NightRiser chp8

Chapter 8

Only Peter, Nana and Blaike identified us. Peter was dead, but Nana and Blaike had reached here already. They were firing from all sides. All the night risers wore our masks which Arya had bought so that at least their men couldn’t see us. Most of Arya’s men were either dead or unconscious; some of them came with us. We formed a circle, back-to-back, and Nana and Blaike along with their men surrounded us from all sides at a distance. “It’s useless to run away or fight”, Nana yelled in his rough cruel voice. I hated him the most. “Surrender yourselves this minute. We were this close to our project but you” He pointed towards Arya, “You came in with your gang and ruined it all! And now it turns out to be that you’re one more night riser. Good! Guards, take them. Now.”

This was a deadly fight. They outnumbered us. They had guns bigger than Arya’s. We had made sharp weapons out of the stones we got in the jungle. It was time to use them.  The firing started from both sides. It was night time and we were stronger than the humans. We took down many of them but they had the benefit of numbers. No matter how many we defeated, there were more in the line. I saw Abhi and Marsella fighting together. They made a great team. Abhi was not an experienced fighter like me or Marsella, but he had his strength. Marsella would bring the people to him, and he would bang their heads to the ground with our weapons. It was a good trick. I was glad that Marsella and I decided to complete our Karate training. But at the same time, grandma and Fiddle were our weak points. Their age had weakened their strength. But they were defending themselves well with Arya’s weapons. Without Arya’s help it would have been impossible for any of us to survive.

In one moment, Blaike had grandma on his gunpoint and the game turned into their hands. We lowered our weapons and everything was silent. “One more move from your side, and this old lady will be dead” he said in his flat voice. It was over. I could see Arya planning for some move but so did Blaike. He almost pressed his trigger when Fiddle came in between “Grandpa!” I screamt. He was shot on his right shoulder. No. this shouldn’t have happened. We were in a vulnerable state and Nana and Blaiketied us with ropes. Grandpa was writhing in pain. And we couldn’t do anything. If we even spoke, Nana threatened to aim grandpa’s heart. Grandma was the most vulnerable. She’d just got her husband back. If he wasn’t taken to the hospital, he would die. Arya’s remaining men were either shot dead, or they ran away. Out of their army, only seven men along with Nana and Blaike remained. We couldn’t speak with both of them around. They were humans and their night vision was very much inferior to ours. They decided to wait until morning to take us out. We had until dawn to make a move. I wish the connection was strong. I keptrepeating this several times in my mind, stronger and stronger each time. That’s when Arya replied, “I wish so too”.

Thankfully, no one outside our group heard it. Everyone looked at him, wondering what his response was about. We only looked at each other, and we both repeated the process. We started singing the anthem in our minds, both of us. We prayed for the connection to be between all of us. We kept on repeating it unless we could feel the others in our mind. One by one, a member kept adding. It was the same tingly feeling again. There was some energy running through us. The feeling was similar to a group chat, with everyone speaking at once. Everyone except grandpa.

Now that our minds were linked, we could plan our strategy. And we did. I had a knife in my back pocket. I couldn’t reach it but Marsella could. I couldn’t tell her this aloud with the men in our earshot. But now we had the power. Marsella slowly got the knife without letting anyone notice, and cut my rope. We had to be careful. We couldn’t let them know. Abhi and Yen were tied to a distant tree. Why weren’t they killed? What was their motive? We would free them soon too. Once we all were free, we were ready for the confrontation. We had the element of surprise this time.

NightRiser chp7

CHAPTER 7

This jerked me up. The moment I looked at my side, I saw two couples. Obviously, now Abhi would spend all his time with Marsella. He couldn’t have been happier, and honestly I was happy for them now that everything was sorted between me and her. The second couple was my grandparents. Even when they held hands, it seemed magical. Love, lovely love. I couldn’t help but smile and looked at my other side. And bam! There were about ten people with guns. “Who are they?” I was scared. Yen replied, “They’re Aryaman’s  friends.” “Arya, look who’s up!”Yen called.

Aryaman was handsome. He had a French beard, dark skin and short hair. I could see him flexing his biceps. They were almost triceps. I’m sure he had a six-pack ab. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I went to greet him. “Thanks, for saving everyone”, I told him, He only nodded. “How did you know where we were, and that we were in danger?” I asked. I was eager to know. His expression told me that he had repeated the answer he was going to tell me, several times already.

“I saw men with huge machinery in my head. And I heard something about electricity failure and locks. I knew the place, I had seen it near my dad’s gang’s hiding place. So I went there with my group. I reached there and unchained these people. When I told them how I came here, they started asking me about my family history. When they heard granddad’s, I mean Evan’s name, they told me the entire story. And there’s something that makes me believe them. Everything that old man said about me was true.” Dad’s gang? “Your dad is a gangster?” I couldn’t help asking. “Yes” he said with a smirk, “And so am I”. He was a ‘bad guy’. “Why did you save us? Gangsters don’t do that. They don’t save people.” What was I doing? I was kind of blaming him for being a bad gangster. “That’s what you think, princess of the royal family. Not all gangsters have the motive to kill people.” He left with that line. Gangster or not, he was hot. I couldn’t help noticing that.

So basically I had a cross-connection, I was trying to connect to Marsella, but the connection reached Aryaman’s mind. I think the same must have happened with Grandma a few weeks back. We had to hide in the jungle, to stay protected. From the updates that I gathered, Arya and his so called ‘gang’ had killed Peter. But the other two were still alive. We needed to hide from them. The night advanced. Aryaman and his men bought food for all of us. Arya’s men were more like guards. They maintained a distance and kept a watch. Now we were seven of us. Our increasing numbers were advantageous. We sat around the fire which we lit. We felt healthier. Suddenly grandma called me and Marsella to her side.

Grandma was quiet for some time. What did she want to talk about? Finally she spoke. “Thanks for everything that you two have done, really. When the connection reached you, I was actually trying to contact Fiddle. But it was you. You didn’t know me then. You had no idea if this was even real. You and Marsella, you’ll are very brave. Just like your father.” “I only did what my heart told me to do.”Marsella replied. Arya must have done the same. He didn’t know who we are. The night must have touched his heart. He must have acted on instincts, like we had.

“Girls, in all this chaos we haven’t had time to even know each other. Tell me something about yourselves. Marsella, is Abhi your boyfriend? Just asking…”

“Uhm… I don’t know” she replied, “I like him, he likes me, I just don’t know why he doesn’t come forward and say it.” I couldn’t control myself and burst into laughter. “What’s so funny?” Marsellaasked. She looked a little annoyed. Marsella didn’t know Abhi like I did. She didn’t know how much he had tried to talk to her since the day he’d met her. She didn’t know his dreams about her. She didn’t know how long he had waited for her. And neither did she know how he couldn’t speak a word before her. He was scared, scared to even let it start, scared of losing her before even getting her. If she was waiting for him to make a start, she would wait forever. “Marsella, he loves you. But he’s more of a shy kind of a guy when it comes to girls. I think you should make the first move. Let’s play truth and dare, I think that’ll help you.” Now Marsella was happy.

Before we could bring our plan into action, grandma stopped me and said, “What about you Lune? Don’t you have a boyfriend?” “No gandma, I’ve had a few in the past but just for the sake of being committed, there’s nothing serious.” Grandma’s reply was totally surprising. She said “Don’t you see it or are you denying it on purpose?” Huh? What was this supposed to mean? Did she know I liked Arya already? She couldn’t. I hadn’t confessed it to anyone.

She continued, “He told us not to tell you but I think you need to know. I’ve seen the way he looks at you Lune. At first, I thought he was arrogant and senseless, but he’s done a lot for you. When you were unconscious, the food that you ate was actually of his part. There wasn’t enough food, and he sacrificed it so that you can eat it once you recover.” Arya did that for me? Was he a gangster for real? I didn’t think so. Grandma continued further, “Even that day when we were kidnapped, when it was your turn for the experiment, after you went inside, he tried to negotiate all his money, everything that he had for you. But they were cruel enough to…” “Wait a moment” I interrupted. “Who are you talking about? Arya hadn’t even met us when we were in the basement.” Now grandma was confused. “How did Arya come into picture? I’m talking about Yen.” And now I had nothing to say. I only looked at him in an expression I didn’t know and saw him looking at me. My heart felt so heavy with my emotions. I remembered grandma’s advice. Although it was stupid, I tried dancing a little when no one was looking. But grandma caught me. Shit! She said in a low voice, “I was a dancer in childhood. I love dancing. That is the reason I chose it. When you’re upset or confused, do what you like to do.”

We started playing truth and dare. Arya kept refusing but we convinced him to play. There was nothing else to do. Abhi was given a dare to climb a tree since he was scared of heights; Grandpa told us about his love story; Grandma was asked about her life on Prisma. And now it was Marsella’s turn. She chose dare as we planned. I said, “Marsella, if there’s anything you want to say or do to anyone, now’s the time.” She stared at Abhi for a long time. She was a very straight-forward person. She got up, kissed Abhi on the cheeks and proposed to him on his knees. The crowd broke into ‘Awwww’s and ‘Ohhhoo’s. Abhi turned red, this was expected! I was glad he finally showed some guts and told her ‘I love you’. We were cheering for them and I didn’t remember when the last time I laughed so much was. We continued the game.

Next was Aryaman’s chance. We already had a question for him. “What’s the reason behind this whole gangster thing? What are you hiding?” He frowned, but I was glad he decided to answer. “My dad is a politician and I hate his politics. And I like the Robin Hood policy.” Now that explained everything. He was a gangster for the gangsters. He was good at heart and helped the common people. That was sweet. The next was Yen’s turn. Grandma gave him a dare to dance with the person he wants to. “Girls in the world die to dance with me, but I have already chosen my partner.” Yen was incomplete without his drama. “She’s the most beautiful girl present here.” I was so confident that he would ask me. I couldn’t believe I was actually blushing. I looked up to see him, but I was wrong. He turned to grandma, and asked her to dance on his knees. Grandma was flattered.

For a minute I almost forgot that we were actually hiding here to save our lives. Everyone except Arya was slow dancing around the fire. It was like we were here for a picnic, enjoying the campfire. I was about to go talk to Arya when suddenly Yen was by my side, holding my hand. “So, grandma is the most beautiful lady here huh?” I asked him separating my hand from his. “Jealous much?” he was his usual self. I gave him a sharp look and when I started to leave, he held me tightly by my shoulders, making it hard to move. He was strong, yet it didn’t hurt. “Fiona is the most beautiful person over here. It’s true. But she’s a person, though a night riser. You’re an angel for me. And an angel’s beauty cannot be compared to any other living being.” At first I thought he was flirting as usual, but then I saw his eyes. And I could literally and figuratively see myself in them. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. Right now I understood what ‘getting lost in someone’s eyes’ meant. Everything around us started to blur. I could see and feel only him. His touch sent currents through my body. My heart started racing. Yen had hugged me many times before, but today I wished he never left me. I could spend my life in his arms just like that. We faced each other and he came closer to me until he was out of focus and that’s when we heard gunshots.

NightRiser chp6

CHAPTER 6

This was the second time in a row that I was kidnapped. But this time Fiddle, Abhi and Yen joined us. We were taken blindfolded in a jeep to a place we didn’t know. We were all tied to separate pillars in a basement.  I caught Abhi seing Marsella’s worn out face and I could see him dying inside. I was sure his crush had developed into something more. But this was not the time. The last time, we weren’t tied. How were we ever going to break through these steel chains? “Isn’t it awesome angel? You and I tied together in a basement forever. I like it.” I could always trust Yen to infuriate the hell out of me. Abhi only laughed like always. Maybe it was a boy thing.

The only good thing that happened during this chaos is that Fiona and Fiddle were finally together. Since the time they saw each other they couldn’t take their eyes off. The intensity of love that I saw in their eyes couldn’t compete anything. They both suddenly looked more alive, more real. They were like two water droplets which merged into one when brought side by side. They hadn’t spoken a word since they met but their eyes did. I think they didn’t need words.

Abhi and Yen now knew everything about us. I thought that they would be dreaded by the fact that Marsella and I were aliens. But they were only concerned regarding our safety. Maybe it had not hit them fully yet. After some time, Abhi told us how he escaped and went back to Fiddle’s house to get some help and Yen was already there. That is how they were caught. Yen had followed me all the way from the morning. “Why?” I screamt. “Why did you have to follow me? Why did you do this?” For the first time, Yen’s silence was annoying. It was unusual of him to avoid eye contact. But he did.

“I want to share a secret in case I die” Yen interrupted. How could he be so annoying? “When you’ll hear this, you might probably freak out. I’m a virgin.” What!! Haha! This was epic. Totally unexpected. I laughed till my stomach hurt. So did the others. All his big stories of great romances were only stories. I caught him staring at me while I was laughing. When I turned to yell at him, he turned away. Why was he acting so… Different?

“Fiddle, what was in the box at your house the other day, the box you had hidden?” “Ah that. It contains some specimens from Prisma. I wanted to show them to both of you. We managed to retrieve it from Pikshtra’s locker when we escaped.” He looked disappointed. “I bet the flowers from your garden are from Prisma, they don’t like the sun.” I assumed. Fiddle said, “You’re partly right. They are from Prisma. But the flowers back in my garden are a hybrid of Prisma and earth plants. That’s why they can bear the heat”. “Don’t worry Fiddle, we will find a way out.” I assured him. “Why don’t you call him grandpa? You call me grandma alright. Then why not him?” grandma asked. I had never really thought about this. Yeah, she was right. Why didn’t I call him grandpa? He just didn’t seem like my grandfather. We also realized that preference for non-vegetarian food was a common characteristic in all night risers. May be it was a family trait.

Days passed, maybe even weeks. We weren’t sure. We were fed food that barely kept us alive and every night one of us was taken to experiment. I was sure they had different plans for Abhi and Yen since they were still alive. Today was my turn again. I was taken to the door and I was surprised at what I did. I turned around and smiled at Yen. I wanted to console him, tell him that everything was going to be okay, that he didn’t need to worry about me.

They took me to their room. But today something was different. Normally, Peter, Nana and Blaike would be present in the lab along with their team. The members of their team were not allowed to see our faces. It was a question of a huge fortune. The team would only work with the samples and scans. A drug was normally injected in our back after which they did some sort of brain scan with a huge machine. It was very painful. According to Fiddle, the rays emitted by this machine were the one which affected the connection. It was the reason the connection had become so weak. But today the machine was put off. So was everything else. Neither the AC worked, nor the lights. Had the electricity gone? And what was wrong with the generator? This could be turned in our favor if used wisely.

Back in the room where we were kept, the steel chains were inserted into electrical locks. But if my people didn’t know about this electricity failure, they wouldn’t even try. But how could I tell them? I really hoped my plan worked. I decided to use the connection. I noticed open windows in the lab. Probably because it was hot. It was a full moon day. Full moons always gave better results. Even the night I heard grandma’s voice for the first time, it was a full moon. But there was one problem; I didn’t know how to use the connection.

I sang the song in a low voice, but I didn’t think it worked. I tried taking Marsella’s name in my head, but it was a waste. Neither did grandpa’s or grandma’s name work. Even the silly enchantments didn’t work, like they did on T.V. Fiddle had told me everything about the connection, except how to use it. Damn it! What was I supposed to do? Dance? I definitely wouldn’t ask grandma this question. I cleared my mind, closed my eyes and prayed, “Dear moon, dear stars, please help me contact Marsella, please connect us” and I opened my eyes.

This was it. It was an out of the world feeling. It felt tingly. I could feel the presence of a mind within mine. I spoke in a low voice. “The electricity is gone. Try to get yourselves out. Save us. Save us.” I was weak and the connection was consuming my energy. I fell down. I thought this was my end. I thought I’d be dead any minute now. I had no strength at all. When Pikshtra’s team would find out how weak I am, they would probably kill me, they had many more guinea pigs now. I closed my eyes.

Luckily, I was wrong. I was alive. When I opened my eyes, I could smell wet soil. I was sleeping on somebody’s lap. “Abhi where are we?” “We are in a jungle.” He said, but the voice sounded from a distance. Then whose lap was I on? Yen. “Lune, are you alright? How are you? Do you feel drained? Do you need anything else?” he said while helping me drink some water. “Here, eat something.” What was wrong? Every time I expected Abhi to be there for me, it turned out to be Yen. “What happened?” I asked. I didn’t fight anyone. I did not remember anything. How did we breakout? “It’s all thanks to Aryaman”, Yen said. “He is Evan’s grandson”.

NightRiser chp5

CHAPTER 5

Abhi and I drove to Mumbai. Fiddle’s house and the garden I had been to, to save the old lady, had one thing in common. Mumbai. I made Abhi promise me that he wouldn’t ask me any questions, and did everything, exactly like I said. I only told him his need-to-know basis and that we were going to save Marsella. Abhi was pretty much troubled by my behavior, but I knew I could depend on him. We had no idea where to start. Abhi suggested we have a talk with Fiddle personally. We were about to ring his doorbell when we heard gunshots from his house.

I rushed to enter through the window but Abhi stopped me. Of course, he would never let me in danger. The door suddenly opened and we hid behind Fiddle’s giant pots. A tall man was at the door. We heard a threatening voice that said, “What did you suppose? You could hide here forever? We found you again Fiddlesworth. This is my last warning, tell me where your grandchildren are, or else you’ll meet your son soon”. Holy crap, these seemed like Pikshtra’s men. They were threatening to kill Fiddle. No, I couldn’t let this happen, strange or not, he was my grandfather. Before Abhi could get hold of me, I ran towards the door.

I started punching and fighting the moment I saw the men. Abhi did the same. He glared at me so fiercely; it scared the hell out of me. The fight was in full swing, with punches and boxes and kicks everywhere. One of the men turned to me and hit me on my head hard, with his pistol. The next thing I knew was that everything around me turned dark and I fell on the ground.

When I opened my eyes, I recalled everything that happened. I tried to get up but I had no strength left. It was dark. Midnight, may be. A small grilled window was on the back wall. It was a small room. And suddenly I heard some movement. “Abhi, are you okay?” I asked, not bothering to see who it was. “Abhi?” He didn’t answer. I went closer to the person. It was a lady. Where had I seen her? Oh yes, she was the same old lady I had gone to rescue. She looked at me pleadingly and said, “You’ve met my husband. How is he? How is Fiddlesworth?” she said through her sobs.

It took a moment for me to realize this. She was my grandmother. She was Fiona. “Grandma?” I called. The moon shone brightly in the sky. It was a sign. I didn’t find this weird; instead grandma’s presence somehow relaxed me. But this was not the time for crying over long lost relations. We had serious matters to handle. “How did I end up here?” I asked her. She told me that I was bought here by Peter. Peter, Nana and Blaike were Pikshtra’s men. “I had a friend with me, do you have any idea where he is?” I asked. “No, it was only you he bought.”

Her last sentence locked my breath. Where was Abhi? Grandma started questioning me about Fiddle, and I told her everything I knew. I shouldn’t have. She was getting more and more miserable. “I hope Marsella comes back soon. She needs to know too” Marsella? She was here? Of course. That night, the men saw her. My face was covered with my scarf. I should’ve known. But what did grandma mean by ‘hope she comes back soon’? “Where is she?” I asked her. She looked at me tenderly and said, “there, where we dread to go”.

Marsella was in the experiment room. Pikshtra’s men had continued his mission. If they succeeded in implanting telepathy in human brains, they would earn billions of billions. That is the reason this mission was kept a secret. But where was Fiddle? Why wasn’t he here? I had no idea, nor did grandma. My cell phone was missing and so was my bag. I remembered how I’d left home and hurt mom this morning. She must have been worried to death. While I was in the midst of the storm in my brain, the door creaked open. Marsella was pushed inside. She had blackish blue bruises all over her face. She looked terrible. She barely looked at me and fainted.

Once she was up, we updated her with all the information we had. With nothing to do and no plans that we could think of, Marsella asked grandma “Is it true that you left me in an orphanage?” “Yes” she said. “Pareena, my daughter in law had Lune and I had you. We were separated when Pikshtra attacked us. I had no other option. To keep you safe, we needed you to stay away from the truth of Prisma. Before Pikshtra could reach both of you, we needed to hide you. I met your mother after a few days. But Pikshtra followed her. We were unaware of him. He killed her since she was of no use to him, and he had me prisoner. Last week I managed to escape, and the connection miraculously worked after a long long time. I wanted to contact Fiddle but the message reached you girls. And you’ll arrived to save me.”

So this was the story then. Grandma managed to escape but we couldn’t save her and now we were here, with her. It was still ridiculous to think of Marsella as my sister, but I couldn’t deny the truth. “Marsella, how did you know Fiddle? And if you knew the truth, why didn’t you tell me?” I knew the answer. But I wanted to hear it from her. “I tried to, but you wouldn’t even see my face. You blocked my number and when I personally came to meet you, you never came out of you room. So I suggested an interview with Fiddle and played along. I had met Fiddle a few hours before the incident last week. It was a co-incidence and the night helped. The day we arrived here, I had a fake call of my dad being kidnapped so I got out of the house and that’s when these men caught me. Lunette, I only lied to your parents because what happened was supposed to be a secret. I thought that if they knew, it would put them in danger too. But you didn’t let me explain.”

I had never felt so guilty in my life. First I hurt my mother and now this. I couldn’t control my tears flowing down continuously like an endless river. Grandma gently wiped my eyes and said, “You know what I do when I’m upset, and it’s not night time? I dance.” She had a very meaningful look on her face but I hoped she was kidding. Marsella had the same expression like mine. Grandma only smiled and said, “It makes me feel alive. A fresh mind yields new ideas to face the situation.” Both I and Marsella couldn’t stop staring as she tapped her little feet as much as she could. It seemed more like a penguin dance. We burst into laughter.

We had to find a way out. We started singing our night anthem. We hoped that a combined prayer would have a strong impact. The only way out was the door which was locked from outside. And the window was grilled. We sang louder and louder. We heard a large thud outside. The room caught fire. This was the least expected. We were praying for help and here we were, facing another deadly situation. We didn’t know what to do. The door had caught fire too. We looked at each other. The door had caught fire! It would open up soon.

Just a few kicks and patience, and it eventually happened. Our prayer was not unheard. The night had helped us again with an asteroid on fire. We couldn’t believe we were so lucky. We ran out of the door as fast as we could. But only to find out that Peter, Nana and Blaike were ready for us, with Fiddle, Abhi and Yen on their gunpoints.

NightRiser chp4

 CHAPTER 4

This was too much to process in one day. Marsella was my long lost sister? And I was adopted? This was hard to believe. My parents never told me about this. Perhaps they were concerned it’ll hurt me. Well, what about now? Doesn’t the truth coming from a stranger hurt even more? But was he really a stranger, or my grandfather? I was about to pounce on him with dozens of questions when my phone rang and it gave me goose bumps. It was mom, of course she would be concerned. I told her I was about to leave, but I had no intentions to. I got back to Fiddle but he convinced me to go home. And I agreed even though I didn't want to. But I was going to come back soon.

I left with the Abhi and Yen. Abhi could see right through my eyes. He figured I didn’t want to talk about this with Yen around. To change the topic, Abhi was telling me about how strangely Marsella was behaving on the phone before she left but I didn’t want to think about her. Right now I needed to back home and lie on my bed. I ran straight up to my bedroom and started crying. I had mixed emotions which I had no idea how to control- doubt, sorrow, anxiety, frustration and confusion. I trusted Fiddle, but I didn’t want to.

What was I supposed to do? What if Pikshtra’s fellowmen knew about me? There was only one way to find out. I wiped my tears and ran to the window. I started singing my song, or anthem or whatever Fiddle called it. It was the only thing I could trust. Memories of the accident kept flooding my head. Was that a cue? I had decided to wipe it out of my memory, but I recalled it right from the scratch.

It was a winter night. I was reading in my room at around 2 a.m. when I suddenly heard the voice of an old lady begging for help. The voice felt familiar but I couldn’t recognize it. I looked around the corner from my window, but I couldn’t see anybody. The voices grew louder and louder but I couldn’t see any one nearby. Slowly a picture formed in front of my eyes. I was standing in front of a garden which was in Mumbai, just on the outskirts of my area. I had been there before. Three men approached towards me and I was running and screaming for help. I was scared. I shook myself and found myself in my room again. I was scared and wondered what just happened. I sang to the night. The next minute I wore my shoes and I set off to Mumbai. I reached the garden and called out, but no one answered. I felt foolish to travel all the way up. Just then, I heard footsteps. I followed the voice and I saw three men surrounding an old lady, one of them carrying her. It was difficult to say if she was dead or unconscious. I couldn’t scream or shout, nobody would be up this late. I was hiding behind the tree when I covered my face with the scarf. I decided to fight. But the men were strong, even my Karate skills fell short. That’s when Marsella arrived. We two had been Karate champs. But the men were strong. A man caught hold of me. Marsella kicked him hard and we ran but we couldn’t save the old lady. We ran towards my bike, but it was damaged, it wouldn’t start. Marsella had bought her car towards which we rushed in full speed. When we came back home, I started telling my parents all about it when Marsella started lying about the bruises claiming them to be from a car accident. I tried to convince my parents the truth, but they just wouldn’t listen. Marsella lied about me going to Mumbai, being a mere dare. But my parents bought it.

Did Marsella know about us then? Did she know we were… aliens? And was ‘connection’ the reason she found me? I called her at least a hundred times, but she didn’t answer. Marsella had been my best friend before the incident. She would be there for me every time, any time. Even if I was upset after midnight, when the entire world slept, she would still talk to me without feeling sleepy. That was it! Marsella didn’t sleep at night either. Why didn’t I think of this before? This could mean only one thing; Fiddle was right about Marsella being my sister... We were aliens on our own planet. Where was Marsella? We had tons to talk.

Fiddle couldn’t bear the sun as much as we could. I thought it evolved over time but that’s when it struck me. Fiddle was a complete alien. He landed here straight from Prisma. But we were half night risers. Our dad had married a human. May be that is the reason we could blend in more.

I didn’t even realize when the sun rose. I went down for breakfast. I couldn’t even face mom and dad. But I needed to, I needed to know from them that I was adopted. When Bob and dad left, mom turned to me “Don’t you want to go to college today sweetie?” “I will, after some time”, I answered in a harsh voice. “Mom, I want to see the pictures of my childhood”, I pushed. She gave me the album but I couldn’t find a picture of mom in the hospital, with me just born. “Was I adopted?” I threw my question on her. I couldn’t think straight, nor could she. She was in shock. “Who told you that dear? It’s all rubbish” and changed the topic. But I couldn’t let this go. I forced the truth out of her.

Mom had never looked so miserable. She eventually gave in. She told me the same story that Fiddle told me; that I was at her doorstep in a basket with a letter. I had never seen her cry so much. “How did you know about this sweetie?” she asked in a low voice. I couldn’t answer her. “What was written in the letter mom?” she went inside and bought a crumpled piece of paper. Had she kept it all these years? She handed it over to me. It was handwritten in a very shabby manner. It read,

This is my daughter Lunette. She is one of a kind. Please take care of her. I cannot keep her with me. I need her to be safe. And Lunette, if you ever read this paper, I want you to know that I love you.

I didn’t know what to say. I felt betrayed. Mom and dad had kept such a big secret from me.I left for college though I wasn’t going to attend it. I left in a speed I couldn’t imagine. All my life I had been a practical person and here I was, a magical creature who could read minds at night. Well, I had never actually done that, thanks to the weakened connection.

I ran up to the terrace of my college which I usually visited when I was upset. Clearly Marsella knew the whole story and she also knew Fiddle. Then why didn’t she tell me? Or did she? Ever since the incident, she had been trying to tell me something important, but I had ignored her ever since. I didn’t want to see her face, let alone listen to her. But now I wanted to see her. I went to her class but didn’t find her there. She wasn’t picking her cell phone. Her parents didn’t know where she was. She had been missing since yesterday. Was she in danger? I had to find out. But how? It was noon. I couldn’t take help from the night. “What are you doing here and why aren’t you in class Lune?” Abhi startled me. I wish I could tell him everything. But I had promised Fiddle, and I knew Abhi. He would never let me go alone if he found out. But I couldn’t do this without his help. “Abhi I need a huge favor” I told him.

NightRiser chp3

CHAPTER 3

“We’re what?” Fiddle now had a very intense look on his face. “Princess, we’re night risers. Your upbringing tells me you consider yourself human, but you’re not.” I went blank. Fiddle continued. “Don’t worry, you’re not a vampire, or ghost, or werewolf! You’re similar to humans, but you’re not exactly from the Homo sapiens species. We’re aliens…”

I was pretty sure that Fiddle was kidding, but the look on his face said otherwise. This was too much. Was he denying me being human? That was… Ridiculous… “This is impossible” I spat.

“See princess, a long time ago, about 60 years back, me and my wife, we were bought here from Prisma. Prisma, our home planet. A spaceship was sent to our planet, from earth. A young man, Pikshtra, was the one who landed. At first, communication was difficult. He only knew English, and we only knew Pris; Pris is our mothertongue. But somehow, he managed to communicate with my parents. My parents, the king and queen of Prisma. We didn’t have democracy there. It was a small place with less than 1000 population. I was from the royal family, I was the prince. I got married to Fiona when I was ten. Child marriages were common. We had enjoyed about seven years of a well-settled happy life. Well, now Pikshtra somehow convinced my parents to learn the world of each other. He wished to leave two of his men in Prisma, and take me and my wife along with him. My parents denied. That was when he used explosives and kidnapped us. I wasn’t even given a last chance to say goodbye to my parents.”

“I think I should be leaving sir”, I stood up and said. I think old age was getting to this man. It was all like a fictional story. I had never believed in fairy tales, or in ghost stories. And now he was telling me I was a part of something I never even believed. This… this was absurd.  I was about to leave when Fiddle started singing,

Moon oh dear moon, the stars shining so bright

Oh night, you are so beautiful, can’t have you out of sight

Help me find the answers to all the questions that lay ahead

Night oh beautiful night, stars start your parade, talk to my heart

And help me find the answers to all the questions that lay ahead

How on earth did he know this song? This was my song. I’d been singing this right from the start. I stared at him, astonished.

This is our local anthem. It’s not just a song that you know. It is a lock that opens many doors for you. It is divine. It is something that every night riser knows right from his/her birth.

I sat down. Whether or not I believed him, I decided I wanted to know the whole story. Fiddle continued like there was no interruption.

“When Pikshtra kidnapped us, he didn’t notice Evan hiding in the spaceship. Evan was my Stor. Stor is similar to a personal servant, assistant or helper. Evan and I were good friends as well. He had always not only done his duty faithfully but had also been there for me, all the time. When we were brought here, we were taught English. We were tortured to obey them. Pikshtra liked Evan’s presence. Now he had three people to experiment with. Pikshtra forced us through many tests. Our blood samples were forcibly taken, patches of our skin were harshly removed, bunches of our hair were uprooted. We were given many kinds of electric shocks to test our resistance. We almost faced death for Pikshtra’s secret experiment. We were already aggressive, and this only added fuel to the fire. Pikshtra knew about the connection.

One day, we realized that Fiona was pregnant. I felt so miserable. We awaiting this day so badly in Prisma, and when it finally arrived, we were in no position to handle the situation appropriately. We decided to make a plan. We used as much as strength as we had. We ran away at the first chance that we got. Pikshtra got hold of me, but luckily, Fiona managed to escape. So did Evan. After three more years of torture, I couldn’t even stand straight. Pikshtra thought I was dead, and left me then and there to find the others. I somehow gathered myself, and decided to find my Fiona and Evan. None of us could stand the heat. So I waited for the night. I got to them alright through the connection, but so did Pikshtra. He had three others with him.

We fought belligerently that night. Evan sacrificed himself in order to save me, Fiona and Frosty, my son. I still can’t forget that day. I had committed a murder. A murder of a monster, Pikshtra, but a murder nevertheless. After searching for years, we found the team who invented the spaceship which could take us to our homeland. But Pikshtra’s mission was a secret. Nobody believed that we were from Prisma since we appeared and talked like all the humans. And going back to Prisma was impossible anyways. The spaceship no longer existed. We decided to stay on earth. My knowledge about the outer space and interest made me a renowned astronaut and geologist. The sun was never a problem in my job. We felt tired during the day, but could survive the sun as the days passed. We spent most of the day sleeping. We thought this was our happy ending. Frosty fell in love with a human. He had two beautiful daughters.

Two days since they were born, we were attacked. It was those three men who accompanied Pikshtra the day he found us. My son was murdered in front of my eyes. I helped Fiona and my daughter in law escape. So did I. But under the given circumstances, the three of us got separated. A few days later I got the news of my daughter in law being dead. I thought my grandchildren were dead too. I could feel Fiona alive, but even the connection didn’t help.

The connection now is randomly active. It told me about my granddaughters being alive. Somewhere far away from me. I came to this country and here you are, in front of my eyes. I’ve waited many years to see you Lunette. It was me who named you Lunette. The people you live with, are very kind. They’ve adopted you. A source told me that your mother left you outside their house with a letter. I don’t know what was written in the letter, but I can see that she mentioned your name.”

I couldn’t let the conversation die. I asked him “What’s the connection you keep talking about?” in a blank tone. My brain wasn’t ready for reactions or expressions yet. “There were four of us from Prisma. Me, Fiona, Evan and our son. The four of us could read each other’s minds, when the moon was up in the sky. This is called the connection. It helped us stay in touch. Pikshtra’s intended to implant this connection in human’s too, but never succeeded. The connection has weakened with time. I haven’t been able to contact Fiona all these years. I wish I knew where she is. Tell me, haven’t you ever felt the connection at any point Lunette?”

I did. On the day of the incident which Marsella had covered up with a lie. “Be careful princess, Pikshtra’s men know me. They have been after me since a long time. I don’t think they know about you, but if they do, you’ll be in trouble. Take care of yourself, don’t wander off alone. Keep close to whom you trust.” Out of the thousand other questions that stirred in my mind, I was surprised that the one I asked was “Who is my sister Fiddle? Is she alive?” Fiddle was already in tears. He wiped some of them with his hand and replied, “Marsella”…