Friday the 15th
By Sukanya Gupta
Date: January 5, 2022
Ch. 10We...are...lost...


Vulture Gang: A terror gang led by Harry. Mainly has two notorious members but others are not any less. In fact, they are the blind followers of Harry. They can do anything for him. All are heartless and perilous creatures. Drugs and arms smuggling, extortion, human trafficking are the main deliverables of this gang. They are so sharp, quick and sly that till now police couldn't even recognize and suspect them in any case that they did in a very smooth way. The jungle is their home and they are its predators. 15th July, Friday....they were supposed to go to deliver an arms consignment to a foreign client when this gang collided with FAN 5 and Fusion 4 in the petrol pump. Now, time will reveal that was it our adventurers' bad luck or Vulture Gang's?

Harry: Leader of Vulture Gang. A handsome guy of 24 yrs. 5ft 10" height with a well-built muscular body. But his charming appearance is his biggest incognito which always helped him to prove himself a decent normal person. However, his hawk brown eyes in his sharp features give an immediate spine chilling feel to the opponents. Gang members obey him as a hypnotist master. Sharpshooter and brown belt in karate. He knows the jungle like the back of his hand. No one knows where his actual home is. Always keeps cool head and hawk eyes on his prey. He loves to torture people before killing them slowly and he never spares anybody who looks through his eyes. His only weakness is women. Girls’ innocence boils his blood. Pervert? Exactly.

Maddy: The right hand of Harry. Equally cruel and dangerous. 20 yrs old. Used to be a bright student in college but his greed for money and power finally landed him up in the Vulture Gang. A small scuffle in college took a nasty turn and Maddy became a cold-blooded murderer. It was Harry who saved him from the paws of the police and made him join the Vulture Gang. On the other hand, Maddy proved his servility very soon and became Harry's most dependable partner of crime. If there is anybody after Harry to whom the entire gang shows its full obedience that is Maddy even being the youngest member of it. His sharp and calculative mind is an asset to the gang. One more thing which is unique about him is, he can crack any mobile or laptop’s password and unlock it without damaging it. Interesting? Really.

In the mid of dense forest: 15th July Friday: 1:15 pm:

All the people got off the jeeps. The horrible ride almost broke their bones. Billy had a bruise on his head while Nina hit her right knee on the dashboard. She had tears in her eyes while Natalia was pouring ice-cold water on it from a thermos. Micky was looking at her with a nervous face but didn't come forward. Perhaps his heart was still battling with his ego. Alex took out the binoculars from his bag and started looking around. After 2 minutes he announced,

"There is a narrow trail on the right side. It is not visible clearly but I think we should go towards it. It might lead to the highway. Who knows?"

"The GPS is not working as there is no network but we have a compass know? So, we can see the direction because I think we entered the jungle from the west side and if it is to the east, then it must help us to get out of this jungle."

Peter said in affirmation.

"Right, buddy. Get the compass. Let's see where exactly we are now."

Micky said. His eyes reflected some hope.

"Lish, give me the compass which I gave you to keep in your handbag."

Peter stretched his hand to Alisha. The next moment Alisha became pale and started stammering.

"Co...mm..paa..sss. Th..a..t is....n..ot..in..m..y b..a..ag now. I....I... di..dn't.... keep....it."

"What?"

Maya's scream startled Alisha a bit.

"What do you mean by you didn't keep it? Why?"

Maya became hyper. Peter said in a composed voice,

"Relax Maya. Let her speak. Alisha, what are you talking about? I gave it to you. I can remember clearly. Then why didn't you keep it?"

"Because it was occupying the space of my new perfume which you had given me. So, I took it out. I thought we have mobile GPS and it would be a straight road so why should we need a compass?"

She sounded perplexed and all the others were thinking that they should yell at her or should cry in this situation. Maya threw her scruff on the dry grassy ground in exasperation and screamed,

“DAMN!”

.............................

In the mid of dense forest: 15th July Friday: 5:30 pm:

They have been wandering in the jungle for almost the last 4 hrs. When all had lost all hope for the precious compass, they decided to approach the trail which Alex mentioned. It seemed that the trail was around 200 meters from their spot. All got in the jeep and headed to the trail. After reaching its entrance they saw that the path was very narrow and if they approach the forest bushes and twigs can scratch the riders. However, they didn't have any other better option, so they decided to take the pain. Two jeeps were running very carefully so that anybody won't hurt anymore. Almost 4 hrs passed and they still didn't find any way out or see any trace of the highway. After reaching a comparatively wide place both the jeep stopped its engine.

"No, Man, it's not working out. In this way, we will never be able to find the highway."

Alex sounded fatigued. Micky hit the steering in pique and uttered,

"SHIT!"

Billy picked the binoculars up and focused on the right side where he noticed something.

"We are in big trouble guys."

He said in a little trembling voice. Everybody turned to him with a questioning look.

"We are in the same place where we started it from."

Billy declared.

"What do you mean? We have covered almost 75 km till now."

Micky said and frowned.

"But unfortunately, we have reached nowhere."

Billy pointed his finger to the right side. When everybody followed his finger point, they saw a cloth-like thing was lying down on the dry grassy field. Cody got down from the jeep and rushed towards it. After 2-3 minutes, he returned by holding a cloth piece.

"It's Maya's scruff."

Alisha yelled.

"Exactly. And we did not forget where and when she threw it."

Cody sounded flat.

“Shit! That means we are in the same place after 4 hrs wandering."

Peter said with a hoarse voice.

"Right you are."

Cody nodded.

"Now what? There is again the labyrinth of that path which we have already enough explored. And there is no other trail."

Alex said and palmed his eyes and forehead with frustration.

“We…are…lost.”

Micky declared in a staccato. The path ahead disappeared into the dense forest just to increase the uncanny discomfort in everybody's mind.

"We have hardly enough petrol to go approximately a half kilometre,"

Peter said.

"And the sun is about to SET."

Cody put the pressure on 'SET'.

"I am scared"

Nina pouted. Now, real tension and fear appeared in everybody’s face. Destiny was uncertain so the further strategy.



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