OS: Intuition part 2 up! completed!!

With her head bent down, the pungent whiff of smoke and gun powder in the air and that loud noise, of engine and gunshots surrounding her, Paro was having the most strangest of thoughts.

Geetanjali mam is so kind. I hope she likes the imli and the blue bag I knitted for her. And jija, she is like my second sister, packing those delectable imlis. I knew they would come in handy. No ,not second sister, but my sister after nandu jija. Where was nandu jija now? I wish she is still holding up, somewhere there, across the border. Maybe major Saab will get her and then I swear on bholenaath I would never let her go. And that monster, thakur sa. Thakursa...oh , and his men.

The realization stuck her hard, and immediately her chest tightened. We are being hunted.

The firing was still on, each gunshot making her flinch. Paro tried to lift her head slightly only to have his arms firmly around her back, stopping her.

"Stay there paro"

The fear that had managed to settle itself inside her throat made it extremely difficult for her to speak. But she had to ask him this and he would have to answer.

"what would we do now major saab?" she croaked.

He stayed quite for some time. And when she knew she couldn't tolerate the silence anymore, he spoke up.

"We will have to get out of the jeep"

Those looks of fear, raw and painful, he saw on her face after he blurted out those words made it difficult for him to breath. The prospect of getting out between the firing could prove fatal to both him and her. But he knew he had no choice. The fuel was getting used up pretty quickly. They would have to slow down.

And there was another possibility as well, of them puncturing the tires, which could be even worse. Till now the men had been enjoying the game of hunter and prey. He had seen it there, the satisfaction of seeing their prey flutter across these lanes in their mocking smiles.

"I have no choice Paro. But I won't let anything happen to you I promise." He said with more conviction than what he actually felt.

She looked into his eyes and he had no choice but to turn away. He knew she was scared and somehow her protector was still struggling with their safety.

"Where IS Aman "he muttered. Probably he would have to dictate their exact locations to his junior officer.

Where was the phone? He searched the dashboard frantically before realizing that he had thrown it behind the passenger seat. Turning he spotted the broken pieces of metal and battery, and realized his own mistake.

They were in the middle of nowhere headed towards the woods, apparently hunted by thakur sa's men, with almost finished fuel tank and a lifeless phone on the backseat.

What would they do now?

This is their only chance, he rationalized as the speedometer needle zoomed, finally resting on a 100. BSD check post lay right in front of them, guarding the forested region ahead. But soon enough, the BSD vehicle which seated the Major himself with his wife, wreaked havoc on the BSD security system itself. Barging straight into the metal boulders, the impact of which was strong enough to kill both the passengers, had it not been an extremely skilled professional behind the wheels, the jeep made its way out the check post and into the forest.

This should give Aman a message! He thought.

Besides him Paro shivered violently due to fear, while she kept glancing backwards. A strong urge to hold her in his arms, consoling her that everything would be fine, surfaced for a brief moment but Rudra shoved it away.

He could do everything else later, but his first priority at the moment was to protect his wife and not give her false reassurances.

He saw them fall behind. The jeep skidded of control for a second as he took another sharp left. A quick look at the fuel gauge and he knew that he had to act fast.

"Paro listen to me" he said in an urgent voice, and managed to get all the attention that his extremely frightened wife could muster. She looked at him with eager eyes, the ones which had welled up with tears, almost ready to do anything that he said.

"Hold the seat tightly and don't let it go at any cost. Ok?"

Her eyes widened in shock.

"ky..kyun major saab?"

"You see that tree in front, the one with the rock-hard bulky bark and withered leaves."

She nodded, her gaze fixed on the tree ahead. "sheesham" she said .

"Yes that's right. Sheesham. The jeep is going to hit the sheesham tree."

The collision was strong, and the crashing sound louder than anything that she had heard till now. Had it not been for her husband's bulky arm around her waist, apart from the seat belt she would have hit her head hard on the dashboard. Her head throbbed painfully and for a brief moment her senses grew wary. There was nothing but darkness, engulfing her silently giving nothing back in return. And then there was this voice, one she knew too well to forget.

" paro.. paro..listen to me. Open your eyes fast." Her eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw was him, her husband standing very close. The very next moment, she was pulled out from the vehicle into his arms, wide and comforting.

"tu theek hai paro?" (are you ok?)he asked.

Paro nodded against his chest in return.

" woh beerpur ke log chale gaye kya? (have the men gone? )

Rudra merely shook his head in denial and caught hold of her wrist. Soon he was dragging her forward, into the dark creepy forest.

" hum wahan kyun jaa rahe hai major saab?"(why are we going there major saab?) She whispered as they broke into a sprint across the dense overgrowth. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled and a shiver ran down her spine.

"They are still behind us. I know the forest very well and I am damn sure that they don't."

She understood what he intended to do but his words still didn't ease out her fears, ones which threatened to consume her present. The forest seemed dark and dangerous, which possible hid a myriad of other evils, some of them even worse those monsters chasing them.

And that is when she heard those noises, coming from the direction of the collision making her stop dead in her tracks.

"KAHAN HAI WOH DONO? JAO DHUDHO UNHE" (where are they? go find them!) somebody shouted.

"But sir, we don't know whether we would make out of the forest alive. We don't know the way across from here."

"I WILL NOT HEAR SUCH NONSENSE. THOSE TWO ARE INSIDE THERE SOMEWHERE AND I WANT THEM NOW. IF YOU SEE THEM, SHOOT ON SPOT. CLEAR?" the man who appeared to be the leader spoke.

His back was visible from where Paro found herself standing. Shoot them?

"Yes sir!"

"chal paro" Rudra whispered in her ears." We will get out from here, I promise. "

But her heart would not come to accept that. Suddenly his words seemed bland and unreal at that moment just like their chances of making back alive.

"No major saab. I know we won't. I told you I had an intuition, a terrible one in fact. We will die right?"

Rudra could see her slackened shoulders, the fight from her body already drained off. She was scared. But he couldn't let her give up, not when he knew he could protect her.

He turned her to face him, and looked pointedly into her eyes.

"Is this the same Parvati who fought the BSD officer who had killed her husband? The one who fought against the wrong accusations he had hurled at her? Tell me Parvati, will you give up this soon."

A single tear trickled down her cheeks, glittering in the pale moonlight.

"Paro, I know you are scared. But you must believe me now or we both will die. OK?"

She nodded in return and he smiled.

"That's the woman's I have known and come to respect." He took her hand in his and asked " lets go?"

"yes major saab, lets go!"

They ran, henceforth, through the deadly forest with a new flicker of light inside their hearts. They had to live and that too for each other. Soon enough, the voices grew nearer and nearer until someone shouted in the background.

" woh rahe! "( there they are!)

There were gunshots then, deafening sounds of bullets rousing the whole forest in the process. The birds twittered across the dark sky, their frightened chirping intended to alarm the asleep creatures of the forest.

Rudra and paro ducked continuously as they ran towards the road, their only escape from the forest, the long and broad branches shielding them from the assault. The BSD siren could be heard from a distance.

" we are almost there Paro. We will have to move faster or we'll never reach Aman and his men."

He saw Paro stumble, but she managed to get her balance. His legs ached due to the constant running even though his training had been even more vigorous. He could only imagine Parvati's state at the moment.

Suddenly Paro shrieked and he came to an abrupt halt. She was wincing in pain at the moment.

" kya hua?"he asked concerned while he eyed the men following close behind.

Parvati shook her head and took his arm." Hum ruk nahi sakt major saab. Chaliye" (We can't stop major sahib,lets go) she screamed.

Bright flashes of light surrounded them, blinding their visions. Loud ringing noises filling the empty spaces. Rudra knew that they were back on the road waved frantically at the approaching BSD cars. One stopped right in front of them while the others stationed themselves near the forest. Soon men in uniforms surrounded them and the firing began. Aman who had stepped out from the leading car guided them away from the battle field.

Rudra turned to see that their assailants were fast retreating; some of them even falling dead on the ground. He eyed Parvati and saw that she was breathing hard just like him.

" sir, aap dono theek ho na? "( are you two fine?)

" haan aman. Paro tu theek hai?"

She nodded in return.

"What took you so long?" Rudra asked, stiff huffing due to the running.

" sir, we had lost track . But then Raghuvir at the check post informed us about the trespassing vehicle and we rushed here. Perfect plan sir"

" hmm"

The violent attack on the outskirts of the forest had ended.

"sir, we should go as well. A report will be filed against Tejawat on the grounds of attempt to murder."

" I need Tejawat behind the bars Aman at any cost. This couldn't be allowed the next time. Anything could have happened to Paro. "

"I am sure he won't be able to escape this time sir. It was a direct attack and we have some witnesses with us this time."

Both of them looked across to see that his men were ushering some handcuffed men inside their jeeps.

He nodded and his gaze riveted to his wife, who apparently was lying lifeless on the ground.

"Paro. Open your eyes. I won't let you give up. Open your eyes dammit" Rudra screamed hysterically, his wife's small delicate face in his wide palms.

"She has been shot sir. Upper forearm. We will have to get to the hospital quickly." Aman's voice sounded distant but alarmed.

But hooking an arm beneath her legs, he immediately scooped his unconscious wife into his arms and rushed to the back seat of the BSD jeeps. The serious wound on her upper forearm oozed out blood soaking his blue jacket in the process. She had been shot, back at the forest but had continued to run forward despite her ordeal.

" paro, I know you are strong. I don't doubt it anymore. Please open your eyes"

And then as if suddenly the dead of night had transformed into the glorious daylight, he saw hope. And he saw it in the eyes of his Paro who was looking at him eagerly.

" major saab. Aap phir chinta karne lag gaye.?Meine kaha than na ki mujhe kuchh nahi hoga."( you started worrying again. I had told you that nothing would happen to me, right?)

And just like that he found himself smiling, at her words. Smiling because he knew she was safe and currently in his arms. He had lost his mother and his innocent childhood. Darkness had stolen it all, brutally seizing his life lines one after another. But he had fought it this time, and fought it well in fact. Nothing could happen to his Paro till the time her protector is with her. He nodded , swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Any more intuitions shrimati?" he teased.

She grinned back and nodded.

"Still got some haan? " he scowled, feigning anger.

"A happily ever after one this time" and with that he chuckled and brought her to his chest, near his heart where she belonged.

THE END

Do put up the next part as well

😊

part 2 update fast