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”.
