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  'They're here!'

  Mayukh saw several shadows crowding the doorway but before any of them could even get in the door, one of the men next to him lit his Molotov and threw it straight through the open door. The bottle smashed against the ground, spewing the kerosene around in a growing inferno. Mayukh could hear high-pitched screams from the Biters as they scattered.

  They heard the sounds of carnage from nearby houses but clearly the Biters had learnt that this particular house was out of bounds. Mayukh saw the flames flicker outside the door, and saw a body wrapped in fire. As the flames consumed the body, within minutes it seemed to collapse upon itself and dissolve into ashes. He heard David call out.

  'They seem to be leaving for now.'

  There was however no question of being complacent. They kept up an uneasy watch through the night, not wanting to be taken by surprise. After a couple of hours, Mayukh decided to go to the second room to see how the others were doing. Abhi was fast asleep, with Hina next to him. Swati was lying in a corner, but sat up when Mayukh walked in.

  'Hey, it's just me.'

  As he sat down, she moved next to him and he took her hand. She realized that his hands were shaking and she held them tight. Her head was on his shoulder and as Mayukh turned to say something to her, his face brushed hers. He could now feel her breath on his face, and he paused. What was he doing? Was there any chance of a future with her in the middle of all the chaos where they couldn't predict whether they'd live from one day to the other?

  Ultimately, as they sat next to each other, those thoughts seemed less important than simply knowing that they were not alone, that they had someone they could turn to for support. Mayukh leaned over and kissed her. A tentative first kiss, but when he reached over and kissed her again, she did not move away, but kissed back. Mayukh whispered.

  'You do realize I haven't brushed my teeth in three days?'

  Swati murmured back.

  'Neither have I. Since one kiss hasn't killed either of us, I guess we should be okay for more.'

  They held each other, and sat that way till daylight came.

  Mayukh had just finished washing his face in the bathroom, a welcome feeling of cleanliness after three days of living on the run, and had come out to check on Abhi when he bumped into Hina.

  'You two make a good couple.'

  Mayukh started to protest, especially when he saw that Swati was within earshot.

  'Hina, don't let your romance novelist's imagination get the better of you.'

  'You know, I wasn't as fast asleep as you may have thought last night.'

  Mayukh saw Swati redden a bit and he walked to the other room, mumbling something about talking to David, and leaving Hina cackling in delight. He found David and Purohit in a huddle. Purohit had a small box in his hand, and he seemed to be cranking a handle. He then held up the box to the window, but all that came out of it was the hiss of static.

  'We'll try again later, David. You never know when the damn thing will speak again.'

  'I wonder if anyone is left out there. My tactical radio hasn't picked up anything other than some recorded message saying we should stand by for orders.'

  Mayukh sat down next to them and asked them what they were doing. Purohit answered as he put the box inside a duffel bag.

  'I have an old radio and David has a new fancy one in his backpack-but the result is the same. We were trying to see if anyone's transmitting, but so far it's all quiet out there.'

  'What's your plan for today?'

  Purohit answered David with a shrug as he got up to put on his belt with the Molotov Cocktails hanging from it.

  'The usual routine. We'll fan out and look for other survivors and pass on the word about how to kill the Biters and see if we can get a bit more organized in our defence. The problem is most people are too scared to worry about fighting back. Then we scrounge for food and drink.'

  David, conscious that they had doubled the number of mouths Purohit had to feed, told him about all the supplies they had left behind at the bookstore. They quickly agreed that David and one more man would go out in the SUV to pick up whatever they could find at the bookstore. Purohit would have asked for volunteers, but he didn't need to. Mayukh said that he would go along with David.

  'You said you'd tell me a story about the brave boy again.'

  Abhi, refreshed after his sleep and on a sugar high after having eaten a breakfast of a chocolate bar had bounded into the room and landed on Mayukh's lap with a jump that would have done an Olympic athlete proud. Then he grimaced in pain.

  'What happened, Abhi?'

  'I hurt myself.'

  Abhi lifted up his leg to show where the bite mark was still visible.

  'Abhi, how did that happen?'

  As Abhi started to respond to Purohit, David cut in.

  'He fell down while we were on the run.'

  Hina and Swati were now in the room, and Mayukh could see the growing fear on Swati's face as Purohit signaled with one hand for David to be quiet.

  'Let the boy answer, David. So Abhi, what happened to your leg?'

  Abhi, playfully tugging at Mayukh's shoelaces, answered innocently.

  'One of those not nice uncles bit me. They were chasing us, and then we shot them. Bang! Bang!'

  A sudden silence descended over the room, and Mayukh could feel the tension in Purohit's voice as he stood up and took a step back. Mayukh had not even seen them near the doorway, but he now sensed the other three old men standing behind him, and he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked.

  'Purohit, have you lost your mind?'

  David was on his feet, and was reaching for his rifle, when Mayukh saw that Purohit had raised his pistol.

  'David, please don't. I don't doubt you could kill me even if I got a shot in, but you won't be able to take all four of us. Why didn't you tell me this boy was bitten by one of the Biters?'

  Mayukh stood up, and advanced towards Purohit. He had his own gun drawn.

  'Look, let Abhi and the others move to the other room and we can talk.'

  Purohit tried to raise his voice.

  'That boy…', but he could never finish his sentence as Mayukh roared with an anger he had never felt himself capable of.

  'That boy is in my care, and if you even think about touching him, nobody will walk away alive here! So calm the hell down and listen to us!'

  Swati, Hina and Abhi moved to the other room, but stayed by the door so they could hear everything as Mayukh told the story about how Abhi had been bitten but not infected. Purohit put his gun aside and sat down.

  'I'm sorry. After all that's happened, I didn't want to risk one of us turning into a Biter. But this is unbelievable. The boy would be first person ever to have been bitten but not infected.'

  All the old men were looking at Abhi now, and afraid of the sudden attention he was getting, he ran to Mayukh and buried himself behind him. Purohit reached out and tousled his hair.

  'Abhi, do you want another chocolate?'

  Abhi's face lit up, all the anxiety gone, and he wolfed down the chocolate bar that Purohit handed to him.

  As Mayukh and David were about to leave for the bookstore, Mayukh quietly handed his gun to Swati.

  'Keep it in case you have to use it.'

  She hugged him close, whispering in his ear that he better get back soon. The trip to the bookstore was uneventful and David and Mayukh were thrilled to find that their food and supplies were largely untouched, including Abhi's diapers and formula. They loaded them into the SUV and as they drove back, they began to see more signs of people. A young couple peering out from a window; two young men armed with cricket bats roaming the streets; a family foraging for food in the remains of a restaurant. The initial terror had given way to thoughts of survival and people were now coming out in the daytime to look for food and supplies. And also to prey on others.

  Mayukh saw three men on bikes ride up to the young couple. A gun blazed and the man fell inside, and the three m
en started to pull the woman out. Mayukh felt for the gun at his belt and remembered he had given it to Swati. He turned and saw an evil glint in David's eye, a look that would have frightened any man.

  'Those bastards! After all that's happened, one would think we'd learn to help each other.'

  As the woman tried in vain to hold off her would-be rapists, David stopped the SUV and put his rifle to his shoulder, selecting single shot mode. One assailant fell to the ground moaning in pain as a bullet slammed into his thigh. Another twirled around and fell against the window, as a bullet caught him in the shoulder. The third, seeing his friends fall to an unseen attacker, ran to his bike. He never made it, a single bullet catching him in the knee.

  David drove on in silence till they reached Purohit's headquarters. It was now four in the evening, and they had to begin to plan for the night that lay ahead, but Mayukh was shocked to see a crowd of at least twenty people gathered on the roadside. As they parked, one of them whispered to Mayukh.

  'Have you also come to see the miracle boy?'

  Wondering what was going on, Mayukh and David ran up the stairs, to find Purohit and his friends sitting at the stairwell, fully armed. One of the old men had a bloody lip.

  'What happened to you?', David asked.

  'I hit him', Purohit answered quietly, still watching the crowd outside, and then explained further.

  'The fool met a group of survivors and told them about how Abhi had survived being bitten. The word's spread like wildfire-people believe it's a miracle. Some believe that if Abhi touches them, they'll be immune as well.'

  'Oh shit, old man! Why the hell did you do that?'

  The man whom Mayukh had heard referred to only as Margarita averted his eyes.

  'Everyone has given up hope. They're just waiting to die. Don't you get it? Abhi gives them, gives all of us some hope. But maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.'

  Purohit leaned out the window and shouted.

  'People, there's no miracle boy here. It's almost Sunset anyways. Get the hell back to wherever you're hiding before the Biters come. Good luck.'

  At the mention of the Biters, the crowd melted away, but Mayukh knew that they would have to find another hideout soon. Purohit and his friends helped carry the supplies in, and they settled down to an early dinner just as the Sun began to set. When they were finished, Purohit tried his luck with his radio again. At first there was only the familiar static, but then suddenly they all heard a voice.

  'All is not lost. Survivors are regrouping across the world. If you're anywhere in northern India come to Ladakh if you can. We are army soldiers and are based at the Thirse Monastery. You will be safe here.'

  After a few seconds, the announcement was repeated once, and then there was nothing but static. They all looked at each other, stunned at the announcement they had just heard.

  Then the Biters began screaming outside.

  SEVEN

  'They're up early tonight', said Purohit as he quickly snuffed out all the lamps, and took up vigil near the window. David was right beside him, his eye glued to his scope. It was just after Sunset, and he had no real need of the night vision scope to see what was happening outside. There were more than two dozen Biters gathered at the mouth of the alley leading to the apartment, just standing there and screaming incoherently. Abhi had begun sobbing at the noise and Hina took him into the other room, trying in vain to distract him.

  'Why are they just standing there? Could they have come back to attack us?'

  There was no ready answer to Swati's question and David shrugged, lowering his rifle for a moment.

  'No idea whatsoever, but let's not assume they even know we're here. They don't seem to have demonstrated much more intelligence or strategy than a pack of rabid animals. Maybe they'll just scream and leave us alone.'

  Mayukh wasn't so sure, and guessed that David was trying to reassure Swati more than anything else. The Biters had shown some level of coordination and thinking during the battle at the bookstore, and if it was true that they were beginning to learn and evolve, there was no telling what would come next.

  The three men with Purohit were huddled in the stairwell, a bottle in each hand, waiting for the order to launch their deadly cocktails. David looked at the Biters through his scope, seeing the outlines of the deformed faces and the tell tale turbans on their heads.

  'Wonder what's with the damned turbans?'

  Purohit sniggered.

  'Damned Taliban Jihadis in Afghanistan started it all. Or at least that's what the news said. Maybe it's something that's still in their memory and transmitted along with the infection.'

  David took in the information in silence, thinking back to his own tour of duty in Afghanistan and the carnage at his base.

  A thought came to Mayukh.

  'If that memory stayed with them and was somehow transmitted to all of them, what other memories could they have? Maybe they aren't learning any new skills, they're just remembering things they knew.'

  Just then, the group of Biters began moving along the alley as one, their feet making a dull thumping sound on the pavement. They had stopped screaming, and they stopped when they were just ten meters away. Mayukh held his breath as he kept on hoping that perhaps they didn't have a particular target in mind, maybe they would just pass.

  That was when one of the Biters stepped forward, raised his right hand and pointed straight at the window where Mayukh, David and Purohit were huddled. He uttered an ululating scream.

  'Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaffffffrrrrrrr'

  David felled him with a single bullet between the eyes, as the other Biters rushed towards the apartment. Purohit lit one bottle and flung it, the bottle boucing off the far wall, and creating a sheet of flame that enveloped two of the Biters who went down, screeching in agony, and were reduced to ashes in seconds. The man known as Margarita lit one of his bottles and advanced down the stairs, cocking his arm back to throw it towards the Biters who were now about to enter the stairwell.

  That was when something totally unexpected happened. Three of the Biters took out rocks they had been hiding behind them and flung them at the men in the stairwell. They were clumsy throws, with aim and force no better than if they had been flung by small children. Yet in the confined space, and with the total element of surprise they presented, they caused the old man with the bottle in his hand to stumble. The bottle fell near his feet, engulfing him in flames. He screamed and rolled down the stairs, as more stones followed, targeting the two remaining men. One of them was hit in the forehead, and he slipped, falling down the stairs. Two Biters leaped over the burning man and tore into him, biting and clawing him till he was dead. The remaining man guarding the stairwell ran in utter terror up the stairs. David and Purohit were now at the top of the winding stairs and David fired a series of well-aimed shots over the retreating man, hitting two Biters in the head. As they went down, Purohit launched one more Molotov Cocktail, incinerating both of them and creating a barrier of flames that held the other Biters at bay.

  It was now an uneasy standoff. There were still more than twenty Biters outside, and they were now standing flat against the wall, so that they could not be targeted from the window. If they did all decide to rush the stairwell, David wasn't sure they would be able to hold them all off. Their learning to launch stones, even if a crude tactic, had proved devastating, and now the people huddled in the small apartment waited for what would come next. Mayukh was watching out the window when he saw a shadow move to his left. He aimed and fired four rounds. The Biter was hit at least twice and fell, but staggered to his feet a few seconds later. That gave Mayukh the time to light a bottle, and as he felt the heat expand under his hand, he threw it. The bottle landed a mere foot in front of the Biter and he screamed as the fire took him. In the glow of the flames Mayukh saw that the other Biters were now gathering near the door.

  'David, they're going to rush the door!'

  That was when help arrived from a totally unexpected quar
ter. From a rooftop across the alley, someone dumped a bucketful of oil down on the Biters, and then someone threw a lamp. The sudden explosion of light and fire caused Mayukh to flinch and take cover, and when he looked out the window again, several of the Biters were on fire, and the others were scattering. From another rooftop, someone else threw two kerosene lanterns in their path, incinerating a couple more of them, as the remaining Biters escaped.

  They didn't sleep a wink till the Sun finally came out, wary of another assault, but the Biters seemed to have had enough for the night. When the Sun finally rose, Purohit slumped to the ground, looking like the frail old man he was, and no longer the tough commando on the vigil. He had lost two good friends in the night, and the surviving guard from the stairwell was in a state of shock. David looked worried, and his expression mirrored what was on everyone's minds. The Biters had learnt how to use crude weapons, and moreover, they were not just attacking targets at random. The assault on their apartment had been a planned and coordinated one.

  Mayukh and Swati were holding onto each other, trying hard to ignore the stench of burnt flesh that came wafting up from the stairwell. Abhi clung onto Mayukh's leg, but he was able to offer no real comfort to the boy.

  Of all of them, only one seemed to have retained some control, and that was an unlikely candidate-Hina. She gently took Abhi from Mayukh and gave him some food, telling him that everyone was tired and needed rest.

  'Will they play with me then?'

  Hina assured him that they would, and then she approached Purohit, laying a hand on his shoulder. The old man looked up at her, trying hard to control his tears.

  'You do realize that their attacking us was no coincidence?'

  That had been the unspoken question on all of their minds, but nobody had dared to ask it yet. Purohit did not need to answer, for several voices echoed in the alley below.

  'Is the boy okay?'

  They all peered out the window to see more than a dozen men, women and children outside. They were just standing there, complete strangers, all bound together by their collective efforts the previous night in defending the apartment where Mayukh and the others had been besieged.