit her hard with a rock he held in his hand. She fell down unconscious landing on her belly. Mohan grabbed her hands and pulled her along the ground towards the open area where the pale red light of the setting sun made a perfect ambience. Soon the others joined him. They stood around her body.
“I will go in first.” Alex smiled wickedly.
Arun pulled her legs wide grabbing her knees. They took their turns to enjoy her subtle and weak body.
“We don’t need her anymore.” Arun announced. He stepped on her foot and stretched the other foot as far as he could. A muffled shriek escaped her lips.
“What the hell are you doing? She is still alive.” Shah yelled at him.
“Kill her. Or else tomorrow we will be in trouble.” Alex looked at his friends.
Mohan took a few strides and picked up the blood stained stone which he used to knock her down and started hitting again. He crushed her skull.
“Arun, go get the petrol can inside the car.” Shah stared at her motionless naked body. “And there is an iron rod also.”
“Why do you want iron rod?”
“To bury the residue.” His voice was sinister.
Her body was full of bite marks and cigarette burns. Her head squashed and ripped open was covered in blood. Her fallopian tubes were broken and blood flowed through her vagina. There was a slight movement inside her belly but no one noticed.
“She is still so beautiful.” Alex glared at her with sadistic desire. He kneeled above her and once again tried to quench his thirst for lust.
By the time he stood up Arun came back with a can of petrol. Shah and Mohan dug up a small shallow grave. They moved her into the pit and poured the petrol over her. Shah lit his lighter and dropped into the pit. Fire burned like it was mad. The movement inside her belly got vigorous. They didn’t see it as they were blinded by the fire. Once the fire went out they covered the pit with the soil. Then they left.
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“I will kill those bastards.” Rajeev jumped up with rage.
“No.” His voice was so serene but commanding, Rajeev stood grounded. “They are already killed.”
“What?” Rajeev couldn’t believe that. “Who killed them?”
“Your unborn child.”
They both gave him an unbelievable look. They couldn’t accept what they just heard.
“It's true. It carried out its revenge and it used you Rajeev to kill them. In other words you killed them but you weren’t aware of that.”
“How could that be possible?”
“Heartbeat is present by four months of child development. Brain develops within five months inside a womb. By seven months it can hear and feel. That means it could know what is happening around and understands it through its mother. It understands your feelings, your worries, your happiness, everything. You were killed while getting raped but it was alive inside you. Through your senses it knew what was happening outside. It was …“ He stopped for a moment. “…burned alive and buried under the ground. It killed everyone in such a way it was tortured.”
His last words were unfathomable to them. It took them sometime to recover from the tremors and it kept on coming.
“Why didn’t it contact us?” Rajeev’s voice trembled.
“It kept you away from this only to keep you safe.”
“Why didn’t it avenged before? Why now?”
“It doesn’t have a soul. It is half you and half Mridula. It was always there under the soil waiting for you two to meet. That happened just now and it came, though soulless, acquired a portion of your souls.”
“So if I hadn’t returned it would have to wait more years.”
“You never came here by your will; it has brought you here Rajeev. It wanted to carry out the revenge through you. It already knew Mridula’s spirit is roaming around the house. Its powers are immeasurable. It is an angel with a portion of human spirit and another portion of evil spirit. No one can mess with it.”
“Where is it now?
“It was always here. Mridula can feel it. But you were afraid of its unpresumable power.”
“That was my child?” Mridula erupted. “I would have helped if it just gave me a sign.”
“It was always watching you from there.” He pointed towards the banyan tree.
Mridula and Rajeev looked at it eagerly. The entire tree shook vigorously to show its presence.
“I am leaving now. I had this task summoned by it and it is done.”
They didn’t say a word but folded their arms to show gratitude. Brahmadevan walked towards the car but before he opened the door he looked back at them and said.
“I forgot to say one thing. From now onwards you will look like Mridula and not Joyce. Your child is too powerful and nothing is impossible to it. It wasn’t born otherwise it would have been with you in a mortal form. But soon it will be born again inside you.” He looked at his driver. “Narayan, let’s go.”
After they left, Rajeev and Mridula stared at the tree. They saw a dark mist forming into the shape of a fetus. Two yellow eyes sparkled and a soft cry of a baby resonated through the air.
I will be watching you unbeknownst. A gentle echo enveloped them along with the zephyr.
As they walked inside the house Rajeev whispered into Mridula’s ears. “Time to have our baby back.”
Mridula knew what he meant. Rajeev’s fingers raised her chin as his lips found rhythm with hers.
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