Shipra grew anxious as every minute passed by, she had been persistently trying to contact both her sons since the past one hour as she was on her way being driven along with Chandrika and Shashi towards their location.
A while later when she tried to reach out to Lakshya his number was reported to have been switched off and it was no different for Abhay causing her to panic and be overcome by a sense of dread.
Chandrika tried to calm her down however she too were equally worried for her grandchildren.
Shipra then begins the incantation of a mantra dedicated to the Goddess as a desperate plea to protect her children.
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Abhay and Srishti were on the run as the bandits continued chasing after them through the forest. Soon Abhay's injury began to take a toll on him as he began to feel the exhaustion caused by all the running and the growing pain in his injured arm. Once they got far enough to seemingly lose them, Abhay walks towards a tree and rests against it while Srishti scans their surroundings to ensure the bandits weren't anywhere close to them. She then noticed a cave at the foot of the hill a little further ahead and suggested going inside on observing how tired Abhay looked at that point. He agrees and they both enter the cave where they hoped to rest for a while before they can go and look for Kirti and Shruti following which Abhay collapses and passes out.
Worried and concerned she carefully approaches him to check what's wrong and tries to wake him up.
A while later she hears the voices of the bandits right outside who intended to enter the cave with the intention of hunting them down causing her to panic.
"Hey, you really need to wake up, those men are right outside and we need can't let them find us in here, please wake up" As Srishti tried to get Abhay back to his senses she noticed the area around his wound was now purple and swollen, when she touched his arm she couldn't help but notice how ice cold his skin was as the color of the same gradually turned blue. Although she had an idea of what's happened to him she hoped and prayed she was wrong.
"Come inside" a feminine voice from further inside the cave called out to her.
She looked around inside and wondered if there was anyone else there besides them inside the dark cave, although she couldn't exactly see anyone she felt a presence.
"Who are you?" Srishti asked them
"Come and find me, if you wish to help your friend and save yourselves then follow my voice" they told her
Srishti then uses every ounce of her strength to help Abhay get back up and leaning on her shoulder as they walked further and deeper inside the cave.
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Ashlesha was back at the temple, she was really pleased over what she believed to be a successful attack on her targets for the day. She then stood before Lord Shiva's idol and picked up the prayer plate to worship the lord as thanks for helping her out.
Mr. Kailash the priest then approaches her from behind seemingly curious about why she looked happy.
"I guess you've made some progress judging by the content expression on your face" the priest remarked
"That's correct, I managed to finish off one and the other is on the way to his way to the netherworld" she told him
"Oh really? Who were they?" Mr Kailash asked her
"His sons, I don't know how the elder one survived the last time but this time he's dead for sure" Ashlesha told him
The priest wasn't exactly pleased to hear what she told him "as much as I understand your burning desire for revenge, let me caution you against hurting an innocent soul"
"Innocent soul? No one from that family is innocent. That man's blood is as guilty as him and when those people indiscriminately attacked and killed many members from our clan then why should we discriminate amongst them?" Ashlesha countered
"You may feel that way right now, but you may end regretting the same if it backfires later" Mr. Kailash warned her
"I'm ready for anything" Ashlesha told him with a firm resolve
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Lakshya laid unconscious on a ledge that was around 500 ft. above the base of the hill for almost an hour. Just before the car fell down any further and it's subsequent explosion earlier he managed to open the door from the driver's side and jump right out landing on the ledge. As he managed to regain consciousness and got up in an upright position he felt warm blood drip down towards his chin from the right side of his head as a result of the injury he sustained from the fall. He realised that he wouldn't survive if he didn't try to get back up to the road where he could be discovered and seek help. Lakshya then used all his strength to get back on his feet and climbed up all the way to top which was around a 100 ft. above the ledge. As he got closer to the top his hand slips causing him to fall down again before he managed to grab onto and hang from a tree branch. He then tried to move towards the root but noticed that doing so could cause the branch to snap.
"HELP!!!" He cried out hoping anyone that passed by would hear him out and offer help.
The weight of his body was beginning to bend the branch which was now on the verge of snapping and breaking apart causing him to cry out even louder. A thick rope then hung down his way, and he could hear a voice from above asking him to grab and hold onto the rope. Without any second thoughts he quickly follows and holds onto the rope just before the branch breaks apart and falls down the hill.
The person above him then begins to pull him up and when he got close to the top they extended their hand towards him which he accepts and holds onto in a bid to get back up. At first he couldn't see the person who helped him but the minute he was pulled up closer he was quite surprised.
"What are you doing here?" He never expected Mahima to be the one helping him at that moment.
"I'll answer that but first let me pull you up here" she told him.
Once he was pulled back up to the top of the cliff he tried to stand up but his feet betray him and he falls back to the ground.
"You need medical attention" Mahima leaned down and tried to help him stand up as he held onto her arm.
"My car's right there, but you'll need to try and walk a little to get to it" she told him
"Yes don't worry, I can walk a few more steps" and then they walked towards Mahima's car which had the rope attached to it tow hitch.
Mahima opens the door and she helps him get inside taking the passenger's seat, following which she shuts the door and then goes behind to release the rope which she rolls back and places in the trunk.
Mahima then gets inside the car taking the driver's seat. As she turned on the engine and hit the accelerator the car starts moving. As she drove on the road Lakshya asked her once again, "what are you doing here?"
Mahima explained that she was on her way to Shiv Nagar where she intended to visit the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in order to seek his blessings for her marriage ahead.
"Why are you driving all the way to Shiv Nagar for that? Aren't there enough temples back home?" Lakshya asked her to which she then explains "that's true, however this is the only temple I used to visit along with my family when I was young and lived here, so I'm sort of emotionally attached to the place"
"You used to live in Shiv Nagar?" Lakshya asked "that's right, in fact we moved out just a few years ago" she told him
"I see" he responded
"How did you end up like that though?" Mahima asked him.
"A truck showed up from the front without any warning forcing me to steer towards the edge, but this however if you ask me was not an accident" he told her
"Why do you say that?" Mahima wondered
"It's because I saw the truck driver who drove me towards the edge, even if it were from a distance I could tell that whatever they did was intentional judging by how they looked down as if to confirm I were dead" he explained
"What makes you so sure? It could have just been an accident" Mahima pointed
"Then where are they now and why didn't they call for help?" Lakshya asked
"Maybe they were afraid, it was an accident now wasn't it? I guess they didn't want to face the law for that" she raised the possibility which did in a way make sense.
"You may be right, but let's just say my gut tells me it was intentional" Lakshya told her.
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Srishti followed the voice which called out to her as she helped a weak and exhausted Abhay walk along by offering her shoulder as support. A few minutes later they found themselves inside a well lit temple where an idol of a goddess that had a five headed serpent crown and a serpent each held in three of her hands while her fourth hand held a flower as she was were seated on a lotus flower was placed right at the altar. A waterfall flowed down from behind the same which then simply streamed down forming a little pond on the side near the cave wall.
Srishti was in awe of the temple's beauty, she couldn't believe that a beautiful place as such was hidden all this time right at the end of a cave. A few moments later a man shows up out of nowhere startling her.
"How did you get in here?" He asked surprised to find them inside.
"We were being chased by some goons and entered the cave to hide, but then I heard a woman's voice calling out to me which led us in here" Srishti told him
"You heard a voice?" The man asked her "How strange and unusual" he thought to himself
"Yes I did, however that's not important right now. Something's wrong with my friend here" Srishti then placed the unconscious Abhay on the ground allowing him to rest down for a while. The man from the cave then began to examine him and his wound. Once he figured what's wrong he then quickly picked up some herbs grew inside the temple and then ground it using a pestle and mortar which he took out from the trunk that was near the little herb garden. He then applied the herbal paste on Abhay's wound.
"You need to do as I say if you wish to help him" the man told Srishti handing her a pitcher pot. He then instructed her to draw out some water using the same from the pond and then asked her to place the pot on the floor. The man instructed her to sit down and took her hand following which he then pulled out a dagger from his bag using it to slit her palm drawing out her blood which fell right inside the pot and mixed with the water inside.
"What are you doing? Why did you do that?" Srishti asked as she was taken aback by what he did to her who then repeated the same on himself by slitting his own palm and adding his own blood to the vessel on the floor.
"You're friend here has been poisoned, and this here is the antidote which I just made" the man told her
"How is this the antidote? Are you out of your mind?" Srishti asked as she was bewildered by his claim.
"Feed it to him and you'll find out if I'm out of my mind or not" the man told her
"How can I give this to him? It's disgusting!" She exclaimed
"Well it's not like you have another option at the moment now do you? If you don't hurry we may lose him for good. So go ahead and see for yourself " he urged her.
He was right and as much as Srishti was against his suggestion she reluctantly follows the man's advice as she fed Abhay what was apparently claimed to be an antidote.
A while later Abhay began to regain consciousness much to Srishti's surprise and relief at the same time.
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Shipra and the rest were on their way, when they passed the site where the accident had taken place Shipra freaks out and immediately asks the chauffeur to pull over. She then steps out of the car and heads towards the edge of the cliff where the railings were damaged as a result of Lakshya's being forced over the edge.
Chandrika and Shashi follow her and are shocked at the sight of the burning vehicle at the base of the hill.
"Could that be what I think it is? What if that were Lakshya's car" Shashi raised the possibility much to Shipra's ire "No way! Think before you speak" she rebuked him
"Exactly, let's hope that isn't the case" Chandrika added
A few moments later the police arrive at the spot along with their team who then began to retrieve the vehicle to verify and confirm it's details as the Singh's waited and watched from a distance.
Officer Jadhav who was at the scene approaches them, "the car we retrieved does indeed belong to Mr. Lakshya Singh as confirmed by the number plate which managed to remain intact" he told them
Shipra's heart sank as she heard that while Chandrika stood there in disbelief.
"Are you sure about that?" Shashi asked the cop who gave him an affirmative response, "however our team didn't find a body as of yet"
"So there is a possibility that he may have escaped before car exploded or fell off the cliff" A hopeful Shipra asked
"We can't really say but yes i guess you could say there's hope" Officer Jadhav told them all
"Then you need to look for them" Shipra requested
"We're trying our best to locate him" the officer assured them.
"I hope my son is safe and sound" Shipra prayed in her mind
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Mahima had taken Lakshya to a clinic where his injuries could get treated, since it was a small village without a hospital of its own this was the best place available to in terms of receiving medical help and attention. If any of the villagers were required to get hospitalized then they'd have to visit the city.
Once the doctor was done wrapping the bandages on Lakshya's forehead and putting a cast on his broken left ankle he moved on to prescribe him the medicines and some painkillers to help him recover.
"Given you're condition at the moment I'd advise that you take rest and avoid traveling for a while" the doctor told Lakshya
"Also make sure you take care of yourself"
"Doctor, can I make a call?" Lakshya requested
"I'm sorry, actually the landline has been disconnected since the past one week and you know how it is with the cellular network here" the doctor apologetically informed him
"I see, do you know of a place where I could spend a night?" He then asked
"Yes there is, however it's only for married couples. The locals here are quite conservative you see" the doctor explained
"Yeah but they might have rooms for singles right?" Lakshya asked
"I'm not sure, but you can always check when you get there" the doctor told him who then turns to Mahima "You used to live here right?"
"That's true doctor, however if you're referring to my old house, we sold it right after we moved to the city" she informed him
"I see, I guess it'll be difficult for you then" the doctor replied to her
"I suppose yes, but let's hope for the best" she told the doctor which sort of made Lakshya realize the inconvenience he caused her.
Mahima And Lakshya then leave the clinic while the doctor closes the clinic for the day.
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"How is this possible? Like seriously!" Srishti asked still unable to figure out what exactly happened.
"So you don't know?" The man asked her
"Know what?" Srishti looked at him dumbfounded
"That you're a-" the man was cut off by Abhay who was trying to make sense of the situation around him "what going on and where are we?"
"Yes exactly, where are we?" Srishti asked the man
"You're inside the Goddess' temple, the great serpent Goddess Manasa's temple" the man told them "yes that's right, this temple belongs to the Vish hari (destroyer of poison), your friend here was saved by her grace, the water you drew out was consecrated and that's why he has been healed"
"Then why did you slit-" before she could complete the bandits found their way inside and seemingly had them cornered.
"Seize them all" the bandit leader ordered his men.
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To be continued.....
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